City Kids Parent Take-Home
Genesis 28 + 32 [Jacob’s dream and wrestling match]
Big truth: God reminds Jacob that He will keep His promise and He will be with him.
Christ connection: Jesus is God with us.
Response: Children who know that God is always with them, in good and hard times.
Memory verse: Ephesians 2:8-9 song
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Dinner-table questions
- How do you think Jacob felt when he ran from his home? How did God help him? What happened in Jacob’s dream, and what did Jacob learn about God?
Guilty, scared. God appeared in a dream and repeated His promises. God showed Jacob that He was near, with him. - What is something hard or scary that you are facing this week? How can you remember that Jesus is always with us, by His Spirit?
Discuss!
Family Discipleship activity: stories of suffering
In a culture where children are told to seek the path of most comfort and personal fulfilment, today’s passage is so helpful. God calls Jacob to return home, where obedience could be dangerous: will Esau kill him? Jacob faces losing everything (Gen 32:23), and is physically maimed for life. God teaches Jacob that the blessing he’s been seeking is not found in wealth, success or power, but in knowing the promise-keeping God.
Parents, tell your children about a time of suffering in your life, and how God used it. In what ways did you learn to rely on and cherish Him?
Family Discipleship activity: promise rocks
In today’s true story, Jacob set up a stone to mark where he had his dream. Find a rock from the garden, park or beach. Use paint or pens to write “Jesus is God with us” and decorate the rock. Keep it or give it to a friend as a reminder that through Jesus, God is with us.
Link love
This week’s podcast episode: Spotify / Apple
This week’s Bible story video: