Devotions

Moses and Aaron Devotion & Activities

Bible Background: Exodus 17:8-13

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.”

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

How to Talk to Your Kids:

• Realistically, how long do you think you could hold your arms up in the air like Moses did? Think about how tired your arm gets when you raise your hand in class and your teacher takes a minute to call on you!
• Moses’s arms definitely grew tired too… but when they did, what did his friends do?
• Who are friends or people in your life who support you the way Moses’s friends supported him?
• How can you be like Aaron and Hur (Moses’s friends) this week and help others?

Prayer

• Gracious and loving God, we thank you for our friends who are like Aaron and Hur in our own lives. We thank you for the ways they love and support us, always, especially when we need help. I pray that this week, we could be like Aaron and Hur for our friends too. Help us to be helpers. We love you. Amen.

Activities to go with this:

• Have your children challenge each other to see who can hold their arms up straight in the air the longest-- like Moses did! Have them spread out, stretch their arms, and straighten their elbows all the way up in the air and set a timer. Once the round is over, have them try again but this time they can lean on each other for support. Which one was easier?

Message from Katie Ryan

“Then Jesus told another story: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. That seed is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants.  It becomes big enough for the wild birds to come and build nests in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32

How can the kingdom of heaven start as something so small, so tiny, like a mustard seed? What even is the kingdom of heaven? These questions ran through my brain as I started to write the March Sunday School lessons for our children.

What does God’s kingdom look like? We see here that it starts small, like a mustard seed, “the smallest of all seeds. But when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants.” How can God’s kingdom be small? Maybe because God created because of one small word: love. This small, four letter word grows into something huge, like the small seed grows into a tree that is big enough for the birds to come and build nests in. 

We, like the birds, come into his kingdom for shelter, food, protection. A place to be together and build our homes. We come to the tree for fellowship, to love each other, to serve each other, and to bring others in with us. We come to God’s kingdom to shelter us from the storms. Trees need the wind and rain to help their roots grow deeper as they create a firm foundation. These challenges, they push us to grow deeper in our faith: to stay strong and never lose hope.  

Matthew again brings up the mustard seed in chapter 17, saying “I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there, and it will move. All things will be possible for you.”  Our faith, as small as a mustard seed, can move mountains. If you feel small, lost, or lonely during this time, remember the small mustard seed. You are reading this because you matter, and you are a part of God’s family and our church family. Keep the faith.  You will move mountains.