Week: Receiving the Kingdom of God
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
Lord Jesus, we open our minds to learn new things, so that we know more about You. We open our hearts to be filled with Your love, so that we become more like You. And we open our hands to receive all we need to live our lives for You.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Hubo
Psalm 103:19
The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything.
Psalm 103:19 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re continuing to REFLECT on one of Jesus’ parables about the Kingdom of God, which involved a farmer sowing seed in his fields.
Read by Hubo
Matthew 13:8,23
[Jesus said] ‘Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more. But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more.’
Matthew 13:8,23 (NCV)
When good seed is planted into good soil… it produces incredible things! Think of an acorn that grows into a huge oak tree or a bulb that grows into a beautiful flower or tiny wheat seeds that grow into a field of wheat that can be used to make bread and other food.
Jesus uses this parable to tell us what it’s like when we hear and receive his message about living God’s way – living in God’s Kingdom. It’s like good seed that is planted into our lives, and it can produce incredible things! When we live God’s way our lives overflow with love, joy, peace, hope, kindness, generosity, patience and all sorts of other things which are good for us, and good for other people too!
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: How many different fruits have we eaten? Who’s eaten the most different types of fruit? What’s our favourite?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Loving God, we ASK You to make our lives full of Your good fruit – full of love and joy and peace and hope and kindness and generosity and patience and so much more. We want our lives to be like good soil where God’s Kingdom grows well.
Farmers plant the seeds, but they also look after the soil to make sure it’s good to grow seeds in. And then they feed the seeds and water them. Who are the people in our lives who are like farmers – the people who look after us and care for us, the people who feed and water us by teaching us about Jesus?
Father God, thank you for the farmers in our lives. Thank you for our parents and our friends, the children’s workers and youth workers in our church, the kind teachers at school, and so many other people who care for us. We’re grateful for the ways that they have helped us, and so we ASK You to bless them 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.
Matthew 13:8,23
[Jesus said] ‘Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more. But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more.’
Matthew 13:8,23 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we say YES to seeking first God’s Kingdom in our lives, and in the world – to putting God first and living the way You show us to. We say YES to being good soil and YES to growing lots of good fruit in our lives.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 103:19
The Lord has set his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over everything.
Psalm 103:19 (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.
Hubolodumo (Hubo) is 10 years old, and lives In Johannesburg, South Africa with his parents and 4 siblings.
When he’s not busy trying out ninja moves, he’s practicing the latest dance moves, playing soccer, drawing or playing games with his friends.
