Welcome to Dinner: Lent Family Devotions for the Week of March 20

From transfiguration.org

BIG IDEA: Jesus calls us to be welcoming to those around us and show hospitality (a little different take on the feeding of the 5000+)

OPENING DISCUSSION
- Tell me about a time when you felt left out. A time when your friends were doing something and they didn’t invite you.
- How did it make you feel?
- Today we are going to read about a time when Jesus’ disciples weren’t very welcoming and wanted to leave people out

THE STORY

Set the scenario for your kids
- You are one of Jesus’ disciples and you love alone time with him
- You are tired of always having to share Jesus with the thousands of people who follow him everyday
- Have the close their eyes and picture what it would be like to be one of Jesus’ disciples as you read the story

Read Matthew 14:13-21

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- When it was dinner time and all the people were hungry, what did the disciples want Jesus to do?
- Were they being selfish or unselfish with Jesus?
- What did Jesus do?
- How do you think this made the disciples’ feel?
- Why do you think Jesus fed all the people? (he wanted everyone to feel included in the meal, not just the disciples)
- How do you think we as a family can be welcoming like Jesus was?
- Who are some people in our life who need some special love?
- How can we welcome them into what our family does?

CLOSE IN PRAYER
- Close in prayer for the people in your life who need to be welcomed into your family life

SNAPSHOT

- Take a picture of your family sitting down for dinner for the collage at the end of the Lent season

Here’s a link to the Family Lent Devotions for 2012