Family Home Evening for Acts 22-28

 Read, Act Out, or Summarize Acts 28:1-9

1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.

2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold.

3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.

6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.

7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him.

9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

Lesson

Heavenly Father fulfills the promises that He makes with His servants. In Mark 16:18, we read a promise that the resurrected Jesus Christ made to the apostles, before they went to spread His word. He told them, “They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”

Activity

Revisit some recent general conference addresses, and find a promise made by one of the Lord’s servants—perhaps one that is meaningful to your family—and display it in your home.

Discuss

 How can we show our faith that this promise will be fulfilled?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Acts 16-21

 Read Acts 17:27-29

27 That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.

29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.

Lesson

You are a child of God. You are created in His image. This means that God has a body of flesh and bones, just like you do. We can’t create statues or worship things that other people make and call them “God.” 

As an offspring or child of God, you can recognize how special you really are. You are the child of an all knowing, all powerful, eternal, and celestial Being. Heavenly Father provided a Savior, His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for you so that you can repent and return to Him. The Holy Ghost guides you to make good choices to help you grow spiritually and learn how to become more like God. This is why Paul told the people in Athens not to believe that the Godhead, Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost can’t be “gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.” How could a statue create your spirit, atone for your sins, or guide you in your daily life?

Discuss

How is being a child of God different from being just one of His creations? How does understanding this truth influence how you see yourself and others?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Acts 10-15

 Read Acts 10:34-35

34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

Discuss

What does it mean that God is “No respecter of persons”? 

Lesson

Point out the differences between your children and each other. Explain that though they are different, you love them each the same. Explain that if you could have this much love for your children, who are different, we could only imagine how much Heavenly Father loves each of us. He is waiting for us to turn to Him, so that He can bless us. 

The scripture says that Heavenly Father loves all of us so much and all we need to do is love Him enough to do what He asks and choose the right in all we do, and He will willingly pour His blessings upon us. It doesn’t matter what color our skin is, if we are rich or poor, or where we live. He loves us all.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Acts 6-9

 Read or Summarize Acts 7:51-69

51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers:

53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.

55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,

56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

58 And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.

59 And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

Lesson

Like Stephen, there are times when we will need to stand up for what is right.  When we teach about Jesus Christ or try to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, others may get angry and try to hurt us with words or physically harm us. Just like Stephen, we can feel peace from the Holy Ghost when we choose the right and stand up for the right.

Activity 

Make up scenarios where your kids will be required to make a choice for the right. Here are a few I thought of:

1. You are around a group of friends. They begin saying words that you know are offensive to Heavenly Father. What do you do?

2. You are at a party, and some people come and bring drinks that are alcoholic. What do you do?

3. Your brother wants to do something that your parents told you not to do. He says, “Let’s do it and just don’t tell Mom and Dad.” What do you do?

Family Home Evening for Acts 1-5

 Read or Summarize Acts 1:21-26

21 Wherefore of these men which have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us,

22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23 And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

25 That he may take part of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own place.

26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

Lesson

When Jesus was on the earth, He established 12 Apostles to testify of Him and to do His Father’s work. After Jesus’s death and Judas’s betrayal and death, they needed 2 more men to be called to be apostles and continue the work of the Lord. The living apostles prayed and Matthias and Joseph were called.

Apostle was the title Jesus gave to the Twelve whom He chose and ordained to be His closest followers and supporters. Apostles are chosen to be special witnesses of Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus Christ called and sent His Apostles forth to represent Him, today’s Apostles are given the role to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. 

Just like in Jesus’s days, we have 12 apostles today. Just as in ancient days, apostles are chosen through inspiration by the President of the Church, sustained by the general membership of the Church, and ordained by the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles by the laying on of hands.

Jesus Christ calls Apostles to represent Him in our day just as He did in the Bible. They leave behind their regular work lives and devote their life to full-time Church service. They oversee the growth of the global Church, and they travel the world to share God’s love with His children and invite all to come unto Christ, learn, and follow Him.

Discuss

How can you gain a witness that today’s apostles and prophets are called by God? Why is having this witness important?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20-21

 Read Luke 24:5–6

5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

6 He is not here, but is risen: remember how he spake unto you when he was yet in Galilee,

Teach

After Jesus died, a man, named Joseph of Armethea, took Him down from the cross and laid Jesus in a tomb that he had bought for himself. A tomb is a stone cave with a stone bed inside, to lay the dead body on. The door of the tomb was a heavy stone that took several men to roll in front of the opening. Soldiers were placed in front of the tomb so that people couldn’t take the body of Jesus and claim that He had risen.

