Week: Mark's Gospel
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
Jesus, we hear Your invitation, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Asaph
John 14:6
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.’
John 14:6 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on Jesus’ visit to the synagogue, where He meets a man who was affected by an evil spirit.
Read by Asaph
Mark 1:23-26
Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, ‘Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are – God’s Holy One!’ Jesus commanded the evil spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him.
Mark 1:23-26 (NCV)
The evil spirit in the man shouted, ‘Did you come to destroy us?’ And the answer to that question is yes, that’s exactly what Jesus came to do. Jesus came to put an end to all the bad stuff – the evil – in people’s lives, and in the whole world too.
Let’s press pause and chat about today’s question, which is: What bad stuff – what evil – can we think of in the world, that we want Jesus to put an end to?
The most common command in the whole Bible is this: ‘Don’t be afraid’. And it’s usually followed with something like: ‘Because God is with you.’ (e.g. Isaiah 41:10 NCV)
Father God, thank You that You promise to be with us, always. When we see bad things – even evil things – happening, we ASK that You would give us courage to pray about it or do something about it.
Let’s choose one of the things that we talked about just now – something that we feel is bad or evil in the world at the moment – and pray about it.
Lord Jesus, in the prayer that You taught the disciples, it says, ‘deliver us from evil’ – set us free from evil. And so we ASK You to bring these bad things – this evil – to an end.
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.
Mark 1:23-26
Just then, a man was there in the synagogue who had an evil spirit in him. He shouted, ‘Jesus of Nazareth! What do you want with us? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are – God’s Holy One!’ Jesus commanded the evil spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ The evil spirit shook the man violently, gave a loud cry, and then came out of him.
Mark 1:23-26 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
You are our Lord and our leader, Jesus. You beat everything bad – everything evil – when You died on the cross and then rose back to life again. We say a loud and confident YES to following You.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
John 14:6
Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.’
John 14:6 (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.
Asaph lives in Portland, Oregon with his younger sister Adelina, father and mother. He enjoys riding his bike, camping, reading, playing flag football and watching Bible Project videos. Asaph is kind and smart and loves hanging out with friends!
