Keys for Kids - daily devotions and Bible stories for kids and families

Read: Ephesians 6:13-17; Hebrews 4:12-13 “We had a missionary from Guatemala in my class today,” Maverick said as his family drove home from church. “He showed us a machete. It was big—and he said it was very sharp.” “What’s a shetty?” asked Maverick’s little sister. “Not shetty , Charis— machete ,” Maverick corrected her. “It’s something like a sword. It can be used as a weapon, but the missionar...

Read: 1 Corinthians 11:23-27 “Hey, Dad,” said Parker as he and his family were on their way home from a visit with their grandmother, “what do you want written on your tombstone?” “What a question!” said Mom. “Why are you asking that?” Parker laughed. “While you were visiting with Grandma, Sadie and I went to the cemetery across the street, remember? There were some interesting things carved on th...

Read: Psalm 121 “Why are we making a scarecrow for the garden?” Cora asked her grandma as she put in some more stuffing. “Well, the scarecrow helps keep the garden safe from crows. The crows love to pull up the sprouts just as they’re popping out of the ground, but when they see the scarecrow, they’re afraid to come into the garden.” “So the scarecrow is pretty important. I think we should name hi...

Read: Romans 10:9-14 “Mom, can I go play at the park with Logan?” asked Michael. Mom laughed. “Logan, Logan, Logan. Ever since you met him, all I hear is ‘Logan.’” “He’s lots of fun,” said Michael. “I think we’re going to be really good friends. It almost feels like he’s the brother I never had.” “Well, he seems like a nice kid,” said Mom. “Why don’t you invite him to come to church with us this w...

Read: Job 12:9-13 Alicia tried to peel back her baby sister’s fingers. “Mom left me to watch you for five minutes, and you’re already trying to take something you shouldn’t.” Bella’s hands were in tight fists, and it was hard for Alicia to get back the little ball that belonged with her dollhouse. “You could choke on that. You don’t want it.” Alicia got her toy back and tried to get her sister set...

Read: Psalm 37:23-24; Jeremiah 18:1-6 “I like coming to visit you, Grandma,” Olivia said as she sprayed more cleaner onto her rag. “It’s nice having you here,” said Grandma. “Miss Cindy was glad for your help with the younger children at youth camp. She wondered if you’d be interested in leading the children’s class at church this week.” She picked up a knick-knack to clean and winked. “You might...

Read: Psalm 134; Colossians 3:17, 23-24 The church building was dark and empty. Mandy’s mom turned on all the lights. Mandy followed her down to the cleaning supply closet in the basement. “I’ll start in the bathrooms,” Mom said. “How about you mop and dust upstairs? And try to finish a little faster this week, okay?” Mandy wandered slowly upstairs with the mop, swinging the bucket and humming. As...

Read: Romans 6:11-14 James looked up from his job of pulling dandelions as his friend Alex pedaled his bike up the driveway. “Hey,” called Alex. “Let’s go to the splash pad at the park.” “Can’t,” James replied. “My mom says she’s sick of seeing yellow dandelions instead of green grass, and I have to get rid of them.” He held up the tool he was using. “I work around the plant with this so I can pul...

Read: Psalm 34:15-17; 55:16-17 As Colin sat down to begin his homework, he heard his little sister whining in the kitchen. He began to study, but all the noise his sister was making distracted him. Then Colin heard his mother’s voice. “Kinsley, I want you to stop whining.” Colin returned to his homework, but soon he heard his sister again. Colin got up and went to the kitchen. “What’s wrong with K...

Read: John 1:1-9; Romans 8:38-39 Reid came to a stop, panting. He’d been playing tag with his cousins for the last twenty minutes. They were playing outside while they watched the solar eclipse. He took advantage of the pause in play to grab his cardboard glasses, adjust them to cover his eyes, and look up at the sky. The sun was now half-covered by the moon. Reid knew that eventually the moon wou...

Read: Proverbs 16:16-20 “Has anyone seen my math book?” asked Aria. “I can’t find it anywhere.” But no one had seen it, and Aria finally remembered she had left it at Zoe’s house. My perfect homework record will be ruined! she thought miserably. She always had her homework done at the beginning of class each day. Maybe if I stayed home sick tomorrow, I could make up the lesson . So the next mornin...

Read: 1 Peter 5:6-11 The broom swished across the kitchen floor as Mom worked to gather the crumbs and dirt from under the table. Ethan, Evan, and Everett sat nearby watching. “Wow, Mom,” Everett said. “That’s a lot of crumbs.” Mom laughed. “That’s what happens when three hungry boys live here.” She swept everything into a little pile, then walked over to the wall. With a whoosh , the hidden vacuu...

