Sneakin' in a Sermon

"That's the one, Dad. Follow that SUV."

I eased into the lane a safe distance behind the driver. He turned left. I turned left. He merged onto the highway, and I did the same. When my kids got tired of me tailing him, they picked a new car, and we started the game all over again.

After we'd done this several times, I asked the kids a question.

"Do you think the drivers had any idea we were tailing them?"

"They didn't have a clue," the boys agreed.

Perfect. I was ready to explain the point.

"Sometimes you're being followed, and you don't even know it. Friends or younger kids watch you when you aren't even aware of it. Live in such a way that you won't cause kids who follow you to take a wrong turn in life."

They got the message.

Welcome to our family devotions — a fun activity or object lesson, followed by a brief wrap-up. That's our secret to transferring faith to our kids in a way they'll enjoy at any age.

Another one

I took the kids to the grocery store and gave them each $5 and 15 minutes to buy whatever they wanted to eat or drink. The only rule: Any change goes back to me. Once we got home, the kids proudly spread out their bags of chips, candy, pop and gum on the kitchen table.

"None of you bought bread, milk, vegetables or anything of nutritional value?" I asked them.

My children looked at me like I was crazy, so I told them I had a point.

"God gives us time and resources, and He also allows us the freedom to choose what to do with them. All too often we spend our time and resources on things that have no nutritional value for our spiritual well-being."

Here we go again

Let's look at one more example. My wife and I took our kids to a stock car race. It wasn't NASCAR, just a local track a couple of hours away. We sat on the bleachers and each of us picked the car he or she wanted to win. The kids went crazy when cars bumped each other or spun out. The track was loud, and the crowd was rowdy.

On the drive home, I asked our kids to describe what they saw at the race.

"There were a bunch of guys going around in circles trying to get ahead of each other," they said.

"That's just like life," I mused. "People often want to get ahead of others, but in reality they're just going around in circles and getting nowhere." The kids were tracking with me, so I continued. "That's not how God wants us to live, guys. He has a plan for us to go somewhere, not drive in circles. He wants us to impact others, but not by bumping them and trying to get ahead. Be sure you're following His road map for life and success instead of doing it the world's way."

Kids won't get bored with family devotions like this and neither will you. You can do this, even if you've "crashed and burned" in the family devotions arena before.

Is this simple or what? You can use everyday stuff to convey eternal truths. One thing is certain: You'll never regret giving family devotions one more try.