Week: Justice - living the right way
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
Mighty God, open our eyes, stir our hearts and teach us how, ‘To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly’ with You today. (Micah 6:8)
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Zoë
Jeremiah 9:24
[The Lord says] What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.
Jeremiah 9:24b (CEV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we are REFLECTING on what James has to say about the injustice of favouritism.
Read by Zoë
James 2:1-4
My dear brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never think some people are more important than others. Suppose someone comes into your church meeting wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. You show special attention to the one wearing nice clothes and say, ‘Please, sit here in this good seat.’ But you say to the poor person, ‘Stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit on the floor by my feet.’ What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others, and with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better.
James 2:1-4 (NCV)
We’ve all got favourite things. Favourite places to go. Favourite sports teams. Favourite clothes we like to wear. Favourite types of music. Favourite foods. Even favourite friends. But having favourite things isn’t the same as favouritism.
Favouritism is when we treat one person better than another person because of things like the way they look or where they come from or how wealthy they are. It’s easy to do, and sometimes we don’t even realise we’re doing it. But James reminds us not to think that some people are more important than others. At the start of this week we heard that justice is when people get what they deserve, and that everyone deserves to be treated equally because we are all made in God’s image.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What are some of our favourite things at the moment? How about… favourite sweet snacks? favourite TV shows? favourite emojis? Maybe we could choose another favourite ‘something’?
And now let’s ask God to help us and others.
Loving Father, thank You that You treat us fairly – that You made us and see us as equally valuable in every way. It doesn’t matter what we look like, where we’re from, what we’re able or unable to do, You love us just the same. We ASK You to help us love others in the same way too.
The Church, the body of Christ, should be the place where every single person feels the most welcome, the most valued, no matter who they are or where they’re from.
Lord Jesus, the Church belongs to You – it’s Your body here on earth. Help us to be more like You, more welcoming, more loving, more just. We ASK You to help us become safe places where every person is treated fairly and valued equally, because we are all made in Your image.
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.
James 2:1-4
My dear brothers and sisters, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, never think some people are more important than others. Suppose someone comes into your church meeting wearing nice clothes and a gold ring. At the same time a poor person comes in wearing old, dirty clothes. You show special attention to the one wearing nice clothes and say, ‘Please, sit here in this good seat.’ But you say to the poor person, ‘Stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit on the floor by my feet.’ What are you doing? You are making some people more important than others, and with evil thoughts you are deciding that one person is better.
James 2:1-4 (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 becoming more like You in every way. We say YES to seeing and treating people fairly and equally, no matter how different they may be to us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Jeremiah 9:24
[The Lord says] What I like best is showing kindness, justice, and mercy to everyone on earth.
Jeremiah 9:24b (CEV)
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.
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Zoë Thandeka (Thandi) is 13 and she lives in Guildford, in the UK, with her family. She loves football (her favourite football team is Liverpool FC), Top Gear and car-spotting. When she’s older, Zoë wants to be a photographer or work with animals in some way.
