Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids

Keys For Kids Ministries
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Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids

Keys For Kids Ministries is a children's ministry organization, offering Keys for Kids, Down Gilead Lane, and much more.

  1. 13 HR. AGO

    Like Squirrels

    Four-year-old Lilia held her mom's hand as she walked home from school. "Look at all the squirrels!" she squealed. "They're gathering food for winter," her brother Casen informed her. "We learned all about it in school today." "Gathering food for winter?" Lilia repeated. "Why do they need to do that?" "Because when winter comes, there's a lot of snow. You like to make snowmen with it, remember? It's hard for the squirrels to find food when the ground is covered with snow, so right now they're gathering lots of nuts and hiding them in certain spots." Casen shrugged. "Then hopefully they remember where the food is when they need it." "That's cool," Lilia replied. "I like the black squirrels best." "Casen, did you memorize your verse for church club tonight?" Mom asked. Casen frowned and kicked a rock on the sidewalk. "Verses are hard to memorize. I don't see why I have to memorize them if they're in my Bible anyway." Mom watched as Lilia cooed at a squirrel. "Casen, this reminds me of what you learned in school today." "About squirrels?" Casen asked. "Yes, about squirrels." Mom smiled. "The squirrels take the time to gather their food and hide it away for when they need it. There's a verse in the Bible that tells us to hide God's Word in our hearts." "So we have verses when we need them?" Casen asked. "Exactly," Mom replied. "You don't always have your Bible, and being able to remember verses is helpful--like how I remembered Psalm 119:11 just now. That one goes, 'Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.' God's Word is powerful because it tells us the truth of who God is and what Jesus did for us on the cross, and it guides us in living as God's children and showing others His love. When we memorize verses, we're storing God's Word in our hearts so it's there to remind us of His truth and love and give us encouragement whenever we need it." Casen was quiet for a moment as he watched a squirrel dash across the neighbor's yard. "I'll work on my memory verse when we get home," he said. "I'll hide verses in my heart just like the squirrels are hiding their food." –Kimberly Brokish

  2. 1 DAY AGO

    Number Line

    Holden climbed into the back seat of the car, eager to talk about what he'd learned in math class that day. "Mom, did you know that a number line doesn't have a beginning or an end? It's a line with every number on it, both positive and negative. Mr. Starke told us that number lines go on forever and ever in both directions, but that's kind of hard for me to understand." "One, two, three," Millie counted out. Holden giggled. "That's right, Millie, good counting. But when you get as big as me, you'll learn about negative numbers too." "Are you understanding negative numbers?" Mom asked. "Well, it's kind of confusing, but Mr. Starke said that by the end of this chapter we'll all have a better understanding of them. He sent home a practice worksheet." "After dinner I'll look over it with you," Mom said. Holden's little sister continued to count for the rest of the ride home. After dinner, Dad helped Mom clean up the kitchen while Holden took Millie to her room to play. Then Dad took Millie to the living room so Mom could help Holden with his math. "Did you finish?" Dad asked when Holden and Mom came in a little later. Holden nodded. "All done, and I think I understand my math a little better now. Number lines don't have a beginning or end because you can always count higher in either direction from zero, with positive numbers going forward and negative numbers going back." Dad nodded. "Did you know that God doesn't have a beginning or an end? Your number line made me think about that this evening." Dad took out his phone and looked up a verse. "In Revelation 1:8 God says, 'I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come--the Almighty One.'" "I think I get it," said Holden. "Since we were created by God, we have a beginning, but God doesn't have a starting point because He always existed." "That's right," said Mom. "And the story doesn't stop there. God promises us eternal life if we accept His free gift of salvation, which means we will live forever with Him." "That's so cool!" Holden exclaimed. "One, two, three!" Millie shouted out. "Good counting, Millie," Holden said, and everyone laughed. –Lisa Fuller

  3. 2 DAYS AGO

    A Family That Cares

    Josiah looked at the craft he'd made in Sunday school. It was a box covered in construction paper that said "Jesus loves you, and He'll always take care of you" on the top. Josiah sighed. Those words didn't make him feel especially happy. I already have too many people taking care of me, he thought. Between his parents and his two older sisters, it seemed like someone was always concerned about him or telling him what to do. And now Jesus was watching over him too. "Hi, Josiah," his sister Miriam said when he came out of his class. "Abigail and I will walk you to the car." After Josiah put on his coat, Miriam made sure it was zipped all the way to his chin. "It's cold outside, and we don't want you getting sick!" she said. "You'd better wear your gloves too," said Abigail. "Here, I'll help you." She took one of Josiah's gloves and was about to put it on his hand when he grabbed it from her. "I got it," he said, hoping no one from his class was watching. When they reached the car, Abigail opened the door so Josiah could climb into the back seat. "All set?" asked Dad as he started the car. "Did you all enjoy Sunday school and youth group?" "Yeah," said Josiah. "I made this." He handed the box to his mother. "Jesus loves you, and He'll always take care of you," Mom read. "That's something I need to remember." "Jesus is taking care of you too?" asked Josiah in surprise. Mom nodded. "Jesus promises to take care of all those who trust in Him, no matter how old we are." "Oh. Well, I have too many people taking care of me!" Josiah replied with a frown. Dad smiled. "It must seem like a lot of people are always telling you what to do, but we all do that because we love you. One way Jesus takes care of us is by giving us a family so we can care for one another." Josiah turned the idea over in his mind. So Jesus uses Mom and Dad and my sisters to take care of me, he thought. I guess having so many people watching out for me is a good thing after all! –Agnes Kempton

