Week: Voices of Advent
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
Lord Jesus, we’re looking forward to celebrating Your birth this Christmas. Help us to be still amongst all the planning and the preparations, to rest in Your presence and remember what and who we are celebrating.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson R
Matthew 1:23
‘She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us.’
Matthew 1:23b (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
When Herod heard that a new ‘king of the Jews’ was going to be born, he was afraid of what this would mean for his place and his power. So he asked the wise men who had come looking for this ‘new king’ for more information.
Read by Jackson R
Matthew 2:7-8,12
Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.’ But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Matthew 2:7-8,12 (NCV)
King Herod was a grown man, but he was afraid of a child. A child couldn’t actually threaten him – what could a child do to a grown man? – but Herod was afraid because he knew that this child was going to be special.
Herod knew that people were expecting a ‘king of the Jews’ and he was afraid that this ‘new king’ would take his place and his power. So Herod decided to try and find Jesus and kill him before he could grow up and become too powerful. However, when God spoke to the wise men in a dream, they also realised that the child was special and they wanted to protect him from King Herod.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: If we were the King or Queen for a day, what would we do?
Herod wanted to continue being the king. He was selfish and he wanted to hold onto the power that he had.
Loving God, we’re not kings like Herod, but we admit that we’re selfish sometimes too. We hold onto things instead of sharing them, and we think about ourselves instead of other people. We’re really sorry for the times we’ve behaved like this. We ASK You to help us be more humble and helpful.
And we also pray for the leaders of nations around the world – for presidents and prime ministers, and for kings and queens – and we pray especially for the leaders in our own nation. Almighty God, we ASK You to help them to be humble and helpful too. Help them to love people and lead well.
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.
Matthew 2:7-8,12
Herod had a secret meeting with the wise men and learned from them the exact time they first saw the star. He sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Look carefully for the child. When you find him, come tell me so I can worship him too.’ But God warned the wise men in a dream not to go back to Herod, so they returned to their own country by a different way.
Matthew 2:7-8,12 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s use some of Herod’s instructions to the wise men as we say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we say YES to looking carefully for You during this Advent season – help us to see You. And we say YES to worshipping You too – You are more important than anything or anyone else in our lives.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Matthew 1:23
‘She will have a son, and they will name him Immanuel,’ which means ‘God is with us.’
Matthew 1:23b (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.
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.
