Bible Reading: Genesis 11:1-9; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:1-8; 17:26-27

The sun felt so hot Keisha thought she might melt like the chocolate she left in the jeep yesterday. "How much farther to the market?" she asked Fatmata.

"Not far!" answered her new friend.

Keisha had met Fatmata that morning, her first day at her new school. Keisha's father had taken a nursing position at the hospital in Mattru Jong, a town in Sierra Leone, West Africa. The family had moved to Mattru from New York the week before. Keisha hadn't had time to explore, so Fatmata offered to show her around.

When they reached the marketplace, Keisha was amazed. Women wearing colorful fabric around their heads and hips were selling peppers, cassava, balls of groundnut paste, rice, dried fish, mangoes, and papayas. The food sat in bowls on wooden tables or on fabric spread on the dirt. It didn't look or sound anything like grocery stores back home.

"What language are they speaking?" Keisha asked.

"Mostly Krio," said Fatmata. "It's our trading language. Some are speaking Mende, the tribal language of Mattru. School is taught in English, so most of us speak all three."

"I wish I knew three languages!" said Keisha.

When Keisha got home, her family sat down to a dinner of groundnut stew over rice. She was still getting used to the hot peppers, but it was delicious!

"Dad, why are there so many languages?" Keisha asked.

Dad put down his spoonful of stew. "The Bible tells us people used to speak one language. Sadly, they only cared about making themselves great instead of trusting and obeying God. They even thought they could build a tower to heaven on their own, so God caused them to speak different languages so they couldn't communicate and then scattered them over the earth."

"The Tower of Babel!" exclaimed Keisha.

Dad nodded. "But later in the Bible, Jesus tells His disciples to go and tell everyone that He died and rose again to save them from sin. When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, the apostles preached the gospel to a crowd that spoke many different languages, and everyone understood. It was a miracle! And God continues to make a way for people everywhere to hear the good news of Jesus, no matter what language they speak."

"Wow," said Keisha. "I can't wait to tell Fatmata about this!"

-Bonnie Carr

How About You?
Did you know that God wants each of us to tell others about Jesus and how much He loves them? You don't have to travel to another country to do that. You can tell your friends, neighbors, and family members. You can invite them to church or youth group so they can learn about Jesus. Trust God to use you wherever you are to help spread the good news of salvation to people all over the world.

Today's Key Verse:
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (NIV) (Matthew 28:19)

Today's Key Thought:
Share the good news with everyone

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

"Mom, can you help me tie a string around my finger?" Abby held out string and a pair of scissors. "I never heard of it before, but Tina's grandma told us she used to tie a string around her finger to help her remember things. So this should help me remember to ask Tina to bring my sweatshirt to school tomorrow."

"All right." Mom smiled as she helped with the string. "Now, I hope you're ready for church. It's time to go."

"I'm ready," said Abby, and they were soon on their way.

When they arrived at church, Abby looked for Tina, but her friend wasn't there. I'll just leave the string on my finger until after church, Abby thought. It will remind me to call Tina when I get home.

That morning, Pastor Gates preached from the book of First Corinthians. "The Lord knows we are a forgetful people," Pastor Gates said. "So He gave us a special way to remind us of what He's done for us." Abby smiled and twisted the string on her finger. "Shortly before Jesus was betrayed, He and His disciples celebrated the Jewish Passover," Pastor Gates continued. "At that time, Jesus established a special meal that we will share together today as a reminder of His sacrifice. We call it the Lord's Supper or communion. The bread reminds us of Jesus's body and how He suffered for us on the cross, and the grape juice reminds us of His blood which was shed for our sins. It's also a reminder that Jesus will return one day to end suffering and death in this world forever."

I know all about needing reminders, Abby thought as she glanced at the string on her finger.

When Abby arrived home from church, she called Tina to tell her she missed her in Sunday school and to remind her to bring the sweatshirt to school with her. "I told her to tie a string around her finger so she wouldn't forget," Abby told her mom. "I'm glad I can take this one off now!" She removed the string from her finger. "I'm glad God gave us a special way to remember what Jesus did for us," she said. "It sure beats wearing a string around your finger!"

-Hazel W. Marett

How About You?
Do you take part in the Lord's Supper--communion--at your church? What do you think about during that time? Are you reminded that Jesus died to take the punishment for your sin? Do you remember that He's coming again to resurrect all Christians so they can live with Him forever? Communion is a special time to remember what Jesus did for us and celebrate the promise of His return.

Today's Key Verse:
[Jesus said,] "Do this in remembrance of Me." (NKJV) (1 Corinthians 11:24)

Today's Key Thought:
Communion is a reminder of Jesus

Bible Reading: 1 John 3:16-18

When Max and his mom walked into their house, their dog, Harry, ran straight to Mom and started rubbing against her ankles. She pet him and Harry flipped onto his back for a tummy rub.

"Harry, come here," said Max. "Come to me!"

But Harry just looked up at Mom with his puppy dog eyes.

"Why does Harry always go to you? He never greets me first," Max complained.

"Max, when we decided to get a dog, you promised to take responsibility for him. But the reality is I do most of the work for Harry, and he knows it."

"He knows I care for him," said Max. "I cuddle him and tell him I love him every day."

"Let's take him on a walk," said Mom.

Max held the leash as Harry trotted down the sidewalk. Harry sniffed around, squatted, and did a doody. "Okay, Mom, it's right there," said Max, pointing.

Mom pulled out a dog doody bag and handed it to Max. "Here you go," she said.

"Me? I don't want to clean up after him! Can't you do it?"

"Max, this is why Harry always comes to me. He knows I'm the one who takes care of him, including doing the dog deeds that are difficult. Like picking up his doody," said Mom.

