Family Devotional Time Resources
Remember, this is just one resource to help you as parents spend time listening to and reading God’s Word with your children!
Passage for this week: Philippians 3:1-11
Resource: Pray The Word Podcast by David Platt
How to use this resource: The questions below should be read after you and your family have spent time listening to the resource, and after you have had time to read through the passage carefully and slowly. Following your family time discussion (using the questions below, or your own questions regarding this text), close in prayer and ask your kids how you can be praying for them and let them know how they can be praying for you as parents.
Family Devotional Questions For This Week:
1. What stands out to you the most from reading this passage? What did you learn that is new to you from this passage? What did you learn that caused you to remember something you’ve known, or what has been reinforced from reading this passage?
2. What is Paul referring to when he talks about the “gain” he had before God saved Him by the revelation of Jesus Christ? How does he introduce the conversation about works versus faith?
(Potential answers: Paul right before this mentions his so-called religious resume with all of his religious accolades and – for those who think works are worth anything – trashes them in comparison to the perfection and salvation found in Christ. Our understanding should be properly understood and executed as this: we are not saved by works, but our salvation and faith in Christ should always be accompanied by works. A good true, a true tree bears fruit, so let our fruit show our connection to the life within us that is Christ Jesus!)
3. How can we see discuss the importance of faith versus works in an evangelistic sense? in other words, how can we share what Paul is saying in this passage with someone who believes (or lives as if) salvation and entrance into Heaven is about what YOU do (rather than what Christ has done FOR you)?
(Potential answers: For every other religion in the world, the merit and basis of faith or belief or salvation is based on living a certain kind of life and doing certain things while avoiding others. certainly we would agree with those religions only in part that our salvation and our trust in Christ should show through our actions a CHANGED and markedly different life than what we once were. however, we must be able to understand and share – as Paul does in this passage – that while every other religion says “do, do, do”, we look to the cross and find our salvific work already DONE, DONE, DONE! nothing you or I can do will add to his perfect work and no sin of any repentant and confessing believer is too far That Christs blood cannot cleanse! Trust in Jesus.)
Prayer Prompts For This Week:
– Pray for an encounter this week that will give us the opportunity to engage in discussion with a person who does not know Christ. specifically ask or talk about what they believe to be the way to Heaven and salvation – find out if they view salvation based on works (“being a good person”) or through faith in Christ.
– Pray that we would be people who count everything else in comparison to christ as garbage that will not last, satisfy, please or whatever else we can think of. Pray for Gods understanding that everything else we can rely on or acquire will eventually (as Paul says) be lost to us other than Christ Jesus, whom true believers will enjoy forever in Heaven.
– Continue to pray for one another and write down or remember the requests of each person. Either have one person pray over each request, or delegate those prayer requests so that each person prays for something or someone specific.