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

Read: John 20:24-31; 2 Corinthians 5:7; James 2:23 “We’re going to have pen pals for an English project this semester!” Moriah told her parents. “We each got the name of a kid our age in another state, and we’re supposed to exchange letters— real letters, no texts or emails or anything like that. My pen pal’s name is Ryleigh.” Moriah sat down that evening and wrote her first letter to Ryleigh. She...

Read: 1 John 1:5-9 Taya sighed loudly when Mom had to stop because of a roadblock. Workers were repairing the bridge ahead, and traffic was temporarily stopped. “How long will we have to wait?” she asked. “I’m not sure,” Mom replied. “It might be a while.” Taya looked out the window. She saw a red van, a delivery truck, some cars, and a motorcycle. Drivers craned their necks, trying to see if they...

Read: Isaiah 40:28-31; Matthew 11:28-30 “Finally, something in science I like learning about!” Marissa loosened the binocular cord around her neck. “I wonder what birds we’ll see on our nature walk?” Mom headed down the boardwalk at their local nature preserve. “Or what birds we’ll hear!” “I’m on it.” Troy pulled up the bird call identification app on his phone. The family didn’t have to walk too...

Read: Psalm 55:16-18 “Pick up, Dad.” Harlow held her mom’s phone. “I need to talk to you.” She heard her dad’s voice and smiled, then she realized it was just his voicemail. “We’ll try again later,” Mom said. “He must be busy with work.” Harlow sighed. Ever since her dad had gotten remarried, he was always too busy for her and her sister. Either he was working or he was hanging out with his new wi...

Read: John 5:28-29; 2 Corinthians 5:1, 6-10 Stretching sleepily, Camden wondered why he had a strange, empty feeling in his stomach. Then it all came back to him. He glanced over at the empty bed on the other side of the room. It really was true—his brother Aaron was gone. It had been almost a month since Aaron had left for school in the morning and had not come back. Tears rolled down Camden’s ch...

Read: Psalm 27:4; Luke 24:44-49 “And now, I would like to present the class of 2026!” Kendis squinted to see her sister, Derica, in the crowd of high school graduates donned in robes of black and maroon. She stood next to her mom, dad, aunt, uncle, and grandma, all of whom were cheering and clapping and stomping in response to her sister’s graduation. At dinner, Derica talked excitedly about all t...

Read: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 “I hate weeding,” Lynnie huffed, yanking another scraggly weed away from the green beans and throwing it into a pile. Jayson sat on the soft grass, picking blades and throwing them into the air. Lynnie watched the wind blow the grass away. “I don’t want to weed anymore, Mom. I want to go play. Weeding is boring.” Mom knelt in the dirt. “Look at all these weeds. Do you k...

Read: Psalm 5:1-3 “Your science project is looking good,” Grandpa said as he looked over Sophia’s shoulder. “Thanks,” said Sophia. “I’m calling it ‘Means of Communication.’ It’s about how the ways people communicate with each other over long distances have developed over time.” She pointed to pictures on her display board showing handwritten letters, telegraphs, telephones, radios, TVs, and comput...

Read: Acts 16:22-26 Gabby’s grandpa was in a lot of pain. His hands were nearly crippled, and he sat in a wheelchair when he was able to get out of bed. Gabby thought she would be miserable if she were in his place, but every time she visited him, he seemed to have a smile on his face. “How are you so happy all the time?” Gabby asked as she sat in his living room with him one afternoon. “God has b...

Read: John 14:1-6 Cadence and Izabel listened intently as Dad read the story of Finn, a very poor boy who lived long ago in a faraway country. “Everyone said the king was very kind,” Dad read, “so Finn decided to go see him and ask for help. “When Finn arrived at the palace, he was stopped at the gate. He explained that he wanted to see the king, but he was refused admission. Now what can I do? he...

Read: Acts 17:24-27 Allison sang out the words of a song. “ Yesu yana kaunar yara .” “What language is that?” asked her friend Gianna. “Like my grandma always says when she doesn’t understand something, it’s Greek to me!” Allison laughed. “It’s not Greek,” she said. “It’s Hausa—a language spoken in Africa. I learned that song from my Aunt Mary, who’s a missionary in Nigeria.” “What does it mean?”...

Read: 1 Corinthians 12:14, 21-28 Brighton watched as Mom tied the sash of Kayleigh’s sparkly new dress and handed her a basket of flower petals. “It’s not fair,” Brighton muttered. She had never gotten to be a flower girl, but her little sister had been picked for that job in Aunt Erin’s wedding. “All I get to do is stand at the door and hand out programs,” Brighton said. Mom frowned. “Brighton, p...

