Keys For Kids Ministries

Bible Reading: Galatians 6:9-10Imani plopped down in the grass next to the garden. "I'm never talking to that girl again!" "Who? And why not?" asked Dad without looking up. He was planting a row of carrots."Natalia--the new girl down the street. I'm tired of trying to be friends with her. I said hi to her three times, and all she did was look down. Then this morning I invited her to play kickball with some of the other neighborhood kids, but she said, 'No, thanks,' and quickly walked away. She's so rude!" Imani spotted the garden hose and remembered her little patch of marigolds near her bedroom window. She began to uncoil the long green hose."What are you doing with that?" asked Dad."It's pretty hot outside, so I'm going to water my flowers," Imani replied. "Why bother?" said Dad. "The seeds aren't growing. You planted them ten days ago, but I don't see anything happening. They must be duds." He fanned his face with his cap."You've gotta be joking, Dad," said Imani. "You know it takes time for seeds to grow.

Bible Reading: Psalm 51:1-10; Matthew 23:25-28"Wow, Mom! Look at that huge caramel apple!" Zayne exclaimed when he and his mom walked into the grocery store. "Can I get it to take to school tomorrow?""Well, a regular apple would be better for you, but that one is a beauty," Mom said. "Okay. You can have it this time."During class the next morning, Zayne thought about the caramel apple in his lunch bag. His mouth watered as he imagined biting into it. He was glad when lunchtime finally came. Sandwich first, Zayne told himself. Then the carrot sticks. At last he pulled out the apple. He held it up to show his friends, and one of them tried to grab it. Zayne laughed and quickly bit into it. To his great dismay, the inside of the apple was soft and brown, and it tasted horrible! He tried to just eat the caramel on the outside, but he kept getting some of the soft apple with it.When Zayne got home, he opened the refrigerator to find a snack. There in the fruit bin were several shiny red apples. He looked at them,

Bible Reading: John 15:8-11Aunt Jan was brewing herbal tea when Leah was dropped off for a visit one Sunday afternoon. Leah happily sat down in the homey kitchen and sniffed the air. "Mmm, it smells good in here!""Orange blossom tea--my favorite," said Aunt Jan with a smile. She pointed to a cake on the counter. "Help yourself."Leah got a plate from the cupboard and cut a slice of cake. Aunt Jan raised her brows. "Why so quiet today?" she asked. "You usually talk my ears off!" Leah laughed. "I was just thinking," she said."Well then, why not let me think with you?" said Aunt Jan. "What are we thinking about?""The lesson we had in Sunday school today was about growing in the Lord," Leah said. "Our teacher said we need to grow as Christians in order to become like Jesus, but I'm confused. Didn't He change us when we put our faith in Him? I guess I don't quite get it.""You're right, Leah," said Aunt Jan. "Jesus did change us when we trusted Him to save us from sin--we changed from being dead in sin to alive in C

Bible Reading: Matthew 18:21-35It was starting to rain. Daisy hated being out in the rain. But she had gotten into a big fight with her older sister before heading outside to walk the dog. They had yelled at each other and called each other names, and she wasn't ready to go back to the house and face her. Daisy didn't know what she was going to say when she did.So she kept walking down the sidewalk. Her dog, Oscar, was getting wet too, but he didn't seem to mind.The further she got from home, the heavier the rain came down. Daisy was getting soaked now and wondered if it had been a good idea to stay out so long. What if she got sick? She'd better turn around and go home.Daisy tugged on Oscar's leash and got him to jog with her back to the house."Where were you?" her sister Violet asked as soon as she stepped through the door. Was her sister still angry with her? Daisy bit her bottom lip. "We were walking.""You're soaking wet." Violet frowned. "Go take a bath and warm up. I'll deal with Oscar."Daisy handed her

Bible Reading: Acts 3:18-21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:16Marilyn gazed at her dad as he dozed in the hospital bed. She hated the atrocious yellow hospital gown and the tubes that went into his chest. He was supposed to be strong, but here he just looked tired and weary. "How much longer will he be here?" Marilyn asked Mom hesitantly. She desperately wanted Dad home. A deep sigh came from her mom. She rubbed her forehead. "I don't know, honey. The doctor is unsure."Marilyn bit her lip. "Doesn't God want Dad to be healed?"Mom took Marilyn's hand in her own, and Marilyn leaned into the warm touch in the otherwise cold and bare room. "God loves us and your dad so much, Marilyn--more than we could ever comprehend. He doesn't want us to be sick or suffer. God is good, and He hates our pain, but He allows it in our lives for reasons we don't fully understand.""I hate it too." Marilyn glanced at Dad again as he slept.Mom squeezed her hand. "Every day I ask God, 'Why is there sickness?'" Marilyn felt as

