Do Together
One evening or rainy day, invite your family to help build a fort using blankets, pillows, furniture, and other household items. As you work together to build your hideaway, talk about how a fort provides safety and protection, just as the Bible teaches that God is a refuge for His children. After finishing your fort, climb in and read Psalm 59:16-17 together.
- If you have older children or teens, you can adapt this faith talk by going camping or putting up a tent in your backyard instead of building a simple fort inside your house.
Talk Together
Younger Children
- Ask your children if there are any words in these verses that they don’t understand?
- In what ways is God a fortress and refuge for us, His children?
- What other names does David, the author of this psalm, use for God?
- What hard or scary things in your life do you need protection from?
- How can you rely on God as a refuge when facing challenges with friends?
- How can you trust God as a refuge when a loved one is sick?
- How can you turn to God as a refuge when you have bad dreams?
- How does Jesus serve as a refuge from God’s anger toward sin for those who love and trust Him?
Older Children and Teens
Read Psalm 59:16-17. Then use the following questions to guide your conversation.
- What do you think about the whole camping experience so far – the good, the bad, the ugly.
- Do you think it will be easy or enjoyable for you to sleep overnight in the tent. Allow them to share why or why not.
- What are some things that the tent can protect us from while we sleep? What are some things the tent can’t protect us from? Why can the tent not keep us safe from these things?
- Before going any further, are any words in these verses that you don’t understand?
- What are the differences between a tent and a fortress or refuge?
- In what ways is God a fortress and refuge for us, His children? For David? (It would be helpful for you to know what David was experiencing when he penned this Psalm, prior to leading this Faith Talk, I’d recommend reading 1 Samuel 19:1-24.)
- What other names does David, the author of this psalm, use for God?
- David needed protection from a jealous king who wanted to kill him, what hard or scary things in your life do you need protection from?
- How can you rely on God as a refuge when facing challenges with friends?
- How can you trust God as a refuge when a loved one is sick?
- How can you turn to God as a refuge when you have fear or anxiety?
- How does Jesus serve as a refuge from God’s anger toward sin for those who love and trust Him?
Pray Together
Finish by praying together as a family, thanking God for being a refuge and asking for the faith to trust in His protection. If you’d like, you could sing songs of praise, following David’s example, after praying.
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