Day 17 – Pray for one another
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Lord, the resurrection of your Son
Gave us life and hope anew
Help us to live like new people
Before You and others
And from this life and hope
That You gave to us
(Silence)
Let Your will be done.
Amen
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Canned food
We pray for those who are homeless and who depend on shelters for a place to sleep and for something to eat.
We give thanks for staff and volunteers who provide vulnerable persons with food to eat and a safe space, where they feel protected.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective – James 5:16.James instructs us as believers to live together as members of God’s family. He asks us to trust one another so much that we can confess our sins to one another. This isn’t always easy. Our first instinct is to keep quiet about our sins because so often we feel that people will push us away once they know about our sins. James describes a situation where the unconfessed sins that some of the believers committed against other members have made them ill. The only way to be healed entirely was to confess their sins. Otherwise the feelings of guilt would have made them even more ill over time. In reaction to the confession of fellow believers James asks that we will forgive each other so completely that we will even pray for the healing of those who had sinned against us. In this way our prayers aren’t just centered around our own desires and needs, but also around those of others. To pray together like this is to separate ourselves from personal gain and speaks to a deeper forgiveness of others. James gives us the assurances that our prayers will have a powerful outcome.
Father, give me the grace to forgive those that have sinned against me. Lead me to confess my sins that I have committed against others, and forgive me. Amen.
Isaac’s Soap Opera
Watch this video with your children
Liturgy for life
See the ordinary things you do in and around the house as signs of God’s care.
Resurrection Sunday
“Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb“” – Mark 16:2.Get up early, while it’s still dark. Take everyone in your home to a spot in your garden or flat where you can see the sunrise. Read the resurrection story as chronicled by Mark in Mark 16:1-8. Make something warm to drink like coffee, tea or soup. Talk about Jesus’ resurrection and what it means to you. To see the sunrise together reminds us that God gives us new life.
Children’s activity
Play with your children.
Wow! 21 Days of isolation. 21 Days in which we’re only allowed to be in our homes (or gardens) and can only go out for the most essential things like food and medicine. It can be a little rough! All the things we usually do during the day, like school, sport, church … are not happening anymore. It can really confuse you and maybe even bore you a little. These daily readings will help you to spend some time with Jesus every day in a creative and fun way. You can do these readings and activities by yourself, with your siblings, or with your entire family. Ask one of the grownups to post your activity on Facebook so that others can enjoy it with you. Tag it with #solitudecalendar #churchtogether
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Jesus died for our sins so that we don’t have to be afraid of the punishment of sins anymore. That doesn’t mean that we can sin more than we did before, but rather than we can openly confess our sins because Jesus has already paid the price on our behalf. When we are honest about our sins before God, it helps us to think about them and not do them again.
Why should we pray about our sins?
What does the word sin mean to you?
Activity
Pray while washing your hands: Thumb: All the medical staff. Index finger: Police, security services and other jobs like that. Middle finger: The government and the president. Ring finger: People who have already contracted the virus. Pinky: Your family. Palm of your hand: How can you serve others? When you rinse your hands: Talk to God about your sins.
Today we celebrate Easter Sunday. Jesus lives! He has risen. Change your cross and grave scene so that the grave is now open.
Creative prayer
Colour and reflect (Instructions are available under the picture)
INSTRUCTIONS
• Choose your art materials such as coloured pencils, coloured pens and koki pens. Any of these will work.
• Colour in the picture and do the activity.
TIPS
• Choose no more than five colours. If you’re unsure of which colours to use, take out all the colours and put them on the table. Close your eyes and pick up five.
• It may be easier for you to first start colouring the edges and not big blank spaces.
• Don’t stop halfway, especially if your reason for stopping is that you think your picture isn’t pretty. This is the purpose of the activity – to get your attention away from unnecessary thoughts like, “Am I doing this right?” and to focus on the people that you love.
• When you’ve finished colouring the picture, put the picture in a prominent place in your house, like your bedroom or in the kitchen.
Consider sharing your picture on social media with the hashtags #solitudecalendar #churchtogether
Thank you’s and testimonies
Share your testimony with us! Use the online form below.