“The antidote to worldly hopes that competes and seeks to distract our hearts from Christ – is to focus on Him more. That our thoughts and minds would preeminently think about Christ. To reflect on who Christ is and who you are as recipients of His saving grace. To do this with greater intensity and effort than your preoccupation with the world.”
Family Worship
Family Worship Devotional Download
Order of Family Worship (Suggested):
• Icebreaker
• Worship Songs #1-3 (you don’t have to sing all the songs)
• Devotional
• Worship Songs #4-5 (you don’t have to sing all the songs)
• Discussion Questions
• Prayer
Icebreaker Question/Activity
“One True Hope and Two False Hopes”
Items Needed:
• Pieces of paper.
• Pencil or pens
• Prize incentive (optional and can by anything)
Instructions:
(1) Rip or cut a normal 8.5” x 11” piece of paper into 5-6 long strips. Hand out three strips of paper to each member of your family.
(2) When every member of your family has three. You may begin by individually writing one true hope you have right now on a strip of paper. Then write two false hopes that aren’t really true on the other two strips of paper. Alternatively, you can type up your responses and print them out so it’s harder guess by handwriting style.
(3) Fold your three strips of paper and have everyone put it in a grocery bag. Shake it up!
(4) Take turns pulling an individual strip of paper out of the bag (and make sure it isn’t the one you wrote or typed). Once everyone has one strip, set aside the bag. There will be three rounds of guessing.
(5) Take turns by picking one person to:
I. read their slip of paper.
II. Have that person guess who wrote it. Verify whether the person guessed correctly. If you guess correctly, you get 1 point.
III. Then have the person guess whether it’s a true hope or false hope. After the person guesses, have the real person who wrote that hope share whether it’s a true hope or false hope. If you guess this part correctly, you get another point.
IV. Next person repeats steps: I-III until the first round is over.
(6) Repeat for Round 2 & 3. Round 2 = 2 points for each correct guess. Round 3 = 3 points for each correct guess.
(7) Tally up points to determine the winners (1st, 2nd, 3rd place winners). Distribute prizes if you announced them before the icebreaker.
Suggested Worship Song Set (and specific arrangement)
(1) Christ the Sure and Steady Anchor (Matt Boswell) – Call to Worship
(2) Give Me Jesus (Fernando Ortega) – Song for Reflection and Prayer
(3) On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand (Phillips, Craig & Dean) – Song before Devotional
(4) My Worth is Not in What I Own (Keith and Kristyn Getty) – Post-Devotional Response
(5) Yet Not I but Through Christ in Me (CityAlight) – Post-Devotional Response
Devotional
• Passage: Colossians 3:1–3
• Key Idea: We hope in Christ over the world, when we focus on the certain realities of Christ, instead of the uncertainties of life.
• Encouragements/Applications:
o Look upward by bringing your hopes to the Lord in prayer.
What are some hopes that you currently have for your life? Write some down so you can pray for them (e.g. write on 3.5” x 5” flash cards). Keep flashcards where you can find them if needed and to write notes on answered prayers.
o Look upward by focusing your mind on Christ through His word.
Commit or make a goal to spend a specific amount of time this week in reading a specific portion or book of the Bible. Or maybe read a chapter of a Christian book.
Discussion Questions:
• What are some things that you currently hope for right now?
• Are there any truthful realities found in God’s word that can help you hope in Christ this week? If so, what are some?
• What are some specific ways to help you have a bigger hope in Christ rather than making the world’s concerns seem bigger than God?
Time of Prayer:
• Pray by confessing to God areas in your life where you have misplaced your hope in the world instead of hoping in Christ for your needs, concerns, through your stewardship of time and resources, etc.
• Pray by thanking God for the ways He has shown Himself to be a faithful God you can hope in during this difficult time of uncertainty.
• Pray for those you know or have heard of who are having a hard time hoping in Christ during this season or struggling with finding “hope” substitutes in the world.
