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.
Today, we are continuing to REFLECT on Zechariah’s story. After regaining his voice and using it to praise God, he began to prophecy about his son, John.
Read by Max
Luke 1:76-79
[Zechariah said] ‘Now you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will make his people know that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
With the loving mercy of our God,
a new day from heaven will dawn upon us.
It will shine on those who live in darkness,
in the shadow of death.
It will guide us into the path of peace.’
Luke 1:76-79 (NCV)
A prophecy is like a message from God. And, WOW, Zechariah’s message from God about John was awesome! God said that John would be a prophet, a special messenger from God. And the message God was going to give to John was extra special… John would be the one to tell everyone that Jesus was coming, and Jesus would bring light and peace into the world!
Zechariah must have been really looking forward to the birth of his son, John. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What are we looking forward to this Christmas?
God didn’t just speak to people in the Bible, but God wants to speak with us too – isn’t that amazing? Let’s ASK God to help us hear his voice.
Loving God, we really want to hear your voice. We ASK you to help us to hear your words of encouragement, comfort and strength to us. And we ASK You to give us words to strengthen, encourage and comfort others too.
Jesus came to bring light and peace into all the world. Let’s think of someone or somewhere in the world that might need the light and peace of Jesus right now.
Lord Jesus, you are the Light of the World and you are the Prince of Peace. We ASK you to come, Lord, fill our world with your light and peace.
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 1:76-79
[Zechariah said] ‘Now you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
You will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will make his people know that they will be saved
by having their sins forgiven.
With the loving mercy of our God,
a new day from heaven will dawn upon us.
It will shine on those who live in darkness,
in the shadow of death.
It will guide us into the path of peace.’
Luke 1:76-79 (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 listening to your voice, especially during this Advent season. We want to hear everything you say to us. And we say YES to receiving your words of encouragement and inspiration for others too. Please speak to us and through us.
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!
