Pathways Students & Pathways Kids ROOTS we will not be meeting on Wednesday, December 28th but please take some time to review the Christmas devotional below as a family!
Kids Devotional
Bible Readings
Take a few minutes to read the Bible verses listed and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you in how this verse applies to you this week.
Memory Verse
All who call out to the Lord will be saved. (CEV)
Reading
Have you ever had a big problem that you couldn’t fix on your own? Maybe you got a bad grade in school or you messed up and caused a sibling to get hurt. Who helped you understand that what you had done was wrong? Maybe your teacher explained the right answers for the assignment, or your parents showed you how misbehavior can affect other people.
Paul made the worst choices and messed up in a huge way. In Acts 22, Paul tells his life story about how even though he used to put people who loved Jesus in jail, Jesus still saved him. Of course, you haven’t done the incredibly bad things Paul did, but no one- not Paul... not you...not me- can earn God's forgiveness. Just as Jesus had done for Paul, he helps us recognize our sin. It’s Jesus who can pay the price. Remember the Christmas story: God sent Jesus to pay for all the wrong that we’ve done.
So what do we do now? In thankfulness for God’s forgiveness and Jesus’ sacrifice, Christians are called to spread the good news about God’s mercy. Be patient with family and friends, and forgive those who cause trouble for you. By showing patience and forgiveness to others, you can help your family and friends celebrate a peaceful Christmas and focus on its true meaning: the birth of Jesus, God's merciful gift to the world.
Prayer
Dear Merciful God, thank you for sending Jesus as your gift to the world. Help me to remember to share the good news with others, and to be merciful just as you are merciful to me. Amen.
Students Devotional
SCRIPTURE READING — LUKE 2:8-14
At the time when Jesus was born, life for shepherds was hard. Their days and nights were spent in the dreary routine of taking care of sheep. Society looked down on them as lowlifes and scoundrels. They had little reason to be joyful.
But shepherds were the ones to whom the angel brought the good news that would cause great joy: A Savior had been born! It was God’s way of saying that he identifies with the down and out, the outcasts of society, the undesirables. And on that night, whatever darkness they were facing was transformed into the most beautiful light they’d ever seen, as the angels of heaven joined in singing, “Glory to God in the highest. . . .” For those shepherds out in the fields of Bethlehem, life would never be the same.
Perhaps on this Christmas Day you are finding it difficult to feel joy. Perhaps there is an empty chair at your table. Perhaps you’re thinking about a family member who has turned away from the Lord or is no longer a part of your life. Perhaps you have been diagnosed with a terrible illness. Whatever the reason, you don’t feel like celebrating.
If so, the Christmas message is for you. There is good news with great joy also for you. Why? Because the Savior came to make things right. He came to heal the brokenhearted, to bring light into your darkness.
Prayer
Father in heaven, help us to catch a glimpse of the light the Savior came to bring. We ask this in his name. Amen.