Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 21:14-20

Our true story comes from a part of the Bible called Genesis. The word genesis means “the beginning.”

We begin with a woman named Hagar and her son, Ishmael.


Hagar and Ishmael were in a desert. Is it hot or cold in a desert? HOT! This desert was really hot and dry, and Hagar and her son, Ishmael, were very tired and hot.


What do you need when you are tired and hot? That’s right! You need something to drink. Hagar and Ishmael were very thirsty, but they ran out of water to drink.


Do deserts have a lot of water in them? No. It’s really hard to find water in the desert. Hagar and Ishmael didn’t see any water. Hagar began to cry, and her son began to cry too. 


But God was WITH Hagar and Ishmael! An angel of God said to Hagar, “God has heard the boy crying” (Genesis 21:17, NLT). Right then, God helped Hagar see a well of water!


Hagar quickly filled a bottle with water and gave Ishmael some water to drink. Ishmael wasn’t thirsty anymore! Yay!


God heard Hagar and Ishmael because God was always with them, and God hears you because God is always with you too! So, when anyone asks you: “Who is always with you?” You can say, “God is always with me!”






Bible Verse: “God is with you wherever you go.” —Joshua 1:9, NLT

Text Truth: God always hears me.



Family Devotional


God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.

God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
—Genesis 21:17-20

In our Bible Story, Hagar and Ishmael were walking through a hot desert. Do you remember why they began to cry? Hagar and Ishmael cried because they ran out of water to drink. But Someone was always with them and heard them cry. Who was always with Hagar and Ishmael and heard them cry? God was always with them, and God heard them! God is always with you too. So, when anyone asks you: “Who is always with you?” You can say, “God is always with me!”

God is with you wherever you go. —Joshua 1:9, NLT

With your family, take a piece of paper and make a list of sounds you hear. It can be something you hear right now or something you’ve heard before—like when you were playing outside or inside your house. It can be anything! Have each member of your family write down a sound they hear. And make sure they write their name next to the sound they write down.

Pray with your family. Allow any family members to pray if they wish. In your own words, say, “Dear God, thank You for this big, beautiful world You made. It’s filled with so many sounds like (read the list your family made). It’s amazing to think that no matter where we go in this world or how many sounds there are, You are always with us and You always hear us. You’re the best, God, and we love You! In Jesus’ name. Amen.”

-
Story illustrations are the copyright of Sweet Publishing and licensed by FreeBibleimages (http://freebibleimages.org) for free download under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike 3.0 unported licence. 
-

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Early Christians Shared Everything

Image
Acts 4:32-37 Our story comes from a book of the Bible called Acts. That name is short for “the Acts of the Apostles.” The word "Apostle" is another word to describe a helper of Jesus. Our Bible story tells us about some people who loved Jesus. The people were gathered together in a room. Buzz, buzz, buzz. The room filled with talking and laughter. The people called themselves Christians because they did what Jesus Christ said to do (Christian means "follower of Christ"). The Christians knew that Jesus was God’s Son. They wanted others to know about Jesus, too. Grandmas, grandpas, moms, dads, and children met together in homes. They would pray, sing, and learn about Jesus together. All these people loved Jesus. They were like one big, happy family. Because they loved Jesus, the Christians happily shared what they had more than others. Everything a person had was happily shared with the rest of the Bible-time Christians. They shared food so every...
Read more

Abraham and His Family Moved to a New Land

Image
Genesis 12:1-9 Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." A man and woman lived in a land called Ur. The man was named Abram and the woman was named Sarai. Abram and Sarai were husband and wife. God called Abram and Sarai and gave them new names! Abram means “nobel father.” But God changed his name to “Abraham,” which means “father of many.” Sarai” means “princess.” But God changed her name to “Sarah,” which means “mother of nations.” Now they were Abraham and Sarah, "father of many" and "mother of nations!" Abraham grew up in the land called Ur. When he was grown, Abraham moved with his family to a new land called Haran. But then, in the land of Haran, God appeared to Abraham and told him to leave his country. God told Abraham to move to a new land. God promised to be with Abraham and show him where to go. God also promised to give Abraham children, grandchildren, and many g...
Read more

Jacob and Esau

Image
Genesis 27:41a; 32:9-21; 33:3-11 Our story comes from the book, or part, of the Bible called Genesis. Genesis means "the beginning." The Bible tells us about two brothers, Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were twin brothers. They were the sons of Isaac and the grandsons of Abraham. Jacob and Esau were born at the same time and were the same age. But Esau was a couple of minutes older than Jacob. Because Esau was the oldest son, he would someday receive a special blessing from their father. That was very important. One day, Jacob tricked his father Isaac into giving Jacob the important blessing instead of Esau. Esau was very mad. Esau was so angry that Jacob became afraid. Jacob decided to move away from Esau. So he packed up his things and traveled to another land. Even though God didn’t like what Jacob had done to Esau, God still blessed Jacob. God gave Jacob a large family and many animals. After many years, God told Jacob it was time to g...
Read more