Week: Who is Jesus?
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.
As always, 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, thank you for the many ways you make yourself known. Our minds are open to learning more about You, and our hearts are open to knowing You better. We’re ready for You to speak to us.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Colossians 1:18
[Jesus] is the head of the body, which is the church. Everything comes from him. He is the first one who was raised from the dead. So in all things Jesus has first place.
Colossians 1:18 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
In the Bible, Jesus describes Himself starting with the words ‘I am…’ on seven occasions. We’ve read about four of them so far this week, and today we’re REFLECTING on the fifth.
Read by Eli
John 15:1-2,4
[Jesus said] ‘I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.’
John 15:1-2,4 (NCV)
Jesus often talked about the fruit in people’s lives, but He wasn’t talking about apples and avocados here, He was talking about what was growing in people’s characters. Jesus is always far more interested in our attitudes and our actions than anything else.
In one of his letters, the apostle Paul writes, ‘the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.’ (Galatians 5:22,23, NLT) Which of these fruits can we see growing in our own lives?
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s questions, which are: What is our favourite fruit? And what’s the strangest fruit we’ve ever tasted?
As we reflect on Paul’s list again, let’s be honest; which of the fruits aren’t growing so well in our lives at the moment? Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control?
Father God, You are the gardener. We invite You to trim and clean whatever You need to, so that the fruits of the Holy Spirit will grow more in our lives. We want to be more like Jesus in our attitudes and our actions.
Who do we know that seems to have lots of peace-fruit or joy-fruit (or maybe one of the other fruits) growing in their lives?
Father God, thank you for growing this ‘Holy Spirit fruit’ in their lives. As they share their fruit with others, we ASK You to give them everything that they need, too.
Maybe we could tell them that we see this ‘Holy Spirit fruit’ in their lives – it would probably encourage 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.
John 15:1-2,4
[Jesus said] ‘I am the true vine; my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. And he trims and cleans every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce even more fruit. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. A branch cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit alone but must remain in me.’
John 15:1-2,4 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Lord Jesus, You are the vine. We can’t grow ‘Holy Spirit fruit’ on our own, no matter how much we try, so we say YES to remaining in You instead, to staying connected with You.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Colossians 1:18
[Jesus] is the head of the body, which is the church. Everything comes from him. He is the first one who was raised from the dead. So in all things Jesus has first place.
Colossians 1:18 (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.
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.
Eli is 11 and lives in Melbourne, Victoria with his mum, dad and two younger sisters. He enjoys music, reading, riding his skateboard and playing soccer.
