Family Home Evening for Matthew 14; Mark 6; John 5-6

 Read or Summarize Matthew 14:15–21.

15 ​​¶ ​And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves ​​​victuals​.

​​​16 ​But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart; give ye them to eat.

​​​17 ​And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves, and two fishes.

​​​18 ​He said, Bring them hither to me.

​​​19 ​And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and ​​​brake​, and gave the loaves to ​his​ disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.

​​​20 ​And they did all eat, and were filled: and they ​​​took​ up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.

​​​21 ​And they that had eaten were about ​​​five​ thousand men, beside women and children.

Discuss

How many fish and bread do you think it would take to feed five thousand people?

What does this miracle teach us about the Savior? 

Consider sharing an experience when you felt you didn’t have enough to offer and the Savior multiplied your efforts.

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Family Home Evening for Matthew 13; Luke 8; 13

 Read Matthew 13:13-16

13 ​Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

​​​14 ​And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall ​​​hear​, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

​​​15 ​For this people’s ​​​heart​ is waxed gross, and ​their​ ears are dull of hearing, and their ​​​eyes​ they have ​​​closed​; lest at any time they should see with ​their​ eyes, and hear with ​their​ ears, and should understand with ​their​ heart, and should be converted, and I should ​​​heal​ them.

​​​16 ​But blessed ​are​ your ​​​eyes​, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

Activity

Cover your child’s ears as you say, quietly, “It is important to listen to and obey Christ’s teachings.” Ask them what they heard. Then, blindfold your child. Stand somewhere across the room tell them to walk to you, as you repeat the phrase, “Follow the example of Jesus Christ.” Repeat both activities without covering their ears or blind folding them, respectively. Ask if it is easier to follow the word of God when we use our eyes and ears? 

Discuss

The scriptures we read at the beginning of this lesson said that to understand the words of Christ, we need to use our eyes, ears, AND our hearts. How can we use these things to receive the word of God in our everyday life?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Matthew 11-12; Luke 11

 Read or Summarize

Matthew 11:28–30

28 ​​Come​ unto me, all ​ye​ that ​​​labour​ and are heavy laden, and I will give you ​​​rest​.

​​​29 ​Take my ​​​yoke​ upon you, and ​​​learn​ of me; for I am ​​​meek​ and ​​​lowly​ in ​​​heart​: and ye shall find ​​​rest​ unto your souls.

​​​30 ​For my yoke ​is​ ​​​easy​, and my burden is light.

Discuss

What burdens do you have in your family? Some burdens may be light and easy to bear. Some are heavier, but with a little faith and a little more effort, we are still able to pull them. Some burdens are so heavy that we can’t pull them. We struggle and try to bear them on our own, but lucky for us, we have a Savior. If we go to Him, He will help us, and give us the peace we need to find rest. 

It’s not hard to receive His help. We just need to ask our Heavenly Father for help and believe in the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and we will feel Him come to our side and help us pull even the heaviest of loads.

Activity 

You can help your family visualize the Savior’s teachings in these verses by having them take turns trying to pull “burdens.” Get a blanket and have someone pull the blanket with a light object, or a younger sibling on it. If you have multiple children, slowly increase the heaviness of the burden. Talk about what these smaller burdens may represent (a test in school, a fight with a friend or sibling, anger, etc.) Finally, have an adult sit on the blanket. This could represent something big like the loss of a family member, losing a job, not being able to find our way home, being bullied in school, etc.). When your child has trouble pulling the adult, explain that sometimes we need to rely completely on the help of the Lord to carry these burdens. Have another sibling (or multiple siblings) represent Christ in bearing these burdens, and allow them to help pull the adult. Talk about how much easier it is when we rely on the Lord to help us carry our burdens.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Matthew 9-10; Mark 5; Luke 9

 Read 

Matthew 10:39

39 He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

Luke 9:23-26

23 ​​ ​And he said to ​them​ all, If any ​man​ will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his ​​​cross​ daily, and ​​​follow​ me.

​​​24 ​​​​For​ whosoever will save his life ​​shall ​​​lose​ it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

​​​25 ​For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and ​​​lose​ himself, or be cast away?

​​​26 ​For whosoever shall be ​​​ashamed​ of me and of my words, of him shall the ​​​Son of man​ be ashamed, ​​​when​ he shall come in his own glory, and ​in his​ Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Discuss

What did Jesus mean that we need to “lose our life to save it”? 

Often, in our lives, we believe that we can find happiness in money or things. We think that if we have a stack of new videogames or all of the newest toys, we will be happy. No matter how much we have, things will not make us happy forever. In fact, people who only search for worldly riches end up always searching for more. Like Jesus said in Luke 9:24, “​For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and ​​​lose​ himself, or be cast away?”  This means that though we may gain all of the money and things in the whole world, we would spend our lives having really gained nothing. When we die, all of that gets left behind. The only thing that you can take with you is the knowledge that you’ve gained, the friendships that you’ve made, the family that you’ve been sealed to, the good works you’ve done, and the sins that you have not repented of. If we lose our own selfish desires and submit ourselves to the will of the Lord, we will find our salvation through Jesus Christ, and find everlasting joy with Heavenly Father and Jesus.

Watch

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