{"id":7766,"date":"2024-08-07T08:59:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T14:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/?p=7766"},"modified":"2024-09-24T14:19:55","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T20:19:55","slug":"gods-faithfulness-how-to-share-with-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/gods-faithfulness-how-to-share-with-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Share God’s Faithfulness with Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\nPsalm 136:1 (NLT)<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

God is faithful. His faithfulness is the foundation of the story of Scripture and He never fails to keep His promises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a vivid memory from middle school that could have shaped my understanding of faithfulness. I was an insecure girl who desperately wanted everyone to choose me as their friend. One day, when one of my peers came into science class and saw that I was sitting next to her friend. She said to me, \u201cIf you\u2019ll change seats with me, I\u2019ll be your best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity to be a best friend to this girl. She was popular and she chose me. This girl made a promise to me, right? A covenant of faithfulness that I could count on. A covenant (or promise) is a contract between two people that is to be kept. It is something we should be able to depend upon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But ultimately, while I had nothing against her, we never became best friends. Her promise was not one that she intended to keep. She was not faithful to her covenant. Merriam-Webster defines faithfulness as \u201cfirm in adherence to promises\u201d and \u201csteadfast in affection or allegiance (loyal).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is imperative that [children] see that God is reliable, that He is faithful.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This experience could have shaped my idea of faithfulness in a way that impacted my belief in the faithfulness of people, and more importantly God. But even though I was young, I knew who God was. I knew He was faithful<\/a>. He was and still is my rock in seasons of my life where nothing else seems dependable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit:Getty Images\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus\/WhitneyLewisPhotography<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Teaching Kids about God’s Faithfulness<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is the foundation we need our children to have. It is imperative that they see that God is reliable, that He is faithful. \u201c…that the Lord [their] God is indeed God. He is the faithful God who keeps His covenant for a thousand generations and lavishes his unfailing love on those who love Him and obey His commands.\u201d <\/em>(Deut. 7:9 NLT) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And for our children to understand and believe this, we must first understand and believe it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We live in a world today where we take commitments lightly \u201cjust in case something better comes along\u201d (also called FOMO). And a world where kids make \u201cpinky-promises\u201d that will likely be forgotten because they don\u2019t fully understand what it means to keep a promise. The world is not modeling that very well. But God\u2019s promises are forever. He is \u201cfirm in adherence to promises.\u201d He is \u201csteadfast in affection.\u201d He. Is. Faithful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trusting in God\u2019s faithfulness is essential to the hope we have for our eternal future. So how can we, as parents and ministry leaders, teach children about God\u2019s faithfulness in a way that they can understand<\/a> it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We must take them to Scripture and remind them that the Bible is true because it\u2019s God\u2019s words. We must show them God\u2019s faithfulness through the stories they are likely already familiar with but may not realize are connected. Because the Bible is so big, and has so many stories, we must connect the stories<\/a> together to show them how God started with a very specific plan and promise and is still keeping that promise today.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTry for Free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Wonder Ink\u2019s 3-year, 52-week children\u2019s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n

Here are three specific passages in Scripture you can use to emphasize God\u2019s faithfulness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One: Creation and the Fall<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When we teach the creation story, we must start with emphasizing that because God made the world, He is in charge. But He is a good God, and He made everything good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But when the serpent deceived Adam and Eve and sin and evil entered the world, God made a promise to the serpent in Genesis 3:15. He said, \u201cI will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike His heel.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That may sound funny or be hard to understand, but what God told the serpent was that He would send His own Son as a child born to defeat Satan and bring salvation for all people from the sin that Satan brought into the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God\u2019s promise at the beginning was to send Jesus. And four thousand years later, He fulfilled that promise when Jesus was born to die on a cross to pay for all the sins of the world. Ask the children, \u201cDo you think you could keep a promise for four thousand years? That\u2019s a really, really, long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He made everything good. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Two: Noah and the Rainbow<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The story of Noah\u2019s ark is a favorite of children. There have been many picture books written to depict this epic event. God\u2019s requirement of Noah to build a boat in the desert shows Noah\u2019s faith in God. God\u2019s miracle of bringing all the animals two-by-two to the ark to live together in harmony for just over a year. What a sight that would have been to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The miracle of the complete destruction of the world with water yet saving Noah and his family because they were the only people on earth who had faith in God. But when they got off the boat, God made a promise, a covenant with Noah. He promised to never to destroy the earth again by flood. And He gave Noah a visible sign as a reminder of His promise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He put a \u201cbow\u201d in the sky. We call it a rainbow. We see it when the sun begins to shine after a rainstorm. And I don\u2019t know about you, but a rainbow never fails to cause me to be in awe of its beauty. What a simple tool to remind children of the faithfulness of God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can see with our own eyes God\u2019s faithfulness as He continues to adhere to the covenant He made with Noah thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Credit:Getty Images\/iStock\/Getty Images Plus\/monkeybusinessimages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Three: A Worship Response with Psalm 136<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Psalm 136 is a beautiful song of God\u2019s faithfulness. It was written as a reminder of many of the ways God was faithful to His people. Repetition and recitation of Scripture is a concrete way to teach our children about God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God is faithful. His faithfulness is the foundation of the story of Scripture and He never fails to keep His promises.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Use Psalm 136 as a worship response<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can use as many verses as you like, but at least the first five. Read the first line of each verse out loud to the kids and then ask the kids to respond by repeating the second line of each verse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Psalm 136:1-5 (NLT)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

            1<\/sup> TEACHER\/PARENT: Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        CHILDREN: His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            2<\/sup> TEACHER\/PARENT: Give thanks to the God of gods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        CHILDREN: His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            <\/em>3<\/sup> TEACHER\/PARENT: Give thanks to the Lord of lords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        CHILDREN: His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            4 <\/sup>TEACHER\/PARENT: Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        CHILDREN: His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            5<\/sup> TEACHER\/PARENT: Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                        CHILDREN: His faithful love endures forever.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Know that God gives us everything we need to teach us and our children about His faithfulness in His Word. His Word alone will give them assurance of His faithfulness in a world that is unsure and unfaithful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

God gives us everything we need to teach our children about His faithfulness in His Word.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":9677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"How to Share God's Faithfulness with Kids - Wonder Ink","_seopress_titles_desc":"We can rely on God's faithfulness. He gives us everything we need to teach our children in His Word.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"blog_topic":[27],"blog_type":[13],"ppma_author":[54],"class_list":["post-7766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_topic-faith-formation","blog_type-blog"],"authors":[{"term_id":54,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"kristi-mcelheney","display_name":"Kristi McElheney","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/KristiMcElheney.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/KristiMcElheney.jpg"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"McElheney","first_name":"Kristi","job_title":"","description":"Kristi and her husband Walter live in Dallas, Texas and where Kristi has spent the last 20+ years leading children\u2019s ministries. They have three grown children. She graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with her Master\u2019s in Christian Education. Kristi has been a content contributor for Wonder Ink! Curriculum and for KidzMatter Magazine. She has also had the privilege of being a breakout speaker at the Children\u2019s Pastors' Conference and the KidzMatter Conference. And she recently published her first children\u2019s picture book."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_topic?post=7766"},{"taxonomy":"blog_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_type?post=7766"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=7766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}