 Some of the women who followed Jesus also went with Joseph. They wrapped the body of Jesus in some cloth, used to bury the dead. They had to do this quickly, because it was almost the day of preparation for the Sabbath.

The day after the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them went to put the burial spices on Jesus. They prepared them to help Jesus’s body to smell better as it decayed. When they got to the tomb, all of the soldiers were asleep, and the stone was rolled away from the tomb. Afraid that some one had taken Jesus, they began to cry. That is when the angels said, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?He is not here, but is risen.”

When they

Discuss

What do the words “He is risen” mean to you and your family?

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Matthew 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19

 Read

Matthew 27:46

46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Luke 23:34; 43; 46

34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

43 And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.

46 And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

John 19:26-28

26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!

27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

Discuss

These are all phrases that Jesus said, as He suffered the end of His Atonement on the cross. Reread each of these utterances and discuss what they teach you about the Savior.

Here are some ideas that we thought of:

Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

All of Jesus’s life, he had his Father with Him and supporting Him through every trial and teaching Him what He needed to know. 

When Jesus was going through the pain of the Atonement, Heavenly Father withdrew His peace and comfort, from Him. For the first time in Jesus’s life He was completely alone. In the book, Jesus the Christ , James E Talmage says, “That the supreme sacrifice of the Son might be consummated in all its fulness, the Father seems to have withdrawn the support of His immediate Presence, leaving to the Savior of men the glory of complete victory over the forces of sin and death.” In other words, Christ was alone, so that you never have to be.

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Jesus was forgiving to those who crucified Him. They beat Him and took His clothes, but He didn’t hate them or ask Heavenly Father to punish them. Instead He asked Heavenly Father to forgive them.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise

Two thieves hung next to Jesus. One man thought only of himself and asked Jesus to save them all from dying on the cross. The other man said that they, the two thieves, deserved to be punished, because of what they did, but Jesus was innocent and didn’t deserve to be punished. He didn’t ask Jesus to save Him from physical death and punishment. He asked to be saved from spiritual death. In the book Jesus the Christ by, James E. Talmage, it says says, “His confession of guilt and his acknowledgment of the justice of his own condemnation led to incipient repentance, and to faith in the Lord Jesus, his companion in agony. ‘And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.’ To the appeal of penitence the Lord replied with such a promise as He alone could make: ‘Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise.’”

When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

Though Jesus was suffering the worst pain possible, He saw His sweet mother, Mary. He knew that she was suffering, as she watched her Son suffer. He knew that He was about to leave her, and He wanted her to be taken care of. Through His suffering, He turned to His disciple that He loved and trusted, and told Him to take care of His mother. This trusted disciple, John, took her into his home, just as Jesus asked him to do.

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.

Jesus completed the Atonement for you. He completed it for me. He completed the Atonement and suffered for all of the pains and sicknesses of everyone that ever has lived and ever will live in the world. Only after He did this for all of us, did He notice His own physical needs, and He said, I thirst.

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost.

The pain of the Atonement of Jesus Christ did not cause Him to die. He suffered the pain of nails being driven into His hands and wrists, He was whipped with leather that had pieces of glass and bone in it, and His body was weak and trembling. These are all things that would have killed any other human being, but the Son of God had power over death. When He had done all that He was sent here to do, He told His Father that it was finished. He told His Father to receive His spirit as it left His body, and He died.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for Luke 22; John 18

 Read John 18:37-38

37 Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.

38 Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.

Discussion

In these scriptures, Pilate asks Jesus, “What is truth?” 

Have you ever done something like break a window, break a toy, or gone somewhere without telling your parents , and then they ask you to tell them the truth of what happened or where you were, what does this mean? What is truth?

When you look up truth in the Oxford dictionary it gives the 3 following definitions for the word truth:

1.  The quality or state of being true.

• So truth means that you say what is true

2. That which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

• This definition says that truth is what is real or a fact.

3. A fact or belief that is accepted as true.

• This means that if you or others accept something as true, then it is a truth.

