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Being Good Friends

Love One Another

Week: One Anothers

  • P.R.A.Y
  • Pause
  • Rejoice
  • Reflect
  • Ask
  • Yes
Joy Jackson R
With Joy and Jackson R
Welcome to Lectio for Families. It’s the second week of our ‘Being Good Friends’ series, and this week we’re continuing to focus on what the Bible says about how we should treat each other.

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.


Pause

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

Prayer of Welcome

What a friend we have in You, Jesus. We’re ready for the new things that You want to show us and say to us about being friends with You, and with others too.


Rejoice

Memory Verse

We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:

God, help us to remember Your Word.


Reflect

Bible Reading

After Jesus was resurrected, just before He returned to be with His Father in Heaven, Jesus spent a bit of time with His disciples. Today, we’re REFLECTING on a couple of the really important things that Jesus wanted them to remember.

Read by Jackson R
John 13:34-35
Jesus said, ‘I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.’
John 13:34-35

Jesus was very specific about how people would spot those who were following His teachings and His example – by the way that they loved one another.

And it’s the same for us too. People won’t recognise that we’re followers of Jesus by how many Bible verses we know, nor by how many books about God we’ve read, nor by how often we join in with church meetings or go to Christian events. Jesus said that one thing and one thing only will mark out those who follow Him, and it’s love. Jesus calls us to love our family and our friends. He calls us to love our neighbours, the others who live and work around us. And He even calls us to love our enemies, those we don’t get along with. All we need is love!

Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What different ways can we love one another? Let’s see how many we can think of in just a couple of minutes.

  • PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.

Lord Jesus, we ASK you to show us ways we can put Your love into action. Help us to spot opportunities to help others, to be generous and kind, and to encourage others. We want to love like You, Jesus, so that everyone will know that we are Your friends and disciples.

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Let’s think of those who feel lonely – those who don’t feel like they have any friends. If we know someone like this, let’s hold them in our hearts as we pray together.

Lord Jesus, we ASK You to be with those who feel lonely right now. May they feel Your presence with them and know that You are a faithful friend. We also ASK that You would guide towards some of Your followers (maybe even us!) who can become their friends.

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

Yes

Bible Reading

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.

John 13:34-35
Jesus said, ‘I give you a new command: Love each other. You must love each other as I have loved you. All people will know that you are my followers if you love each other.’
John 13:34-35

What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and tell each other

YES Prayer

And now, let’s say YES to God together.

Lord Jesus, You are a faithful friend – You are the one who shows us what true friendship looks like. We say YES to being Your friends, and to putting Your love into action by being good friends to others.

Memory Verse

After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:

Closing Prayer

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.

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Your Memory Verse

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Joy

Joy

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 R

Jackson R

Jackson is 11 and lives with his younger brother and parents in Surrey. He loves pretty much all sport but his favourites are football, golf and jumping off high stuff into water! He enjoys gaming and is always ready to build something on Minecraft.

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