Family Devotions, 1st - 4th Grade - Don't Let Sin Be Your Master, Follow God

FOR STARTERS:
You will need a crazy hat, which will entitle the wearer to be “Master of the House.” You could make the hat from newspaper or construction paper. Pass the hat and have each wearer share one thing he would make everyone else do if he were indeed “Master of the House.” Then ask which of these masters would you especially not like to serve.

The Bible warns us that we should not let sin be our master. What might sin say to us if it was our master?

READ THE BIBLE:
Read Genesis 4:1-16, the Bible event of Cain killing his brother, Abel.

KEY VERSE:
Genesis 4:7b: “Sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you but you must master it.”

TALK ABOUT IT:

• When God was not pleased with Cain’s offering, Cain was angry and disappointed. In verse 7, God gave him a warning. He said, “Sin is lying outside your door ready to attack.” Don’t let sin be your _______. (Master.)
  
• Did sin master Cain? What did he do? When Cain killed Abel, some blood got on the ground. Could that blood really talk? (No.)
  
• But God said, “His blood cries out to me.” What did that mean? (God saw what Cain did to Abel. Cain needed to have a consequence.)
  
• What consequence did God give to Cain? (He made him a wanderer. But he also put a mark on him and protected him from anyone else taking revenge on him.)
  
• 1 John 1:7 says, “And the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from every sin.” What does the blood of Jesus do? (It cleanses us from all sin.)
  
• Does the blood of Jesus call out, “Forgive them”? (Yes!)
  
• Do we need God’s forgiveness for some of the mean things we might have done to our brother or sister? To Mom or Dad?
  

PRAYER POWER:
Pray for special needs in your family. Pray that sin would not be a master over your family and that the power of Jesus’ forgiveness would lift sin so that it does not make you hard and cold-hearted to your family members.

Family Time Option
One day this week, try…
Healthy families know how to “fight fair.” In other words, when they have disagreements, they can settle them without hurting each other. Gather as a family and make a list of rules that would be helpful when different members disagree with one another. Pray for God’s presence over your disagreements and the power of Jesus’ forgiveness when a person is injured.