Loving God as a Family Lesson Four

Loving God as a Family

God is Our Protector


Read: Daniel 6:1-23
Questions for Discussion:
Why was Daniel sent to the lions’ den?
How did Daniel survive in the lions’ den?
How did the king react when he heard that Daniel was safe?
How can you rely on God to protect you like Daniel?
How does God protect you?

As a family take a car ride around town. As you drive, discuss the safety features of the car (bumpers, lights, windshield wipers, airbags, seat belts and so on). Talk about the different things that the car is protecting you from (invisible things like wind, natural element, other drivers and the like). Compare all of the things that our car has to protect us from things that we never even think about to the way that God is constantly protecting us from things that we see, and things that we don’t. End your car ride with a treat, stop for ice-cream, candy, play together at the park or a visit to a friend.

Key Thought: Like Daniel, we face scary situations in which we need God’s help and protection. God helped Daniel when lions surrounded him, and God will help us, too. How awesome and powerful God is! We can rely on God because God is greater than anything we face.

Pray and thank God for his constant protection from difficult situations to all of the things he spares us from that we don’t even know about. Even take time to thank him specifically for things that he has brought your family safely through over the recent months or years.



Activities



Preschool:



Open an umbrella and invite your child to sit with you under it. Pretend together that you are in the middle of a rainstorm by making rain and thunder sound effects. Talk with your child about how an umbrella protects a person from getting wet in a rain storm. Explain that we can trust God to protect us from things that we face too.


Let your child play with a baby doll for a little while, then talk about things that you do to protect a baby. You might even show pictures of them as a baby and talk about the ways you protected them. Explain that just like babies, we need protection from things in the world and that we can trust God to protect us, just like babies rely on their parents.




Lower Elementary:



Help your child create a prayer den by covering two or three chairs with a blanket or sheet. Fill the “den” with stuffed animals that can be a reminder of the lions. Then invite members of the family into the prayer den. Together read Psalm 91:14-15 and pray that God would help you trust him for protection.


Have your child draw a picture that shows a situation in which they would need to trust God to
protect them. Then have them share the picture to the family. You could also challenge them to show the picture to a friend and explain to the friend that they trust God for his protection.




Upper Elementary:



Surf the Internet for fun facts and pictures of lions with your child. Let your child share what they found out about lions before reading the Bible story as a family, to help everyone better understand the harm that God rescued Daniel from. Have your child think of scary things in their life, and then pray and thank God for protecting them from these things.


Have your child spend an afternoon looking after a preschooler or toddler. Working together, make a list of all of the ways that they helped to keep the younger child safe. Compare the list to the ways that God protects them every day.




Teens:



Make a list of house rules. Then, highlight or mark all of the rules on your list that exist to keep you or your family members safe. Compare those rules that your parents have established to the ways that God keeps you safe. Pray and thank God for his protection in your life everyday and that you would trust him.


Using a camera or a camera phone, walk around your house and take pictures of every thing in your house that is designed to keep you or your family safe (you could also make an old-fashion list if you would like). Share the pictures that you took with your family and talk about how they are similar to the ways that God keeps your family safe.