Big Idea: So far God has always helped us, and He will help us now.

Bible Passage: 1 Samuel 7 (read this together from a children's Bible if you've got one, or here: Easy-to-Read ) 

If you want, you can use these words to explain the story to your children:

This story opens with an act of repentance ("saying sorry and turning back to God") of the people of Israel. Their enemies had been fighting them and winning, and so the Israelites eventually turned to their leader, Samuel, and Samuel approached the Lord on their behalf. Samuel told the people it was time to stop pretending to follow God, and actually worship Him with their whole hearts, ridding their homes of false gods and idols. 

Together the people assembled at special place, worshipped together and confessed their sin of loving idols. They promised to love Yahweh alone and offered a sacrifice for their sin. As this was going on, their enemies came to attack. God's response to His people's broken-hearted repentance was to step in and rescue them in a mighty way. He thundered 'a loud thunder' so great that the enemies were thrown into panic and retreated. The people of Israel won the battle and praised God.

Samuel took a stone, and He set it up as a reminder for the people. He called it Ebenezer, which is a Hebrew word meaning 'rock of help' and said, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." We are told as long as Samuel lived and led the people, God's hand was in the Israelites favour and there was peace in the land.

Our God is mighty to save. He can help us, and He delights in caring for us (see Luke 12:32). He desires our whole heart – to love Him most and Him alone, and to trust Him no matter what happens. He promises He will take care of us, and be with us, through it all. We can also, like Samuel look back at our lives and say, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." We can trust that He has been faithful to care for us, and that He will be faithful still. We have reason to trust God with our future because He has always been faithful in our past. 

Family Activity

Go into the garden as a family and choose a rock or stone of substantial size. Choose it as an Ebenezer for your family home and place it somewhere in your home that you will see it each day. Gather around your stone and remind each other, "So far God has always helped us, and He will help us now." If you start to worry in this season, or things seem tough, say these words to each other. Leave this stone in your home as long as you need. Gather around it for prayer & to encourage each other each day, or lay your hands on it and speak the words aloud to remember who it is who is our 'Rock of Help'. Our God, Yahweh, God almighty.