John’s ministry is great for family worship. It is graphic and powerful, clear and unambiguous. It is straightforward and we may find that our children are better at grasping John’s meaning than we are as parents. We immediately jump into rationalising why John can’t possibly have meant what he said... but a child reading this passage will artlessly assume he did. They are more likely to simply want to do what John says! So you might need to think ahead of time about how you’ll respond when they say they want to give away clothes and pocket money! in fact, Family Worship this week could be as straightforward as working out how to help our children experience the joys of a repentant life.

Why were the people wondering if John was the Messiah? This could be explored using a detective game format. Looking for clues in the OT about what the Messiah would be like when He came. Seeing how John could have been mistaken for Him...? In what ways are John and Jesus similar? in what ways are they different? What imagery in their preaching is similar? What teaching is similar... can you find elements of Jesus’ teaching the reflect what John is saying here? But what about their deaths? Both can be seen as tragic... but are they? What does Jesus’ death achieve that John’s can’t?

Another powerful image is that of Jesus baptising with the Holy Spirit and fire (3:16), and the connection this has with separation and judgment. Jesus will destroy a world that is built on His being rejected. That world, and the way of living life to which it gives rise, is empty waste: chaff. We will need to help our children understand the way in which Jesus brings division, and the basis on which that division is experienced. Any game or activity that features separating out two groups could be used as a context for this conversation. Working out the implications of this information can be challenging – especially if we have family members who aren’t disciples of Jesus. Maybe this is a great opportunity to bring them with you to Alpha. This helps our children see that the most appropriate response to the prospect of Jesus’ winnowing is to be active in sharing our faith.