"You really think he realizes that?" asked Max.

"I think he does. Love isn't just words and cuddles, Max. It's actions. We talked about that at church last week, remember? The Bible tells us to love others through our actions because that's what Jesus did for us. He loved us by sacrificing His life for us, and He fulfills His promise to provide for our needs and take care of us." Mom nodded toward the bag in Max's hand. "You can love Harry by fulfilling your duty to him too."

"Harry, it is my dog duty to clean up your dog doody," said Max in a deep voice, saluting the dog before taking the bag and picking up the doody. "I'll do my dog duty from now on to show you I love you," Max said, patting Harry's head. He grinned at his mom. "And to show you I love you too!"

-Kelly Bakshi

How About You?
Do you show others you care about them? Have you ever volunteered to take on extra chores for your family? Have you offered to help a friend learn something they may be struggling with in school? It's important to tell people you love them, but love is more than just words. It also means doing the hard stuff. Jesus did that for us when He died for our sins. What can you do to show someone you care?

Today's Key Verse:
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (NIV) (1 John 3:18)

Today's Key Thought:
Love others through actions

Bible Reading: John 1:1-14; 1 John 1:5-7

Macy and Noah finished their schoolwork at the table with Mom. Macy read a chapter book while her little brother Noah worked on his alphabet.

Noah pushed away his flashcards. "Are we almost done?" he asked Mom. "I want to go outside and play!"

Macy looked out the window. Clouds darkened the mid-afternoon sky. Leaves swirled off the trees in the gusts of wind. "I don't think we should play outside today."

"Yeah, it looks a little too windy," Mom agreed.

The lights flickered. Then they went out. Darkness surrounded Macy, Noah, and Mom. "Don't worry," Mom said. "It's just the wind. The power will be back on soon."

Macy took a deep breath. She wanted to be brave. She was the big sister. But she hated the way the darkness swallowed her up.

Mom grabbed a flashlight out of the cabinet, then sighed. "Battery's dead."

"Don't we have more?" Macy asked, voice trembling.

"I don't think so."

Noah must have heard the fear in Macy's voice. He took her hand. "It's okay. Jesus is the light."

Macy looked around. Other than the dim light from outside, there was no light to be found. "What do you mean?"

"It's what my Sunday school teacher said." Noah grinned. "Jesus is our light. We can trust Him."

Mom wrapped her arms around them. "Thanks for that reminder, Noah. We can't see God, but He's here. And we can trust Him to lead us, the way a flashlight--if it had batteries--would lead us through this dark house."

Macy closed her eyes. She thought about the dark things Jesus went through because he loved them. She thought about His promise to be with them. Then she said a prayer in her heart. Jesus, can you be my light, even in the darkness?

She opened her eyes. The power didn't come back on--not right away. No light pierced through the darkness.

But she felt Mom and Noah holding her close. And she felt like God was holding her too.

"You're right, Noah," Macy said. "Jesus is my light, and I trust Him."

-Becca Wierwille

How About You?
Do you ever feel like you're surrounded by darkness? Maybe you get nervous when the lights are off. Or maybe there are things going on in your life that feel dark and scary. No matter what, we can trust Jesus to be our light. We can trust Him to be with us, to comfort us, and to love us--even through moments of darkness.

Today's Key Verse:
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. (NKJV) (1 John 1:5)

Today's Key Thought:
Trust God to be your light

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:33-34

Kiana was sorting through her closet with her older sister Bethany. "I outgrew most of my clothes this year," said Kiana. "I'm glad we can give them to someone else who needs new clothes." She peered up at the top of the closet. "Can you see if there's anything up high? I can't reach it."

Bethany reached up and pulled a dusty and crumpled cardboard box off the top shelf. "Hey, what's this?" she asked.

Kiana's eyes lit up. "It's my treasure box."

Bethany inspected the dirty outside of the box and said, "It doesn't look very important. It's falling apart!"

"But it's what's inside that counts!" Kiana exclaimed. "I keep all my most special things in there, like the seashells we found at the beach last summer and the letters you wrote to me while you were away at university."

"Really? That's sweet of you," said Bethany, and she put the box aside on the floor. "I'll make sure we don't give that away."

"Yeah," said Kiana. "It's funny how all those little things are so important, even though they don't look important on the outside."

Bethany nodded. "You know, your box is a bit like one of my favorite Bible verses," she said. "Second Corinthians 4:7 says that knowing Jesus is like having treasure in jars of clay. Jesus died for our sins and then rose to life again, defeating sin and death. He's the greatest treasure of all, and He offers eternal life to anyone who trusts in Him! But we're like jars of clay, which don't look like much on the outside and don't last forever, like your cardboard box."

"But they hold treasure inside!" Kiana smiled.

Bethany snapped her fingers. "That's right! The bodies we have now don't last forever, and all our material things are temporary, but our treasure of life with Jesus is forever because He promises to raise us from the dead one day. It doesn't matter how big our house is or how expensive our clothes are or how much money we have because we hold God's treasure in our hearts. Knowing that, we can be generous with others and share what God's blessed us with. Most of all, that means sharing God's treasure of eternal life."

-Abby Ciona

How About You?
Where do you keep the things that are most important to you? Life isn't about possessions or money or what we have or don't have. What matters most is that we know Jesus and accept His gift of eternal life. Be generous and share the gifts God has given you with others, especially the greatest treasure of all--Jesus.

Today's Key Verse:
We have this treasure from God, but we are only like clay jars that hold the treasure. (ERV) (2 Corinthians 4:7)

Today's Key Thought:
Jesus is the greatest treasure