Friday Family Bible Time: Creation Day 1 — You are the Light of the World

Friday, September 12, 2014

Welcome to Friday Family Bible Time!  Every Friday, I will be posting a different plan for helping your family get into the Bible together.  First, I am going to start with a series on creation.  I will be taking a different day of creation each week and posting some of my ideas of how you can study this day with your family.  This is our first one . . .the first day . . . LIGHT!  Isn’t it interesting how God created light before He created anything else?  It’s almost like He was giving us an object lesson from the very start — light came into the Darkness.  Later, He would send His Light (Jesus) into the darkness to save us, and then He would commission US to be His lights to a dark and dying world.

We are the Light of the World!

Since the song is now in my head, I will share it with you, too.  Check out this video . . . and then gather your family and have a great time together getting into the word of God!

If you want to print this off, you can do so here:

Family Time 1

Friday Family Bible Time Week 1

Topic: Creation Day 1: Light

Theme: To save the earth from darkness, God created light.
To save us from our sins, He sent His Light into the world.
To save the world from the darkness, He commissioned us to be His light.

This Bible study time would probably be most effective if it was done at night. Turn all the lights off in the house and gather together in a dark room.

Have someone read the following Scriptures out loud. Every time the word “Light” is mentioned, have someone turn on a light in the house. You could start by turning on a small flashlight in front of you, then a lamp, then an overhead light, etc. By the end of the Scripture readings, the house should be totally covered in light.

Scriptures:

Genesis 1:1-5
John 1:1-5
Matthew 5:14-16

Discussion Questions:

1.  How did you feel when we started this time and it was totally dark?
2.  What happened the moment the first light was turned on?
3.  As each additional light turned on, what happened?
4.  Why do you think God’s very first creation was light?
5.  Who was the Light that John referred to?
6.  Why do you think the darkness did not understand the Light?
7.  What are we called to be?
8.  How can we be lights in our community? (encourage specific answers)

Activities: (choose from this list, or come up with one of your own. Do as few or as many as you want.)

1.  Play flashlight tag. Turn off the lights and give two of your family members a flashlight. One of them should shine his light anywhere he wants around the room and the other needs to try to “catch him” with the light from his flashlight. Let everyone have a chance to play. You may even want to have a small tournament and name a “flashlight tag” champion. After the game, discuss how the light chased the darkness away everywhere it went. Discuss this in relation to how we can make a difference in a dark world.
2.  Play a game of hide and seek in the dark. Turn all the lights off in the house and have everyone hide. Whoever is “it” needs to find each member of the family, but once a member of the family is found, he should help “it” in the search. For added fun, give each person in the family a tiny flashlight except for “it”. Every time someone is found, the flashlight he is holding can be used to help search for the others. Discuss how it was much easier to find people once the flashlights were able to be used. Isn’t this similar to how it is when we come to Jesus? We are stumbling around in the dark, trying to find our way, when we meet someone who has the Light. That person then shares his light with us, and we are able to find our way. Then, we need to share the light with others. (Note: If you have young kids who are scared of the dark, be sure to pair them up with a parent.)
3.  If you have a musical family, sing “This Little Light of Mine” while holding flashlights (or use the above link for a more upbeat song for older kids).   Discuss what it means to let your light shine.
4.  If you have an artistic family, give each member of the family a small glass jar (such as a baby food jar) and glue multi-colored tissue paper all around it. Then place a tiny candle inside and light it. Watch the different patterns it makes. Discuss the effect that little light has on the room around it. What type of similar effects can we have on the world around us? (If you do not have an artistic family, you can still do this activity. Just use regular candles that you don’t have to make first.)
5.  If it is fall, carve a pumpkin together and then stick a candle in it and let it light up your porch. Discuss how we can light up the world around us.
6.  Give each family member a glow stick to take to bed with them that night. Encourage them to watch the glow stick as they fall asleep and to think and pray about ways that they can let their light shine in their world.

Prayer Time:

Before you pray, draw a huge candle on a black piece of construction paper. Then take a white crayon and fill the candle in with specific names of people that you want to be a light to this week. Then pray for them by name. Try to remember to get this “candle” out every day this week and pray for the list you made (this would be good to add to your dinner prayers, for example).

Outreach Ideas:

Serving as a family can be a powerful experience. Choose an activity to serve together in this week as a practical way to let your light shine to those around you. Examples include the following:

1.  Bake cookies to take to your neighbors. Include a Bible verse with the cookies and an invitation to church.
2.  Rake leaves for an elderly person in your neighborhood.
3.  Offer to babysit for a family you know for free.
4.  Plan a neighborhood cookout. Invite your neighbors, no strings attached. Get to know them!
5.  Take your family and walk up and down your street (and maybe some adjoining streets) picking up trash or visit one of the parks in the area and pick up trash.
6.  Set up a day where you give “free car washes” for your neighbors. You could do this at your own house, or take your hose and supplies over to their house and clean their cars.

Got any other ideas for Friday Family Bible Time?  Share them in the comments below and then check back next Friday for a study on water . . .