Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

Read: John 1:44-49

“Hey, Tristan,” Antonio called as he caught up with his friend in the school hallway. “There’s going to be a special kids’ program at my church on Sunday. There’s going to be music and games and prizes and other cool stuff. Why don’t you come?”

“Nah,” said Tristan as he stopped to get some books out of his locker. “I’m gonna watch the baseball game on TV. Nothing’s gonna get in the way of me watching the Tigers!” He laughed. “Even if there wasn’t a game, I wouldn’t want to go to church. It seems pretty silly to me.”

“Church isn’t silly. It’s great!” said Antonio.

“Church is a big waste of time!” Tristan insisted.

“No, it’s not!”

“Yes, it is!”

“Is not! You don’t know what you’re talking about because you never—”

“Forget it, Antonio,” Tristan said as he slammed his locker shut. “I’m not going.”

Antonio felt bad as Tristan walked away. I wish he’d come, but I shouldn’t have argued with him about it, he thought. He remembered the Bible story he’d heard in Sunday school a few weeks before about Philip and Nathanael. When Philip told Nathanael about Jesus of Nazareth, Nathanael said, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” But Philip didn’t get angry. He simply said, “Come and see.”

Going to church isn’t the most important thing anyway, Antonio thought. Knowing Jesus and having a relationship with Him is what matters most. Maybe if I’m just friends with Tristan, he’ll come to see that knowing Jesus is a good thing.

“Tristan, wait up!” Antonio called, running after his friend. “Look, I’m sorry I argued with you about coming to church. I really do think you’d like it, and you should come sometime and see for yourself. But this Sunday, how about coming to my house after I get home from church? We can watch the game together.”

“Even if I don’t go to church with you?” Tristan asked in surprise.

“Sure,” said Antonio. “What kind of snacks should I ask Mom to get?” He knew it was going to be a good Sunday.

–Linda Weddle

How about you? Have you invited friends to church and told them about Jesus? If they laugh and say you’re silly, don’t argue. Keep being a good friend to them and showing them Jesus’s love. After a while, your friends may be curious and willing to come and see what your faith is all about. Best of all, they may come to know Jesus!

Today's key verse: Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8 (NIV)

Today's key thought: Be a friendly Christian

Read: Hebrews 10:1-10, 17-18

“Mom, in Sunday school today we learned about Abraham and Isaac.” Myra climbed onto the stool and watched as Mom kneaded some dough.

“Which story did you learn about?” Mom asked.

“The one where Abraham almost sacrifices Isaac. God was just testing Abraham to see if he would give up his son for Him, so He didn’t let him go through with it.” Myra scrunched her nose. “But then God provided a sheep for Abraham to kill instead, and Abraham put that on the altar. People in the Bible sacrificed sheep and other animals a lot. It’s so gross! Why did they do that?”

“Well, in Abraham’s time, Jesus hadn’t been born yet.” Mom punched the dough in front of her. “It’s kind of like this bread. Right now, it hasn’t been baked.” She picked up a knife and a plate. “If I cut a slice of this, it won’t even hold it’s shape.”

Myra giggled as the dough turned into a puddle on the plate. “That’s not what bread is supposed to look like.”

“Exactly.” Mom added the dough back to the rest of the pile. “People back then were under a different law, like this bread dough has different ‘laws’ than baked bread. Animal sacrifices were a way to remember that the wrong things they did were sins against God and required payment.”

Mom put the bread dough into a pan, then covered it with a towel. “Years later, Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice. He paid for every one of those sins on the cross, and even ones that hadn’t happened yet—He paid for them all. When we trust Him as our Savior, our sins are forgiven. There’s no need for sacrifices because Jesus was sacrificed for all of us. He met every requirement of God’s law so we could have a new life of freedom with Him instead.”

