Family Devotional: Saved Like Them
One faith talk this week is an absolute WIN!

Anton Brown • Senior Pastor
September 13, 2026

4 Minute Read

Family Devotional: Saved Like Them

This week the page grows out of "Saved Like Them," from Acts 15:1–21. The heart of it is this: God saves everyone the same way, by His kindness in Jesus, and nobody gets in through a different door. Some believers wanted to add one more requirement before God would accept people who were brand new, and Peter stood up and said that he himself would be saved in exactly the same way those new believers were. That is the picture your table will be sitting with this week. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week's devotion.

Saved Like Them

Family Devotional · Acts 15:1–21 · September 13, 2026

This page works two ways: as one ten-minute sitting at the table, or as five short Monday-to-Friday steps from the same page. There is no wrong way.

This week's Big Idea

God saves everyone the same way, by His kindness in Jesus. Nobody gets in a different way.

Memory verse

"we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." Acts 15:11 (ESV)

1. READ

Read Acts 15:7–11 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week.

Monday: verse 7. God chose to have the good news spoken to people far away.

Tuesday: verse 8. God knows the heart, and He gave them His Spirit.

Wednesday: verse 9. God made no difference between us and them, and He made their hearts clean by faith.

Thursday: verse 10. Do not lay a load on people that nobody has ever been able to carry.

Friday: verse 11. We will be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just like them.

2. THINK

Some people said you had to add one more thing before God would take you. Peter stood up and said no. God made their hearts clean by faith, not by anything they brought. Jesus did all of the work on the cross, so the only way anyone comes to God is with empty hands.

3. TALK

You do not need to ask them all.

For young children: Peter said God made their hearts clean. Can you make your own heart clean? Who can do that?

For school-age children: Why do you think people wanted to add one more rule before God would accept somebody new? What rule do we sometimes add?

For teens: Peter had walked with Jesus and preached to thousands, and he still said he would be saved in exactly the same way as brand new believers with no history at all. Where do you quietly count on your record, your family, your church, or your behavior, to make you okay with God? What would it mean to trust Jesus instead of that record?

For the whole table: What is one thing we could stop expecting a new person to be like, so that they can just come and meet Jesus?

4. DO

Do this: Fill a backpack with heavy books. Let each person wear it for a moment and name one rule they think they have to keep to make God happy with them. Then take it off together and say out loud, "Jesus carried it."

Another way to do this: Write or draw one of those rules on a slip of paper, crumple it up, and drop it in a bowl in the middle of the table. Read the memory verse over the bowl, then throw the papers away together.

5. PRAY

Father, thank You that You know our hearts and that You make hearts clean by faith in Jesus. Please save each person at this table who does not yet belong to You, and grow the ones who do. Keep us from adding anything to what Jesus finished. Give us the same grace You gave them. In Jesus' name, Amen.

6. SING

All I Have Is Christ. The whole sermon is that nobody brings anything to God but empty hands, and this hymn says exactly that. If no one wants to sing, read the first verse out loud instead.


One faith talk this week is a win.

