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The Man with the Withered Hand

Parenting Affirmations:  I love being a parent.  Psalms 128,  I make my home a haven for my kids.  Romans 12:18, Galatians 5:22-23

READ IT
9 Going on from that place, Jesus went into their synagogue. 10 A man with a weak and twisted hand was there. The Pharisees were trying to accuse Jesus of a crime. So they asked him, “Does the Law allow us to heal on the Sabbath day?”  11 He said to them, “What if one of your sheep falls into a pit on the Sabbath day? Won’t you take hold of it and lift it out? 12 A person is worth more than sheep! So the Law allows us to do good on the Sabbath day.”  13 Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out. It had been made as good as new. It was just as good as the other hand. 14 But the Pharisees went out and planned how to kill Jesus.  Matthew 12:9-14

DISCUSS IT
  • What is the sabbath?  (a day set aside weekly to worship God and focus on all He has done for us)
  • Does our family observe Sabbath?  Why or why not?
  • Where did the idea of Sabbath come from?  (Exodus 20:8-11- the Ten Commandments)
  • Why was observing the Sabbath so important to Jewish people?
  • When we look closer at the real lesson in this Scripture we see that the Pharisees were setting Jesus up to fail.  What did Jesus do to help teach everyone?  (Taught a parable about sheep.)
  • What can we learn from this parable? (People matter every day. Religion is never an excuse for doing wrong.  Doing good isn’t work.)
  • What would it look like for our family to "rest" in God instead of always working all the time or staying busy with sports or other activities?

FAMILY ACTIVITY
Doing good isn’t reserved for Sabbath days.  We can do good always and show people they matter.  Brainstorm as a family a way that your family can be part of doing good for someone.  Is there an older neighbor or church member who could use a home cooked meal and short visit?  Is there a family from school that you would like to get to know better and invite to church or small group?  Is there someone at work who could use a little extra special at-a-boy?  How can your family help you encourage that person? (a card from your family with notes from everyone)  Jesus did something extra special for the man in our story today to show everyone God’s power and love.  How can you love someone where God gets credit?
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