FAMILY IT! — Wednesday Family Devotion -- "Alien Cultures"

Supplies: Bible; slips of paper with these words: sin, Son of God, crucifixion, salvation, the Gospel story

TRY

Let’s play “Alien Charades!”  Your family has just finished dinner when a blindingly bright light appears in your backyard.  You all run out to see two aliens emerging from a spaceship.   They walk up to you holding a picture of Jesus.  While it’s obvious they want to know who this man is, it’s equally obvious they don’t “speak the language.”  Either individually or in teams, have your family take turns acting out the words on the slips of paper.  Remember, these are aliens.  They only have a basic understanding of Earth life from their observations.  How are you going to communicate with them about Jesus?  If you have very young children, ask them to explain what those words mean, or variations of the words.  This is a great opportunity to see how much your child knows about these ideas.

READ

Read Acts 17:16, 19-31.

THINK 

While the scenario from above may seem absurd, Paul found himself in a situation kind of like this. He walked into an “alien” culture not at all like the world he’d grown up in.  These people had never heard of anything like a “one true God.”  To them, “one” and “god” were oxymorons—exact opposites.  But Paul knew they still needed to know about Jesus so they could eventually know Jesus.  It was that passion he had to help these strange Athenians that sparked the creativity he needed to explain Jesus in a meaningful way.

We are surrounded by “alien” cultures.  Everyone has their own background, their own set of values, their own thoughts and ideas on how the world works, and their own opinions about spirituality.  The woman in the office next to yours went to church as a child because her parents wanted some free time.  She thinks Jesus and church are a convenient service, not something that will change her life.  The elderly man across the street went to church until his wife died suddenly in a car accident.  Now he thinks God is mean and punishes people randomly.  Then there’s the guy that sits next to you in math class who has never even heard of Jesus.  His family is from a different country; they’ve never even stepped foot in a church.   With so many different points of view, it can be hard to share the real Jesus in ways that make sense to everybody around us.  But the other option is not to share Him at all…and that’s really not an option.

APPLY

Take some time and talk as a family about the different points of view you come across.  How do your neighbors talk about Jesus?  What about your coworkers?  Your friends at school?  Who do they think He is?  What confuses them about Him?  Now brainstorm ways you can explain or share Jesus that would address these needs.  If one of those individuals showed up in your backyard with a picture of Jesus and a lot of questions, what would you say?  Share your approach with the rest of your family.  Imagine the difference you might be able to make by translating Jesus’ message of love and forgiveness into the “alien” languages around you! 

PRAY

Jesus, we thank You for Your gift of grace and we praise You knowing that this gift is for everyone.  Jesus, would You help us share about You and Your love with the people around us.  Give us the right approach, the right words to speak in ways our friends and neighbors will understand.  Use us, Jesus, to draw people closer to You.  In Your holy name we pray, Amen.

REPLY

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