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September 13, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Family Devotional: Saved Like Them
Family Devotional: Saved Like Them This week the page grows out of "Saved Like Them," from Acts 15:1–21. The heart of it is this: God saves everyone the same way, by His kindness in Jesus, and nobody gets in through a different door. Some believers wanted to add one more requirement before God would accept people who were brand new, and Peter stood up and said that he himself would be saved in exactly the same way those new believers were. That is the picture your table will be sitting with this week. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week's devotion. Saved Like Them Family Devotional · Acts 15:1–21 · September 13, 2026 This page works two ways: as one ten-minute sitting at the table, or as five short Monday-to-Friday steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. This week's Big Idea God saves everyone the same way, by His kindness in Jesus. Nobody gets in a different way. Memory verse "we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will." Acts 15:11 (ESV) 1. READ Read Acts 15:7–11 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week. Monday: verse 7. God chose to have the good news spoken to people far away. Tuesday: verse 8. God knows the heart, and He gave them His Spirit. Wednesday: verse 9. God made no difference between us and them, and He made their hearts clean by faith. Thursday: verse 10. Do not lay a load on people that nobody has ever been able to carry. Friday: verse 11. We will be saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus, just like them. 2. THINK Some people said you had to add one more thing before God would take you. Peter stood up and said no. God made their hearts clean by faith, not by anything they brought. Jesus did all of the work on the cross, so the only way anyone comes to God is with empty hands. 3. TALK You do not need to ask them all. For young children: Peter said God made their hearts clean. Can you make your own heart clean? Who can do that? For school-age children: Why do you think people wanted to add one more rule before God would accept somebody new? What rule do we sometimes add? For teens: Peter had walked with Jesus and preached to thousands, and he still said he would be saved in exactly the same way as brand new believers with no history at all. Where do you quietly count on your record, your family, your church, or your behavior, to make you okay with God? What would it mean to trust Jesus instead of that record? For the whole table: What is one thing we could stop expecting a new person to be like, so that they can just come and meet Jesus? 4. DO Do this: Fill a backpack with heavy books. Let each person wear it for a moment and name one rule they think they have to keep to make God happy with them. Then take it off together and say out loud, "Jesus carried it." Another way to do this: Write or draw one of those rules on a slip of paper, crumple it up, and drop it in a bowl in the middle of the table. Read the memory verse over the bowl, then throw the papers away together. 5. PRAY Father, thank You that You know our hearts and that You make hearts clean by faith in Jesus. Please save each person at this table who does not yet belong to You, and grow the ones who do. Keep us from adding anything to what Jesus finished. Give us the same grace You gave them. In Jesus' name, Amen. 6. SING All I Have Is Christ. The whole sermon is that nobody brings anything to God but empty hands, and this hymn says exactly that. If no one wants to sing, read the first verse out loud instead. One faith talk this week is a win.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

September 6, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
Family Devotional: God Did It!
Family Devotional: God Did It! Dear Mayflower families, Mayflower families, this page is our weekly Family Devotional. It is one page, built from Sunday's sermon, so the table sits with the same Word the pulpit preached. A parent can lead it cold. You don't need training, and you don't need to prep. Use it as one ten-minute sitting, or walk it Monday through Friday as five short steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. One faith talk this week is a win. This week the table sits with God Did It!, from Acts 14:24-28. Sunday's Big Idea in plain words: God is the one who did the work. Paul and Barnabas were the friends who went with Him. You will sit with a locked door, a long road home, and a God who opens the way in. Released Sundays at 2pm through Planning Center / Church Center. [BRACKETS: Anton, paste the Church Center link if you want one here.] Pastor Anton This week's Big Idea God is the one who did it. We get to go with Him. Memory verse "he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles." Acts 14:27 (ESV) 1. READ Read Acts 14:24-28 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week. Monday: verses 24-25. They walk the road and speak the word. Tuesday: verse 26. They had been handed to God's grace, and the work was finished. Wednesday: verse 27a. They gather the church and tell what God had done with them. Thursday: verse 27b. God opened a door of faith. Friday: verse 28. They stayed with the disciples for a long time. 2. THINK Paul and Barnabas did not come home to talk about themselves. They told the church what God had done. God finished the work. God opened the door. Jesus said, "I am the door." We cannot open the door of faith from the outside. God opens it, and we come in by trusting Jesus. 3. TALK You do not need to ask them all. For young children: If a door is locked, can you open it from the porch? Who has to open it? For school-age children: Why did Paul and Barnabas talk about God instead of talking about how brave they were? For teens: Where have you finished something hard and then made yourself the hero of the story? What would it mean to trust Christ as the One who opens the door, not just to try harder at being humble? For the whole table: What is one thing God did this week that we will report with God as the subject? 4. DO Do this: At the table tonight, each person names one real thing God did this week. Start the sentence with "God," not "I." Then thank Him out loud. Another way to do this: Draw a simple door and write "God opened it" on the door. Each person writes or draws one gift from this week on a slip of paper and slides it under the door. Read the slips together on Friday. 5. PRAY Father, thank You that You finished the work, and that Jesus is the Door. Save our children. Teach this family to report You, not ourselves. Open the door of faith for anyone at this table still standing on the porch. In Jesus' name, Amen. One faith talk this week is a win.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

