Week: Lent
Welcome to Lectio for Families. Today is Shrove Tuesday, the final day before the season of Lent begins. Lent is celebrated by millions of Christians all around the world as a way to prepare their hearts and minds for Easter. We’re going to join them in prayer this week.
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, You’re our champion, the one we want to follow and so we fix our eyes on You. As we draw near to You, would You draw near to us. Our faith depends on You, from beginning to end. (Hebrews 12:2)
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Jackson R
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
Psalm 42:1 (NIV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on a few sentences from the start of John’s first letter.
Read by Jackson R
1 John 1:8-9
If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.
1 John 1:8-9 (NCV)
As we mentioned a few minutes ago, today is called ‘Shrove Tuesday’. The word ‘shrove’ comes from an old English word, ‘shrive’, which means ‘to hear a confession’. So we could say that today is actually ‘Confession Tuesday’.
In today’s verses, John encourages us to ‘confess our sins’, which means to own up to the things we may have said or done or even thought that makes God’s heart sad. John tells us we can trust God that when we talk to Him about these things – when we confess and say sorry – God forgives us and helps us to live differently.
Of course, a lot of people might know Shrove Tuesday by another name, which is… Pancake Day! Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What could we put on a pancake that would make it The Most Amazing Pancake Ever?
Let’s pause for a moment and ask ourselves a question – What do we need to confess to God?
Father God, we confess to You the things we’ve said or done or even thought that have hurt you and others – we whisper these things quietly to You now – and we thank You that You forgive us and will help us to live differently.
Millions of people around the world won’t have pancakes today… in fact they might not eat anything at all, because they live in places of extreme poverty.
Father God, we ASK You to care for those who are suffering because they have nothing to eat. Give governments and other organisations what they need to help people who are hungry.
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.
1 John 1:8-9
If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, he will forgive our sins, because we can trust God to do what is right. He will cleanse us from all the wrongs we have done.
1 John 1:8-9 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, we say YES to trusting you to do what’s right. We know that You are kind and forgiving and that You will cleanse us, as it says in today’s Bible verse, no matter what we’ve done. And thank you that You promise to do this again and again and again.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 42:1
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.
Psalm 42:1 (NIV)
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.
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.
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.
