Week: Jesus' Questions
As usual, 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, the questions that You ask teach us more about who You are, who we are, and the life that You’ve called us to live. We’re listening, and we’re ready for You to ask us some new questions today.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Bea
Colossians 3:17
Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Colossians 3:17 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
Today, we’re REFLECTING on what Jesus said when he heard his disciples arguing about which of them was the most important.
Read by Bea
Luke 22:25-27
But Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the non-Jewish people rule over them, and those who have authority over others like to be called ‘friends of the people.’ But you must not be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving? You think the one at the table is more important, but I am like a servant among you.’
Luke 22:25-27 (NCV)
Most sporting events and festivals offer ‘VIP passes’ to special people, giving them the best seats and lots of other treats. The ‘VIP’ bit stands for ‘Very Important Person’, and these passes are usually given to people like celebrities, movie stars, politicians, media personalities and business leaders. And people with lots of money can also buy their own ‘VIP pass’.
But Jesus says we’re all important. It doesn’t matter what job we do, how clever we are, what we look like, where we come from, how much money we’ve got, what we wear, or what skills we’ve got, no-one is more important than anyone else. And then Jesus takes it one step further… whoever we are, whatever we have, we should use it to serve others.
In today’s passage, Jesus mentioned people who serve at tables. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: When was the last time we had a meal at a cafe or a restaurant? Can we remember who served us?
Let’s each get a piece of paper and write the words, VERY IMPORTANT PERSON on it. We might want to press pause again while we do this.
And now, let’s imagine that it was Jesus who gave this to us – our very own VIP pass.
Lord Jesus, thank You. We ASK You to help us remember that we are important to You – all of us are. We are all God’s children and we are equally loved.
In today’s question, we tried to remember who served us at a cafe or restaurant. Let’s pray for them, and for the millions of other people whose job it is to serve others, often working long hours for not a lot of money.
Father God, we pray for all those serving others in cafes and restaurants and other places today. We ASK You to encourage them. May they meet some kind customers and receive some generous tips today.
Next time we’re in a cafe or a restaurant, let’s be especially kind to those serving us. Maybe we could save some of our pocket money to add to their tip.
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.
Luke 22:25-27
But Jesus said to them, ‘The kings of the non-Jewish people rule over them, and those who have authority over others like to be called ‘friends of the people.’ But you must not be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the leader should be like the servant. Who is more important: the one sitting at the table or the one serving? You think the one at the table is more important, but I am like a servant among you.’
Luke 22:25-27 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, we’re amazed and very grateful that you love everyone equally. We say YES to being more like You – seeing every person as precious, unique and important!
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Colossians 3:17
Everything you do or say should be done to obey Jesus your Lord. And in all you do, give thanks to God the Father through Jesus.
Colossians 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.
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.
Bea is 14 and she lives in Hampshire, in the UK, with her family. Her favourite football team is Manchester United, even though she lives a loooong way from Manchester. Bea likes horse riding and running, and when she’s older, she wants to become a vet, or a professional horse-rider.
