Fully Alive Family Devotional - Week 19

Opening Prompt 

Tell me what you learned about God this week?

Let me share with you what I learned about God this week…

Focus: Jesus makes us new, so we should not live the old way anymore.

• Tell: Tell your kids about something in your life that Jesus has changed. It could be your attitude, your words, your anger, your selfishness, or the way you treat others.
• Share: Share how following Jesus is more than just knowing Bible facts. Jesus changes our hearts and teaches us to live differently.
• Ask: What is one thing Jesus wants to help you change?

Read this Scripture with your family:

Ephesians 4:17-32 

“17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Talk about this devotional thought:

When someone trusts in Jesus, they are not supposed to keep living the exact same way they did before. The Bible says that we are a “new creation” because of what Jesus has done for us. Before Jesus changes us, we naturally get angry, hold grudges, use hurtful words, ultimately we sin. But Jesus changes our hearts. We can begin to live in a new way. We can speak truth, show kindness, forgive others, and honor God with our words and actions. Jesus does not just want better behavior on the outside. He changes people from the inside out. 

Questions to Ask 

• What does it mean to “put off” the old self?
• What are some old ways of living that do not please God?
• What are some new ways Jesus wants us to live?
• Why do you think forgiveness is so important?

(Tip for parents: Let kids answer freely. There’s no rush to correct everything. The goal is conversation, not perfection.)

Prayer

Dear God, thank You for making us new in Jesus. Help us put off sin and everything that doesn’t honor you. Help me put on kindness, truth, and forgiveness. 

Monthly Memory Verse 

Ephesians 4:32 

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”