Welcome to Lectio for Families. It’s the Advent season, the time when we prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas, and we are continuing with our series called ‘Voices of Advent’. This week we are listening to the voices of two very important women, Elizabeth and Mary.

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.

Pause

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

Prayer of Welcome

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.

Rejoice

Memory Verse

We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:

God, help us to remember Your Word.

Reflect

Bible Reading

Today, we’re REFLECTING on what happened when Mary went to visit her cousin, Elizabeth.

Read by Ruby
Luke 1:41-42
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out in a loud voice, ‘God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth.’
Luke 1:41-42 (NCV)

Have we ever seen the shape of a baby wriggling around inside its mother’s tummy? Well, let’s think about that as we imagine this scene.

As soon as Elizabeth heard Mary calling to her, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and shouted with joy. But not only that – the baby in her womb jumped for joy as well. Her baby didn’t just poke out an elbow or a foot, he jumped for joy!

Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When was the last time we shouted or jumped for joy?

• PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

There’s a very old Christian song which includes the words, ‘Give me joy in my heart, keep me praising. Give me joy in my heart, I pray.’ Maybe we know it? As we think about what’s going on in our lives at the moment – the good things, and the difficult things – let’s use the words from this song as our prayer.

Lord Jesus, give us joy in our hearts, keep us praising You, just like Elizabeth and her unborn baby boy. Give us joy in our hearts, we pray.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

And now, let’s think of the families that we know.

Father God, we pray for those who are pregnant, and for those who have recently had a baby. We ASK You to give them strength and wisdom as they care for their child. Holy Spirit, fill them, just like You filled Elizabeth.

And Father God, we do also pray for those who may be finding it difficult to get pregnant, and especially for those who have experienced loss. Holy Spirit, we pray that You would give them the peace and comfort that they need right now.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Yes

Bible Reading

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 1:41-42
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the unborn baby inside her jumped, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She cried out in a loud voice, ‘God has blessed you more than any other woman, and he has blessed the baby to which you will give birth.’
Luke 1:41-42 (NCV)

What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and tell each other

YES Prayer

And now, let’s say YES to God together.

Lord Jesus, we say a big YES to welcoming Your Holy Spirit into every part of our lives. We want to be filled with Your joy, and to overflow with that joy everywhere we go.

Memory Verse

After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:

Closing Prayer

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.