Week: Holy Spirit Adventures - the Book of Acts
Each day we will simply pray (P.R.A.Y.) together.
P: PAUSING to be still.
R: REJOICING with a Memory Verse and REFLECTING on some verses from the Bible.
A: ASKING God to help us and others.
Y: saying YES to God’s ways.
We start by pausing and taking a deep breath:
In and out.
In and out.
We remember that God is here, and so together we prepare ourselves to be with God.
Pause
Holy Spirit, like the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, we’re patiently waiting for You to fill us with Your power and with Your presence. We’re ready for You to send us on new adventures
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson J
Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses – in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.
Acts 1:8 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
The church was growing fast and some of the vulnerable people weren’t being cared for properly. Today we’re REFLECTING on what the disciples decided to do about this.
Read by Jackson J
Acts 6:3-6
[The disciples said] “So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your own men who are good, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will put them in charge of this work. Then we can continue to pray and to teach the word of God.” The whole group liked the idea, so they chose seven men… Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:3-6 (NCV)
Cooking and sharing food with hundreds of people is no small task. And the disciples decided that it was such an important task that they needed a team to take it on, so they appointed seven trusted people and then the disciples prayed that they would be filled with the Holy Spirit and given wisdom to do their job well. The names of the seven people were; Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas. We’re going to hear more about Stephen later this week.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: If we were cooking a huge meal for our church community, or for our kids club or youth group, what would we cook for them?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Lord God, we thank You for all the different kinds of food that the earth has to offer, for strawberries and sausages, pepperoni pizzas and pecan pies. We ASK You to help us to remember to be grateful when we taste different flavours.
Now, let’s pause for a moment and remember that there are people in our own community who are hungry today.
Loving Father, we ASK You to draw close to those who are suffering from hunger. And we pray for our church too – like the apostles in today’s Bible passage, make us aware of the needs around us, and show us how we can take this seriously and help.ge and strength. And help them to trust You and to follow what You want for the next steps of their life.
As we read the Bible again, let’s listen for a word or a phrase that the Holy Spirit might want to say to us from today’s verses.
Acts 6:3-6
[The disciples said] “So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your own men who are good, full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will put them in charge of this work. Then we can continue to pray and to teach the word of God.” The whole group liked the idea, so they chose seven men… Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.
Acts 6:3-6 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Holy Spirit, we say YES to going on adventures with You. We say YES to being grateful for the food that we have, and being more generous with others who don’t have as much.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit comes to you, you will receive power. You will be my witnesses – in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.
Acts 1:8 (NCV)
Let’s put a hand on our heart.
Father God, fill us with Your love. Help us to love You, and everything that You’ve made.
Let’s point to our eyes.
Lord Jesus, help us to see You, and to see others the way that You see them too.
Let’s point to our ears.
Holy Spirit, help us to hear You, and give us courage to do what You say.
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Jackson is 11 and he lives in Chichester, on the south coast of England, with his parents and his sister. He loves Pokemon (who doesn’t?), music and having fun with his friends.
