For Parents
On Sunday, Ps Andy took us to Titus 2:11-14 and showed us that God’s grace does more than forgive us — it also trains us, strengthens us, and changes how we think and live. The big idea is that we belong to God’s family before we ever get our behaviour right, just like kids belong in a family before they learn to empty the dishwasher. That belonging changes everything, shifting us from a fearful, striving, slave-like way of thinking into the freedom of being God’s sons and daughters.
Tip: Aim for about 15 minutes a night, phones face-down, and make sure everyone — kids and grown-ups — gets a turn to answer. You can do one night, two nights, or all three. Each night works on its own.
The Big Idea
God’s grace saves us into his family, and then it trains us to live like we belong there.
Memory Verse
“The grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us… to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.” — Titus 2:11-12
Fun way to learn it: Try a “freeze and say it” challenge. One person reads the verse out loud while everyone else freezes like a statue. Swap who reads it each time. See if anyone can say it from memory by the third night.
Night One
You belong before you behave
Warm Up
Would you rather have a pet that makes a huge mess but is super cuddly, or a pet that is perfectly tidy but never wants a pat? Talk about it for a minute — then ask: does the mess change whether the pet belongs to your family?
Story Time
A long time ago, the people of Israel were stuck in Egypt as slaves. They had to work hard every single day for a mean ruler called Pharaoh, and there was nothing they could do to free themselves. But God heard them crying out, and he rescued them — not because they had earned it or done everything right, but simply because he loved them. He carried them out of Egypt like an eagle carries its chick on its wings. Then God said something beautiful: “You are my treasured possession.” He called them his own people, a holy nation, before they had even learned how to live like his people. You can read this in Exodus 19:3-6.
Talk About It
- Little ones: If you were stuck somewhere scary and couldn’t get out, how would it feel to have someone big and strong come and rescue you?
- Older kids: God called Israel his treasured possession before they got everything right. What does that tell us about why God rescues people?
- Andy talked about how little kids belong in a family before they learn to do chores or behave perfectly. Can you think of a time someone loved you even when you weren’t at your best?
- Grown-ups: Honestly, do you ever feel like you need to earn your place in God’s family? What does tonight’s passage say about that?
Try It
Before bed tonight, find something in your room that belongs to you — a favourite toy, a book, a footy jumper. Hold it and think: this is mine because it belongs to me, not because it does anything for me. Tomorrow at dinner, talk about what that made you think about belonging to God.
Pray Together
Go around the table and let each person finish this sentence out loud: “Thank you God that I belong to you even when I…” Finish with one person saying amen.
Night Two
Slave thinking versus son thinking
Warm Up
Play “slave or son” — Mum or Dad reads out a thought and everyone calls out which one it sounds like. Try these: “I’d better be really good today or God won’t love me.” / “I made a mistake but I can say sorry and God forgives me.” / “I have to do everything myself or it won’t get done.” / “I can trust Dad to help me with this.”
Story Time
After God rescued Israel from Egypt, something strange happened. Even though they were free, the people started grumbling and wishing they could go back to being slaves. It sounds weird, but when you have lived a certain way for a long time, it is hard to think any differently. So God took them through the wilderness — not as punishment, but as training. He wanted to teach them to trust him for food, for water, for everything. He was like a father teaching his kids how to live. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 8:5 that God disciplined Israel the way a father disciplines a son he loves — not to crush them, but to help them grow. Read Titus 2:11-12 together and notice that word: grace teaches us.
Talk About It
- Little ones: Have you ever learned something hard — like riding a bike or swimming — that took lots of practice? Who helped you?
- Older kids: Andy listed some “slave thoughts” like I have to earn my place or I have to hide my mistakes. Do any of those ever pop up in your head? Which ones?
- What is one “son or daughter thought” you could swap in when a scared or striving thought shows up?
- Grown-ups: Which slave-mindset thought do you find hardest to shake — and what is one thing God’s word says that challenges it?
Try It
Grab a piece of paper each. On one side write a “slave thought” that sometimes sneaks into your head. On the other side write what a son or daughter of God would think instead. Stick it on the fridge this week as a reminder.
Pray Together
Each person prays one sentence asking God to swap out one slave thought for a son-or-daughter thought this week. Keep it short and real.
Night Three
Trained for something bigger
Warm Up
Quick question: if you were picked for the greatest team in the world, what is one thing you would want to practise every day to be ready? (Sport, music, cooking — anything goes.) Why does being on an amazing team make you want to train harder?
Story Time
God did not rescue Israel just so they could settle down and relax. He rescued them because he had a job for them — to represent him to the rest of the world, to be a holy nation and a royal priesthood. And thousands of years later, the apostle Peter wrote to Christians and said the exact same thing applies to us: we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession. That is who we are. And back in Titus 2, Paul says that Jesus gave himself to make us his very own people — a people who are eager to do good. Grace saves us, trains us, and sends us. Read Titus 2:11-14 and 1 Peter 2:9 together.
Talk About It
- Little ones: If God picked you for his special team, what kind of things do you think he would want his team to do?
- Older kids: Andy mentioned that Dallas Willard called this “training for reigning” — we are being trained now for what God has for us in eternity. Does that change how you think about the hard stuff you are learning right now?
- Andy asked: how can we reflect God’s grace to someone this week — choosing encouragement over gossip, patience over frustration, forgiveness over bitterness? Who is one person you could show grace to tomorrow?
- Grown-ups: What is one area of your life where you feel God is still doing his training work in you right now?
Try It
Before tomorrow is done, each family member picks one person outside the home — a friend, a neighbour, a classmate, a workmate — and does one small thing to show them grace. It could be a kind word, a text, holding a door, sharing your snack. At dinner tomorrow night, report back on what happened.
Pray Together
Finish the week by going around the table and letting each person thank God for one thing his grace has done in your family. Then one person closes with: “Lord, keep training us to live like we belong to you. Amen.”
