Week: Kindness
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.
Let’s 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, You help us grow, each and every day, into who God made us to be. We’re ready to be changed a little bit more by You today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson J
Proverbs 16: 24
Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16:24 (NLT)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re returning to the letter that Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, which is in Turkey, and we’re REFLECTING on what he said about the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Read by Jackson J
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NCV)
Last week’s Lectio for Families was all about peace, and this week we’re focusing on kindness. Paul describes both of these as ‘fruit of the Spirit’, which suggests that they’re not gifts that God gives us immediately, but fruit that God grows in us over time.
The dictionary describes kindness as the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate. It can sometimes be hard to explain or understand but we all know what it feels like when someone is kind to us. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul tells us that ‘love is kind’. When we share love with others (ours or God’s) we usually do it through kind acts… a smile, an encouraging word, an unexpected gift, being helpful, being gracious and forgiving when someone makes a mistake or simply saying thank you.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What different ways could we be kind to other people this week? Let’s see how many we can think of.
Let’s close our eyes and ask ourselves a really honest question; How well is the fruit of kindness growing in our lives? When our friends and family look at us, can they see kindness?
Holy Spirit, we ASK You to grow a little more kindness in our lives.
How about we put this into practice? Let’s think of someone we can be kind to this week. Maybe we could choose one of the ways of being kind that we talked about just now?
Let’s quietly talk with God about what we’re going to do.
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.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the Spirit produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. There is no law that says these things are wrong.
Galatians 5:22-23 (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 the good fruit that You are growing in our lives. We want all the fruit of the Spirit, but we’re particularly ASKing that You grow more kindness in us and through us this week.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Proverbs 16: 24
Kind words are like honey – sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.
Proverbs 16: 24 (NLT)
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, daughter 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.
Jackson lives in Chichester, on the south coast of England, with his parents and his sister. He loves Pokemon (who doesn’t?), music and having fun with his friends.
