Listen up, little ones
Listen for the word God.
Reading
Romans 8:28-32—God Is Totally in Control
Keys for kids
- God is totally in control.
- God works everything according to his will.
- God’s plan is to make you like Jesus.
Questions
- Why do bad things happen?
- What do we know even when bad things happen?
- What is God ultimately working in us in all things?
Notes
(See below for all authors. Today’s notes are from a commentary on Romans by David Seccombe)
What Paul implies here is clear throughout the Bible: God is totally in control, he never relaxes his control, and nothing is outside of his control. ‘He works all things according to the counsel of his will’ (Ephesians 1:11). If he sets his favour upon you, you are in a very wonderful position, though life will not be without pain. God could have let the runaway Jonah sail to Spain and live out his days in peace. But because he loved him and had an eternal purpose for him, he stirred up the elements and brought him to the gates of death.
Many find this teaching unacceptable, and begin immediately to draw limits on God’s control. …Yet … the Bible is adamant that God does all things according to his will. Paul does not say just that God works in all things for good, but that ‘all things work together for good’. The Bible is also clear that God can do this without doing evil himself, and without compromising the freedom and responsibility of his creatures.
So what does it mean to say that all things are working together for good for those who love God, when they are often very bad and very painful things? …[God’s] plan is to make every one of his chosen children like Jesus.
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 89a, 134a
Prayer
- Ask God to make you more like Jesus.
- Pray for the reading and preaching of God’s word tomorrow.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.