Week: Holy Spirit Adventures - the Book of Acts
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)
Harriet Tubman was born in Maryland, America, in 1822. Her family were slaves, and Harriet spent her whole life trying to help people to be free from slavery. Let’s REFLECT on what the Bible says about how Jesus wants every one of us to be free – in our bodies but also in our hearts and minds too!
Read by Jackson R
Galatians 5:1
Christ has set us free! This means we are really free. Now hold on to your freedom and don’t ever become slaves of the Law again.
Galatians 5:1 (CEV)
When Harriet Tubman was alive, millions of Black people were slaves in America. Being a slave meant that someone else owned them completely – they had no freedom. They were forced to work for no money and treated badly.
Harriet followed Jesus and when she was very young Jesus told her in a dream that he wanted her people to be free. Then she heard the Bible story about Moses leading God’s people out of slavery, and she was convinced – this was what she needed to do.*
Although it was very dangerous, Harriet made a daring escape, travelling hundreds of miles from Maryland into Pennsylvania, where slavery was against the law. Over the next few years, she crept back into Maryland 13 times to rescue 130 more slaves. And later in her life, she rescued 700 more. No wonder people started calling her by a new nickname, ‘Moses’!
The slave owners were angry and they tried hard to catch Harriet again but they failed every time. When people asked how she kept away from them, she said, ‘It wasn’t me, it was the Lord! I always told Him, I trust you. I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I expect You to lead me. And He always did.’**
Harriet felt that slavery was very unfair. Let’s pause and talk about today’s question which is: What other things do we think are unfair?
Harriet Tubman said that she learned to listen to God, and that helped her to stay free.
Father God, we ASK You to help us be a bit more like Harriet. Help us to listen to you, especially when other people are saying things that are mean or unkind to us.
Harriet didn’t just listen to God, but she acted on what God said and helped people to be free. Let’s ASK God if there’s something unfair in the world that he wants us to do something about.
Loving God, we’re listening. We ASK you to speka to us about what we can do to help make the world a little bit fairer.
When we think about all the unfair things in the world, it can feel overwhelming. There are so many problems, where can we start to make things better? Harriet’s answer was to trust that God would show her what she could do. Let’s say YES to God using words that Harriet herself prayed”
‘Lord God we trust you. We don’t know where to go, or what to do, but we expect you to lead us.’ YES Lord, we will trust and follow You!
Pause
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.
* Catherine Clinton, Harriet Tubman: The Road to Freedom . (Little, Brown and Company). Kindle Edition. Loc 587
** Robert C Plumb, The Better Angels; Five Women Who Changed Civil War America, (2020) p158
Joy lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and her dog. She works for Bridgetown Church where she leads kids as they grow, learn, and have lots of fun. Joy loves gardening, summer camp, eating ice cream, and reading her favourite books, The Chronicles of Narnia.
Jackson is 11 and lives with his younger brother and parents in Surrey. He loves pretty much all sport but his favourites are football, golf and jumping off high stuff into water! He enjoys gaming and is always ready to build something on Minecraft.
