Lent Family Discussion
This Lent we invite you to explore the Hebrew Testament texts assigned for every Sunday as a family. The Directions are simple! Read the passage together – maybe at the dinner table, or before bed.Then ask the discussion questions to spark conversation. If these questions aren’t quite right for your crew, feel free to come up with your own questions. Choose a day and time that works best for you family and set that time apart as special “Sacred Time.”
As you retell these stories keep in mind that these narratives served many purposes for the people of Israel; legend, history and guidance, so feel free to answer these questions as honestly as you can. The “point” isn’t to get to some right answer. The “point” is to tell, hear and wonder about these ancient stories anew, trusting that these stories still have the power to bring families together and to help us ponder “The Holy.”
Parents, not sure if you’re the right person for this role? Studies show that the biggest influencer of a kid’s faith is the primary caregivers in their lives. You don’t have to be a Biblical scholar, but an honest engagement with the things of God in front of your kids is one of the greatest gifts you can give.Which is why the family ministry team REALLY wants you to take the lead this Lent.Please know that we are praying for you and here to answer any questions you may have, so don’t hesitate to reach out.
A blessed Lent to you all! ~ The Family Ministries Team.
The Texts are here for convenience, but we encourage you to read from a physical Bible if you have the chance at least once!
Week 1: Genesis 9:8-17Common English Bible Translation
8 God said to Noah and to his sons with him, 9 “I am now setting up my covenant with you, with your descendants, 10 and with every living being with you—with the birds, with the large animals, and with all the animals of the earth, leaving the ark with you.[a] 11 I will set up my covenant with you so that never again will all life be cut off by floodwaters. There will never again be a flood to destroy the earth.”
12 God said, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I am drawing up between me and you and every living thing with you, on behalf of every future generation. 13 I have placed my bow in the clouds; it will be the symbol of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember the covenant between me and you and every living being among all the creatures. Floodwaters will never again destroy all creatures. 16 The bow will be in the clouds, and upon seeing it I will remember the enduring covenant between God and every living being of all the earth’s creatures.” 17 God said to Noah, “This is the symbol of the covenant that I have set up between me and all creatures on earth.”
Discussion Questions:
Under 7:
1. I wonder how you feel when you see a rainbow?
2. I wonder what things in the world and in your life make you feel God's love?
3. A Covenant is a promise. Do you make promises? How does it feel when you or someone else breaks a promise?
Over 7:
1. I wonder why God uses the word covenant 7 times in this passage, why is God so emphatic that God won't do this again?
2. I wonder why God puts a bow in the sky - a bow without arrows - as a sign that God is retiring from battle? What other ways besides destruction does God use to call us back to God?
3. I wonder why God needs a reminder of the Covenant God made with us?
Closing Prayer:
Our wonderful Creator God
We offer our thanksgivings to you
For your covenant not to hurt us
But to seek out ways to bring us close to you.
We thank you for the rainbow so that we all
may remember your love for us.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
Week 1: Genesis 9:8-17
Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16 – Common English Bible Translation
17 When Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am El Shaddai. Walk with me and be trustworthy. 2 I will make a covenant between us and I will give you many, many descendants.” 3 Abram fell on his face, and God said to him, 4 “But me, my covenant is with you; you will be the ancestor of many nations. 5 And because I have made you the ancestor of many nations, your name will no longer be Abram but Abraham. 6 I will make you very fertile. I will produce nations from you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will set up my covenant with you and your descendants after you in every generation as an enduring covenant. I will be your God and your descendants’ God after you.
15 God said to Abraham, “As for your wife Sarai, you will no longer call her Sarai. Her name will now be Sarah. 16 I will bless her and even give you a son from her. I will bless her so that she will become nations, and kings of peoples will come from her.”
Discussion Questions:
Under 7:
Over 7:
Closing Prayer:
God of the Covenant
You breathe new life in the most unexpected places
Help us to accept your invitation to prayer and simplicity in this Lenten season
That we may come to know and love you more.
Amen.
