“‘The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.’” Exodus 12:13

• Summarize Exodus 5-12 to your family. Be sure to highlight each of the 10 plagues, the process of Passover, and how God protected his people during the 10th plague. 

• In Exodus 5-12, God sent 10 plagues to Egypt. What was the 10th plague that Egypt was faced with?  

Before the final plague took place, God warned Pharaoh that he would kill the firstborn child of every household if Pharaoh didn’t free the Israelites from their slavery. However, Pharaoh made up his mind that he would not let the Israelites go. God always keeps his word, so he killed the firstborn children and animals of Egypt; this was the 10th plague. This action displays God's justice: Pharaoh ordered countless Israelite children to be killed years earlier, and God now judged Egypt by allowing them to experience the same thing they did to Israel. God was merciful to Egypt though. He gave Pharaoh 9 warnings and 9 chances to change his mind, but he refused to obey God. Because of this, God judged Pharaoh and Egypt rightly. God was also merciful to Israel. God saved His people from the death that came to Egypt. God told his people, the Israelites, to smear animal blood on the doors of their homes as a sacrifice, and then God skipped over the houses with the blood on them (Exodus 12:13), and their children lived. This showed Israel that even though they deserved God’s judgment too, God had a plan to forgive their sins.

• Why is it good that our God cares about his people? 

Sometimes when people think of God, they think of Him as a big, scary man. Big and scary people are intimidating and sometimes we run away from those people. God is not like this towards us. He is our loving Father. Sometimes God can be scary, but that’s because he is so awesome that it’s hard for us to understand him, but He is caring. Caring for someone or something means that you “display kindness and concern for others.” God shows us kindness, gentleness, mercy, and grace all the time. He showed how much he cared for the Israelites by not allowing them to receive his judgment, and he shows us how much he cares for us by letting Jesus be judged for our sins on the cross.

• How can we care for others? 

We can care for others by showing people the same kindness that God shows us. If God is forgiving and loving to us, then we should be that way to other people. When we remember how kind God is to us, it’s easier for us to show kindness towards the people around us, friends and family.

• Lead your family in a prayer that thanks God for being so caring and asks Him to show us how to care like He does. 

Help your children memorize the passage from Super Sunday and the Big Picture Question: 

Is there anything God cannot do? God can do anything according to His character. 

“I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and no Savior exists besides me.” Hosea 13:4

“God replied to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I AM has sent me to you.’” Exodus 3:14

• Summarize Exodus 1-4 to your children. Be sure to highlight the birth of Moses, Pharaoh's rule about killing all baby boys, Moses’ journey through a basket in the river, Moses growing up in Pharaoh’s house, Moses killing the Egyptian man, and then point out that God uses Moses to save the nation of Israel. 

This week we are learning about another characteristic of God: God’s sovereignty. 

• What does sovereign mean? 

If a person is sovereign, it means that this person has ultimate power; that they are in total control. God is sovereign. He is the ruler of the Heavens, the Earth, and everything in between. 

Through the story of Moses, we learn about God’s sovereignty, because only God could have saved Moses the way He did. Moses was headed for death in that basket in the river, and by God’s authority alone, Moses’ life was spared. 

• Why is it important that God is sovereign? 

It’s important, because his power will never change. God says in Exodus 3:14, “‘I AM WHO I AM.’” The power that God used to save Moses from death, that led Moses to the burning bush, that called Moses to help free the Israelites, is the exact same power that God has today. If God used a little baby in a river and made him the man who led the Israelites out of captivity, imagine what else God can do. This is the same sovereign power that raised Jesus from the dead, and it’s the same power that saves you from your sins!

God’s sovereignty is also important because it means that we do not have to worry about things. God takes care of it, because He can do anything. Moses was worried about speaking to Pharaoh, and because God has a master plan, He sent Moses’ brother, Aaron, to speak for him. We must learn to trust in our faithful God because He is in control, and he is working all things out for his glory and our good.

• Lead your family in a prayer that praises God for his sovereignty over our lives. 

Help your children memorize the Big Picture Question and Passage from Super Sunday: 

Is there anything God cannot do? God can do anything according to His character. 

