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

Read: 1 Samuel 3:4-11; Psalm 103:13-14 When the school bell rang, Xavier tossed his bag over his shoulder and headed for the door. He spotted his older brother, Malik, standing on the sidewalk. “Hey, what’s up?” asked Malik as they headed for home. “Not much.” Xavier kicked a plastic bottle, and it hit a parking meter. “Did you get to shoot some hoops at recess?” asked Malik. Xavier nodded. “Sink...

Read: Luke 19:1-10; Romans 3:23-24 “Hey buddy, what’s wrong?” Dad asked when it was time for Nolan’s bedtime prayers. “It’s Grandpa,” said Nolan. “He doesn’t believe in Jesus. That means he’s not going to heaven.” “He needs to have a relationship with Jesus,” said Dad. “Shall we pray for him?” Nolan nodded, and he and his dad prayed for Nolan’s grandfather. The next morning Dad took Nolan and his...

Read: Leviticus 19:17-18; Matthew 5:43-48 After school Declan walked to the nearby dentist’s office where his mom worked as a receptionist. “Hi, Mom,” he said as he walked in. He plopped down onto a chair in the waiting room while she got ready to leave. His book bag slid to the floor beside him, and he gave it an angry little kick. Mom noticed. “What’s wrong, Declan?” she asked as they headed for...

Read: Matthew 7:7-11 Brecken was doing his homework on the couch when his dog, Winston, brought his toy over and set it at Brecken’s feet. Brecken picked it up and threw it into the kitchen. Winston immediately ran after it and brought it back. This time Brecken threw the toy a little harder, and it landed in the middle of the kitchen table. Winston ran to the table, looked up, and began to whine....

Read: Luke 6:43-45 Willow slammed the door and threw herself onto her bed sobbing. It wasn’t fair! She had practiced just as hard as Lailani did for the play tryouts at school. While her best friend was chosen for the lead part as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz , Willow was just one of the many Munchkins in Munchkinland who might get to sing about lollipops. Knocking softly on the door, Mom came in a...

Read: Romans 8:18, 28-31 Carson tried to stay out of the movers’ way as they carried furniture into the apartment, so he stood in the corner and frowned. “Why the long face?” asked one of the men who was helping. “I don’t like this apartment,” said Carson. “I miss having my own yard.” He didn’t add that he didn’t know anybody in the neighborhood and would have to go to a new school. The man nodded...

Read: Isaiah 41:10; Matthew 28:20 Hattie stopped in front of the toy shop at the mall. The white tiger in the display had a pink ballerina tutu and little pink toe shoes that laced around its ankles with sparkly pink ribbon. “Mom, look!” called Hattie. But when Hattie looked around, Mom was nowhere in sight. Hattie’s heart dropped and her head got spinny like when she first rode the rollercoaster...

Read: Matthew 28:18-20 I’m part of God’s family now , Brock thought happily. Earlier that day he had decided to trust Jesus as his Savior. He smiled, thinking of others he knew who were also part of God’s family—his parents, grandparents, and his friends at church. But then he thought of his two best friends at school. Clay and Miles don’t go to church , he thought. I wonder if they’ll still want...

Read: 1 Corinthians 10:11-13; 1 Peter 5:8-9 “Look at Roxy crouching under the bushes,” Lyra said softly. Dad nodded. “I think she sees the doves looking for seeds underneath the bird feeder,” he replied. “She’d like to ambush them.” “That means make a surprise attack from a hiding place, right?” As Lyra spoke, the cat sprang toward the birds, and the doves quickly flew to a tree branch. “I’m glad...

Read: John 20:24-29 It was Grandparents’ Day at Finley’s school, and the kids were taking turns introducing their grandparents to the class. When it was Finley’s turn, he went forward and proudly introduced his grandparents. “Grandma and Grandpa Smith are visiting from Arizona,” he said. “They like to travel, and they’re going to take me to the Grand Canyon the next time I visit.” Finley turned to...

Read: Matthew 10:16-20; John 14:15-17, 25-27 Joy took a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air. Her older brother paused now and then to examine a tree or check out animal prints. Living near the woods was nice because you could take a nature walk whenever you wanted to. Suddenly, the kids heard a menacing rattle. James flung his arm in front of Joy and stopped her from continuing down the trail....

Read: Daniel 6:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “What beautiful zucchini!” Mom said as she and Alex walked in their garden. “It’s amazing how God makes all kinds of wonderful food grow for us, isn’t it? He’s so good!” Alex smiled and nodded, then looked down as his phone buzzed with a text message. “Nicholas’s sister Joceyln is driving him to that new burger place down the road, and he invited me to go...

Read: Galatians 6:9-10 Imani plopped down in the grass next to the garden. “I’m never talking to that girl again!” “Who? And why not?” asked Dad without looking up. He was planting a row of carrots. “Natalia—the new girl down the street. I’m tired of trying to be friends with her. I said hi to her three times, and all she did was look down. Then this morning I invited her to play kickball with som...