Week 2: Genesis 17: 1-7, 15-16
Week 3: Exodus 20:1-17– The Common English Bible Translation
20 Then God spoke all these words:
2 I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
3 You must have no other gods before[a] me.
4 Do not make an idol for yourself—no form whatsoever—of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. 5 Do not bow down to them or worship them, because I, the Lord your God, am a passionate God. I punish children for their parents’ sins even to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me. 6 But I am loyal and gracious to the thousandth generation[b] of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 Do not use the Lord your God’s name as if it were of no significance; the Lord won’t forgive anyone who uses his name that way.
8 Remember the Sabbath day and treat it as holy. 9 Six days you may work and do all your tasks, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. Do not do any work on it—not you, your sons or daughters, your male or female servants, your animals, or the immigrant who is living with you. 11 Because the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them in six days, but rested on the seventh day. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
12 Honor your father and your mother so that your life will be long on the fertile land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 Do not kill.[c]
14 Do not commit adultery.
15 Do not steal.
16 Do not testify falsely against your neighbor.
17 Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s house. Do not desire and try to take your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox, donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.
Discussion Questions
Under 7:
1. I wonder if you like following rules?
2. I wonder if you like making rules?
3. I wonder why God gave us these rules?
4. I wonder which of God's rules you think would be hardest to follow?
Over 7:
1. I wonder if we have other Gods or idols we worship in our modern life?
2. I wonder why God is jealous?
3. I wonder which of these rules is the hardest to follow and why?
4. How do you feel about the rules that you have in your own life?
5. Is there anything not on this list that you think should be included?
Closing Prayer
We acknowledge you, O God, as creator and as liberator. In this time of togetherness, help us to focus on you, O God, ~ adapted from Moira Laidlaw http://www.liturgiesonline.com.au/
Week 3: Exodus 20:1-17
You are the One who brought the captives out of Egypt
and delivered them from the oppression of slavery.
You gave laws which shaped how people were to relate to you,
to each other and to the whole environment.
You implored people to worship only you,
knowing that whatever was put in your place
would become the object of idolatry—
would become the priority of people's lives.
as the priority of our lives.
Remind us of your steadfast love
revealed so clearly in the new commandment of love
which Jesus disclosed when he walked this Earth.
Speak to us anew as we offer this prayer
in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.
Numbers 21: 4-9 – The Common English Bible Translation
4 They marched from Mount Hor on the Reed Sea road around the land of Edom. The people became impatient on the road. 5 The people spoke against God and Moses: “Why did you bring us up from Egypt to kill us in the desert, where there is no food or water. And we detest this miserable bread!” 6 So the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the people and they bit the people. [Many of the Israelites died. – feel free to omit this part for the youngest amongst us.]
7 The people went to Moses and said, “We’ve sinned, for we spoke against the Lord and you. Pray to the Lord so that he will send the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 The Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous snake and place it on a pole. Whoever is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 Moses made a bronze snake and placed it on a pole. If a snake bit someone, that person could look at the bronze snake and live.
Discussion Questions:
Under 7:
Over 7:
Closing Prayer:
God of wilderness and water,
your Son was baptized, lived, and was tempted, as we are.
Guide us through this season of Lent,
that through faith and repentance
we may find peace amidst the struggles and hardships of life
Amen.
Lent 5
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – The Common English Bible Translation
31 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 They will no longer need to teach each other to say, “Know the Lord!” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.
Under 7
Over 7
Prayer
Week 4: Numbers 21: 4-9
Almighty God, you are the great mover who can bring order to a chaotic and unruly world. Grant us grace to love what you love and to desire what you promise. Help our hearts to stay fixed on you that we may find true joy through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 – The Common English Bible Translation
31 The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 It won’t be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant with me even though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 No, this is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my Instructions within them and engrave them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 They will no longer need to teach each other to say, “Know the Lord!” because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord; for I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sins.
Discussion Questions
Under 7
Over 7
Closing Prayer
Almighty God, you are the great mover who can bring order to a chaotic and unruly world. Grant us grace to love what you love and to desire what you promise. Help our hearts to stay fixed on you that we may find true joy through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Week 5: Jeremiah 31:31-34
