What is Goodness?
God is good! His integrity and moral perfection are flawless. His goodness to us is evident through His grace and love. Apart from Him, there is nothing good in us. Although this side of heaven we will never be perfect, through His Spirit, God can begin the process of purifying our lives.
What is Goodness?
God is good! His integrity and moral perfection are flawless. His goodness to us is evident through His grace and love. Apart from Him, there is nothing good in us. Although this side of heaven we will never be perfect, through His Spirit, God can begin the process of purifying our lives.
- Read Exodus 33:18-19. What do these verses tell you about God’s goodness?
- How has the goodness of God shown to you changed you over your life or in recent days?
- Galatians 6:9 encourages us not to be weary of doing good.
In what ways is God leading and challenging you to show his goodness to others this week? Make a plan to show his goodness this week.
Best Use
A game to foster the fruit of goodness in your marriage
Advance Prep
Set aside 15 minutes to establish the rules of a game you will play together the rest of the week.
Discuss
Goodness is doing the right thing for the right reason. Easier said than done! Read Matthew 12:35 and discuss how a person brings forth good. (Hint: It has to do with the good treasure of the Holy Spirit within a person who is connected to Jesus Christ.) Next, read Hebrews 10:24 and discuss what it means to “provoke” one another toward good works.
Game Rules
OBJECT
Foster a culture of goodness at home by making it easy for your spouse to do good things. The person who “provokes” his/her spouse toward goodness most successfully throughout the week wins.
CATEGORIES
Any and all of the following qualify…
- A gentle touch that calms anxiety
- A soft word that dispels tension
- An apology that invites forgiveness
- An affectionate wink that prompts one in return
- A question that opens conversation
- A muted phone that reduces distraction
SCORING
Keep a dry-eraser marker by your bathroom mirror in order to tally successful provocations throughout the week. If there are any marks on your side of the mirror at the end of the week, you win a good back rub or foot rub. If there are marks on both sides, you both win a great hug and passionate kiss!
Pray
After the rub or kiss, briefly ask God to help you continue provoking goodness at home.
Best Use
A family night activity to celebrate and share the good gifts of God
Advance Prep
Prepare or identify 5-10 items/foods/experiences that your child(ren) can sample (e.g. a slice of their favorite fruit, a fun song, the wind from a fan, a flower, a board game, a warm hug, etc.).
Step One
Read Matthew 7:9-12 together.
Step Two
Tell your family member(s) that you have planned a 15-minute goodness expedition. Give them clues to locate/connect to the items/experiences you have planned for them.
Step Three
For each stop along the expedition, pause to give God thanks for good gifts, then discuss:
What does this good gift tell us about God’s goodness?
Examples may include:
- He is an artist so He gives us beauty.
- He is joy so He gives us pleasure.
- He is love so He gives us relationships.
How might we fill our home with more of this good thing?
Examples may include:
- Play beautiful/fun music in the car while driving together.
- Eat meals together and enjoy the food/company.
- Hug/kiss/touch more often.
Pray
Thank God for His goodness. Take time to focus on specific gifts that He has given that you talked about during your family time. Ask Him to help grow the fruit of goodness in your home.
Optional
Choose random acts of kindness to do for others. Search for ideas online or come up with your own (e.g. bake a treat for a friend, smile at as many people as you can, give someone a compliment, draw a picture for someone, pick up trash at the park, etc.).
Best Use
An activity with older children/teens to have a meaningful conversation about the goodness of God
Advance Prep
A device with Internet connection, a Bible, pen, and paper for each person
Step One
Pull up Chris Tomlin’s song “Good, Good Father.” You can find it on YouTube, iTunes, etc. Listen for things that are good about God and write them down on a piece of paper.
Step Two
Discuss everyone’s favorite part of the song. According to the song, why is God a good Father? What is true about us only because He is a good Father?
Step Three
Read Psalm 31:19 together. This verse tells us that God has an abundance of goodness and that there are two things we can do to receive that goodness.
- Respect: How do we model respect for God?
- Trust: How do we model trust in God?
Step Four
Goodness toward others, as a fruit of the Spirit, grows out of a response to God’s goodness toward us. Discuss ways that goodness will show itself in someone’s life.
Step Five
Pray together thanking God for His goodness to you and ask for the grace to reflect that goodness in your home/daily life.
Parents
For families with children, an optional Preschool and Elementary Reward System is available to use as a teaching aid to encourage your kids to live out each character trait.
Click here to request a reward system or pick one up at the Bethel Kids desk.
