Day 1: Set Apart for God’s Honor

CONNECT

Prepare:

• One thing that your kids love
• One thing that they don’t like or is not worth much (e.g., an empty can or a used toilet paper core)

Put the item they like in shabby packaging (e.g., a crumpled paper bag or used paper). Put the item that they do not like in beautiful packaging (e.g., a nice box or paper bag).

Now, let them guess what is in both gifts. After everyone has made a guess, open them.

You can explain the activity like this: How a gift is wrapped is no indication of what it can contain inside. You can see from our example that the beautifully wrapped gift contained something worthless and the one that came in crumpled packaging had something nice inside.

READ THE WORD

Have you heard of the saying, “Do not judge a book by its cover”? It means that we should not judge or value a person or thing by what we see on the outside alone. A lot more goes on inside and that is where the real value or importance lies.

We have learned that being set apart means that we are no longer living according to the ways of other people. We now live according to God’s ways. But more than just our actions on the outside, which other people can see, God also wants our hearts to be aligned to Him.

The Pharisees gathered around Jesus. So did some of the teachers of the law. All of them had come from Jerusalem. They saw some of his disciples eating food with “unclean” hands. That means they were not washed. The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands to make them “clean.” That’s what the elders teach. When they come from the market, they do not eat unless they wash. And they follow many other teachings. For example, they wash cups, pitchers, and kettles in a special way. So the Pharisees and the teachers of the law questioned Jesus. “Why don’t your disciples live by what the elders teach?” they asked. “Why do they eat their food with ‘unclean’ hands?” He replied, “Isaiah was right. He prophesied about you people who pretend to be good. He said, “‘These people honor me by what they say. But their hearts are far away from me. Their worship doesn’t mean anything to me. They teach nothing but human rules.’ You have let go of God’s commands. And you are holding on to teachings that people have made up.” Mark 7:1–8

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because, at that time, they had made numerous rules for the people to follow. Some of the rules required people to keep their bodies clean (e.g., washing their hands, washing their cups). As a result, the people focused on following these rules to keep their physical bodies clean, but their motives were not right. They were filled with pride thinking that they were able to follow all the rules that were given to them, while looking down on those who were not able to follow them. They perhaps thought that their physical actions honored God, but their hearts were far from it. They had become focused on following the rules of men instead of pleasing God. They were like that beautifully wrapped gift that contained something worthless inside.

Honoring God is not simply about following a set of rules. It is about seeking God and His will. It is about devoting our hearts wholly to Him.

HUDDLE

Parents to Kids

2–6 years old

• What are some rules that you have to obey?

7–12 years old

• What are some ways you can choose to honor God at home? How about in school?
• How much of your heart do you think is devoted to God—30%? 50%? 80%? 100%?

Kids to Parents

• Was there a time when you had to choose between following and honoring God and following what others said? What happened? Share it with your family.

Honoring God is a matter of the heart. We try to correct ourselves and our kids whenever something is wrong. But more than correcting outward behavior, we need to look at the heart. If we have a clean heart, this will eventually show in our words and actions.

Let us be in the habit of checking our motives. Keep seeking God. Ask Him to help you surrender areas in your life where you currently struggle to honor Him. Ask Him to help you be sensitive to hear and obey when He speaks to us. You know what? Jesus came so that we can have pure hearts. We can go to Him, and He will help us make our hearts clean.

PRAY

Dear God, thank You for choosing us and for setting us apart. Please help us to turn our hearts to You and to surrender every area in our life to You. Remind us why You set us apart and placed the desire in our hearts to honor You. In Jesus’ name, amen!

DISCOVER

Who were the Pharisees?

In Jesus’ time, they were leaders who oversaw the religious and political arenas of their state. They studied the Scriptures and taught people in the synagogues.

However, in interpreting the Scriptures, they added their own opinions to the teachings. Hence, they came up with additional rules which people must follow. Some of these rules were so complicated that they themselves found it difficult to follow them. They demanded that people follow these rules, and in the process, these leaders forgot how to be compassionate to people.

Did you know that there were 613 rules that the Pharisees said everyone should follow? The religious leaders were so hard bent on having people follow them that these rules became a false set of standards for people to follow. Instead of leading people to follow the Scripture, they led them to follow the teachings of men. This was what Jesus was pointing out to the Pharisees.