Family Worship Guide for October 25, 2026
Prepare for Songs and Psalms
A Song to Learn During TGP Unit 16
Practice this hymn with your children, and talk about what it means.
281 | “Take My Life and Let It Be,” Frances Ridley Havergal, H. A. César Malan, Lowell Mason
From The Sing! Hymnal: “This hymn of Frances Ridley Havergal is so extremely helpful to us because it does not merely say we want to follow, or obey, or surrender but breaks down this idea into each of the most challenging categories—our hands and feet and where we go, our voice and lips and every word we speak, our silver and gold and every priority we have with money, our will and heart and what we will do in our future, and finally our affections—the things and the people we love.”
Responsive Reading: Psalm 146
Read the Psalm together. Practice saying it responsively. Try memorizing one or more verses.
Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.
When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free; the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!
Talk About the Songs and Psalms
Choose a verse from a song or psalm. Read it together and discuss these questions using the “Swedish method.”
- What do you notice about these words? What do you like? What is surprising?
- Is there anything you don’t understand? Is there anything you wonder about?
- What do these words tell you about God? What do they tell you about yourself?
- Talk to God together about what you’ve discussed. Praise Him, thank Him, and ask for His help.
Prepare for Children’s Worship
Use this guide to prepare your children for their time learning in the classroom on Sunday morning (and for the Old and New Testament readings).
Unit 16 Memory Verse | 1 Corinthians 10:31 — “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Unit 16 Big Picture Q&A | How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and obeying Him.
Bible Story | “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,” Daniel 3. Read this story to your children from the Bible or from a storybook Bible. Prompt your children to describe the characters and events of the passage.
Christ Connection | Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to anything but God. When we trust in Jesus and God brings us from death to life, we turn away from worshiping anything else. Jesus is Savior and Lord over our lives.
Introduction to the Story
Daniel 3 contains one of the most powerful declarations in the Bible—a declaration so bold that it has inspired believers to stand firm in their faith, regardless of hardships or persecution. But before we get to that declaration, we must understand the situation in which it was given.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced a seemingly impossible situation. King Nebuchadnezzar had set up a massive golden statue and invited everyone to join him in commemorating the event by bowing down and worshiping the idol. When the call went out to bow down, everyone obeyed the king’s command except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. King Nebuchadnezzar was furious. He summoned the men and gave them a second chance to bow to the statue while reminding them that if they refused to bow, he would have them thrown into a fiery furnace where they would surely die.
Given the ultimatum, the three men declared, “If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can rescue us from the power of you, the king. But even if he does not rescue us, we want you as king to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up” (Daniel 3:16–18). The boldest part of that statement comes in the second sentence, when they say, “even if He does not.” They stood before this powerful king and declared that they would not bow regardless of what happened to them.
Ultimately, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were thrown into the fiery furnace where a mysterious fourth man walked with them. God rescued them from death, and His name was praised among the people. As we read the story of these three men, we see them refuse the temptation to bow down to anyone or anything other than the one true God. Encourage kids to be ready to stand firm in their faith like these three men and to remember that Jesus has promised to be with those who trust in Him.
Watch the Biggest Story video about the fiery furnace
Prepare for Pulpit Ministry
This Week’s Text | John 9:8–34
Some Context for Adults | From the Gospel Coalition Commentary: “When told that Jesus healed the man by putting mud on his eyes, the Pharisees once again detect a violation of their Sabbath regulations (the alert reader remembers that in the case of the healing of the invalid in chapter 5, they had objected to Jesus telling the man to pick up his bed) and conclude that Jesus cannot be from God. Yet others disagree, asking, ‘How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?’ (9:16). In fact, opening the eyes of the blind was one of the expected marks of the Messiah (Isa 35:5; 42:7). When asked for his opinion about Jesus, the formerly blind man responds, similarly to the Samaritan woman before him, that he thinks Jesus is a prophet (9:17; cf. 4:19). However, he will progressively move from viewing Jesus as a prophet to viewing him as the Messiah (9:37–38).”
COMA Questions
Context, Observation, Meaning, Application
- What do you remember from the previous story in the Gospel of John?
- What do you notice about this passage? Are there any words you don’t know?
- What do you think is the message or story of this passage?
- What do you think God wants you to think or do after reading this passage?
Pray | After you have read and discussed the passage, thank God for His Word and ask Him to apply it to your life. Ask for the specific applications you identified in your discussion.
