Week: Me and Myself
As usual, 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
Jesus, You came to bring peace and healing, and because of You we can now be reconciled with God, with ourselves, with other people and with the whole world. We’re ready for You to restore our relationships a little bit more today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Elanor
Psalm 139:14
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.
Psalm 139:14 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today we’re REFLECTING on a story that Jesus told about a man that went on a trip and left his money with his servant to take care of.
Read by Elanor
Matthew 25:19-21
After a long time the master came home and asked the servants what they did with his money. The servant who was given five bags of gold brought five more bags to the master and said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of gold, so I used your five bags to earn five more.’ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’
Matthew 25:19-21 (NCV)
How do we feel when we’ve done something and someone says to us, ‘Well done, you did really well!’? Do we feel happy and grateful, or do we feel shy and awkward?
Some people feel uncomfortable when other people give them praise and encouragement, and it’s because they don’t really believe in or value themselves. One way to practice believing in ourselves is simply to say ‘thank you’ when someone else gives us praise or encouragement.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is a little different than usual: Take turns telling each other ‘well done’ for something they did or a choice they made recently.
And now let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Jesus, we ASK You to help us believe in and value ourselves the way You do. We want to be grateful and humble. We ASK You to help us give and receive encouragement freely.
There are many people who work really hard to take care of and help others, often without much thanks or gratitude. Let’s think of someone now – it might be a teacher, a nurse, a parent, a caregiver or even a public servant.
Father God, whether these people feel appreciated or not we ASK that You would let them hear your ‘well done’. Show us how we can share appreciation for 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 25:19-21
After a long time the master came home and asked the servants what they did with his money. The servant who was given five bags of gold brought five more bags to the master and said, ‘Master, you trusted me to care for five bags of gold, so I used your five bags to earn five more.’ The master answered, ‘You did well. You are a good and loyal servant. Because you were loyal with small things, I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my joy with me.’
Matthew 25:19-21 (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 believing in and valuing ourselves the way You do, and YES to receiving Your ‘well done’ over us.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 139:14
I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
What you have done is wonderful. I know this very well.
Psalm 139:14 (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.
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.