Bible Reading: Psalm 51:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17Cassian pointed to a row of cars on display at the automobile museum. "Don't these old cars look funny, Grandpa?" Grandpa smiled. "Well, they look a bit funny to us now, but they were pretty fancy in their day." He pointed to one of the cars. "My grandfather drove a car like that when he was a young man. It came in any color you wanted, as long as what you wanted was black."Cassian laughed. "Did you get to ride around in it when you were a kid?" "No," said Grandpa. "It was long gone by then. I just saw it in a picture.""Some of these old cars look brand new!" Cassian said, peering through the window of one of them. "This one doesn't look like it's ever been out on the road.""Oh, but it has," said Grandpa. "It's very old and must have traveled many miles, but it's been restored.""Restored?" asked Cassian. "That means it's been fixed up so it looks just like it did when it was new, right?"Grandpa nodded. "Worn-out parts have been replaced, and the car's been repai

Bible Reading: Titus 2:7-8, 11-14As Jesse and his dad walked through the mall, Jesse talked about how he and some kids from church had collected cans from people around the neighborhood for a fundraising project. "When I knocked on Mr. Martin's door, he wouldn't give me any cans to take back to church. He said he didn't even believe I was a Christian!""I'm sorry to hear that," said Dad. "That was an unkind thing for him to say. Have you said or done anything that would make him feel that way?""I don't think so," Jesse answered. But then he remembered something. Maybe Mr. Martin knows I'm the one who knocked a ball through his window, he thought. I was going to tell him, but the other guys said I shouldn't. They said he'd never know who did it. "Nothing much, anyway," Jesse added when he noticed Dad frowning at him.Just then they arrived at a sporting goods store. Jesse pointed to a football displayed in the window. "Look! There's the ball I want. Can we go in and see how much it costs?" "How do you know they

Bible Reading: 1 Corinthians 13:9-13; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10"We had so much fun!" Summer said when she got home after spending the afternoon at the beach with a friend. She plopped down in a chair and looked around the room. "Why is it so dark in here?" she wanted to know. Her brother laughed. "Because you're still wearing your sunglasses," he told her. Summer laughed too and removed the glasses.Dad smiled. "I just thought of something, Summer." He reached for a Bible and opened it. "Put those glasses back on and come here a minute. I'd like you to read a verse for me." Dad pointed to the verse he wanted her to read. Summer looked at the Bible. "You mean with my glasses on?" she asked, and Dad nodded. Summer held the Bible a little closer. The print wasn't very clear, but she managed to read it. "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." Summer stopped reading and grinned at her dad. "Seeing through dark glass describes me

Bible Reading: Psalms 104:24-28; 117:1-2"I'm ahead of you, Mom!" Kenzie called as she paddled down the river in her kayak."Kenzie, stop and look ahead of you!" Mom called back.Kenzie slowed down her kayak, noticing a bunch of branches ahead of her on the water. "What are those?" Mom moved her kayak beside Kenzie's. "I think it's a beaver dam. Let's sit here for a little bit and see if anything comes out." "Okay," Kenzie replied. She kept her eyes on the dam as she took a sip of her water. A couple minutes later, Kenzie noticed some movement. "Look, Mom.""It's an otter," Mom whispered as the pair watched the tiny animal. "Otters sometimes take over abandoned beaver dams." "It's so cute." Kenzie smiled as the otter dove into the water and swam away. "God's creation is beautiful," Mom agreed. "I love kayaking. It gives us a chance to admire all the wonderful things God has created.""We learned about that in Sunday school yesterday!" Kenzie exclaimed. "In Psalms, there's a verse that says the earth is full of the

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:22-26; Colossians 1:9-14"This is the prettiest flower garden I've ever seen!" said Nia.Grandma looked up from her weeding. "I enjoy it too. When it's nice outside, I spend time almost every day watering, weeding, or transplanting something. It's a lot of work, but worth it." She smiled as she pulled a weed out of the dirt. "It reminds me of my life as a Christian.""It does?" asked Nia. "Why?""Well, for one thing, weeds in my life can grow as quickly as weeds in my flower bed," replied Grandma."Weeds in your life?" asked Nia. "You mean things like problems? Like when people are nasty or you get sick or somebody you love dies?" "Yes," said Grandma. "We experience all kinds of difficult and painful situations, and if we're not careful, they can cause us to become angry, bitter, and unforgiving. Those attitudes are like weeds with very long roots. The weeds in my garden would take over if I let them, and the weeds in my life would too.""So how do you get rid of them?" asked Nia. "Well,