Read: Psalm 139:13-18; Ephesians 2:8-10 After church, Elizabeth and Mom climbed into the car. “I liked my class today,” Elizabeth said. “It was lots of fun.” “Good,” said Mom. “Tell me about it.” “We learned about a Bible story, and we sang some songs.” Elizabeth began to hum one of them. Mom grinned. “I know that song! I think it’s one of the first ones you learned. Let’s sing it.” So together th...

Read: Luke 6:27-36 “Muffie!” yelled two-year-old Reya as she toddled into the living room. She plunked down on the floor next to Muffin, the family dog. Reya reached out a chubby hand and pulled Muffin’s fluffy brown tail. Muffin didn’t bite or even growl. She just moved away as quickly as she could, lying down by the fireplace. Reya followed. She tugged on Muffin’s ear. “Nice doggie,” she cooed....

Read: James 5:16-18 “I wish I had a hundred dollars to put in the offering tomorrow!” Isabella told her mom. “The missionaries we’re collecting money for really need it, and I want to help them care for people and tell them about Jesus.” “If you’ll clean the cupboards for me this afternoon, I’ll pay you—not a hundred dollars, but a little,” said Mom. “Have you prayed about the money you’d like to...

Read: James 4:4-10 “Hey there, Noah,” Mr. Davis called from his yard as Noah passed by his neighbor’s house. “Problems? You don’t look very happy.” Noah walked over to talk with him. “My friends are all mad at me,” he said. “Some of my school friends told some of the kids at church that I said bad things about them.” “And did you?” Mr. Davis asked. “Well, the kids at school are always gossiping ab...

Read: Psalm 145:18-19; Romans 8:38-39 “It’s gone!” Abigail exclaimed one morning as she and her older sister walked to the school where they attended day camp. “They just put it up, and now it’s gone!” A huge telescope had recently been installed on a mountain near their town. The girls usually saw it clearly as they walked down their street. Sophia laughed. “In this fog, lots of things are gone....

Read: 2 Corinthians 4:16; 5:1-5 “Hey, kids, how about a camping trip to the mountains this weekend?” Dad asked enthusiastically at the dinner table one night. “I’m in!” yelled Rico. He wanted to get his vote in before his older sister said something negative. Sure enough, Cara frowned. “Dad, remember the last time we went camping? Our tent collapsed in the middle of the night because we didn’t put...

Read: Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Chan walked into the six-inch-deep stream right behind his friend Oliver. The water filled his shoes and stuck his pants to his ankles. The round stones shifted under his feet as he slogged through the water. Further downstream the rocks became larger and rougher, the ground more uneven, and the water muddy. Chan felt around with one foot before taking each step. Even whe...

Read: Romans 5:6-11 Oh no! Poor little bird! Aelin thought when she noticed a bird fluttering around in the grass. It’s hurt. I think it has a broken wing. Maybe I can help it. She picked up her butterfly net and tried to catch the bird, moving slowly and quietly toward it. But each time she got close, it flapped its wings and wiggled out of her reach. The bird led her to the front of the house. J...

Read: Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 4:8-11 “Your friend Mason is really growing in his faith, isn’t he? It’s been fun to see him plug in at church,” Uncle Ken said as Aiden helped him replace the worn-out boards on the porch. “Yeah,” Aiden said. “His solo with the junior choir was great,” Uncle Ken said between creaks and squeaks as he pulled nails. Aiden didn’t answer. As they worked, he was very qui...

Read: Philippians 1:21-26; Revelation 22:3-5 On the way home from church, Joanna noticed her brother staring out the window. “What’s wrong, Derek? You’ve hardly said a word since we got in the car.” Derek sighed. “I was just thinking about what Pastor Kevin said about Jesus coming again.” Joanna frowned. “Don’t you want Him to come?” “Sure…someday,” Derek replied. “Sometimes I wish He’d come right...

Read: Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 9:37; 16:15 Hudson dribbled his basketball up the driveway, aiming for the hoop above the garage. As the ball swished through the net, he glanced next door. The new girl was at the window again. She always seemed to be watching, especially on weekends when his family left for church. One afternoon, Hudson was riding his bike up and down the street when he spotted her k...

Read: Galatians 4:4-7 Morgan never got tired of hearing what happened when her parents took her home from the adoption agency. “You were only six weeks old,” her dad told her one evening when she begged to hear the story again. “I’ll never forget when the agency called to say they had a baby for us. I was at work, and I was so excited I forgot to ask if it was a boy or a girl.” Everyone laughed as...

Read: Psalm 46:1-7 “I miss our old house,” said Tomás. He sighed as he thought about why they had moved into a trailer on Grandpa’s farm. First his little brother, Felix, was seriously injured in a car accident. Then the company Dad worked for went bankrupt, and it had taken him quite a while to find a new job. Tomás knew living in the trailer on the farm saved a lot of money. “But it’s kinda nice...