Week: Mark's Gospel
Welcome to Lectio for Families. This week we’re returning to our series exploring the life of Jesus as told in Mark’s Gospel.
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, we hear You inviting us, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Vera Lynn
John 10:10
[Jesus said] I came to give life – life in all its fullness.
John 10:10b (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
One day, Jesus encouraged a rich young man to sell everything and give his money away to the poor, but the man couldn’t do it because his love for his things had grown bigger than his love for God. Today, we’re REFLECTING on what Jesus said about the power of money.
Read by Vera Lynn
Mark 10:23-25
Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, ‘How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, ‘My children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’
Mark 10:23-25 (NCV)
A very rich man was once asked, ‘How much money is enough?’ and he replied, ‘A little bit more.’ If we’re honest, most of us – children and adults – would probably like to have more money than we’ve got at the moment.
Money itself isn’t bad, of course – it can be used to do lots of good things – but if we always feel like we need more money in order to be happy, then that’s not good. Jesus says that we cannot love and serve God and money. It’s one or the other. (Matthew 6:24)
In today’s Bible reading, Jesus told a joke about it being easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone with loads of money to love God more than their money. Let’s press pause and tell each other our favourite joke… whose is the funniest?
Sometimes our love for the things we have can grow bigger than our love for Jesus, and it can distract us from following Him.
Lord Jesus, we’re grateful for the things we have, but everything we have ultimately belongs to You. We ASK You to help us hold all the things that we have lightly, not tightly. Help us to focus on, and follow, You.
How can we love God and love other people with our money this week? Perhaps we could put some of our money into the offering at church this Sunday, or give some to someone we know, or maybe to a charity?
Lord God, we ASK You to show us how we love You and love other people by being generous with our money.
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.
Mark 10:23-25
Then Jesus looked at his followers and said, ‘How hard it will be for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!’ The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, ‘My children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.’
Mark 10:23-25 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, we say NO to loving and serving money – to focusing all of our attention on getting money – and we say YES to loving and serving You – to focusing all our attention on more of You in our lives instead.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
John 10:10
[Jesus said] I came to give life – life in all its fullness.
John 10:10b (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.
Phil lives close to a beach in the north of England with his wife, his daughters and his dogs. Phil works for 24-7 Prayer, mostly doing Lectio stuff, and helping to run Prayer Spaces in Schools. He runs a lot, usually for long distances. He likes curry, mountains, reading books and he still plays Pokemon Go.
Vera Lynn is 10 years old and lives in Phoenix, Arizona, USA with her parents, sister, and dog Max. Her favourite hobbies include reading, knitting, sewing, and embroidery. She is very creative. Her favourite book is The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in the Chronicles of Narnia series by CS Lewis.
