Week: Holy Spirit Adventures
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 Eli
2 Corinthians 3:17
The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
The ship that Paul had been on was completely destroyed, but all of the crew survived. Today, we’re reflecting on what happened when they met an important man called Publius on the island of Malta.
Read by Eli
Acts 28:7-11
Publius… welcomed us into his home and was very good to us for three days. Publius’ father was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, and put his hands on the man and healed him. After this, all the other sick people on the island came to Paul, and he healed them, too. The people on the island gave us many honors. When we were ready to leave, three months later, they gave us the things we needed.
Acts 28:7-11 (NCV)
When Paul travelled to Rome to see the top Roman ruler, Caesar, he definitely didn’t plan to get shipwrecked along the way. However, because of the shipwreck, lots of people in Malta heard about Jesus, and many of those who had been sick were healed.
Sometimes the plans we make get ‘shipwrecked’ – they get interrupted or changed when unexpected things happen. This can be really disappointing or frustrating, especially if we were really looking forward to what we’d planned. However, today’s story reminds us that God can sometimes use the interruptions and the changes to our plans, and good things can come from them.
Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When have our plans had to change because something unexpected happened? How did we feel?
And now, let’s ASK God to help us and others.
Loving God, when our plans change or they don’t work out the way we’d hoped, we sometimes feel disappointed and frustrated. In these moments, we ASK you to help us listen to you, especially for any new plans that you may have for us in these moments.
In today’s Bible passage we read that Publius’ father was sick. Let’s think of someone we know who isn’t well at the moment. Maybe someone in our family or one of our friends. Let’s quietly pray our own prayers for them now, ASKing Jesus to make them well again.
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 28:7-11
Publius… welcomed us into his home and was very good to us for three days. Publius’ father was sick with a fever and dysentery. Paul went to him, prayed, and put his hands on the man and healed him. After this, all the other sick people on the island came to Paul, and he healed them, too. The people on the island gave us many honors. When we were ready to leave, three months later, they gave us the things we needed.
Acts 28:7-11 (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 trusting you especially when unexpected things happen and our plans don’t work out. Help us to see what you may be doing in those moments.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
2 Corinthians 3:17
The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
2 Corinthians 3:17 (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.
