Week: Mark's Gospel
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
Jesus, we hear Your invitation, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Ephesians 5:1
You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.
Ephesians 5:1 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Up on the mountainside, Peter, James and John had watched Jesus being ‘transfigured’ – His appearance had completely changed – and they’d seen Elijah and Moses appear and talk with Jesus, and then they’d heard God’s voice speaking from within the cloud. Today, we’re REFLECTING on what happened next.
Read by Eli
Mark 9:8-9 (NCV)
Mark 9:8-9
Suddenly Peter, James, and John looked around, but they saw only Jesus there alone with them. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
When Jesus was transfigured in front of the disciples, and when they heard God’s voice saying ‘This is my Son, listen to Him!’, they were left in no doubt that Jesus truly was the Son of God. But then Jesus told them not to tell everyone about what had happened. This must have been really hard for the disciples.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When have we kept a secret, maybe about a big surprise? Was it easy or hard?
Sometimes our friends tell us their good news and they ask us not to tell anyone else for a while.
Lord Jesus, when this happens, we ASK You to help us to be good, trustworthy friends and not tell anyone.
Sometimes people ask us to keep secrets because they want to hide something that isn’t good though. When this happens, being a good friend may mean that we need to speak to someone else who can help.
Father God, we ASK You to give us wisdom to know when it’s best to speak to someone else, and courage to actually go ahead and do it when we need to.
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.
Mark 9:8-9
Mark 9:8-9 (NCV)
Suddenly Peter, James, and John looked around, but they saw only Jesus there alone with them. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone about what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, when the disciples looked around, they only saw You alone with them. We say YES to seeing you, perhaps in a new way – whether what’s happening around us is ordinary or extraordinary, we want to see You.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Ephesians 5:1
You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.
Ephesians 5:1 (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.
Eli is 11 and lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his mum, dad and two younger sisters. He enjoys music, reading, riding his skateboard and playing soccer.