Family Time – Ambassador Family Devotions (Based on 6:4)
Week 4 - “God is a Father”
Daniel J. McCoy
Memory Verse: I John 3:1a – “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called
children of God; and such we are.”
Day 1
Title: Smiling while we Sleep
Scripture: Ps. 68:5
Main Point: God is a Father who protects.
Visual Aide: Something that protects us: a coat which protects us from the cold, safety goggles, an electrical
cord which has a rubber exterior to protect us from the exposed wire, or a smoke detector to protect us from a
fire
Story:
Billy Graham tells the story of a little girl whose father was an airline pilot. As they crossed the Atlantic
Ocean, a storm came up. The flight attendant awakened the little girl and told her to fasten her seatbelt because
they were in for some turbulent weather. The little girl opened her eyes, saw the lightning flashing around the
plane, and asked, “Is Daddy at the controls?” The flight attendant replied, “Yes, your father is in the cockpit.”
The little girl smiled, closed her eyes, and went back to sleep.
One of the jobs of a dad is to protect his children and help them feel safe. He protects them by providing
a house to live in and food to eat. He protects them by not driving recklessly when they’re in the car. He protects
them by not letting them do dangerous things, like playing in the street. He protects them by locking the doors at
night and keeping a fresh battery in the smoke detector. A good dad protects his children. In the same way, God
is a Father who protects us. You can probably think of ways He has protected you in the past. Maybe He has
protected you from some physical danger. Maybe He has protected you by providing food even when money was
tight. And we all know that everyday, He protects us from the most cruel enemy of all, Satan, who wants to lead us
away from God. God is a Father who protects His children. Psalm 121:7-8 says, “The Lord will protect you from all
evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and
forever.” And because God is a Father who protects us, we can sleep at night with a smile on our faces.
Question: In what ways does God protect us?
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that you protect us and watch over us.
Day 2
Title: Blowing Comfort
Scripture: II Cor. 1:3-4
Main Point: God is a Father who comforts.
Visual Aide: A rough wooden surface and/or a pair of tweezers
Story:
What are some things that are small and annoying? And don’t you dare say, “My little brother.” Maybe
mosquitoes. Maybe tics. Maybe little barking ankle-biting dogs (I’m sorry if I just offended someone). Well, I can
think of few things as small and annoying as splinters. You run your hand along some wooden surface, maybe across
a picnic table, minding your own business, when all of a sudden, “Ow!” You’ve got a tiny splinter in your finger,
shooting pain through your entire arm. Now, what do you use to get those nasty splinters out of your finger?
That’s right—the dreaded tweezers. When I would get a splinter, Dad would sterilize the tweezers and then take
my hand and start poking and pinching and pulling until he finally got a hold of the nasty splinter. Keep in mind that
my hand is already throbbing from the splinter, and the pinching from the tweezers isn’t helping me feel any
better. So, I would say, “Oh, Dad! Stop; it hurts!” And Dad could have said, “Pipe down, you little sissy.” But he
didn’t. Dad would always do something that I’ll never forget. When he saw that I was in pain, he would gently blow
on the splinter wound. And though it still hurt, Dad made it feel better.
Now, I want you to take the picture of Dad blowing on my splinter wound and put one word under the
picture, the word “comfort.” When I was hurting, Dad didn’t ignore my pain. He comforted me. That’s the kind of
Father that God is. He’s the kind of God who comforts us when we are hurting. II Cor. 1:3-4a says, “Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all
our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction.” That doesn’t mean that we won’t
go through hurtful times; it means that when we do hurt, God our Father will be with us, comforting us through the
pain.
Question: What are some times when Mom or Dad have comforted you when you were hurting? Can you think of
any times when God might have comforted you when you were down?
Prayer: God, we thank you for those times when we are hurting and you comfort us.
Day 3
Title: The Beauty of a Yardstick
Scripture: Proverbs 3:11-12
Main Point: God is a Father who disciplines.
Visual Aide: A yardstick or a paddle
Story:
Think about all the objects you have in your house (television, kitchen table, toys). Start listing your
favorite objects in your house. Look around you right now. What object in your house are you most thankful for?
Is it something you got for Christmas? Is it a warm bed to sleep in? Is it a video game? Is it the refrigerator?
Once you have told what your favorite object in your house is, let me tell you about one of the objects that was in
my house when I was growing up. And when I tell you what it is, you’re going to think I’m crazy for being so
thankful for it. But I’m very thankful for it. It was a yardstick—a plain, 3 feet long, brown yardstick. Why am I
thankful that we had a yardstick? It’s because when I was growing up, that’s what Dad used to spank me with when
I was disobedient. Did I like the yardstick at the time? Absolutely not! Sometimes, my brothers and I would even
hide the yardstick from Dad! But now, looking back, I am thankful for that yardstick we used to have. Why?
