Get your Morning started right (Part 2)
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
Parents, you can find the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the twenty-seventh book of the bible: Daniel 3:16-30.
King Nebuchadnezzar was the ruler of a place called Babylon. He brought in men from other places to work for him. One day, three friends, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came to work for the king. They were from Israel and loved God and obeyed him. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered men to make a statue out of gold for the city of Babylon to worship. He told everyone to bow down and worship the statue, but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew it was wrong. They knew the only one worthy of true worship was God, so they refused to listen to the king’s rule. When the king heard of this, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace. But God protected them because they were obedient to him even when it was hard, and even when everyone else chose the wrong path! They didn’t get burned! This story teaches us that God will ALWAYS protect us when we choose to do what is right, even if it is hard!
PRAYER
"Thank You, God, for protecting us and helping us do what is right. Give us the courage to follow You today!"
Application
Parents, ask your child questions about the story.
For little kids: How can we trust God, even when it’s hard?
For bigger kids: When was a time you may have been pressured to do something, even though you knew it was wrong? How did you react?
Daniel in the Lion's Den
Parents, you can find the story of Daniel in the twenty-seventh book of the bible: Daniel 6:16-23.
Remember how Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood up for God, even when it was hard, and refused to bow to the king's idol? Daniel also faced a tough situation where he had to choose between obeying God or following the king's command. Daniel also chose to stay faithful to God, no matter the cost. Let's see what happened to Daniel when he made that choice.
There was now a new king in Babylon, and he liked Daniel very much because of how hard he worked. But this made the other men who worked for the king jealous – they wanted to be treated as well as Daniel. They made a plan to get Daniel in trouble. They tricked the king into making a law that people could only pray to him. Anyone found praying to anyone else would be thrown into a lion's den.
Daniel loved God and loved talking to him through prayer. He obeyed all the king’s rules but had to stand up for God with this one. He continued to pray to God. The jealous men saw Daniel praying to God and told the king. The king was very sad that he had to punish Daniel, but he gave the order for Daniel to be put into the lion’s den. He told Daniel he hoped his God would protect him.
The next morning, the king went straight to the lion’s den to check on Daniel. He called for him, and Daniel responded! He was safe! God had protected him because of his obedience!
PRAYER
"God, thank You for protecting us and always being with us. Help us be brave like Daniel, no matter what comes our way."
Application
Parents, ask your child questions about the story.
For little kids: Do you think Daniel was afraid in the lion’s den? Why/Why not? (explain also that God doesn’t give us a spirit of fear. 2 Timothy 1:7)
For bigger kids: Does jealousy in our hearts lead to anything fruitful?
Jonah and the Big Fish
Parents, you can find the story of Jonah in the fifth book of the 12 books of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament: Jonah 1:17-2:10.
Jonah was a prophet, which means that God gave him special and important messages to share with people. One day, God told Jonah to go to a place called Nineveh and tell the people that God was angry with the way they had been living, so he was going to destroy their city. Jonah didn’t want to go. Nineveh was a scary place. Jonah decided to disobey God and run away. He got on a ship and tried to sail away from where God was calling him. When the ship was far from land, there was a big storm. The storm was big, and was going to make the ship sink! Jonah knew the storm was because he disobeyed God, so he told the sailors to throw him off the ship to stop the storm.
When Jonah hit the water, a big fish leaped out and swallowed him. But God was with Jonah inside the fish for THREE days. Jonah knew God was helping him, so he prayed to Him and asked for forgiveness. God heard Jonah’s prayer and commanded the fish to spit Jonah out onto dry land immediately.
Jonah’s story teaches us that God’s grace is neverending, all we have to do is repent (say we’re sorry) and promise to follow what God tells us.
PRAYER
"Thank You, God, for giving us second chances. Thank you for your grace. Help us to listen to You today and follow Your ways."
Application
Parents, ask your child questions about the story.
For little kids: Have you ever disobeyed mommy/daddy/God? What was the outcome? Good/bad? Why?
For bigger kids: Why do you think Jonah tried to run away from God's plan, and what can we learn from his experience about obeying God, even when it seems hard or scary?