Week: Holy Spirit Adventures
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
Holy Spirit, like the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, we’re patiently waiting for You to fill us with Your power and with Your presence. We’re ready for You to send us on new adventures.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Annika
Romans 8:15
The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, ‘Father.’
Romans 8:15 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Paul grew up in Jerusalem, but he was originally from Tarsus, which was the capital city of a Roman province. Today we’re REFLECTING on what happened to him when the crowds in Jerusalem refused to believe that he was from their area.
Read by Annika
Acts 22:25-27,29
As the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, ‘Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?’ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, ‘Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.’ The commander came to Paul and said, ‘Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?’ He answered, ‘Yes…I was born a citizen.’ The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Acts 22:25-27, 29 (NCV)
A citizen is someone who has certain rights because of where they live or where they are from. The Roman soldier in today’s Bible story was about to beat Paul up, but as soon as he realised that Paul was a Roman citizen, the soldier stopped because he didn’t want to get into trouble. Roman citizens were meant to be treated better than other people!
It’s actually not fair that people are treated differently simply because of where they are from, but that’s what it was like in Paul’s time, and it can be a bit like that in our time too.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: Where are we a citizen of? This might be a tricky question, but what rights do we have as citizens? (We might need an adult to help us with this question.)
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Let’s begin by thinking about the place where we live… maybe the neighbourhood or the city, or even the nation that we are citizens of. Now let’s think of a couple of specific things that we are thankful for and hold these in our minds as we pray together.
Loving God, we thank you for the places where we live.
As we mentioned a few moments ago, sometimes people aren’t treated well or treated equally, because they are not actually from the area or the nation where they live.
God of Justice and Mercy, we ASK you to be with those who are not treated well or equally because they are from somewhere else. Comfort them and give them strength. And show us if there’s anything that we can do about this – to show support and hospitality to them.
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.
Acts 22:25-27,29
As the soldiers were tying him up, preparing to beat him, Paul said to an officer nearby, ‘Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?’ When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. The officer said, ‘Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen.’ The commander came to Paul and said, ‘Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?’ He answered, ‘Yes…I was born a citizen.’ The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was frightened because he had already tied Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen.
Acts 22:25-27, 29 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Holy Spirit, we say YES to going on adventures with You. Thank you that wherever we live and wherever we go in the world, you are with us and we belong with you – we are your citizens. (Philippians 3:20, NLT)
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Romans 8:15
The Spirit we received does not make us slaves again to fear; it makes us children of God. With that Spirit we cry out, ‘Father.’
Romans 8:15 (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.
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Annika is 10 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with her parents and older brother and sister. Annika enjoys playing Cricket and Aussie Rules Football and loves going to watch her favourite team play football. Annika also learns the drums and enjoys making up her own beats!