Bible Reading: Genesis 1:2-5; 2:7; Psalm 33:6-9; Ephesians 2:4-10"Look, Levi, I'm making a snowman!" cried Claire, rolling a white blob of playdough into a ball.But her brother didn't seem to be listening. Levi was concentrating. He had spent the last ten minutes sculpting the face of a lion out of some yellow playdough. Claire had to admit, Levi's lion was pretty good. He had used a plastic knife to carve out the lion's features, and now he was working on a fiery mane."Looks like you guys are having fun!" said Mom, pausing at the table to view their creations. "I like your snowman, Claire! And that lion's beginning to look quite lifelike, Levi. I love the way you've twisted all those strands together to make his mane. You're both so creative!""Creative?" asked Claire. "I thought only God created things.""Well, the Bible says God made people in His own image," said Mom, taking a seat at the table. "That's why we enjoy being creative. Some people like to paint. Some people like to bake. But while humans can on

Bible Reading: 2 Timothy 4:16-18"Nick, can you come up here and hold this for me?" Mr. Manning asked.Nick's heart beat faster as he walked to the front of the classroom. He got nervous any time he had to be in front of others.With shaking hands, Nick took the poster his teacher asked him to hold. A minute later, he was sitting on the floor with his teacher in front of him."Just breathe," Mr. Manning said.Nick did as he was told and eventually calmed down. When he looked around, he found the classroom empty. "Wait…where did everyone go?""They went out to recess," Mr. Manning said. "You can go too."Nick frowned. Everyone had abandoned him, even his friends."Hey, are you okay?" A voice came from behind Nick as he headed for the door.Nick turned and saw Alex, a kid he barely knew, using his hands to move his wheelchair up to him. "Why aren't you at recess?"Alex shrugged. "I wanted to make sure you were okay.""I thought everyone just went out and left me." Nick sighed. "Thanks for caring."At church that evening, P

Bible Reading: Psalm 139:1-5, 13-18; Matthew 10:29-31"Aunt Vivian, will you help me carry these shells? There are so many I want to take home!" The beauty of the seashells scattered on the beach captivated Gatlin. He had already filled his hands with shells of many colors.Aunt Vivian laughed. "Gatlin, why don't you pick your favorite shells to take home? We can't carry them all." After Gatlin and his aunt strolled back to their beach towels, he dumped the shells in a pile. Together they began sorting out the most interesting ones."Thanks for taking me on my first trip to the beach, Aunt Vivian," Gatlin said.Aunt Vivian nodded. "This has been such a fun day. I love being out in God's wonderful creation.""I just wish I could take all these shells home. I didn't know there would be so many!" Gatlin exclaimed."As many shells as there are, there's even more sand. And the Bible tells us God's thoughts toward His children outnumber even the grains of sand," Aunt Vivian added."Wow." Gatlin paused in sifting through t

Bible Reading: Psalm 116:1-7; Philippians 4:4-9More than an hour after Amelia had gone to bed at her grandparents' home, she still had not fallen asleep. She tried everything she could think of to relax her mind, but nothing worked. Finally, she slipped out of bed and went to find Grandma."Grandma, I saw an ad on TV about sleeping pills," said Amelia. "Do you have any? Can I have some?""I don't have any--and I don't think it would be good for you to take anything like that anyway, Amelia," said Grandma.Amelia sighed. She thought Grandma might say something like that. "But I just can't get to sleep," she said."You're probably worried about the divorce hearings tomorrow, aren't you?" asked Grandma, giving Amelia a hug.Amelia nodded. She felt better just having Grandma close. "It makes me nervous," she said, wishing she could tell Grandma exactly how she felt. But Amelia couldn't put her emotions into words. "I'm afraid of what will happen.""It's been bothering me too," Grandma told her. "We need to keep on pray

Bible Reading: Psalm 139:7-12; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Matthew 1:23"Can I have one of your French fries?" Gavin asked his sister as he snatched one from her plate. "Hey, no! You have your own!" Hailey protested. She put her arm around her plate to defend her food. "But you got the crispier ones!" Gavin held up one of his flimsy French fries. "Our oven hasn't been cooking evenly. Here, Gavin, I got a few more crispy ones," Mom said and scraped some of her fries onto Gavin's plate. "I thought that since we rented this place it meant the landlord had to fix things like that," Gavin said as he ate another fry. "He does, but he also prioritizes repairs," Mom explained. "He oversees more than twenty apartments and does most of the repairs himself. Our oven not working is not as important as someone's broken heater, so we have to wait until the landlord has time to fix it." Mom got up and put her plate in the sink. She returned with her Bible and took the church prayer list out. Every night they prayed for the people and

