Four Friends: Family Talk Time… and an activity!

Here’s an activity to do with your family, and questions to discuss, about our current Rotation on four friends who bring a lame man to Jesus.

Make cups of hot cocoa but leave out the sugar. Don’t say anything about your omission but allow everyone a chance to sample their cocoa.

Ask: What do you suppose is missing?
I am wondering if cocoa without sugar is sort of like our lives without Jesus?
I wonder what our lives would be like without Jesus’ love?

Pass around a sugar bowl and allow everyone to stir in to their cup, perhaps two tablespoons of sugar. After everyone has tasted their adjusted cocoa…
Ask: How does it taste now?

a boy shows his approval over hot cocoa

Ask: I wonder how adding sugar to your cocoa, is like adding Jesus’ love to your life?
How does having Jesus as your friend make life sweeter?
Say: Let’s read about a time when a man who was paralyzed (he couldn’t walk) had a sweetened life because he met Jesus.

Read Mark 2:1-12. Alternately, ask your kids to help you tell the story. Check the Bible for accuracy.

Ask: Would the man likely have been able to see Jesus without his friends help?
How has someone helped you recently and made your life sweeter?
What are ways that our helping other people is like bringing them to Jesus?
Are there other ways that we can “bring” people to Jesus by helping them?

Say: Those four friends had a lot of faith in Jesus. Jesus wants us to use our own faith to help spread Jesus’ sweet love.