Counter Culture

​B I B L E  B I T S  &  B I T E S
Devotional for Families

2022 Theme: “Doing Life with Jesus”
Week 7: Counter Culture

Weekly Bible Bite: Matthew 8:1-4; Luke 17:11-19

Video lesson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL8DThllZAY (The Chosen – scene with Jesus and the leper)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzZUDRrKgI8 (Saddleback Kids – The Thankful Leper)

In Jesus’ day, much like our own, some people were not treated very well, including women, children, tax collectors and people with contagious diseases like leprosy. Today we know that leprosy is not as highly contagious as was once thought and we now have effective treatments for anyone who is diagnosed with leprosy.

That wasn’t the case in Jesus’ day. Being diagnosed as a leper was like a death sentence. You often had to leave your family and live with other lepers. You had to stay a certain distance away from people at all times, often not even being permitted to visit a town. You also had to warn people not to get too close by making them aware you had the disease, either by ringing a bell or yelling, “Unclean. Unclean.”

Can you imagine having to go through life never being able to have dinner with your family ever again, to get or give hugs, and perpetually feeling dirty? You might feel like God hated you…why else would someone be cursed with such an awful disease? However, God didn’t hate people who had leprosy…in fact, Jesus healed people who were lepers and was not afraid to be near them. Everyone thought that if you got leprosy, it was because you had done something terrible and God was punishing you. But Jesus showed us that type of thinking was wrong. He loved all people, even those who were sick with leprosy!

Family goal:
Can you think of someone who others don’t treat well? Choose one way to show them that you care and that God loves them. ____________________
[Be sure to pick a measurable goal involving a task so that children will know when they have completed it.]

Weekly verses:
Galatians 6:3, NLT – “3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.”

Family activities:
• Colour the picture of the leper who Jesus healed.
• Make some ‘get well’ cards to deliver. Deliver them to friends, family members, the hospital or a senior’s care home, for those who aren’t well.
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Prayer:
Thank you, God that no one is unloved by you. Help us to care for people the way that you do and not worry about what others will think. Help us to help others feel your love for them.