Bible Reading: Ephesians 1:7-9Tinkling bells chimed invitingly as the ice cream truck turned onto Cali's street. Ice cream was one of her favorite treats, but it was just before lunchtime, so she was sure her grandma wouldn't let her have anything now. But I can still have a little fun with the ice cream truck driver, Cali thought. She yelled loudly to get his attention as he drove by, then ducked behind a bush. The truck stopped, and the man got out expecting to sell something, but no one came to buy. Cali snickered to herself when she saw his puzzled face."That was unkind," said Grandma, and Cali jumped in surprise. She had no idea Grandma was watching and had come out. "It was wrong for you to stop that man and make him think he was going to earn some money. Now come with me. You need to apologize." Grandma led the way to the truck, which had not yet moved on.Under Grandma's watchful eye, Cali told the driver she was sorry for playing a trick on him. Then Grandma bought an ice cream bar for each of them.Ca

Bible Reading: James 3:1-10"Hey, Dad, do you know what Elise told me?" asked Tenley. Dad put down the book he was reading and smiled. Tenley loved to tell him everything that was going on with her friends at school--even when they were on vacation."Elise says Aria's dad was arrested and taken to the police station," Tenley went on. "He was driving under the influence--that means he was drunk--and he crashed into another car. Elise says he gets drunk every weekend, and he--""Hold on a minute, Tenley," said Dad. "How do you know what Elise said is true? And even if it is, should you repeat it? You could hurt Aria's father badly by saying things like that about him. And I'm sure it would hurt Aria to know you're telling people about her family's problems.""Well, I--" Tenley suddenly stood up and pointed to a nearby campsite. "Dad, look! Over there! Those leaves are on fire!"Dad and Tenley raced over to the campsite, grabbing a couple of wet towels from the line as they went. A hot log had rolled out of an unatte

Bible Reading: Psalm 119:9-16; 2 Timothy 3:14-17"Turn on the radio, Dad," Kaelyn called from the back of the minivan. "Yeah," said Brenner. "It's boring back here. We've been driving forever!"Dad glanced at the twins in the rearview mirror. "Sorry, guys," he said. "I hate to ruin your fun, but I don't like your music."Brenner snorted. "What fun? We're on a three-hour car trip in the middle of nowhere!""Hey, Brenner," whispered Kaelyn. "We can be our own radio." Brenner nodded, and Kaelyn launched into the latest hit. "Hey, you, standing under the lights; come on, we can dance all night…"Brenner joined in the chorus. "Ooooh, it's a party…""No thanks," said Dad."Okay, how about this?" said Kaelyn. "Money, honey, it's the thing…""Fancy cars and diamond rings," sang Brenner."Do you two have all the popular songs memorized?" asked Dad."Yeah," said Kaelyn. "They run through my head practically all day long."Dad looked back at the twins. "That reminds me of something I read in the Bible this morning. The apostle Pau

Bible Reading: Ephesians 4:1-7; Hebrews 13:15-16As Dr. Jensen talked about his work as a missionary, Nolan wondered what it would be like to move to a different country to serve God. Dr. Jensen described it as God giving him such a deep love for the people in that country that he had to move there, but Nolan doubted he'd ever be able to make such a big sacrifice, even if God wanted him to.Nolan listened intently as Dr. Jensen told a story about fixing a truck with the help of his sixteen-year-old son, Joel. "We didn't have the right tools, and Joel came up with one crazy idea after another. Just when we were about to give up, the engine roared to life! We praised God right then and there."On the way home from church, Nolan brought up the truck story. "It's too bad they don't have better tools to work with, isn't it?" He grinned at his dad. "You should have been there, Dad. You have tools to fix just about anything!"Over the next few days, Nolan often thought about Dr. Jensen's lack of tools. The more he thoug

Bible Reading: Psalm 66:1-5; Romans 8:28-29The Reed family was seated around their picnic table playing a board game when Eliana looked up. "Oh no!" she wailed. "Not again!" Parker groaned. Arthur, their collie, was almost totally covered with cockleburs. "I'm guessing you just had to go chase after a squirrel," said Parker. "Or was it a rabbit this time?" Eliana sighed. "Dad, why did God create cocklebur plants?" "Well, I don't know for sure," said Dad. "But I once heard of another dog that was covered with cockleburs many years ago. While his owner was picking them off, he noticed the small hooks on the burs and how they clung to each other. That gave him an idea that eventually earned him quite a bit of money." Dad grinned at Eliana. "What holds the strap in place across the top of your sandals?" Eliana pulled one strap loose. "It's called Velcro."Dad nodded. "The man who invented it got the idea from those cockleburs. He's just one of many people who have studied things in nature and then used what they l