August 30, 2026 • 4 Minute Read
Family Devotional: Darkness Blinded Him
This page is our weekly Family Devotional. It is one page, built from Sunday's sermon, so the table sits with the same Word the pulpit preached. A parent can lead it cold. You do not need training and you do not need to prep. Use it as one ten-minute sitting, or walk it Monday through Friday as five short steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. One faith talk this week is a win. This week the table sits with Darkness Blinded Him, from 1 John 2:9-11. Sunday's Big Idea in plain words: a person can talk about the light and still be blind, because hatred has already done something to his eyes. You will sit with a dark hallway, a claim that did not help, and Jesus--the Light who opens eyes and sends us to our brothers and sisters. Pastor Anton This page can work two ways: as one ten-minute sitting at the table, or as five short Monday-to-Friday steps from the same page. There is no wrong way. This week's Big Idea A person can say he walks in the light and still be in the dark, because hatred has already blinded his eyes. Memory verse "Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness." 1 John 2:9 (ESV) 1. READ Read 1 John 2:9-11 out loud. Stay on this one passage all week. Monday: verse 9. The man who says he is in the light. Tuesday: verse 9 again. The word still. Wednesday: verse 10. The one who loves his brother remains in the light. Thursday: verse 11. He walks in the dark and does not know where he is going. Friday: verse 11 again. Because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 2. THINK John is not telling us to be nicer. He is showing us that hatred is a blinding that has already happened. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." He came so that whoever believes in Him would not stay in the dark. Love for our brothers and sisters shows that His light has done its work. It is not how we buy the light. 3. TALK Pick the questions that fit your table. You do not need to ask them all. For young children: What happens if you walk through the house at night and never turn on a light? For school-age children: Why is saying "I am in the light" not the same thing as loving your brother? For teens: Where have you learned Christian words while quietly deciding you have no use for someone Christ calls your brother or sister? What would it mean to come to Christ the Light instead of managing that contempt? For the whole table: Who is one person we will ask God to help us love this week, and what is one thing love would actually do? 4. DO Do this: Name one brother or sister in the church you have walked past. Pray for that person by name at the table. Then do one concrete kindness for them this week (a message, a meal, a visit, a word). Another way to do this: Draw a simple picture of a dark hallway and a bright lamp. Write one person's name near the lamp. Ask God together to help you love that person, then place the picture where the family will see it. 5. PRAY Father, thank You that Jesus is the Light of the world, and that He came so we would not remain in darkness. Save our children. Give this family a real love for the brothers and sisters You have given us. Open any eyes hatred has shut, and keep us from managing contempt. In Jesus' name, Amen. One faith talk this week is a win.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

