Week: The Advent Voices - Men
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 are excited to be celebrating Your birth this Christmas. Amongst all the busyness of this season – all the planning and the preparations – please help us to pause and be still. We open our ears to hear You now, and we prepare our hearts to receive You once again.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
Matthew 1:23
[The angel said] ‘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.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on a big decision that Joseph made after he found out Mary was going to have a baby.
Read by Max
Matthew 1:18-21,24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, ‘Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife.
Matthew 1:18-21,24 (NCV)
When Mary told Joseph that she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit, Joseph didn’t know what to think. He didn’t understand how that was possible, and even though he loved her, he wasn’t sure if he should marry her or not.
But then an angel spoke to him and told him not to be afraid. Joseph listened carefully as the angel explained that everything Mary had said was true. And so Joseph made a big, brave decision to marry Mary, and to raise Jesus as his own son.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When have we made a decision that felt big or brave? (It might seem small to other people, but it felt big and brave to us!)
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Father God, we ASK you to help us to trust you like Joseph did – when we don’t really understand what’s going on or what’s going to happen.
And Father God, we ASK you to help us make the big, brave decisions that we need to – to do the right thing even when it feels difficult, or when other people around us don’t understand what we’re doing or they don’t agree with us.
If Joseph had decided to leave Mary secretly, as it said in today’s Bible reading, things could have been really difficult for Mary and her baby boy. In that culture and that time, it was unusual for mothers to be alone with children, and other people would have probably looked down on Mary and judged her for not being married.
Loving God, we ASK you to be with anyone who feels like people are looking down on them or judging them today. We ASK you to comfort them and give them strength.
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 1:18-21,24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph, but before they married, she learned she was pregnant by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man, he did not want to disgrace her in public, so he planned to divorce her secretly. While Joseph thought about these things, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, ‘Joseph, descendant of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because the baby in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel had told him to do. Joseph took Mary as his wife.
Matthew 1:18-21,24 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, we say YES to doing everything that you tell us to do, just like Joseph did, even when we don’t fully understand, or we don’t know what’s going to happen. We say YES to trusting you and doing the right thing.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Matthew 1:23
[The angel said] ‘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.
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.
Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!