Myra nodded slowly. “I get it now. I mean, I still think it was gross that they killed animals and burned them, but I’m really glad Jesus came to be the ultimate sacrifice so we don’t have to follow those laws.” She glanced at the pan. “And I’m glad that bread is going to follow different ‘laws’ when it’s baked, because I like toast better than puddles!”

–Kimberly Brokish

How about you? Have you ever wondered why people sacrificed animals in the Old Testament? The people of those days had to follow a different law, and sacrifices were very important. But in the New Testament, Jesus came and died for every one of your sins. Sacrifices aren’t needed anymore because He sacrificed Himself for you. When you trust in Him, all your sins are forgiven. (To learn more, go to Have You Heard the Good News?)

Today's key verse: For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time. Hebrews 10:10 (NLT)

Today's key thought: Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice

Read: Psalm 32:1-5

Asher looked up when he heard a knock at the window. Mom was outside motioning for him to join her. He pressed the pause button for his video game and ran out to the backyard.

Mom was standing behind the garage, looking at the ground. “There’s something here I want you to see,” she said, pointing down. “Look at those plants.” There, almost hidden by tall grass, Asher saw a cluster of green vines. “Those are watermelon plants,” Mom said. “The funny thing is, I never planted any watermelons.”

“Maybe they got planted accidentally,” Asher said. “Maybe a squirrel dropped some seeds there.”

“You think so?” Mom asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was thinking of something else. Remember when someone stole a watermelon from Mr. Smith’s garden last summer? The whole neighborhood was talking about it. He was planning to enter it in a contest.”

“Yeah.” Asher shifted uncomfortably. “It was as big around as a basketball, wasn’t it?”

“You seem to remember a lot more details than I do,” Mom said. “I don’t remember how big it was, but I was wondering if maybe the person who stole it came here, ate it, and then buried the rinds and seeds so no one would find out.”

“I…uh…I guess that could have happened,” Asher said quietly. His face was red.

Mom looked at him closely. “Is there something you need to tell me?” Asher refused to look her in the eye.

“It was you, wasn’t it, Asher?” Mom said softly. “I wondered about it last summer because of the way you reacted back then.”

“I…I…Ward and I did it,” Asher finally said, close to tears. “When we buried everything, I thought that would be the end of it. I didn’t know those little green plants were going to come up and tell on me!”

“Sin often pops back up to tell on us when we try to hide it,” said Mom. “The good news is no matter what you’ve done or how you’ve tried to hide it, you can always confess it to Jesus and He’ll forgive you.” Mom wiped a tear from Asher’s cheek. “I’ll walk you over to Mr. Smith’s house so you can tell him what you’ve done and ask him to forgive you too.”

–Harry C. Trover

How about you? When you do something wrong, do you try to hide it? You may be able to keep parents, teachers, or friends from knowing what happened, but you can’t hide anything from God. Instead of trying to keep the sin a secret, confess what you’ve done to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you. Then ask anyone you’ve hurt for their forgiveness too.

Today's key verse: God, you know my faults. I cannot hide my sins from you. Psalm 69:5 (ERV)

Today's key thought: You can’t hide sin

Read: Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 6:26-27; Philippians 4:6-7

“I’m worried I’m not going to pass my math test!” Clara told her dad as they walked barefoot in the grassy yard after dinner.

“You’ve been studying and doing math problems for weeks, Clara,” Dad said. “I’m sure you’ll pass.”

“But I’m not going to be good enough. I just know it!” Clara looked up and wished she was one of the birds soaring overhead. They didn’t look worried at all.

“Hmmm.” Dad pulled open the door to their shed, which let out a metal squawk, and poked his head inside. “I might have something…” His voice trailed off as he stepped inside. He reappeared seconds later holding a rusty sprinkler.

Clara crossed her arms. “Is this a joke?”

“No,” said Dad. “It’s a quiz. Does this sprinkler have water in it?”

Clara shook her head. “It’s not even connected to the hose!”

“Passed the first question!” Dad said, smiling. “Is this sprinkler empty?”

“Yeah,” Clara said, uncertain how this was supposed to help.