August 22, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
The Kingdom Road: Family Devotional
Dear Mayflower family, Here is this week's Family Devotional, ready for your table. If this is your first time opening one, welcome. It is a single page that takes the sermon we just heard on Sunday and brings it home, so the Word preached in the pew and the Word talked over at dinner are the same Word. You do not need to be a teacher or know your Bible cold to lead it. You can do the whole page in about ten minutes in one sitting, or take one small step a night, Monday through Friday. There is no wrong way. One unhurried faith talk this week is a win. This week the page grows out of "The Kingdom Road," from Acts 14:19-23. The heart of it is this: the road into God's kingdom goes through hard things, not around them, and Jesus walked that road first and keeps His people on it all the way home. Paul was stoned and left for dead, and then he got up and walked right back into the city, because the God who saves us also holds on to us. That is the picture your table will be sitting with this week. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week's page. Pastor Anton This week's Big Idea: The road into God's kingdom goes through hard things, not around them. But Jesus walked that road first, and He holds on to His people the whole way home. Memory verse for the week: "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22) Say it together at the start of each time you gather. By Friday, see who can say it without looking. 1. READ (start here every time) This week's passage: Acts 14:19-23 (ESV). Read it out loud together. With young children, read it once slowly. With older children and teens, read it and then ask what stood out. If you are taking one step a night, read a short slice each evening: Monday, Acts 14:19, a mob stones Paul and drags him out of the city; Tuesday, Acts 14:20, the believers gather around him and he gets up and walks back in; Wednesday, Acts 14:21-22, Paul goes back to tell the new Christians the way into God's kingdom goes through hard things; Thursday, Acts 14:22, we go through many troubles to enter God's kingdom, and Jesus went that way first; Friday, Acts 14:23, Paul hands the churches to God to keep them safe. 2. THINK (a thought a parent can read out loud, cold) Following God can be hard, and Acts 14 shows us it is true. Paul was hurt badly for telling people about Jesus. But he got up and kept going, and he told the new Christians something surprising: the way into God's kingdom goes through hard things, not around them. Here is the best part. Jesus walked that very same road first. He suffered, and then He rose and went to glory. So when life is hard for someone who loves Jesus, it does not mean God has left. It means they are on Jesus' own road, walking right behind Him, and Jesus never lets go of the people who are His. 3. TALK (pick the questions that fit your table; you do not need to ask them all) For young children: When you fall down and get hurt, who helps you get back up? The Bible says God's people helped Paul get up after he was hurt. How does it feel to know God gives us people to help us up? For school-age children: Paul said the way into God's kingdom goes through hard things, not around them. Why is it good news that Jesus walked that same hard road before us? For teens: A lot of people quietly believe that if God really loved them, life would get easier. Acts 14 says the opposite: the hard road can be the true road. Where have you felt that tension, and what would it change to believe Jesus is on the road ahead of you, not disappointed with you? For the whole table: Verse 23 says Paul handed the new Christians to God to keep them safe. What would change in our family if we really believed God is holding on to us, even when things are hard? 4. DO (one small thing to carry the truth into the week) Do this: This week, find one person who is going through something hard, a friend, a neighbor, someone at church, and do one small thing to help them carry it. Bring them a treat, write them a note, or just sit with them. Decide together tonight who it will be, then do it before Friday. Another way to do this: Make a card together as a family with the words of our memory verse on it, and give it to someone who is tired or sad, so they know God is holding them and our family is with them too. If you would rather, you can say the memory verse out loud to that person instead of giving a card. Pick the one you can do. 5. PRAY (a parent leads; pray it as written or in your own words) Father, thank You that the way into Your kingdom goes through hard things, and that Jesus walked it first, from suffering into glory. Thank You that You never let go of the people who are Yours. We ask You to give each of our children a heart that truly trusts Jesus, so they would follow Him all the way home. And help our family walk with people who are having a hard time. In Jesus' name, amen. 6. SING (close by singing one together) This week's song: "He Will Hold Me Fast" (it says exactly what this passage teaches, that we are kept safe not by how tightly we hold on to God but by how tightly He holds on to us). Sing one verse, or the whole thing. If your family does not know it, read the first verse out loud together instead. One faith talk this week is a win. If your family can do this most nights, even better. Keep it short, keep it warm, keep coming back to it.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