Read: Colossians 3:20-25 Daniel plopped down on the top step and scowled. His sister, Nia, found him there. “Tomorrow is Mother’s Day, and we don’t have a gift for Mom yet,” she said. “Let’s go see what we can find.” “I can’t,” Daniel said. “Mom says I can’t go anywhere. I didn’t clean my room right away like she told me to, and then when I did do it, she still wasn’t satisfied. I told her it was...

Read: 1 Kings 17:2-9 Ingrid sat slumped on the couch in the empty living room. Her family was next door eating lunch before packing up the moving van. Aunt Kristin burst in holding a plate of brownies. “Nothing will cheer me up,” Ingrid declared, turning her back to her. “Not even my world-famous brownies?” Aunt Kristin cried. Ingrid shook her head. Aunt Kristin plopped down next to her. “I know i...

Read: Psalm 139:1-3 Ryan and his mom were having boiled eggs for lunch. Ryan watched the eggs impatiently as they rolled around in the saucepan. “How long do they take to boil?” he asked. “I’m so hungry!” “Well, that depends on how you like them,” answered Mom. “Three minutes for a runny egg, and around ten minutes if you prefer them hard-boiled. I like them somewhere in between.” Ryan nodded. “Me...

Read: Romans 5:6-8; 2 Timothy 1:9-10 Bax scooped the wet sand with as much care as he could stand, completing the last tower on his masterpiece. Finally , he thought. He sat back and admired his creation, but only long enough for his three-year-old brother Matt to run up from the water’s edge. “Mommy, I found a—” CRASH! Matt tripped over Bax’s bucket and fell headlong into Bax’s castle! “Matt! Loo...

Read: Psalm 75:4-7; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 HONK! Honk-honk-HONK! The horn on Jace’s tricycle was making an awful racket. Mya clapped her hands over her ears as she came in from school. “You’re hurting my ears with all that honking!” “Jace,” Mom said, “let Mya help you take your tricycle to the playroom in the basement.” “But I wanna ride up here!” Jace wailed. Mya picked up the tricycle and started...

Read: Matthew 7:9-11 Nathan typed an email to his dad, who was away on sea duty with the Navy. “The Carlsons next door have a litter of puppies,” he wrote. “Can I please have one? Mom says it’s okay with her if it’s okay with you. I wanted to have a dog just like Rex, Uncle Brad’s dog, but this one is free.” Nathan clicked send. He could hardly wait for his dad’s answer. When Nathan got home from...

Read: Ephesians 5:1-4 Brooke’s bag bounced against her back as she raced across the field. Her sister April stood on the sidewalk just outside the middle school. “I can’t believe you’re here!” Brooke squeezed her big sister. “How long will you be home before you have to go back to college?” “Two weeks.” April smiled and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. Kids poured out of the school an...

Read: Ephesians 5:1-4 Brooke’s bag bounced against her back as she raced across the field. Her sister April stood on the sidewalk just outside the middle school. “I can’t believe you’re here!” Brooke squeezed her big sister. “How long will you be home before you have to go back to college?” “Two weeks.” April smiled and tossed her long brown hair over her shoulder. Kids poured out of the school an...

Read: Psalm 119:97-105 After the church service was over, Cooper helped his mother straighten up the nursery. It was raining hard, so when they were almost finished Mom went to get the car while Cooper put the rest of the toys away. Just as he was about to leave, a crash of thunder shook the building and all the lights went out. “Oh, great!” Cooper said, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the black...

Read: 1 Timothy 6:6-10; Hebrews 13:5 When Rayna went into the kitchen, Mom was putting the finishing touches on her birthday cake. “It looks like the ants have decided to come to your party,” Mom told her. “Aunt Joyce and Aunt Linda?” Rayna asked. Mom laughed. “No, those ants!” she said, pointing to the floor where several ants were scurrying around. “Why don’t you get an ant trap from the closet....

Read: Ephesians 1:3-6 “Leo, it’s your turn to help with the dishes tonight,” Mr. Phillips said as the kids finished scraping up the last smudges of tomato sauce with their garlic bread. “Why do I have to do so much around here?” asked Leo. “Because you’re part of the family, and family members help with the chores,” answered Mr. Phillips. Leo looked down at his plate. “Even though you’re just my f...

Read: Luke 12:22-28 Nari sat at the kitchen table, staring blankly at her math assignment. “You’ve been looking at the same problem for ten minutes,” said Mom. “Is something the matter?” “I’m worried about the game on Friday,” Nari replied. “What if we lose?” Mom stopped chopping vegetables and put down her knife. “Follow me,” she said. Mom led Nari to her bedroom and pointed to a cage on Nari’s d...

Read: Psalm 19:7-11 THUD. “Oh no! A bird flew into the glass!” Torin turned to his dad. “I hope he’s okay!” Dad and Torin went to the large glass window in the living room. “I don’t see him,” Dad said as they looked down at the ground. “I guess he must be okay—he probably flew away.” “Well, I think we should put up a poster or something to warn the birds that there’s a window here,” said Torin. “T...