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Being Good Friends

Love Your Neighbour

Week: One Anothers

  • P.R.A.Y
  • Pause
  • Rejoice
  • Reflect
  • Ask
  • Yes
Chris Elanor
With Chris and Elanor
Welcome to Lectio for Families. We’re continuing with our ‘Being Good Friends’ series, and this week we’re focusing on what the Bible says about how we should treat each other.

We’ll each need a piece of paper for our prayers in a few minutes, so let’s quickly find one now.

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

As usual, 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

In today’s Bible passage, we’re REFLECTING on what Paul says about being good neighbours. The word neighbour can mean someone who lives next door, but it can also mean anyone we know or are friends with.

Read by Elanor
Galatians 4:14-15
The whole law is made complete in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ If you go on hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.

Galatians 4:14-15 (NCV)

Let’s take our paper and tear it into tiny pieces. (If we haven’t actually got any paper, we can just imagine doing it!) Now let’s look at what’s left. The piece of paper is completely destroyed, isn’t it?

Maybe we’ve heard the rhyme: ‘sticks and stones may break our bones but words will never hurt us.’ It’s not actually true, is it? Other people’s words can hurt us – they can tear us up inside, just like our pieces of paper. And so Paul urges us to take care not to do this, but to love our neighbours – to love everyone around us – just as we love ourselves.

Let’s press pause and think of one kind or encouraging thing to say to each of the other people who are doing Lectio for Families with us today.

  • PAUSE the audio player now

Ask

ASK Prayers

When we were talking about words hurting us a few moments ago, maybe we remembered particular words that someone said to us. If so, let’s quietly talk with God about this now.

Loving God, thank you that You are always with us, and thank you that You comfort and heal us when we are hurt. We also thank you that the things that You say about us are never hurtful, but they are always good.

  • OPTIONAL: PAUSE the audio player now and pray

In the book of Proverbs (18:21, NLT), it says that ‘the tongue can bring death or life’, which means that the words we speak have a lot of power! As we pray together now, let’s say the word ‘LIFE’ at the end of each short prayer. If we’re feeling really bold, maybe we could shout it out!

Wherever there is war, we say… LIFE
Where people are alone and afraid, we say… LIFE
Where people are hungry or homeless, we say… LIFE
Wherever people are in need, we say… LIFE
In our homes, in our schools, in our local communities, we say… LIFE

  • 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.

Galatians 4:14-15
The whole law is made complete in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ If you go on hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other.

Galatians 4:14-15 (NCV)

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.

Loving God, we want to be the kind of friends who speak life, who build others up and love them well. And so we say YES to loving our neighbours!

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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Chris

Chris

Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.

Elanor

Elanor

Elanor is 12 years old and lives in East London with her parents and younger brother. She enjoys going on adventures with her friends, reading lots of books, horse riding, acting, singing, dancing and finding different ways to pray to God.

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