Week: 3 Loves, 6 Practices
As usual, 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
Lord Jesus, as we start this new year together, we remember that You are with us. Our minds are ready to learn more about You, our hearts are ready to receive more from You, and our hands are ready to do more for and with You. Come, Lord Jesus.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Max
1 John 4:16
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16 (NIV UK)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Jesus often found Himself surrounded by crowds of people. Today we’re REFLECTING on one of these occasions.
Read by Max
Matthew 5:1-3
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:
‘They are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty,
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.’
Matthew 5:1-3 (NCV)
People loved listening to Jesus and learning from Him. They especially loved His stories – lots of them were funny, and all of them were life-changing.
There are so many interesting, life-changing things that we can learn about the world around us, and about God too. And the very best way for us to continue learning is to be curious, to ask questions, and to listen well.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What new things would we like to learn about this year? What are we curious about?
One of the best ways to learn new things about God is, of course, to read our Bibles. Let’s each try to find a couple of minutes on our own this weekend to read a few verses. (If we’re not sure what bit to read, the book of Psalms is a good place to start, or maybe Mark’s Gospel. And by the way, our friends at the Bible Society have produced a super Family Bible that you might like to check out.*)
Holy Spirit, we ASK You to show us something new about who God is or how God wants us to live today.
Let’s think of someone who has encouraged us to learn. Maybe it’s a parent or grandparent, maybe a teacher, maybe a person in our church?
Father God, we thank You for them, and we ASK You to bless them. Help us to put into practice what we’ve learned from them.
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.
Matthew 5:1-3
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a hill and sat down. His followers came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:
‘They are blessed who realize their spiritual poverty,
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.’
Matthew 5:1-3 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, thank You for making such an awesome universe, filled with fascinating things. We say YES to loving You and learning all we can about You and everything that You’ve made. And by the way, we’ve got lots of questions to ask You!
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
1 John 4:16
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.
1 John 4:16 (NIV UK)
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.
* The Family Bible, https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/products/9780564081776/
Unathi lives in Johannesburg, South Africa, with her husband and 5 kids; and has a passion for seeing families thriving.
You’ll most likely find her homeschooling the tribe, reading, writing, or dreaming about the next DIY project.
She also loves good coffee, dark chocolate and hiking.
Max is 9 years old and lives in Melbourne, Australia with his older brother and mum and dad. He often rides his bike to school and enjoys being creative by drawing or building with Lego. Max is also learning how to play the electric guitar and loves turning it up loud!