Read: Psalm 51:1-10; Matthew 23:25-28 “Wow, Mom! Look at that huge caramel apple!” Zayne exclaimed when he and his mom walked into the grocery store. “Can I get it to take to school tomorrow?” “Well, a regular apple would be better for you, but that one is a beauty,” Mom said. “Okay. You can have it this time.” During class the next morning, Zayne thought about the caramel apple in his lunch bag....

Read: John 15:8-11 Aunt Jan was brewing herbal tea when Leah was dropped off for a visit one Sunday afternoon. Leah happily sat down in the homey kitchen and sniffed the air. “Mmm, it smells good in here!” “Orange blossom tea—my favorite,” said Aunt Jan with a smile. She pointed to a cake on the counter. “Help yourself.” Leah got a plate from the cupboard and cut a slice of cake. Aunt Jan raised h...

Read: Matthew 18:21-35 It was starting to rain. Daisy hated being out in the rain. But she had gotten into a big fight with her older sister before heading outside to walk the dog. They had yelled at each other and called each other names, and she wasn’t ready to go back to the house and face her. Daisy didn’t know what she was going to say when she did. So she kept walking down the sidewalk. Her...

Read: Acts 3:18-21; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:16 Marilyn gazed at her dad as he dozed in the hospital bed. She hated the atrocious yellow hospital gown and the tubes that went into his chest. He was supposed to be strong, but here he just looked tired and weary. “How much longer will he be here?” Marilyn asked Mom hesitantly. She desperately wanted Dad home. A deep sigh came from he...

Read: Psalm 51:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:17 Cassian pointed to a row of cars on display at the automobile museum. “Don’t these old cars look funny, Grandpa?” Grandpa smiled. “Well, they look a bit funny to us now, but they were pretty fancy in their day.” He pointed to one of the cars. “My grandfather drove a car like that when he was a young man. It came in any color you wanted, as long as what you w...

Read: Titus 2:7-8, 11-14 As Jesse and his dad walked through the mall, Jesse talked about how he and some kids from church had collected cans from people around the neighborhood for a fundraising project. “When I knocked on Mr. Martin’s door, he wouldn’t give me any cans to take back to church. He said he didn’t even believe I was a Christian!” “I’m sorry to hear that,” said Dad. “That was an unki...

Read: 1 Corinthians 13:9-13; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 “We had so much fun!” Summer said when she got home after spending the afternoon at the beach with a friend. She plopped down in a chair and looked around the room. “Why is it so dark in here?” she wanted to know. Her brother laughed. “Because you’re still wearing your sunglasses,” he told her. Summer laughed too and removed the glasses. Dad smile...

Read: Psalms 104:24-28; 117:1-2 “I’m ahead of you, Mom!” Kenzie called as she paddled down the river in her kayak. “Kenzie, stop and look ahead of you!” Mom called back. Kenzie slowed down her kayak, noticing a bunch of branches ahead of her on the water. “What are those?” Mom moved her kayak beside Kenzie’s. “I think it’s a beaver dam. Let’s sit here for a little bit and see if anything comes out...

Read: Galatians 5:22-26; Colossians 1:9-14 “This is the prettiest flower garden I’ve ever seen!” said Nia. Grandma looked up from her weeding. “I enjoy it too. When it’s nice outside, I spend time almost every day watering, weeding, or transplanting something. It’s a lot of work, but worth it.” She smiled as she pulled a weed out of the dirt. “It reminds me of my life as a Christian.” “It does?” a...

Read: Genesis 1:2-5; 2:7; Psalm 33:6-9; Ephesians 2:4-10 “Look, Levi, I’m making a snowman!” cried Claire, rolling a white blob of playdough into a ball. But her brother didn’t seem to be listening. Levi was concentrating. He had spent the last ten minutes sculpting the face of a lion out of some yellow playdough. Claire had to admit, Levi’s lion was pretty good. He had used a plastic knife to car...

Read: 2 Timothy 4:16-18 “Nick, can you come up here and hold this for me?” Mr. Manning asked. Nick’s heart beat faster as he walked to the front of the classroom. He got nervous any time he had to be in front of others. With shaking hands, Nick took the poster his teacher asked him to hold. A minute later, he was sitting on the floor with his teacher in front of him. “Just breathe,” Mr. Manning sa...

Read: Psalm 139:1-5, 13-18; Matthew 10:29-31 “Aunt Vivian, will you help me carry these shells? There are so many I want to take home!” The beauty of the seashells scattered on the beach captivated Gatlin. He had already filled his hands with shells of many colors. Aunt Vivian laughed. “Gatlin, why don’t you pick your favorite shells to take home? We can’t carry them all.” After Gatlin and his aun...