Week: Mission - God's plan, God's purpose
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
God of rescue and restoration, thank You for Your beautiful mission to save the whole world. Here we are, Lord. Fill us with Your Spirit, and send us so that we can join in with Your mission.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
Ephesians 1:10
When the time is right, God will do all he has planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.
Ephesians 1:10 (CEV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we are continuing to REFLECT on Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. In these verses he explains that joining in with God’s mission in the world means learning more about Jesus – becoming Jesus’ followers.
Read by Max
Colossians 1:9-10
Since the day we heard about you, we have continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what he wants. We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things so that you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way. You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:9-10 (NCV)
Trees need strong, deep roots to keep them steady, especially when winds blow and storms come. And trees need strong, deep roots so that they produce good fruit too.
Later in this same letter, Paul tells the Colossian Christians to ‘keep your roots deep in [Jesus] and have your lives built on him,’ (Colossians 2:7), and in today’s Bible passage he tells them just how to do this. Learn what God wants us to do. Grow in understanding. Live in a way that pleases Jesus. And if we do this, then we will produce good fruit. Good roots produce good fruit.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When was the last time we climbed a tree? Where was it?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
One of the best ways to learn what God wants us to do, and to grow in understanding is to… read our Bibles! God loves to speak to us through the Bible – that’s why the Bible is sometimes called ‘the Word of God’.
Holy Spirit, we ASK You to help us hear God’s words through God’s Word, the Bible. We want to learn what God wants us to do each day, and we want to grow in understanding – to grow strong, deep roots in Jesus.
Let’s think of the people who teach us about God through the Bible. And let’s thank God for them too.
Father God, we’re grateful for our teachers and church leaders, children’s workers and youth leaders, for our parents and friends who teach us and help us learn what You want us to do, and grow in understanding about You. We ASK You to bless them.
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.
Colossians 1:9-10
Since the day we heard about you, we have continued praying for you, asking God that you will know fully what he wants. We pray that you will also have great wisdom and understanding in spiritual things so that you will live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way. You will produce fruit in every good work and grow in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:9-10 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, we say YES to learning more about You and about Your mission to save the whole world. We want to grow strong, deep roots in Jesus.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Ephesians 1:10
When the time is right, God will do all he has planned, and Christ will bring together everything in heaven and on earth.
Ephesians 1:10 (CEV)
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.
Joy lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and her dog. She works for Bridgetown Church where she leads kids as they grow, learn, and have lots of fun. Joy loves gardening, summer camp, eating ice cream, and reading her favourite books, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!
