WELS Family Devotion

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260921fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: Jonah 3:10–4:11 The LORD replied [to Jonah], “Is it right for you to be angry?” Jonah 4:4 When Mercy Makes You Mad In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jonah was acting like a baby. He sat outside Nineveh on the desert sand, crossed his arms, and pouted. He was angry that God had spared the city. Jonah hated the people of Nineveh. They belonged to a nation known for treating its enemies cruelly. That’s why he ran away all those months before when God called him to preach to the people of Nineveh. He knew they might turn away from their sins and seek God’s mercy. And Jonah knew what God would do—what God always does when people tell him they are sorry for their sins. He forgives sinners who turn to him for mercy. And Jonah didn’t want that. He wanted God to destroy Nineveh. As Jonah sat in the hot sun, God caused a huge, leafy plant to give him shade. Jonah appreciated the cool shade and started feeling better. But then God sent a worm to chew the plant, so it withered and died. Again, Jonah crossed his arms and pouted. “Jonah,” God said, “you have been concerned about the plant that grew one day and died the next. Shouldn’t I be concerned about the 120,000 people living in Nineveh?” Jonah cared more about losing his comfortable shade than he did about thousands of people who needed God’s mercy. You see, God loves all people. He wants everyone to believe in him and be saved. And he wants us to love everyone—even our enemies and those who treat us badly. That’s hard to do. But God did not stop loving us when we were his enemies. He sent Jesus to save us. Remembering that love helps us love people who are hard to love. Loving our enemies does not mean pretending that evil is acceptable or that wrongdoing should have no consequences. We can ask God and earthly authorities for justice without seeking revenge or wanting anyone to be eternally lost. Don’t be a Jonah who wanted his enemies destroyed! Love your enemies. Pray for those who are mean to you. And when mercy makes you mad, remember the mercy God has shown you! Prayer: Dear God, thank you for loving me and showing me mercy through Jesus. Help me love my enemies, pray for them, and want them to know your saving love. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children Was Jonah happy or angry when God spared Nineveh? Does God want us to love only our friends or even our enemies? Questions for Elementary Age Children Why is it so hard to love and pray for those who are mean to us? In what ways are we hard to love? Questions for Middle School and Above Jonah cared more about his shade plant than about the people of Nineveh. What comforts or preferences might we care about more than people who need Jesus? If God wants us to love our enemies and pray that they will be saved, is it wrong to want justice for people who do evil? Explain your answer. Download Family Devotions     Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260918fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: Matthew 18:21-35 The kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. A man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. Matthew 18:21-35 (selected verses) You Don’t Have to Pay In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Andy wasn’t trying to break the window. Every day, he walked by the old warehouse. Beneath its tall windows were wide brick ledges. Andy and his friends often tossed stones toward the ledges to see if they could land them there. One day, Andy threw a little too hard. The stone crashed through a window. A security guard ran out and grabbed Andy by the arm. “You are going to have to pay for that,” he said. Andy arrived home in tears. He told his dad what had happened. The new window would cost $500, but Andy only had $10 in his piggy bank. Andy and his father went to talk to the building owner. Andy quietly held out his ten-dollar bill. “I promise I will pay you the rest one day,” he said, looking at the ground. The owner looked at the sad little boy holding the money up to him. “Keep your money,” he said. “You don’t have to pay. Just please don’t throw any more rocks at my windows.” It would have taken Andy years to pay that debt. Can you imagine how relieved he must have felt when the owner canceled it?! That’s how the servant in Jesus’ story must have felt—relieved, excited, thankful. He owed the king more than he could ever repay. Sadly, after the king canceled his enormous debt, the servant refused to forgive another servant’s much smaller debt. The king in Jesus’ story helps us understand God. We are like the servant with the enormous debt—ten thousand bags of gold. We have sinned against God in more ways than we can count—in what we think, say, and do. Our debt of sin is something we could never pay. But God did not simply pretend that our debt did not exist. Jesus paid it completely by suffering our punishment on the cross. Because Jesus paid everything, God tells us, “You don’t have to pay.” God forgives us like the king in the story and like the owner who didn’t make Andy pay for the window. But he did ask Andy to stop throwing rocks—it was the right thing for Andy to do. God’s forgiveness changes how we treat people who sin against us. So be relieved. Be excited. Be thankful. Then share with others the mercy God has shown you. Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for paying the debt I owe for all my sins. Help me to forgive others as you have forgiven me. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children Could the servant ever pay back everything he owed? What did the king do with the servant’s debt? Questions for Elementary Age Children How would you feel if someone canceled a debt you could never pay? What does Jesus say to us because he paid for all our sins? Questions for Middle School and Above Why can God’s forgiveness begin to feel ordinary, even though our debt was enormous? How should remembering the debt Jesus paid change the way you respond when someone sins against you? Download Family Devotions     Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260916fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: Ephesians 4:29–5:2 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 4:32; 5:1-2 A Striking Family Resemblance In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Do you resemble anyone in your family? Brothers and sisters often resemble each other. A child might have his dad’s nose, his mom’s smile, his grandpa’s laugh, or even the same way of walking. Sometimes we sound or act just like our parents. People might say, “You can certainly tell whose child you are!” Can people tell whose child you are by the way you live? Honestly, because of sin, we don’t always resemble our heavenly Father. Our words and actions are often cruel, selfish, and unforgiving. But in our baptism, God washed away our sins and adopted us as his sons and daughters. Through faith in Jesus, we are children of God, fully forgiven and made heirs of heaven. But can people see the family resemblance? Can they tell whose children we are by the way we act? Young children often copy everything: the way their parents talk on the phone, the way they fold their arms, the way they cook or clean or cheer during a football game. In today’s reading, Paul tells us to follow the example of God our Father as his dearly loved children. God wants us to speak as he speaks and act as he acts. Just as he is kind and compassionate to us, just as he loves and forgives us—so he wants us to love and forgive those around us. We imitate him because, through Jesus, we already are his children. That is who God made us to be in our baptism. His forgiveness changes us; it leads us to be like him. Dearly loved children show love. Forgiven children become forgivers. So, follow your Father. Imitate him and let your family resemblance show. When people see kindness, compassion, and forgiveness in you, they are catching a glimpse of your heavenly Father. May they look at you and say, “I can certainly tell whose child you are!” Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for washing, forgiving, and adopting me in my baptism. Help me to resemble you in everything I say and do. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children In what ways do you look or act like your mom or dad? In what ways can you look or act like God? Questions for Elementary Age Children What blessings did God give you in Baptism? How can your kindness or forgiveness help someone see your heavenly Father in you? Questions for Middle School and Above What does this statement mean: “My baptism is not just something that happened to me; it tells me who I am”? Sometimes young people feel unfair pressure to grow up and be just like their parents. Is it unfair for God to expect his children to act like him? Explain. Download Family Devotions     Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260914fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: Genesis 50:15-21 Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:19-21 Forgiveness Isn’t Fair In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. “But that’s not fair,” Billy said, fighting back tears. “He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven.” Billy’s face was scratched and his elbow was bleeding as he sat in the pastor’s office. He was right. Joey had started it. He pushed Billy down during a game at vacation Bible school. Joey said he was sorry, but that didn’t make what he did okay. “He doesn’t deserve to be forgiven,” Billy repeated. Billy was right. Think about the bully who was mean to you, the teacher who was unfair to you, or your sister who lied about you to your parents. None of them deserve to be forgiven. Joseph’s brothers didn’t deserve to be forgiven. They were cruel to him. They planned to kill him and then sold him into slavery. Because of his brothers, Joseph spent years as a slave in Egypt and then many more as a prisoner in a dark dungeon. Now Joseph held a powerful position in Egypt—and his brothers’ lives were in his hands. They begged him not to punish them. It wasn’t fair. But do we really want what is fair? Fair