Week: Reflect/Reboot/New Year
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, in this busy season, please help us to be still. We are opening our ears to hear You now and quietly preparing our hearts for all that You have for us in this new year.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Bella
Philippians 1:6
God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.
Philippians 1:6 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Three days after Jesus died, God brought him back to life. Before He went to be with God in heaven, Jesus told His friends to wait and pray, because something amazing was going to happen.
Read by Bella
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
Acts 2:1-4 (NCV)
In 1739, nearly 300 years ago, a man called John Wesley was in an all-night prayer meeting in a small church in London. At 3 o’clock in the morning, suddenly, all the people there were filled with the Holy Spirit, just like Jesus’s friends were on the Day of Pentecost. John wrote in his diary that, ‘The power of God came mightily upon us… many cried out with exceeding joy and many fell to the ground.’* For John and his friends, much like the disciples in today’s verses, it was an experience beyond anything they had imagined.
Filled with the Holy Spirit, John Wesley rode his horse 125,000 miles over the next few years, telling people about Jesus and starting new churches everywhere he went. And his brother, Charles, wrote 6,000 songs to God. The world would never be the same again.
Every new year brings with it new opportunities, new experiences, new chances to learn and grow. Let’s press pause and chat about today’s question, which is: What new things are we looking forward to in 2025, what hopes and dreams do we have?
Jesus said that God loves to give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Matthew 7:11) – just as John and Charles Wesley asked that day in London. So let’s open our hands in front of us and close our eyes.
We ASK You, Father God, to fill us with Your Spirit. Fill us with new power for this new year, just as You filled Jesus’s friends 2,000 years ago, and John and Charles Wesley nearly 300 years ago.
Some people (perhaps some of us?) may be feeling sad right now, and they may be finding it hard to look forward to the new year.
Father God, please shine Your love into our lives. Give us hope in You for what is ahead of us.
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.
Acts 2:1-4
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a noise like a strong, blowing wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw something like flames of fire that were separated and stood over each person there. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak different languages by the power the Holy Spirit was giving them.
Acts 2:1-4 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together, starting with the first few words of a prayer written by John Wesley that will be prayed by millions of Christians around the world today.
‘I am no longer my own, but Yours.’** Father God, we give this new year and all of our hopes and plans to You – they’re all Yours, and we are all Yours too. We say YES to all that You have planned for us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Philippians 1:6
God began doing a good work in you, and I am sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.
Philippians 1:6 (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.
*‘The Journal of John Wesley’, John Wesley
**Methodist Covenant Prayer, https://www.methodist.org.uk/about/what-is-distinctive-about-methodism/the-covenant-service/
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.
Bella is 13 years old and lives in Buckinghamshire, England, with her mum, dad and cocker spaniel Summer. She loves art, performing and Jesus!