August 9, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
He Bears Witness: Family Devotional
Dear Mayflower family, Here is this week’s Family Devotional, ready for your table. If this is your first time opening one, welcome. It is a single page that takes the sermon we just heard on Sunday and brings it home, so the Word preached in the pew and the Word talked over at dinner are the same Word. You do not need to be a teacher or know your Bible cold to lead it. You can do the whole page in about ten minutes in one sitting, or take one small step a night, Monday through Friday. There is no wrong way. One unhurried faith talk this week is a win. This week the page grows out of “He Bears Witness,” from Acts 14:1-7. The heart of it is this: when God sends us to tell people about Jesus, He does not send us alone; He stands behind every word and makes it do its work. Two men walked into a city that did not want their message and grew braver instead of quieter, because they knew who was standing behind them. That is the picture your table will be sitting with this week. Read together, talk together, pray together, sing together. Here is this week’s page. Pastor Anton This week’s Big Idea: When God sends us to tell people about Jesus, He does not send us alone. He stands behind every word and helps it do its work. Memory verse for the week: “the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace” (Acts 14:3) Say it together at the start of each time you gather. By Friday, see who can say it without looking. 1. READ (start here every time) This week’s passage: Acts 14:1-3 (ESV), inside the bigger story of Acts 14:1-7. Read it out loud together. With young children, read it once slowly. With older children and teens, read it and then ask what stood out. If you are taking one step a night, read a short slice each evening: Monday, Acts 14:1, a great number believe; Tuesday, Acts 14:2, some hearts turn hard; Wednesday, Acts 14:3, the Lord backs the word with his own witness; Thursday, Acts 14:4, the city splits in two; Friday, Acts 14:5-7, they are chased out, and keep preaching. 2. THINK (a thought a parent can read out loud, cold) Paul and Barnabas walked into a city that did not want to hear about Jesus, and instead of getting quiet, they got braver. How? God Himself stood behind their words and helped them. When we tell people about Jesus, God does not send us out alone. He is right there, doing the real work in people’s hearts, the same Jesus who died and rose to make us His own. Our job is just to open our mouths. God’s job is to make the words land. 3. TALK (pick the questions that fit your table; you do not need to ask them all) For young children: When you are scared to do something, it helps to have a grown-up right beside you. Who was standing beside Paul and Barnabas, helping them, even when the whole city was against them? For school-age children: Paul and Barnabas got braver when things got harder, not quieter. What made them so brave? For teens: Have you ever gone quiet about Jesus because you were afraid of what someone would think? Paul was told the whole thing did not rest on him, because God stood behind the message. Would it change anything for you to know you are not carrying that alone? For the whole table: God helps the words we say about Jesus do their work. Who is one person our family could tell about Jesus this week? 4. DO (one small thing to carry the truth into the week) Do this: Paul and Barnabas kept telling people about Jesus even when it was hard. As a family, pick one person who may not know Jesus, and this week tell them one true thing about Him. Decide together tonight who it will be, then do it before Friday. Another way to do this: Practice first, right here. Go around the table and let each person say one thing about Jesus they love, out loud, the way you would tell a friend. One sentence is plenty. If you would rather, draw a picture of it and show it to someone this week. Say it or draw it. Pick the one you can do. 5. PRAY (a parent leads; pray it as written or in your own words) Father, thank You that when we tell people about Jesus, You never send us out alone. You stand behind Your own word and make it do its work. Please give each of our children a new heart that truly trusts Christ, and make our whole family brave to speak about Him. In Jesus’ name, amen. 6. SING (close by singing one together) This week’s song: “He Will Hold Me Fast” (it says the Lord keeps hold of us and will never let us go, just as He stands behind His own word and will not let it fail). Sing one verse, or the whole thing. If your family does not know it, read the first verse out loud together instead. One faith talk this week is a win. If your family can do this most nights, even better. Keep it short, keep it warm, keep coming back to it.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

