Week: Holy Spirit Adventures - the Book of Acts
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
Holy Spirit, like the disciples in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, we’re patiently waiting for You to fill us with Your power and with Your presence. We’re ready for You to send us on new adventures.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Elanor
1 Corinthians 3:16
Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you!
1 Corinthians 3:16 (GNT)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Philip was one of the disciples. He went to a place called Samaria to tell people the good news and many of them believed in Jesus. Today, we’re REFLECTING on Philip’s encounter with a man named Simon, who was a magician. At first Simon is excited to hear about Jesus. He believed in Jesus and was baptised, but let’s see what happens next.
Read by Elanor
Acts 8:17-19
Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit.
Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 8:17-19 (NCV)
Something happened to people when they were filled with the Holy Spirit – they were transformed. Simon, who was used to people being impressed by his magic, saw what was happening and thought that this was a new, even more powerful magic, and that he might be able to buy it. Imagine what he could do with it. Imagine how impressed people would be.
Simon didn’t want the gift of the Holy Spirit to transform his own life, but to use the power to build his career. He didn’t understand that the Holy Spirit isn’t a magical power we can control or something that we need to buy, but the Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is an incredible gift that God gives to help us live the lives He wants us to.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What’s the most recent gift that we’ve received?
We need the Holy Spirit every day, and God is so generous that He keeps filling us up.
Why don’t we open our hands in front of us, as though we are receiving a gift, and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us up today.
The book of Acts is full of stories about how the news of Jesus started to spread out to different towns and villages, and as more and more people heard and believed in Jesus the church started to grow. Let’s think about the town, village or city where we live.
Lord Jesus, we want the good news of God’s love to spread throughout our towns and cities, just like in today’s Bible passage. We ASK that You would send Your Holy Spirit’s power so that people where we live can experience You and start following You.
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 8:17-19
Then, when the two apostles began laying their hands on the people, they received the Holy Spirit.
Simon saw that the Spirit was given to people when the apostles laid their hands on them. So he offered the apostles money, saying, “Give me also this power so that anyone on whom I lay my hands will receive the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 8:17-19 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Holy Spirit, we say YES to going on adventures with You. We say YES to receiving Your presence into our lives to change and transform us to become more like Jesus.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
1 Corinthians 3:16
Surely you know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you!
1 Corinthians 3:16 (GNT)
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.
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.