Because when I told a lie and got spanked for it, it helped me stop telling lies and start telling the truth. When I
smarted off to my mom and got spanked for it, it helped me become more respectful toward my mom. So when Dad
spanked us kids, it was not because he enjoyed disciplining us. It was because he loved us and wanted us to grow up
to become adults with good character. He disciplined us because he loved us.
That’s the kind of Father that God is. God is a Father who cares about the way you and I turn out. He
doesn’t want us to end up making unwise, wrong choices. He wants us to grow up to have good character—being
honest, respectful, and obedient. So God is a Father who disciplines us. So, when you make a wrong choice, like
telling a lie, God may let you suffer the consequence, such as getting in trouble for telling the lie. That’s God’s way
of disciplining you. Proverbs 3:11-12 (NIV) says, “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent His
rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those He loves, as a father the son he delights in.” So when you get
disciplined for making a wrong choice, don’t get upset. Be thankful, because God cares how you turn out.
Question: Why can we be thankful when we are disciplined?
Prayer: Lord, help us to be thankful when we are disciplined.
Day 4
Title: The Gifts that Last
Scripture: Matt. 7:11
Main Point: God is a Father who gives.
Visual Aide: A handheld electronic game or any gift you have that has become less valuable to you over the years
Story:
Think about a gift you received a few years back—maybe a Christmas gift or a birthday gift. As the years
go by, does that gift become more valuable or less valuable? In other words, as the years go by, do you appreciate
that gift more, or do you forget that it’s there? Let me tell you about two gifts my dad has given me through the
years. One year, I really wanted the brand new handheld electronic Jeopardy game (don’t ask me why). Well, Dad
got it for me, and as soon as I unwrapped it, I popped the batteries in and started playing it. The first question
was probably something like, “What was the middle name of the queen who ruled in England from 1870-1882?” Who
cares about that? The next question was probably something like, “What was the favorite hobby of the wife of
the winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1809?” Bored to tears, I think I ended up selling the game in a garage sale. So,
did that electronic game become more valuable or less valuable as time went on? It became less valuable. Another
year, Dad got me something I hadn’t even asked for—a desk. And so up in my room, I would sit at my desk and
draw pictures. A few years later, I would be sitting at my desk writing poetry. And then another few years, and
I’d be at my desk writing songs. Nowadays, I sit at the same desk and write sermons. In fact, guess where I’m
sitting right now as I write this family devotion. That’s right—I’m at the same desk Dad gave me. Now, what do
you think—has my desk become more valuable or less valuable as time has gone by? More valuable—no question
about it.
Now God is a Father who loves to give His children gifts. In Matt. 7:11, Jesus tells His disciples, “If you
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give
what is good to those who ask Him?” God loves to give gifts to His children. So what sort of gifts should we ask
God for? Not gifts that become less valuable with time—you know, stuff (like an IPod or the latest version of
Guitar Hero). We should ask for gifts that never lose their value. We can ask God for wisdom in knowing how to
make hard decisions. We can ask God for patience when people annoy us. We can ask for courage when we’re
afraid. Those are the kinds of gifts that never lose their value. Those are the kinds of gifts God loves to give.
Question: What are some gifts we should ask God for (gifts that never lose their value)?
Prayer: Lord, we pray for…(fill in the blank with some of the gifts that you answered the question with—wisdom,
patience, courage, etc.)
Day 5
Title: I Want This One
Scripture: Romans 8:15-16
Main Point: God is a Father who adopts.
Visual Aide: A picture of a man, perhaps somebody in the family; you could say, “Can you imagine never knowing
your dad, and the only way you could ever see him is in a picture of him?”
Story:
Lee Strobel tells a story about a Korean girl who lived with her mom and had never met her dad. One day
her mom abandoned her, leaving her alone in the dirty streets. For two years, this little girl struggled to stay
warm and find food to eat. She finally made her way to an orphanage where other boys and girls stayed who didn’t
have moms and dads. One day an American couple visited the orphanage; they were going to adopt one of the
children there and take him or her back to America to be their child. Of course the little girl, who had lice in her
hair and sickness in her body, knew that the American couple would pick any of the other children over her. But
when the man saw her out of the corner of his eye, he came over, stooped down, gently stroked her hair, and said,
“I want this one.” And she became their beloved daughter.
God is like the father in the story. He looks at us and says, “I want this one to be my child.” And if we
allow Jesus to be our Savior, then we become part of God’s family; we become His beloved sons and daughters. I
John 3:1a says, “See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and
such we are.” If Jesus is your Savior, then congratulations! God is your Father, and you are His beloved child!
Question: What would it be like to be the child of a President? What would it be like to be the child of a king?
How does it make you feel that our awesome God wants you to be His child?
Prayer: Lord, we are forever thankful that You chose us to be Your children.