Family Portraits

Family Portraits Week 3: Jochebed

Bible Truth

God is stronger than my fears.

Bible Verse

For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7 New Living Translation

Review

So far, we have learned that God wants the best for us and that he has a plan for each of us. He uses hard things to help us grow.

Focus

Last week we learned about Rachel, Joseph’s mother. As an adult Joseph became second to the King (Pharoh) of Egypt. Joseph was a wise manger. He created a plan to care for the country’s natural resources. He built storage buildings for grain and other food. Egypt’s neighbors suffered from a severe drought and no longer had food. Because of Joseph’s planning Egypt had food. Eventually, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt looking for food. They moved to Egypt with their families. Many years later Egypt had a king that did not know Joseph or why his people, the Hebrews, were in Egypt. The King thought there were too many Hebrews living in his country. He planned to stop them.

Get Into It

Read pages 118-124 Baby in A Basket in the Action Bible.

Watch From a Baby in a Basket to a Prince on the Run.

Jochebed and Miriam had special courage during a dangerous time. They trusted God to protect Moses. We may face scary times in life, but we need to trust God. He will take care of us.[1]

Keywords

Fear: Everyone has fears. Some fears are big fears, and some are small. Fear can make us do crazy things. My dog Maddie Mae sometimes gets so scared that she shakes all over. She will even run away from us. If I can get her to focus on me, she will calm down. When we are afraid, we need to focus on God.[2]  

Timidity: Timidity means to lack courage or confidence. Fear can make it hard to do scary things. Trusting God gives us the courage to tackle scary things.

Power: Power is the strength to do things. God is the source of our power to confront our fears.

Love: Many people think that love is a feeling. The Bible tells us that God is love. It is the center of who He is. He cares deeply for you.[3]

Self-Discipline: Self-discipline or self-control means we have control over the way we act and respond things around us.[4]

Think About It

  1. The Bible tells us that God is with us when we are afraid. What are some ways we can feel His presence with us when we are afraid?
  2. Trusting God when you are afraid activity.

Allow the children to walk in circles around a room as they as they think about their fears. For this option, you can use small items like blocks or paperclips from your home as the objects. Ask the children to think about what they are afraid of. If you are comfortable, it might help if you give some examples of things, you have feared in the past. For every fear they think of, ask them to pick up an object. Once they all have at least two objects, ask them to share what each object represents to them. After they have shared, they should lay that object on the ground in front of them to show that they are trusting Jesus with that fear.

If it’s safe, have the children run as they put the items away to remind them that they can run to God when they are afraid. Then finish the activity by saying this prayer together three times: “Jesus, I will trust You when I am afraid.”[5]

You can read more about Jochebed and Moses on pages 118-198 of the Action Bible.

Sing It


Guys this is one of my favorites. Hope you enjoy it.

Have a blessed week. See you Sunday.

Dee

Sources

[1]  Mission Arlington/Mission Metroplex. Old Testament: 1-Year Plan. Lesson 13 page 3.

[2]  Joyce Meyer, The Key to Overcoming Every Fear You Face.

[3]  Got Questions Kidz. What is Love?

[4]  Got Questions Kidz. How Can I have Self-Control?

[5]  Ministry Spark. God Is Stronger Than My Fears.