Week: Mark's Gospel
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
Jesus, we hear Your invitation, and so we choose to follow You, with all our hearts, with all our minds, with all our souls and with all our strength.
We REJOICE and celebrate God’s goodness with this week’s memory verse:
Read by Eli
Ephesians 5:1
You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.
Ephesians 5:1 (NCV)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
In today’s story, we join Jesus and his disciples as they walk to the city of Capernaum, on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Somewhere along this journey, the disciples started arguing.
Read by Eli
Mark 9:33-37 (NCV)
Mark 9:33-37
Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, ‘Whoever wants to be the most important must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, ‘Whoever accepts a child like this in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.’
When Jesus first asked them what they had been arguing about, they probably felt embarrassed, because they knew Jesus wouldn’t be too happy with them arguing about who was the greatest amongst them.
What they didn’t know was that Jesus already knew what they were arguing about! But instead of telling them off, Jesus explained something really important to them, and to us too. If we want to be great, then we need to be humble. Being great is really about making other people feel great, especially those who don’t feel great about themselves!
Let’s press pause and be really honest for a moment as we talk about today’s question, which is: When was the last time we had an argument with someone?
The truth is, we’ve all found ourselves in arguments at some time or other about who was the first in line, whose turn it was or who did the best job.
Lord Jesus, You know that we just think of ourselves sometimes, and that we choose whatever is best for us. So we ASK You to help us to be humble, and to put others first instead.
In today’s Bible reading, Jesus demonstrated just how important children are. Sadly, children are not always seen or treated like this.
Father God, we ASK You to bring comfort to children who have not been treated with the love and kindness that they deserve. We ASK You to protect those who have been left to feel unimportant and uncared for, and please use us and others to help every child know that You love 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.
Mark 9:33-37
Mark 9:33-37 (NCV)
Jesus and his followers went to Capernaum. When they went into a house there, he asked them, ‘What were you arguing about on the road?’ But the followers did not answer, because their argument on the road was about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus sat down and called the twelve apostles to him. He said, ‘Whoever wants to be the most important must be last of all and servant of all.’ Then Jesus took a small child and had him stand among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said, ‘Whoever accepts a child like this in my name accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the One who sent me.’
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Father God, we are Your children, and we say YES to the love that You so generously give. Help us to remember that we do not have to be the ‘best’ at anything to be great in Your eyes.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Ephesians 5:1
You are God’s children whom he loves, so try to be like him.
Ephesians 5:1 (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.
