Week: Holy Spirit Adventures - the Book of Acts
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 Elanor
1 Corinthians 3:16
Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you!
1 Corinthians 3:16 (GNT)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re continuing to REFLECT on the story of Philip and the Ethiopian man. We’ve already heard that Philip read the Bible with the man and talked with him about Jesus, and today we’re REFLECTING on what happened next.
Read by Elanor
Acts 8:36-38
While they were travelling down the road, they came to some water. The officer said, “Look, here is water. What is stopping me from being baptised?” Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the officer went down into the water, and Philip baptised him.
Acts 8:36-38 (NCV)
The Ethiopian man was so excited about following Jesus that he immediately wanted to get baptised as a symbol of starting this new life. It must have been amazing for Philip to see the words of Jesus coming true; ‘But the Holy Spirit will come to you. Then you will receive power. You will be my witnesses – in Jerusalem, in all of Judea, in Samaria, and in every part of the world.’ (Acts 1:8)
People from different parts of the world – those who had previously seemed far from coming to God – were starting to follow Jesus. And all because Philip, filled as he was with the Holy Spirit, was willing to go and tell whoever he met.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: Have we ever seen someone being baptised – what can we remember about it?
And now let’s ask God to help us and others.
God of mission, we want to be a witness like Philip – we want the courage to tell others what it’s like to follow You. We ASK You to help us, and to fill us with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said that news of him would go to every part of the world. There are still lots of places that haven’t heard about Jesus, perhaps as much as 42% of the world’s population.*
Father God, You want every single person on the earth to know just how much You love them. We ASK that You would send people to the places that haven’t yet heard the good news of Jesus.
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 8:36-38
While they were travelling down the road, they came to some water. The officer said, “Look, here is water. What is stopping me from being baptised?” Philip answered, “If you believe with all your heart, you can.” The officer said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Then the officer commanded the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the officer went down into the water, and Philip baptised him.
Acts 8:36-38 (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. We say YES to being part of Your great mission in the world – that absolutely everyone would hear about Your great love for them.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
1 Corinthians 3:16
Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you!
1 Corinthians 3:16 (GNT)
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.
Elanor is 12 years old and lives in East London with her parents and younger brother. She enjoys going on adventures with her friends, reading lots of books, horse riding, acting, singing, dancing and finding different ways to pray to God.
