Listened To, Built Up and Loved
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect to Be in God’s Family!
The Big Idea
God adopted you just as you are, and He gives you the strength to listen to others and build them up every single day.
Think About This
Have you ever tried to build a giant tower out of blocks, but it kept falling down? It can be super frustrating when things don't go perfectly! Sometimes we think we have to be totally perfect for God to love us or use us, but that’s not true at all.
Ephesians 1:5 tells us that God chose to adopt us into His family because He loves us—not because we get every single thing right! And when we spend quiet time talking to God every day (Matthew 26:41), He fills up our hearts with extra strength. That strength helps us do something amazing: we can stop and truly listen to our friends when they are sad, helping to build them up instead of just talking over them (Romans 15:2). You don't need to be flawless to make a huge difference in someone's day—you just need a heart that listens and loves!
Family Activity: The "Build-A-Friend" LEGO Challenge
Sit together on the floor with a big pile of building blocks or LEGOs.
Pair up! One person shares one thing that made them happy or sad this week.
The other person CANNOT interrupt or give advice—they just listen carefully to what their partner is feeling.
After listening, the listener adds 3 blocks to a shared family tower and says one nice thing to build up their partner (e.g., "Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm so glad you're in our family!").
Switch roles until your family tower is built high, reminding everyone that listening builds up our family!