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 REFLECTING on a few verses from the book of Revelation, which is mostly a vision that Jesus’ disciple, John, had while he was on the island of Patmos. In these verses, we discover God’s ultimate mission.
Read by Max
Revelation 7:9-10
After the vision of these things I looked, and there was a great number of people, so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They were shouting in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’
Revelation 7:9-10 (NCV)
Have we ever flicked to the last page of a book because we can’t wait to find out what happens at the end? Well, that’s what we’re doing in today’s Lectio for Families. This is it. It’s the big finale. We’re peeking at the final scene of God’s Story.
In John’s vision, he sees a huge crowd of people – let’s try to imagine it for a moment. He sees millions, billions of people – so many that he can’t possibly count them. And they are from everywhere, from every nation, from every group of people that has ever lived, and they’re speaking every single language.
And here’s the really incredible thing… they’re all followers of Jesus. Jesus is the ‘Lamb of God’ and all these people have gathered to worship Him.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What’s the biggest crowd we’ve ever been in?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Lord Jesus, whenever we feel alone, we ASK You to help us to remember that we are part of the biggest family that has ever existed on Planet Earth – your family! We have sisters and brothers from every nation, from every group of people, and they speak every single language. And one day we will all be in one place, celebrating with You – what a party!
There are still groups of people around the world who have never heard the good news about Jesus. Let’s pray for them now.
Loving God, we pray for the Christians You’ve sent, and those who You are sending, to reach these groups of people with the good news about Jesus. We ASK You to give them the right words to say. Give them gifts of the Holy Spirit, including healings and miracles. And keep them safe too.
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.
Revelation 7:9-10
After the vision of these things I looked, and there was a great number of people, so many that no one could count them. They were from every nation, tribe, people, and language of the earth. They were all standing before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They were shouting in a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’
Revelation 7:9-10 (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 playing our part in Your mission to save the whole world.
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!
