Bible Reading: Psalm 32:1-5 Gideon was busily sweeping the garage when his dad pulled into the driveway. “Hi, Gideon,” Dad said. “What’s going on?” “TJ has chickenpox,” Gideon announced, putting the broom away. “And you?” Dad arched his eyebrows. He knew that when Gideon did work without being asked, it usually meant he had done…
Bible Reading: Isaiah 61:10; Revelation 19:5-9</a > Olive and Elliot were excited about the costume party their youth group was going to have. There was going to be a prize for the best homemade character costume. “I hope I win first prize,” Olive said as she worked on her princess costume. She showed Elliot a…
Bible Reading: Romans 1:15-16 Rodrigo stood in his front yard, tossing a baseball into the air. He grinned as his friend pulled up on his bike. “Hey, Damon!” “Hey!” Damon stopped and kicked the bike stand into place. He handed Rodrigo a small present. “Happy birthday!” “Thanks!” Rodrigo grinned. “I also got this new mitt…
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…
Bible Reading: Romans 5:17-21; 8:16-17 “We won! We won!” shouted August as he dashed into the house. “Our team won the archery competition at school today, and look what I got!” He held out a blue first-prize ribbon. “That’s great!” said Mom. “And you’re always saying you’re no good at archery. How many points did…
Bible Reading: Ezekiel 18:30-32; John 14:1-6 “Oh no!” exclaimed Uncle Dave as he noticed a road sign. “I was so busy talking that I missed the turnoff to the lake—about five miles back. I shouldn’t have muted my phone.” Zeke looked at the map on Uncle Dave’s phone. “According to this, if we stay on…
Bible Reading: Romans 8:35-39 Cooper slumped down in his chair and pushed apple slices around on his plate. His mom noticed his discouraged look. “You’ve had a pretty crummy week, haven’t you?” she said. Cooper nodded. In just one week, he had argued with his best friend, gotten detention for disrupting class, and had to…
Bible Reading: Galatians 6:7-10 “Everything looks delicious,” said Miguel’s dad as the family began to eat. There was a twinkle in his eye as he added, “Please pass the watermelon, Miguel.” Miguel paused with his fork halfway to his mouth. “Watermelon?” he asked, looking around. “What watermelon?” “Right there in that bowl in front of…
Bible Reading: Hebrews 9:11-15 “Yuck!” Haven watched her mom dump water from their carpet cleaner into the large sink in their mud room. “That’s disgusting! Was all that dirt really in our carpet?” Mom nodded. “It was,” she said. “I’m going to go over the carpet as many times as I need to until the…
Bible Reading: Matthew 23:25-28 “Mom, I got it!” announced Eva after school one day. “Got what?” asked her brother Ben. “Is it contagious?” He moved to the other side of the room, pretending to be afraid of her. Eva gave him a scornful look and held up a book. The picture on the jacket showed…
