Welcome to Lectio for Families. We are starting a new series exploring what’s called ‘the fruit of the Holy Spirit’. In the same way that fruit growing on a tree is a sign that the tree is healthy, the fruit of the Spirit is the visible evidence that God lives in us and is changing us from the inside out. This week we are learning about how to grow the fruit of joy.

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

As always, 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

Holy Spirit, it’s You who helps us grow, each and every day, into who God made us to be. We’re ready to be changed a little bit more by You today.

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 are reading from the letter that Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, in Turkey, and we’re REFLECTING on what he said about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Read by Vera Lynn
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NCV)

The dictionary defines joy as ‘a great feeling of pleasure or happiness’, although lots of people say that joy and happiness aren’t quite the same thing. Joy is usually deeper, and it seems to come from inside, so we can still be joyful even when things aren’t going very well in our lives. We’ll explore this some more later in the week.
For now, let’s press pause and try to reflect on our own experiences as we talk about today’s question, which is: When can we remember feeling joy? Was it to do with someone we met, somewhere we went, a special event, or something else?

• PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

And now, let’s ask God to help us and others.

Holy Spirit, as we read the Bible and talk together, we ASK You to teach us a little bit more about joy… and we ASK You to grow more of the ‘fruit of joy’ in us too.

• OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Throughout this week, we’re going to be thinking about, and praying for, people we know who don’t seem to be experiencing much joy in their lives. We may or may not know the reason for this, but let’s get started by asking God who to pray for today.

Father God, as we each whisper the names of those who come into our minds, we ASK You to fill them with Your Spirit, and to grow some ‘joy fruit’ in their lives this week.

• 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.

Galatians 5:22-23
But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Galatians 5:22-23 (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.

Holy Spirit, we say YES to the good fruit that You are growing in our lives. We want all the fruit of the Spirit, but we’re particularly asking that You grow more joy in us, and through us, this week.

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.