“Guess we should just throw it out then, huh? No good anymore.”

“Dad, it’s a sprinkler! It’s supposed to be empty until the water’s turned on!”

“Exactly.” Dad sank into the sun-dappled grass and handed Clara the sprinkler. “We’re a lot like sprinklers. A sprinkler doesn’t worry it’s not good enough to do its job. It’s not afraid to be empty. When it’s connected to the hose, the water’s power flows through it. It’s the same with us. Because we have faith in Jesus, we’re always connected to Him through the Holy Spirit, and His power flows through us. He’ll give us the strength we need to do the things He wants us to do.”

“So He’ll help me pass my math test?” Clara asked.

“Well, I can’t promise you that, but you don’t have to worry about it. He wants you to pray about your math test and then do the best you can. Trust Him with the results, no matter what they are.”

“I didn’t know He cared about stuff like that,” Clara said.

“Absolutely He cares! He even cares about the birds.” Dad pointed to the birds flying above them. “But you’re far more important to Him.”

Clara thought about that. “Dad, can we pray?”

–Pearl Allard

How about you? Are you worried about something right now? Maybe you have a test coming up at school or you’re trying out for a sports team. Whatever it is, have you prayed about it? Jesus loves you and cares about all the details of your life. Instead of worrying, He wants you to pray about what’s bothering you. Then trust Him to give you strength and be with you, and leave the results in His hands.

Today's key verse: Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

Today's key thought: Pray instead of worry

Read: Colossians 3:12-14

“Knock off that noise!” Mrs. Steele yelled in Lila’s direction.

Lila was startled. She’d been curled up with a book, reading quietly on the porch. Surely Mrs. Steele wasn’t talking to her. But she was.

Later, when Lila’s dad came home, he noticed that the small windchimes from the front porch were now on the kitchen table. “Did the chimes fall down?” he asked Lila.

Lila shook her head, clearly upset. “They were bothering Mrs. Steele. She yelled at me because they woke her up. Dad, why is she so cranky?”

Dad sighed. “I’m sorry, honey. Listen, Grandma taught me that when someone is cranky, they might be dealing with hard things, like sickness or loneliness. Let’s try to help Mrs. Steele by being kind to her, even when she’s not kind to us. That’s the kind of love Jesus showed us when He died for our sins, and He’ll help us show His love to Mrs. Steele.”

Lila sighed. “Could you hang the chimes up in my bedroom? They remind me of Mom.”

“Sure,” he said, giving her a hug. “I miss Mom too.”

The next morning before church, Lila saw that Mrs. Steele’s newspaper had landed where it would be hard for the older woman to reach. Lila was tempted to pretend she didn’t notice, but then she remembered what her dad said. So, she took a deep breath, then picked up the newspaper and carried it to her neighbor.

“Good morning, Mrs. Steele. How are you today?”

Mrs. Steele frowned. “I couldn’t sleep again last night. Too much back pain.”

Lila said, “When my grandpa’s back hurts, I do chores for him, like emptying the trash and weeding his garden. Maybe I can do chores for you after Dad and I get home from church and grocery shopping.”

Mrs. Steele brightened up. “I could really use a few groceries. I could make a list and give you some money.”

“Of course.” Lila smiled.

Later that afternoon, Lila carried a small bag of groceries next door and put them away for Mrs. Steele. “What else can I do for you?” she asked.

“You could pour us both some juice and tell me what you learned in church today. I used to go, but it’s been ages. I miss it.”

–Teresa Ambord

How about you? Do you know someone who seems difficult for no reason? It might be a neighbor, a relative, or someone at school. It can be tempting to respond to them the same way they treat you, but Jesus says to be kind and patient. They might be going through something difficult, and you could help them by showing them God’s love. Talk it over with an adult, and trust Jesus to help you treat them the way He would.

Today's key verse: Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Colossians 3:12 (CSB)

Today's key thought: Be kind to difficult people