August 2, 2026 • 6 Minute Read
What the Law Could Never Do: Family Devotional
Dear parents, Sunday morning, the whole church sat in Acts 13, where Paul stood up in a synagogue full of religious people and told them the hard, freeing truth: God's good rules can show us what is wrong with us, but they can never fix it. Only Jesus can take sin away, and He does it for everyone who believes, no matter who they are or how far away they live. This week, the home gets to sit on the same Word the pulpit preached. The devotional below is built so you can lead it cold, with no training and no prep. Do the whole page in one sitting of about ten minutes, or take one short step a night, Monday through Friday. There is no wrong way to use it. Here is why this matters around your table this week. Many of the people in that synagogue looked religious and respectable on the outside, and they still walked away from Jesus. Your children are learning, one ordinary night at a time, the difference between knowing about God and actually trusting Christ for themselves. You do not have to be the strong one. You get to hold out the good news plainly: Jesus did what no rule ever could, and everyone who believes in Him is set free. One faith talk this week is a win. In Christ, Pastor Anton This week's Big Idea: The law can read you your sentence. Only Christ can lift it. God's rules can show us what is wrong with us, but they can never fix it. Only Jesus can take our sin away. And He set people free no matter who they were or how far away they lived. Memory verse for the week: "Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed." (Acts 13:38-39) Say it together at the start of each time you gather. By Friday, see who can say it without looking. 1. READ (start here every time) This week's passage: Acts 13:38-39 (ESV), inside the bigger story of Acts 13:13-52. Read it out loud together. With young children, read it once slowly. With older children and teens, read it and then ask what stood out. If you are taking one step a night, read a short slice each evening: Monday, Acts 13:23, God sends the Savior He promised long ago, Jesus; Tuesday, Acts 13:29-30, they laid Him in a tomb, but God raised Him; Wednesday, Acts 13:38-39, everyone who believes is set free; Thursday, Acts 13:46-47, the good news runs out to all the nations; Friday, Acts 13:48-52, the people believe and are filled with joy. 2. THINK (a thought a parent can read out loud, cold) God gave His people good rules a long time ago. The rules were true, and they showed people what was wrong inside them, like a doctor's note that names a sickness. But a note cannot make you well, and the rules could never take away sin. So God sent His own Son, Jesus, just like He promised. Jesus died and rose again, and now anyone who trusts in Him is set free from every wrong thing they have ever done. The rules could point to the problem. Only Jesus could fix it. 3. TALK (pick the questions that fit your table; you do not need to ask them all) For young children: The Bible says everyone who believes in Jesus is "freed." What is one thing it feels like to be set free, like being let out the door to go play? For school-age children: Paul told these people that God's good rules could never set them free from their sin. So what, or who, can set us free? For teens: These people were religious and respectable, and many of them still walked away from Jesus. Is it possible to look like a good church person on the outside and never actually trust Christ for yourself? Where are you in that, honestly? For the whole table: Paul said the good news is for "everyone who believes." What would change in our family if we really believed Jesus sets us free, no matter what we have done? 4. DO (one small thing to carry the truth into the week) Do this: Paul carried the news about Jesus to people who had never heard it, and the light reached all the way to us. This week, as a family, pick one person who may not know that Jesus sets people free, and tell them one true thing about Him. A neighbor, a friend, a cousin. Decide together tonight who it will be, then do it before Friday. Another way to do this: Practice here first. Go around the table and let each person say one thing about Jesus they love, out loud, the way you would say it to a friend. You can keep it to one sentence. If you would rather, draw a picture of the one thing about Jesus you would want to tell someone. When you are ready, you can say it or show it to a friend this week. Pick the one you can do. 5. PRAY (a parent leads; pray it as written or in your own words) Father, thank You that You kept Your promise and sent Jesus to do what no rule ever could. Thank You that He died and rose, and that everyone who believes in Him is set free. We ask You to give each of our children a new heart that truly trusts Christ, so they would be freed too. And help us carry this good news out to people who have never heard it. In Jesus' name, amen. 6. SING (close by singing one together) This week's song: "All I Have Is Christ" (it says plainly that we could not save ourselves and that Jesus alone set us free and became all we have, which is the whole point of this passage). Sing one verse, or the whole thing. If your family does not know it, read the first verse out loud together instead. One faith talk this week is a win. If your family can do this most nights, even better. Keep it short, keep it warm, keep coming back to it.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