“I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me and no Savior exists beside Me.” Hosea 13:4

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

• Read Isaiah 9 and Luke 2 to your family. 

For the entire semester, we have learned about the many ways that God works in His people’s lives. God worked through the family of Abraham to bring Jesus into the world. In Isaiah 9, we read a prophecy of Jesus’ birth. A prophecy is a prediction of what is going to happen, it’s kind of like seeing into the future. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, a prophet named Isaiah knew that Jesus would be born. Then in Luke 2, this prophecy was fulfilled, and Jesus was born! 

• God sent Jesus to the Earth, in order to save us from our sin. What does that mean? 

We know that sin is when we disobey God. God wants us to live in obedience to him for our own good. Sin entered the world after Adam and Eve were created. Eve was tricked by the serpent and ate the fruit from the tree that God commanded them not to eat from. Then, Adam ate the same fruit from the forbidden tree. God then promised that He would send someone from Adam and Eve’s family to save us from the sin that separates us from God. It almost seemed like this savior would never come. But, we know that God is faithful, so when He made the promise, He kept it. Even though He did not immediately send a Savior, He kept his promise, and his timing was perfect. Jesus was born, at the timing of God’s perfect will, so that there could be peace between sinners and God. Without Jesus, we would be separated from God. Jesus is who saves us from the death that we deserve for our sins. Jesus was sent to save you and me from our awful sin. 

Imagine waiting a long time for a promise to become true. There would be times when you feel like the promise won’t ever be fulfilled, and it feels like you might as well give up. In all the passages we have read so far, there have been many times when the situation seemed hopeless: Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have kids, Jacob stole his brother’s blessing, Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him. But we know that God is faithful, and that He always does what He says He will. God will always do what He promised, even if to us it looks impossible. This is because, referring back to our big picture question, God can do all things according to His character. 

• Lead your family in a prayer that thanks Jesus for coming to the Earth and saving us from our sin. 

Help your children memorize the Big Picture question and Passage from Super Sunday: 

Is there anything God cannot do? God can do all things according to His character. 

“I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and no Savior exists besides Me.” Hosea 13:4

“You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result- the survival of many people.” Genesis 50:20

• Summarize Genesis 42-46 and 50 to your children. Be sure to emphasize that Joseph was highly ranked in the time of the famine, and when his brothers came to buy food, they did not recognize Joseph. Joseph however, recognized them and had the power to kill them or deny them food, and instead he chose to show kindness to his brothers.

When we read the Bible, we learn a lot of different things. One important thing we learn is God’s character. Throughout scripture, we learn how God treats his people and creation. In today’s passage we learn that God is kind. 

• What does it mean for someone to be kind? 

To be kind means “having or showing a friendly, generous, and considerate nature.” This means that a kind person helps people in need and puts other people above themselves. Kindness could look like holding the door for a friend or talking to a peer at school who sits by themselves. It could also be sharing your snack with someone who doesn’t have one or even playing toys with your little sister. 

• How did Joseph show kindness to his brothers? 

When his brothers, who sold him into slavery, came to get food during the famine, Joseph could have easily told them no. Joseph was in charge of passing out the food, so he could have made sure they did not get anything to eat. Joseph could have even gone so far as to put his brothers in jail or even have them killed. But Joseph didn’t do these things; instead he extended kindness to them and provided for their needs. 

• How does God show us kindness? 

God shows kindness to us by showing us love, mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. God does not have to forgive us of our sins, but he chooses to because he loves us. God’s love is patient and kind. God is so kind that he chose to create us, so that we could have a relationship with him. He’s so patient because he’s always willing to forgive us when we disobey him.

God showed Joseph kindness by protecting him when his brothers wanted to kill him, when he was a slave, and then when he was imprisoned. Joseph knew how to be kind to his brothers, because he was shown kindness by God. Since God has been kind to us, we should show his kindness to the people around us.

• Lead your family in a prayer that thanks God for his kindness, and asks Him to show us to be kind. 

Help your children memorize the Big Picture question and passage from Super Sunday: 

Is there anything God cannot do? God can do all things according to His character. 

“I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; and you know no God but Me, and no savior exists besides Me.” Hosea 13:4