Welcome to your first Family Devotional of the series! Our passage for today comes from John 15: 5-12, which talks about being connected to the vine, Jesus. This would be a great time to get outside together: go to your backyard if you have plants/trees, go to a park, or even just get a household plant and set it at the center of the table. Begin by reading the Scripture out loud as a family.

Our Scripture talks about how we are supposed to be connected to God. Jesus is comparing our relationship with him to a branch’s relationship to the vine.

Questions:
How do plants work? How does a plant grow leaves and flowers and fruit? What happens if a plant is disconnected from the roots?

(If your kids are too little to know this, please explain it to them. Make sure to point out the different parts of the plant, showing how the roots dive deep into the ground to get their food and water. You could also rip out a blade of grass and talk about how it will die if it’s not planted in the earth.)

Jesus says that we have to remain connected to him, we have to stay planted in him, we have to be “synced” with him in order to produce fruit, especially the fruit of LOVE. If we want to really LOVE people, we have to stay connected to God.

Questions:
• How do you connect to God? What does a relationship with God look like?
• Jesus tells us that when we are connected to him, we ought to love each other. What does he say love looks like?

Jesus says in verse 13 that “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” Jesus loved us like this, didn’t he? He laid down his life so that we could be free. He died on a cross for our sins, bringing us forgiveness and hope. Now, we probably won’t be laying our lives down like that for someone anytime soon, but we can always be putting other people first. Sometimes we are tempted to be selfish with our toys, our money, our time, our energy, our clothes... But Jesus tells us here that to LOVE someone means that we put other people’s needs in front of our own. It means we share, we give, and we help people.

Questions:
How can you love someone in your family like this? How can you love someone at school like this? How can you love your neighbors (especially neighbors who don’t know Jesus) like this?

Prayer: Spend some time thanking Jesus for his love. Ask him to help you love the people around you.