July 19, 2026 • 7 Minute Read
The Spirit Sends: Family Devotional
Family Worship This Week: The Spirit Sends Dear parents, This morning, the whole church sat in Acts 13:1-3, where a small church in a big city was worshiping and praying, and the Holy Spirit told them to set apart their two best teachers and send them off to tell the nations about Jesus. This week, the home gets to sit on the same Word that the pulpit preached. The devotional below is built so you can lead it cold, with no training and no prep. Do the whole page in one sitting of about ten minutes, or take one short step a night, Monday through Friday. There is no wrong way to use it. Here is why this matters around your table this week. Sending and letting go are at the heart of how God grows His church, and your children are learning, one ordinary night at a time, whether following Jesus means holding tight to what is comfortable or opening their hands to whatever He asks. You do not have to have it all figured out. You get to show them a God who opened His own hands first and gave His Son for us, and a church that can let go because He never lets go of us. One faith talk this week is a win. In Christ, Pastor Anton This week's Big Idea: The risen Jesus sends His church out to tell the world about Him, and He does it by His Holy Spirit. A church in Antioch was worshiping and praying when the Spirit said, "Send Barnabas and Saul." So the church prayed, laid their hands on them, and let them go. The Spirit sends; the church lets go. Memory verse for the week: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." (Acts 13:2) Say it together at the start of each time you gather. By Friday, see who can say it without looking. 1. READ (start here every time) This week's passage: Acts 13:1-3 (ESV). Read it out loud together. With young children, read it once slowly. With older children and teens, read it and then ask what stood out. If you are taking one step a night, read a short slice each evening: Monday, Acts 13:1, five very different people in one church; Tuesday, Acts 13:2, the church is worshiping and the Spirit speaks; Wednesday, Acts 13:2 again, "the work to which I have called them," God called them first; Thursday, Acts 13:3, they pray, lay on hands, and let them go; Friday, Acts 13:1-3, the whole story, the Spirit sends and the church lets go. 2. THINK (a thought a parent can read out loud, cold) There was a church in a city called Antioch. The people in it were not at all alike: some were from Africa, one had grown up in a king's palace, one used to hurt Christians before Jesus changed his heart. But Jesus had made them one family. One day they were worshiping God and praying together, and the Holy Spirit spoke and said, "Set apart Barnabas and Saul for the work I have called them to." These two men were the church's very best teachers. The church could have held on tight and kept them. Instead they prayed, put their hands on them to bless them, and let them go to tell other people about Jesus. They could open their hands because God opened His hands first: He did not hold back His own Son but gave Jesus up on the cross to save us. When you know a God like that, you can let go of anything, because He will never let go of you. 3. TALK (pick the questions that fit your table; you do not need to ask them all) For young children: The church loved Barnabas and Saul very much. When the Holy Spirit said to send them, did the church hold on tight or open their hands and let them go? What did they do with their hands first? For school-age children: It is hard to give away something you love. Why do you think the church was able to let their two best teachers go? What did they do before they said goodbye? For teens: God's call came from outside Barnabas and Saul, in worship and through the church, not from looking inside themselves to find their passion. Where do you usually look to figure out what your life is for? And have you ever asked the God who sends to call you, and trusted Jesus with whatever the answer is? For the whole table: Is there something our family is holding in a tight fist right now, our plans, our comfort, our time, our money, that God might be asking us to open our hands and give? What would it look like to let it go because He let go of His Son for us? 4. DO (one small thing to carry the truth into the week) Do this: The church prayed for Barnabas and Saul, blessed them, and sent them out. As a family, pick one missionary or one person our church helps send out to tell others about Jesus. Write their name where we can see it. Then pray for them out loud, together, more than once this week, and if you can, write them a short note to tell them your family is praying for them. We help hold the rope for the people who go. Another way to do this: Open both your hands flat in front of you and hold them out, like you are giving something away. Pick one thing you really like and would not want to give up, a toy, an afternoon, a treat, and decide together to give it to someone else this week. As you give it, open your hands again and say, "The Spirit sends; the church lets go." Let your open hands be the reminder that God opened His hands first and gave us Jesus. 5. PRAY (a parent leads; pray it as written or in your own words) Father, thank You that You opened Your own hands and gave Your Son Jesus to save us. Thank You that You send Your church out by Your Holy Spirit to tell the whole world about Him. Help our family worship You, listen for You, and hold nothing back from You. Make us a church that prays and lets go, with open hands. And we ask You to give each of our children a new heart that truly trusts Jesus, so that one day they say yes to wherever You send them. In Jesus' name, amen. 6. SING (close by singing one together) This week's song: "All I Have Is Christ" (the church in Antioch could let go of its best because everything it had was already Christ, and this song teaches our children that a life poured out for Jesus is no loss but the whole point). Sing one verse, or the whole thing. If your family does not know it, read the first verse out loud together instead. One faith talk this week is a win. If your family can do this most nights, even better. Keep it short, keep it warm, keep coming back to it.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor

July 12, 2026 • 7 Minute Read
Family Devotional
July 12, 2026: Glory Withheld (Acts 12:20-25) Dear parents, This morning, the whole church finished Acts 12, where a proud king dressed in shining silver let a crowd call him a god, and God would not let the lie stand. This week, the home gets to sit on the same Word that the pulpit preached. The devotional below is built so you can lead it cold, with no training and no prep. Do the whole page in one sitting of about ten minutes, or take one short step a night, Monday through Friday. There is no wrong way to use it. Here is why this matters around your table this week. Your children are learning, one ordinary day at a time, who their applause belongs to, whether the goal of life is to be praised or to praise the One who made them. You do not have to teach them to chase a shout; that comes for free. You get to teach them something better: that the only One who can keep both us and His glory is Jesus, the King who refused every stolen cheer and was struck down in our place so He could lift us up. One faith talk this week is a win. In Christ, Pastor Anton This week's Big Idea: God will not give His glory to anyone else, and that is good news. He shares all kinds of things with us, His bread, His mercy, even His own Son, but the glory of being God belongs to Him alone. A proud king tried to keep some of that glory for himself, and it ended badly. Jesus, the true King, did the opposite: He gave God the glory and gave Himself for us. So we get to give God the glory too, and it is the safest, happiest thing we can ever do. Memory verse for the week: "An angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory." (Acts 12:23) Say it together at the start of each time you gather. By Friday, see who can say it without looking. 1. READ (start here every time) This week's passage: Acts 12:20-25 (ESV). Read it out loud together. With young children, read it once slowly. With older children and teens, read it and then ask what stood out. If you are taking one step a night, read a short slice each evening: Monday, Acts 12:20, hungry cities come asking the king for food; Tuesday, Acts 12:21-22, the king shines in his robe and the crowd shouts that he is a god; Wednesday, Acts 12:23, God strikes the king because he kept the glory that was God's; Thursday, Acts 12:24, "but" the word of God keeps growing; Friday, Acts 12:25, God is already getting helpers ready for the next chapter of His work. 2. THINK (a thought a parent can read out loud, cold) A king named Herod put on a robe that sparkled like silver in the morning sun, sat on his throne, and gave a speech. The crowd shouted, "That is the voice of a god, not a man!" Herod did not say, "Stop, I am only a man." He just sat there and soaked it in, and kept the praise that belonged to God. So God struck him down, and the proud king died. But the very same God who would not share His glory loves to share other things. He gives us bread when we are hungry, mercy when we sin, and best of all He gave us His own Son. Jesus is the true King, and instead of grabbing glory, He let Himself be struck down on the cross so that sinners like us could be forgiven and lifted up. God lifted Jesus higher than every name. So we do not have to fight to be praised. We get to give the glory to God, who is so much bigger and better than we are. 3. TALK (pick the questions that fit your table; you do not need to ask them all) For young children: The king let people call him a god instead of telling them about the real God. Who should we say is great, the king or God? What is one thing God made that shows He is great? For school-age children: Herod kept the praise that belonged to God, and it ended badly. What is the difference between Herod, who grabbed the glory, and Jesus, who gave the glory to God? For teens: We all live in front of some audience whose praise we want, the team, the group chat, the people whose opinion we replay at night. Be honest: whose shout do you chase most? And have you ever stopped chasing it long enough to give your whole life to the King who was struck down in your place? For the whole table: When something good happens to our family this week, how can we say out loud, on the spot, "Thank You, God, that came from You"? 4. DO (one small thing to carry the truth into the week) Do this: Start a "Glory to God" habit at dinner this week. Each night, go around the table and have everyone name one good thing from their day, then say together, "Thank You, God, the glory is Yours." Watch for the temptation to grab credit for ourselves, and practice handing it straight back to God out loud. Another way to do this: Make a "Glory Jar." Keep a jar and some slips of paper on the table. Whenever someone notices a good gift, a sunny day, a kind friend, food to eat, write it on a slip and drop it in the jar. At the end of the week, pour the jar out, read the slips together, and thank God that every one of them came from Him. Add one slip or fill the jar; do what you can this week. The jar is your reminder that the glory goes back to God. 5. PRAY (a parent leads; pray it as written or in your own words) Father, You are God, and Your glory belongs to You alone. Thank You that You still share so much with us, Your bread, Your mercy, and most of all Your Son. Forgive us for the times we chase praise and try to keep glory that is Yours. Thank You for Jesus, the true King, who refused the crowd's cheer and was struck down on the cross so we could be forgiven. Teach our family to give You the glory in everything. And we ask You to give each of our children a new heart that truly trusts Christ, so that one day they gladly give You the glory forever. In Jesus' name, amen. 6. SING (close by singing one together) This week's song: "How Great Thou Art" (the whole song hands the glory back to God, singing of His greatness in creation and in the cross, exactly the response Herod refused and Jesus gave). Sing one verse, or the whole thing. If your family does not know it, read the first verse out loud together instead. One faith talk this week is a win. If your family can do this most nights, even better. Keep it short, keep it warm, keep coming back to it.

Anton Brown

Senior Pastor