CTK Family Devotions Week #76

Main Topic: Jesus as the Perfect Bridegroom — (True Christianity Book 1, Chapter 34)

Friday (2/21/2025)

All marriages are to follow the example set by Jesus and His perfect love for His bride.

Ephesians 5:22–33 (ESV) — 22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

1) Have these verses been used by evil men to excuse the abuse of their wives? What does the passage really say?

2) Would Christ ever do something to harmful to you? What does He do instead? Should husbands imitate this?

3) Ask for wisdom to understand the respect and love needed in marriage + the strength to carry it out daily!

Saturday (2/22/2025)

Jesus was clear that His mission to love His bride would include His death.

Luke 5:33–39 (ESV) — 33 And they said to him, “The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? 35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine desires new, for he says, ‘The old is good.’ ”

1) Have you ever heard someone say something, but not really understand/process it? Share stories now.

2) Jesus’ disciples had heard that Jesus would soon die, but they didn’t seem to get it. Why do you think that is?

3) Did Jesus have to die to carry out His mission? Why? In what way does His death benefit you?

Sunday (2/23/2025) – Prayer and Praise Requests

1) Praise God for snow, which reminds us that He’s made our once crimson sins white. (& thank those who shovel!)

2) Pray for all those starting to feel the busyness of the spring schedule. Ask for wisdom to prioritize God’s gifts.

3) Praise God for the student-led Bible studying going on at PAS library during Wed. lunch.

NO Family Study @ CTK this week (take time to rest)

Need a family activity for Sunday night? In preparation for Lent, read Isaiah 52:13 to 53:12 together. Discuss how Jesus fulfilled each part of this prophecy. Use the opportunity to share how serious sin is but how perfect the forgiveness that we have through Christ is. If you are feeling creative, print off and hide some of the verses from the reading about the suffering of Jesus around to house to pull out little by little as lent goes on. Use those as ongoing opportunities to reflect on sin, ask for forgiveness, and thank God for His mercy. For the ending verses that hint at the resurrection, keep those hidden until right before Easter. Pull them out as an encouragement the night before Easter. Enjoy!

CTK Family Devotions Week #77

Main Topic: God Alone Saves (1/4) — (True Christianity Book 1, Chapter 34)

Reminder: These devotions are only a tool to use to help you run family devotions in a way that your family needs. Whether you do it daily, tie it to a prayer or sharing time, or have everyone read these verses on their own time is up to you. My aim is to equip you all to be in the Word as a family by giving you Scripture and questions to consider. Each day you will find a main idea to consider, a Scripture passage to read, and some questions to ask to help discuss the reading and tie it to the main idea. Reminder: Lent Sundays = 430 games>supper>youth>service

Monday (2/24/2025)

“All things necessary for our salvation are merited by Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Luke 10:21–22 (ESV) — 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. 22 All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

1) Have you ever been corrected by someone younger than you? Share the story now (especially if it is funny!).

2) How has God hidden His truth from the wise & understanding? (Truth comes from Word, not from smarts)

3) How has God revealed His truth to little children? (Children can have simple faith in God’s promises)

4) What is Jesus trying to say in verse 22? (He is the only way to the Father: the way, the truth, and the life)

5) How might you share the truth that Jesus alone is the reason we have hope with a friend? Make a plan to do so!

Tuesday (2/25/2025)

 “As a dead body cannot quicken itself again, so men ‘being dead in sins’ cannot raise themselves again to life.”

Ephesians 2:1–5 (ESV) — 1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

1) Together, read these verses again out loud. Are they familiar? What words stuck out to you as you read?

2) What can a dead body do to cure itself? (Nothing) What is a dead body actively doing? (Rotting)

3) In what ways do we “rot” in our deadness without Jesus and His life? (Sin, selfishness, condemnation, etc.)

4) Why is verse 4 so important? Would we have any hope without God, in His love for us, sending Christ to die?

5) Together, thank God that He & He alone gave you life by His own grace, entirely apart from what you’ve done.

Wednesday (2/26/2025)

“We did not contribute anything towards our creation, neither do we perform anything towards our redemption, regeneration, and sanctification, which are far greater transactions than the creation itself.”

Psalm 33:6–9 (ESV) — 6 By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

1) How was everything made? (God said…) How many days did it take? (6). What was made on each day?

2) What was there before God? What was the earth like before God formed it? (Formless and void).

3) How does God being the sole author of our faith connect to creation? (both come by His powerful Word)

4) Think of all the ways that God is continuing to give you life (more like Christ, called to love, sermons, lessons, etc.)

NO need to RSVP, as it is our Lent evening schedule. Questions/need more info? Text/call Joe

Thursday (2/27/2025)

“It was necessary, that the Son of God should take human nature upon him, to recover all that was lost in Adam, and to revive those that were dead in sins and trespasses.”

Hosea 6:7–11 (ESV) — 7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. 8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. 9 As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit villainy. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled. 11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed. When I restore the fortunes of my people,

1) Are there any famous (or infamous) people you are related to? Tell some family stories about them if you can.

2) What sort of transgression did Adam commit? How did Israel do the same? How do we do the same?

3) What were the consequences of Adam’s sin? What consequences do we often suffer because of our sin?

4) How did Jesus restore what was broken by Adam? (By fulfilling the Law and dying for our sins).

5) Ask God to have mercy on every child of Adam. Ask Him also to send His Word to make dead hearts alive.

Friday (2/28/2025)

Like the man being cared for by the Good Samaritan, “we ought to suffer the healing hand of the Lord, and not to resist, when he attempts the cleansing of our wounds.”

Jeremiah 17:12–14 (ESV) — 12 A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living water. 14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.

1) What is your favorite drink? Could you survive drinking only that for a year? Why/why not?

2) The Lord is described as a fountain of living water. Share what similarities they share in this comparison.

3) The Lord is also pictured as a healer. How does God work to heal us? (By His Word). Can we resist? (Yes)

4) If you have time, act out the parable of the Good Samaritan to be reminded of how much God cares for us.

Saturday (3/1/2025)

Your salvation is a gracious gift of God that can’t be earned, since Christ has already paid for it in full.

Romans 3:21–26 (ESV) — 21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

1) If we were put on trial for our sins, what would a good judge do with us? (Condemn us as guilty!)

2) Can our efforts to act better change this verdict? Why or why not? What do we need? (A savior!)

3) Since Christ has offered Himself in our place, what can God now judge us as? (Innocent, free, alive, etc.)

4) If Christ is the foundation for our life, can we take credit for God’s love for us? Can we benefit from it? How?

5) Ask for a heart that is quick to cling to the gifts of God. Ask also for honesty about sin as Lent approaches.

Sunday (3/2/2025) – Prayer and Praise Requests

1) Praise God for the season of Lent. Look for opportunities to focus your eyes on the savior who died for you.

2) Ask for discernment in how best to serve others around you using the gifts God has given you.

3) Pray for all those recovering from illness, surgery, and even grief. Ask for God to comfort them.

4) Lift up the Church across the world, especially our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith.

5) Keep the students and adults preparing for FLY in your prayers. This includes the staff planning the event!

LENT EVENING SERVICE PLAN FOR Sunday (3/2/2025)

430pm: Family games > 5: soup supper > 530: youth time > 6: worship. (Questions? Call/text Joe 320-305-9521)