This 3rd definition seems a little off, because if a truth is flexible, depending on who thinks it’s true, is it really true?

If you broke a window and believed that the window is not broken, and you could convince your friends and siblings that it is not actually broken, does that mean it is not actually broken?

Let’s see what the scriptures say truth is

• John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

• Truth gives you freedom. It makes you happy.

• D&C 84:45 For the word of the Lord is truth, and whatsoever is truth is light, and whatsoever is light is Spirit, even the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

• This means that truth brings light, and this light is the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

• D&C 93:23-25 Ye were also in the beginning with the Father; that which is Spirit, even the Spirit of truth; And truth is knowledge of things as they are, and as they were, and as they are to come; And whatsoever is more or less than this is the spirit of that wicked one who was a liar from the beginning.

• Truth gives us the knowledge of things as they were, as they are, and as they will be. If something that one believes to be true, doesn’t do these things, then it is not truth.

• D&C 93:29-30 Man was also in the beginning with God. Intelligence, or the light of truth, was not created or made, neither indeed can be.  All truth is independent in that sphere in which God has placed it, to act for itself, as all intelligence also; otherwise there is no existence.

• Truth has and always will exist. It existed before the world was made and it will exist afterwards. Truth is eternal and is not created or made. Because truth is eternal, it can’t be changed or manipulated, depending on what people want. 

Isn’t it wonderful that you can depend on truth?

As a family, talk about some things that you know are true.

Watch

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Family Home Evening for John 14-17

 Discuss

The introduction to this week’s lesson in the Come Follow me manual has an interesting point, “Today we call it the ‘Last Supper,’ but we don’t know if Jesus’s disciples fully realized, when they gathered for the annual Passover feast, that this would be their last meal with their Master before His death. Jesus, however, ‘knew that his hour was come’ (John 13:1). He would soon face the suffering of Gethsemane, the betrayal and denial of His closest friends, and an agonizing death on the cross. Yet even with all of this looming before Him, Jesus’s focus was not on Himself but on His disciples. What would they need to know in the days and years ahead? Jesus’s tender teachings in John 14–17 reveal how He feels about His disciples, then and now. Among the many comforting truths He shared was the reassurance that, in one sense, He will never leave us. ‘If ye keep my commandments,’ He promised, ‘ye shall abide in my love,’”

This week, we can learn about the important things Jesus taught His disciples, during the “Last Supper.”

Read John 14:6

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Imagine when you begin life, you start to walk along a path. There are many paths you choose and the places you go will be very different, depending on the choices you make along the way. In this scripture, Jesus taught His disciples and us that if we follow the path or example that He set, we will make it back to our Heavenly Father.

In John 14:26-27, Jesus told His disciples that He was going to leave them. This made the disciples very sad. Jesus told them not to be sad or afraid because Heavenly Father would send the Holy Ghost to comfort them.

He also taught  that the Holy Ghost will do 3 things. 

1.  Teach you all things

2. Help you remember what you have learned, when it is important for you to apply it to your life

3. Give you peace and comfort when you need it.

Read John 15:7-8

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

When you are following the example of Jesus Christ, then you are being His disciples. When you are His disciple, then the things you want for yourself and others fill your heart. When your heart is full, you can ask Heavenly Father for things in the name of Jesus Christ, and it will be given to you, so that you can use these special blessings to help other people.

In John 15:17-27, Jesus also warned His disciples that many people would hate them. He said, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” He taught them and teaches us that if we do what the world thinks is right, people would love us more, but because we do what God and Jesus wants us to do, the people who don’t follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, might be angry with us.

The time was coming for Jesus to begin the long pain and suffering of His Atonement, but He still had so much more He wanted to tell His disciples. It was too much for them to understand, so He said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”

Jesus left His disciples wishing for them to find peace in Him. He warned them that they will have a lot of hard trials and have to do a lot of hard things, but that in hard things, we can find happiness by remembering the joy that Jesus’s life and Atonement gives to us. He said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

Jesus offered a prayer to Heavenly Father in this prayer, He said, “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”

In other words, Jesus prayed for His disciples and for all the people that believed their words. He asked His Father to help all of these people to become one people, disciples of Jesus Christ that believe in God, because they believe in Christ. That they will be one in purpose, the way that Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are one in purpose. That His followers can be perfected through his Atonement and will know that through Him, Heavenly Father shows His love for us.

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