Week: The Advent Voices - Men
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 are excited to be celebrating Your birth this Christmas. Amongst all the busyness of this season – all the planning and the preparations – please help us to pause and be still. We open our ears to hear You now, and we prepare our hearts to receive You once again.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
Matthew 1:23
[The angel said] ‘She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which means God is with us.’
Matthew 1:23b (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
We’re REFLECTING on John the Baptist’s father, Zechariah, again today. After Zechariah regained his voice, he began using it to praise God for His goodness.
Read by Max
Luke 1:68-70,75
[Zechariah said] ‘Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to help his people and has given them freedom.
He has given us a powerful Savior
from the family of God’s servant David.
He said that he would do this
through his holy prophets who lived long ago:
being holy and good before God as long as we live.’
Luke 1:68-70,75 (NCV)
Zechariah wanted to declare that God was good and faithful, not just to him, but to everyone – and to everyone who had gone before. He also wanted people to understand that what God had promised to do long ago was happening now.
Sometimes we forget to thank God when He answers our prayers, or we forget to acknowledge Him for the blessings in our life. But Zechariah gives us a great example of how we can respond to God’s goodness in our lives – simply by praising Him.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What is something really good that has happened to us recently?
Let’s think of that good thing we’ve just been talking about, or maybe something else we’re thankful for.
Father God, we thank you for all the good things in our lives. We ASK you to help us to remember to thank and praise you, especially when things are busy.
In Zechariah’s prayer of praise, he talked about God giving help and freedom. Who do we know who might need God’s help or might feel stuck or trapped at the moment? Let’s quietly pray and ASK God to help them now.
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.
Luke 1:68-70,75
[Zechariah said] ‘Let us praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to help his people and has given them freedom.
He has given us a powerful Savior
from the family of God’s servant David.
He said that he would do this
through his holy prophets who lived long ago:
being holy and good before God as long as we live.’
Luke 1:68-70,75 (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 using our voices to thank and praise you… because you are good! And we say YES, once again, to listening to your voice, especially during this Advent season.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Matthew 1:23
[The angel said] ‘She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which means God is with us.’
Matthew 1:23b (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.
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!
