The Promise Is for You and Your Children
Month 4: Walking in the Spirit · Heart Matters
Today's Scripture
Read together: Acts 2:38–39
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”
Memory Verse
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.””— Acts 1:8 (BSB)
📖 Bible-in-a-Year (optional)
Today's reading: 1 Samuel 13–14
Reading the whole Bible in a year — do this when you have extra time. (Around Day 101 of 365 — Jonathan trusts that God can save "by many or by few.")The Heart of It
Peter's words cut the crowd to the heart, and they cried out, "What shall we do?" Peter's answer is the doorway into the whole Christian life: "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (). Repent means to turn. You change your mind about your sin and turn to Jesus. And to those who turn, God gives more than forgiveness. He gives a gift. He gives the Holy Spirit Himself. Notice it's called a gift, not a wage. We don't earn the Spirit by being good enough. He's given freely to all who come to Jesus.
Then comes a line that should make every parent's heart leap: "For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call" (). To you and to your children. This same Spirit, this same power, this same nearness to God is not reserved for famous preachers. It is not for some special spiritual elite long ago. It is promised to ordinary kids around an ordinary table. The God who poured out His Spirit at Pentecost still calls and still fills, generation after generation. Mom and Dad, your children are not too young, and you are not too ordinary, for the promise of God.
Around the Table
God's promise to give His Holy Spirit is for grown-ups and for kids like you! It's a free gift.
Let's do it: Cup your hands like you're holding a present and say, "Thank You, God, the Holy Spirit is for me too!"
Peter said the Spirit is a gift — something you can't earn. How is a gift different from a reward you work for?
Let's talk: Why is it good news that the Holy Spirit is given to us, not earned by us?
Peter said, "The promise is to you and to your children." The Spirit-filled life is for this generation too, not just the first church.
Let's go deeper: Have you turned to Jesus and asked Him for the gift of His Spirit? What might be holding you back from asking?
💬 Conversation Starter
What's the best free gift you've ever been given, one you definitely didn't earn?— God's Spirit is the greatest free gift of all. He's offered to everyone who turns to Jesus.
🛡️ Defending the Faith
How do we know this promise still reaches us today? Peter himself said it's "to all who are afar off" (). That means distant places and future generations, including ours. The promise has no expiration date, because the God who made it never changes.
For Dad · Go Deeper
"To you and to your children" is one of the most parent-strengthening lines in Scripture. Classic Pentecostal teaching takes it at full value. The same gift and empowering of the Spirit available at Pentecost is available now, to your household. But hold it tenderly, in the gospel order Peter gives. Repent and turn to Jesus first, then receive the Spirit as gift. We never bypass the new birth to chase an experience. And we never reduce the Spirit to a feeling our kids must work themselves up into. Your job tonight isn't to manufacture anything. It's to keep telling your children the truth. Invite them, warmly and unhurriedly, to ask Jesus for what He delights to give ().
Draws on: Sam Storms, Practicing the Power.
Let's Pray Together
"Father, thank You that Your promise reaches all the way to our family. We turn to Jesus today. We ask for the gift of Your Holy Spirit. Give Him to the grown-ups, and give Him to the children too. In Jesus' name, amen."
God's gift of the Spirit isn't earned, and it isn't far off. It's promised to me and my children.