Week: Me and The World
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, You came to bring peace and healing, and because of You we can now be reconciled with God, with ourselves, with other people and with the whole world. We’re ready for You to restore our relationships a little bit more today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson J
Colossians 1:20
And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again – things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross.
Colossians 1:20 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
We’re REFLECTING on a story Jesus told in answer to the question, ‘Who is my neighbour?’ In the story a Jewish man was robbed, beaten up and left to die. Afterwards, both a Levite and a priest walked by; these were religious leaders and were supposed to know a lot about God, but neither of them stopped to help. Finally, a Samaritan arrived.
Read by Jackson J
Luke 10:33-34
Then a Samaritan travelling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him.
Luke 10:33-34 (NCV)
All three people in this story had the opportunity to do something to help, but only one chose to do something. Even though Samaritans were not good friends with Jewish people, it was the Samaritan man who chose to stop and help. He gave his time and his money to care for the Jewish man – this was love in action.
It’s easy to say that we love God and we love God’s world, but the real test is whether we will put that love into action. What if it costs us time or money? What if it’s difficult or it makes us feel uncomfortable? Will we still show love then?
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question which is: What’s something helpful we’ve done for someone this week?
Today’s story reminds us of the story of God’s love for our world. God saw how hurt and broken everything was, and He put His great love into action by sending Jesus to help us and heal us.
Loving God, we thank you for Your incredible love for us. We ASK You to fill us with Your love so that we too can bring Your hope and healing to our world.
Let’s think of people in our own community who volunteer their time to help others. Maybe they volunteer with children or elderly people, or maybe they serve some of the poorest people in our area.
Father God, thank you for the volunteers across our communities. As they give of their time and resources to others, we ASK You to give them everything they need to keep going.
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.
Luke 10:33-34
Then a Samaritan travelling down the road came to where the hurt man was. When he saw the man, he felt very sorry for him. The Samaritan went to him, poured olive oil and wine on his wounds, and bandaged them. Then he put the hurt man on his own donkey and took him to an inn where he cared for him.
Luke 10:33-34 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
Let’s take our piece of paper and draw around our hand and use it as we say YES to God together.
God of healing and restoration, we say YES to joining You and Your reconciling work in our world. We choose to give You our hands to help in the places where there is need. Help us to put our love into action.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Colossians 1:20
And through Christ, God has brought all things back to himself again – things on earth and things in heaven. God made peace through the blood of Christ’s death on the cross.
Colossians 1:20 (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.
Jackson is 11 and he 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.