  4. 3 DAYS AGO

    Mom Takes a Break

    "I'm done." Mom wiped her eyes and pushed back from the table. "I need a break." Reagan didn't remember the last time she had seen her mom cry, and this time it was over a sewing machine? She looked at the fabric that was supposed to become a costume for her school play. "You're not going to finish that?" "Not right now." Mom went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. "I'm going outside." Reagan watched as her mom went out onto the deck. She stood at the railing, sipping her water and staring at their yard. Reagan stepped over to the door. After a few moments, Mom set her water on the patio table and stretched her arms. Her lips were moving, as if she might be talking to herself. Mom caught her gaze, and Reagan stepped back. She hadn't meant for her mom to know that she was watching her. Mom motioned for her to come outside. "It's a beautiful day," she said as Reagan came out onto the deck. Her face looked much different than it had when she was at the sewing machine. She almost looked happy. Reagan walked over to the porch rail. "Are you going to finish my costume?" Mom smiled. "Yes. I just needed a break." She reached over and put a hand on Reagan's head. "The machine wasn't working right, and it was frustrating me. Remember how frustrated you got the other night when you couldn't solve your math problem?" Reagan nodded, her face feeling suddenly warm. "I dumped my whole pencil case all over the floor." "What could you have done instead?" Mom asked. "Taken a break?" Reagan guessed. "Right." Mom messed up Reagan's hair. "Even Jesus did that. There were times when He felt the need to get away. He took breaks to pray, and I think He would want us to take breaks to cool down rather than have us blow up." "It does feel nice to be outside," said Reagan. "Outside. In your room alone. Exercising somewhere." Mom nodded. "When we're frustrated, just taking a breather--and maybe saying a little prayer to God too--can help us feel better." –Emily Acker

  5. 4 DAYS AGO

    Gooey or Not

    "We made cinnamon biscuits for tomorrow's bake sale at school today," announced Lexi, bounding up the steps and into the house. "Miss Summers took us to the kitchen and helped us. They were gooey and deeeelicious! We were each allowed to have one after all the other ones had been packaged." "They sound great!" said Mom. "I'll have to buy some tomorrow. Maybe we can even make them at home sometime." "Yeah!" said Lexi. "It would be even more fun making them here. At school we each only put in a couple of the ingredients. I got stuck with measuring the dry stuff--the flour and salt and baking powder. It was okay, but I would have liked to mix the gooey part." "Well, you did have an important job," said Mom. "And it sounds like the biscuits turned out well--light and fluffy, right?" "Oh, yes!" Lexi sighed as she thought about them. "They were light and fluffy and so yummy!" "Without the baking powder, they would have been flat and hard," said Mom. "It was your baking powder that made the biscuits light and fluffy." "Really?" Lexi looked surprised. "Well, then maybe I had the most important job of all, even if it wasn't as much fun to do as the gooey part." "Not necessarily. All the ingredients were important, not just the baking powder," said Mom. "Every team member had an important job to do." She looked at Lexi. "We're something like recipe ingredients too." "What do you mean by that?" asked Lexi, perplexed. Mom laughed. "I mean that God has given unique gifts and abilities to each of us--all different, but all needed. As Christians work together and use our different gifts, we show the world God's love and point people to Jesus. It's easy to make judgments about how big or small someone's skills might be, including our own, but each gift is equally important. All of our abilities were given to us by God, and He wants us to use them to serve Him and show His love to other people." "I think I get it," said Lexi. She grinned. "Okay. I'll be the very best ingredient I can be--even if I'm not the gooey part!" –Della R. Oberholtzer

