Dear Parents, Everyone gets sick at some point in his or her lifetime ... often many times! Illness is probably no stranger to your kids. In today's Bible story, Naamana commander for the Syrian armywas really sick. He had leprosy, a skin disease that was likely disfiguring and isolating. Without a cure, Naaman would face great suffering. But help came from an...

Dear Parents, The prophet Elijah had just witnessed God's great display of power over the false god Baal. God had sent fire from heaven and then ended a long drought with a great rain. Elijah must have felt a sense of victory; the evil King Ahab could not deny the one true God. But trouble awaited Elijah in the form of Ahab's wife, Jezebel. When Jezebel heard...

Dear Parents, This week, we continue in the big story of the Bible by learning about the contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal. King Ahab was an evil king. In fact, "Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel than all the kings of Israel who were before him" (1 Kings 16:33). The things that Ahab did made God angry. God wanted His people to be fa...

Dear Parents, The wise men were magi. Their study of the stars led them to Judea to find and worship Jesus, the newborn King. Before they found Jesus, though, the wise men met King Herod. God had promised the Jewish people a new king one who would save them from their enemies. King Herod was not that king. Imagine how he felt when he heard about a new king in...

Dear Parents, Do you think it was just by chance that Caesar Augustus called for a census? Did it just so happen that Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehemthe very place the Messiah was prophesied to be born? (Micah 5:2) God is in control of all things, which He showed by using a pagan emperor to bring about His plan. After Jesus was born, Mary laid Him...

Dear Parents, People had been waiting a long time for Jesus. God hinted at His coming in the garden of Eden when He promised a seed to conquer the serpent. (Gen. 3:15) The prophets told of His coming hundreds of years before His birth. God was working out His plan to bring His people back to Himself. In the Bible, God sometimes used angels to communicate His ...

Dear Parents, When Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He told them, "These are My words that I spoke to you while I was still with youthat everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled" (Luke 24:44). How does the Book of Psalms point us to Jesus? While the book does contain some implicit Messianic ...

Dear Parents, The story of Job helps believers see God alone is all-powerful, sovereign, and good. Job's story is one all people can relate to, as everyone will suffer in his or her lifetime. God's dialogue with Job reveals His characteristics clearly. "Have you ever in your life commanded the morning or assigned the dawn its place?" (Job 38:12) God is all-po...

Dear Parents, What is the point? This doesn't make any sense! Why am I here? What is the meaning of life? Do I have purpose? Most people wrestle with these thoughts at some point; even wise King Solomon did. Thoughts like these are recorded in the Biblein the Book of Ecclesiastes. God made Solomon a wise king. He ruled over Israel for over 40 years. He wrote ...

Dear Parents, King Solomon loved God. He received wisdom from the Lord and was dedicated to building His temple. But early on, we see hints that Solomon's heart was not completely devoted to God. He married foreign wives who turned Solomon's heart away from God. (1 Kings 11:4) Solomon gradually abandoned what he had believed. Israel had a history of turning a...