means getting what we deserve. Because of our sins, we deserve God’s punishment forever in hell. We don’t want fair; we want mercy. And that’s exactly what God gives us. God did not ignore our sins. In his great mercy, Jesus suffered what wasn’t fair in our place so we could be forgiven. Forgiveness is never fair. Fair would mean that we would suffer the punishment Jesus suffered for us. But God has treated us in the most wonderfully unfair way. He forgives us, even though we don’t deserve it. Forgiving someone does not mean pretending that the wrong was okay or that there should never be consequences. It is mercy we share because God first showed mercy to us. And when we see God’s undeserved, unfair, unending forgiveness for us, it helps us to do the hard work of forgiving others. That’s how Joseph could forgive his brothers. That’s how Billy could learn to forgive Joey. That’s how you can forgive those who do you wrong, even though they don’t deserve it. Prayer: Dear Jesus, please forgive me even though I don’t deserve it and help me to forgive those who don’t deserve my forgiveness. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children Were Joseph’s brothers kind or mean to him? What did Joseph do instead of hurting his brothers? Questions for Elementary Age Children Why do you think it’s so hard for us to forgive other people? How does remembering Jesus’ forgiveness help you forgive someone who hurts you? Questions for Middle School and Above Agree or disagree? Knowing what Jesus did to save us makes it easier to forgive others. A friend says, “My mom grounded me unfairly, and I’ll never forgive her.” What could you say without pretending that the situation was handled fairly? Download Family Devotions     Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

https://wels2.blob.core.windows.net/family-devotions/20260911fam.mp3 Listen to Devotion Read: Galatians 2:11-16 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.” Galatians 2:11-16 (selected verses) The Gospel Wins People Over In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. This week, we have seen how God calls Christians not to be tattletales but also to watch out for others who are heading toward spiritual danger. Jesus says that the goal is to win a person over—to lead that person away from sin and back to Jesus and his forgiveness. Knowing when and how to speak can feel like walking on a balance beam. It’s hard! Paul knew how hard this could be. Paul had to point out to Peter—also called Cephas—that Peter had given in to peer pressure. Peter had been eating with Gentile Christians. But when certain Jewish Christians arrived, Peter separated himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of what others would think. Peter’s actions sent a dangerous message. They suggested that faith in Jesus was not enough and that Gentile Christians also needed to follow Jewish customs to belong in God’s family. Other Christians followed Peter’s bad example. Even Barnabas was led astray. Because Peter’s actions were public and were hurting many people, Paul corrected him publicly. Paul showed Peter that his actions did not match “the truth of the gospel.” What is that truth? Paul explained that no one is justified by obeying God’s law. To be “justified” means that God has declared us not guilty. We cannot earn that verdict by being good enough, following enough rules, or belonging to the right group. God declares sinners not guilty through faith in Jesus Christ. That’s what we call “the gospel.” The gospel is the good news of Jesus’ free forgiveness, and we use the gospel to win others over to Jesus. We will never win people over by only pointing a finger at them. God calls us to point out sin truthfully and then point sinners to Jesus. The Holy Spirit works through God’s Word to lead people to repentance and strengthen their faith. It can be scary to speak to someone about sin. But the goal is not to win an argument. The goal is for the gospel to win—to bring a brother or sister back to the forgiveness that is already theirs in Jesus. Prayer: Lord, make me strong enough to overcome peer pressure and to stand firm in your Word. But also make me gentle when I speak to others about sin. Above all, help me point them to the forgiveness Jesus freely gives. Amen. The questions below are to help families discuss this devotion. The questions are divided by age group as suggestions, but anyone could reflect on any of the questions as they desire. Questions for Younger Children Who is the only one who can save us from our sins? Does Jesus forgive us because we are good enough or because he loves us? Questions for Elementary Age Children What does it mean that God “justifies” someone? How did Peter’s fear of other people hurt his Christian brothers and sisters? Questions for Middle School and Above Why did Peter’s actions communicate that faith in Jesus might not be enough? How can you correct a Christian friend without acting proud, harsh, or self-righteous? Download Family Devotions     Family Devotions are brought to you by WELS Discipleship. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.