  6. 5 DAYS AGO

    Fish Ears

    Hurry up, Dad, thought Landon as his dad read a Bible passage aloud. Landon was anxious for morning devotions to end so the day's fishing trip could begin. It seemed like a long time before Dad finally closed with prayer. "Okay, let's go!" said Landon as soon as Dad said "Amen." He grinned at his mother. "We'll bring you some fish for dinner." When they got to the river, Landon and Dad quickly cast their fishing lines into the water. They talked as they waited for the fish to bite, but they didn't get even one nibble. "Maybe they heard us talk about frying them!" joked Landon as he and Dad moved along the riverbank to try a different spot. A few minutes later, something tugged at Landon's line. "I've got a bite!" he exclaimed. He reeled in his catch. "My dinner!" he announced, holding the fish above his head. Landon frowned as he took the fish off the hook and inspected it. "I thought talking too loud was scaring the fish away, but fish don't even have ears." "Sure they do," said Dad. "You just can't see them. Fish have internal ears--that is, ears on the inside--not external ones like us." He tugged gently on Landon's ear. "But you know what?" Landon shook his head. "What?" "Well," said Dad, "even though our ears are on the outside of our heads, our most important hearing takes place on the inside in our hearts. That happens when we listen carefully to the message God has for us. His message is in the Bible--it tells us about our need for Jesus and how we should live as God's children who have been freed from sin. When we listen to that message, God helps us live out its truth." Landon thought about their devotions that morning. He had heard Dad's voice, but he knew he hadn't listened with his heart to God's message. "I didn't do a good job of that this morning." Dad patted his shoulder. "None of us listen perfectly all the time, but God is patient with us. He's also given us the Holy Spirit to help us listen and act on His words." Landon nodded. "Maybe tonight I'll reread the devotions and listen better this time." He grinned. "After I eat some freshly caught fish, that is!" –Nance E. Keyes

  7. 6 DAYS AGO

    God Notices

    "Who would like to take this form to the principal for me?" asked Mrs. Li. "It's very important, and he's waiting for it." Flynn raised his hand high for his teacher to see. "Flynn, you may go," she said. Flynn proudly walked to the principal's office with the form in his hand. But when he got there, the principal wasn't there. He dropped the form on the principal's desk and walked slowly back to class. "Some important job," he muttered to himself. At recess, Flynn collected all the balls from around the playground and put them in the bin. No one seemed to notice. On his way home, a woman dropped her keys on the sidewalk. Flynn scooped them up and handed them back to her. But she scurried away without even a "thank you." Flynn sighed and trudged home. His mom was in the kitchen when he arrived. "Want a snack?" she asked. Flynn shrugged. "What's wrong, Flynn?" asked Mom. "Everything okay?" "My teacher at church says that since Jesus saved us we're supposed to do good deeds to show others His love and that we have faith in Him. But what's the point if no one even notices the good things I do?" Mom paused. "Do you remember the year Dad was out of work?" she asked. "Yeah," said Flynn. He did remember. It was a hard year. "And do you remember how a grocery card and Bible verse appeared in our mailbox every single week?" asked Mom. Again Flynn nodded. "Those verses and gift cards kept us going during a very hard time, but we never found out who was behind it," Mom said. "Why didn't they let us thank them?" "I guess it just made them feel good to help us," said Flynn. "I'm sure it did," said Mom. "But I also think they knew that the Bible tells us to do our good deeds in secret and that God, who sees everything, will reward us. Even though your good deeds may not get any appreciation here on earth, keep doing them. God sees every good thing you do for others out of the love He has shown you, and He knows you're doing them for Him." –Laura Kuehn

  8. NOV 11

    A Long Time Ago

    Grace and Alicia got off the bus and walked to Grace's front door. "Our church is having a kids' festival on Saturday," said Grace. "We'll have crafts and food, and the high schoolers will perform a drama about Jesus's death and resurrection. You want to come?" "Nah," said Alicia. "My parents say church is made up of people who believe in silly things. Besides, I think it's crazy to think that something that happened so long ago makes any difference in people's lives today." Alyssa quickly changed the subject. "What topic did Mr. Larsen give you for your history project? I got Armistice Day. Mr. Larsen said that was the day World War I ended. What did you get?" "The Lusitania," said Grace. "Mr. Larsen said that was a British ship that was torpedoed right before the war. I don't know much about it, but I think my parents have a picture of it." Grace's mom greeted them when they walked in. "Did you get your project topics today?" she asked. "Alicia got Armistice Day, and I got the Lusitania," said Grace. "Don't you have a picture of that around here somewhere?" "I do," Mom said. "Because you know what, Grace? If the Lusitania hadn't been destroyed by a torpedo, you wouldn't be here!" Grace was puzzled. "What do you mean?" "Your great-great-grandfather's first wife was sailing from New York to England to visit her very ill father. She was on the Lusitania and lost her life when it went down. A few years later, your great-great-grandfather married again and your great-grandmother was born, followed by my mother and then me and then you. None of us would've been here without the Lusitania sinking. Life would've been very different for our family if that event hadn't happened." "Wow," Grace said, "I didn't know that." Then she thought of something. "Alicia, you said a long-ago event couldn't make a difference in our lives today, but that's not true! Just like the Lusitania changed lives in our family, Jesus's death and resurrection changes lives too! What He did changes everything, because now anyone can be forgiven for their sins and have a relationship with God." "I never thought about it like that," said Alicia. "Maybe I'll go with you Saturday after all." –Linda Weddle

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Keys For Kids Ministries is a children's ministry organization, offering Keys for Kids, Down Gilead Lane, and much more.

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