JOIN THE JOURNEY JR.
Families Abiding in Jesus together
With shorter reading assignments and kid-specific focus areas, Join The Journey Jr. is designed to help parents disciple their kids and engage with Scripture in the best ways for their age.
This month's memory verse
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
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And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.
Acts of the Apostles 4
Peter and John before the Council
1While Peter and John were speaking to the people, they were confronted by the priests, the captain of the Temple guard, and some of the Sadducees. 2These leaders were very disturbed that Peter and John were teaching the people that through Jesus there is a resurrection of the dead. 3They arrested them and, since it was already evening, put them in jail until morning. 4But many of the people who heard their message believed it, so the number of men who believed now totaled about 5,000.
5The next day the council of all the rulers and elders and teachers of religious law met in Jerusalem. 6Annas the high priest was there, along with Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and other relatives of the high priest. 7They brought in the two disciples and demanded, “By what power, or in whose name, have you done this?”
8Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, 9are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? 10Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene,* the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. 11For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
‘The stone that you builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.’*
12There is salvation in no one else! God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.”
13The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures. They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing right there among them, there was nothing the council could say. 15So they ordered Peter and John out of the council chamber* and conferred among themselves.
16“What should we do with these men?” they asked each other. “We can’t deny that they have performed a miraculous sign, and everybody in Jerusalem knows about it. 17But to keep them from spreading their propaganda any further, we must warn them not to speak to anyone in Jesus’ name again.” 18So they called the apostles back in and commanded them never again to speak or teach in the name of Jesus.
19But Peter and John replied, “Do you think God wants us to obey you rather than him? 20We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.”
21The council then threatened them further, but they finally let them go because they didn’t know how to punish them without starting a riot. For everyone was praising God 22for this miraculous sign—the healing of a man who had been lame for more than forty years.
The Believers Pray for Courage
23As soon as they were freed, Peter and John returned to the other believers and told them what the leading priests and elders had said. 24When they heard the report, all the believers lifted their voices together in prayer to God: “O Sovereign Lord, Creator of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—25you spoke long ago by the Holy Spirit through our ancestor David, your servant, saying,
‘Why were the nations so angry?
Why did they waste their time with futile plans?
26The kings of the earth prepared for battle;
the rulers gathered together
against the Lord
and against his Messiah.’*
27“In fact, this has happened here in this very city! For Herod Antipas, Pontius Pilate the governor, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, your holy servant, whom you anointed. 28But everything they did was determined beforehand according to your will. 29And now, O Lord, hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. 30Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
31After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they preached the word of God with boldness.
We are going even deeper with our scuba gear as we swim through the depths of God’s Word!
God created everything in the entire universe. Everything you can see with your eyes and even the things you cannot see. God made humans in a perfect relationship with God. But we sinned and disobeyed God and our relationship is broken! But God sent Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to redeem us and put us back into a relationship with him. This is why Jesus Christ came to earth! He died for all of our sin and now we, through faith, can be forgiven and love and know God.
The truth is that although this good news of the Gospel is in our hearts, not everyone you see believes this. Some don’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, which means they haven’t been saved from the consequences of their sins. While we are called to share the Good News of Jesus, people don’t always want to hear about him. In those situations, it can be scary to share your faith. But it doesn’t have to be!
God, in his love and kindness, has given us the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and makes us bold for Jesus Christ even though we might get nervous. We should follow the pattern of apostles Peter and John. After the Jewish leaders threatened them, they went back to their friends and instead of hiding, they prayed! They prayed to God! They prayed together as one, saying, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,” (Acts 4:29). Peter and John knew God would hear their prayers and give them boldness to proclaim the Gospel to those around them. We can also pray for boldness, especially when talking about Jesus isn’t the popular thing to do. The Holy Spirit is sure to give it to us just as he did to these apostles!
Spend 5 minutes thinking about the people you have talked to about Jesus. Were they open to hearing about him? Did you have any fear talking about Jesus with them?
Review the Three Circles Gospel. Practicing how we share the Gospel can help us be confident when we are actually sharing it with someone who doesn’t know Jesus! Take turns saying the Three Circles Gospel story to your family.
Pray together that God will give you boldness to share your faith with other kids who don’t know Jesus. Pray that the Holy Spirit will give you courage and help you speak clearly. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help the other person have a soft heart and want to hear about the Good News of Jesus.