Week: Justice and Righteousness
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 God, we look forward to discovering more of Your wisdom in the Old Testament. Show us the way You want us to live, and help us to walk in it today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
The word justice can mean working out what is fair, right, and healthy for everyone. Let’s REFLECT on how the Psalm-writer sees this in the ways that God works.
Read by Eli
Psalm 89:11-14
The skies and the earth belong to you.
You made the world and everything in it.
You created the north and the south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm has great power.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is lifted up.
Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Love and truth are in all you do.
Psalm 89:11-14 (NCV)
It’s good to be reminded of how awesome God is and to remember that God made everything – the skies and singing(!) and mountains and everything from the north to the south. God’s goodness is reflected in everything around us.
These verses also reassure us that everything God does is ‘just’, which is a shortened version of the word justice. It means that God is always fair, and that what God does always comes from love and truth, because that’s who God is – God can’t do things any other way!
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What songs can we think of that have the words ‘sky’, ‘earth’, or ‘mountain’ in them?
And now we ASK God to help us and others.
Loving Lord God, we know that You have created everything for us to live in and enjoy. We ASK that You would help us to respect all that You have made, to share things fairly with others, and to speak out, whenever we can, about things we see that are wrong.
Let’s think of someone who may be in a situation where they are not being treated fairly.
We also ASK You, God, to bring peace to the hearts of those we know who are being treated unfairly, whether at school, at home, or at work. Please help us and others to seek justice by speaking up for them if they can’t.
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.
Psalm 89:11-14
The skies and the earth belong to you.
You made the world and everything in it.
You created the north and the south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing for joy at your name.
Your arm has great power.
Your hand is strong; your right hand is lifted up.
Your kingdom is built on what is right and fair.
Love and truth are in all you do.
Psalm 89:11-14 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Loving God, thank you for the wisdom that we’ve heard from Your Word today. We say YES to walking the way that You want us to. We also say YES to fairness, to goodness, and to more of your justice in our lives and the lives of those around us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s see if we can remember our memory verse and say it together:
Philippians 4:8
Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honourable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.
Philippians 4:8 (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.
