Day 19 – Be united
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Father, please bring the body of Christ together and let us act as a team.
Grant each believer a loving heart to accommodate their fellow Christians.
Let every denomination put prejudice aside and submit to your will
by demonstrating true love toward others.
Enable the fold of Christ to raise the banner of love
to uphold your righteousness in every community.
Please help the church to overcome all its challenges,
so that your Name can be praised throughout the world.
(Silence)
Let your will be done.
Amen.
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Smiley face
We pray for our friends.
We are grateful for friendships that bring us joy and help us to grow.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had – Romans 15:5.
It is very important that God’s family will be united and live according to the will of Jesus. If we, as the worldwide family of Christ, live according to his words and example, the power of our testimonies will be so much more powerful than if we tried to do it by ourselves.
Diognetius wrote about Early Christianity in AD 150, “They live in their own country but as strangers … Each foreign country is their homeland and each country is foreign to them … They share their tables, but not their beds. They live in the flesh, but not for the flesh. They live on earth, but find home in heaven. They obey the law, but in their personal lives they exceed the laws. They love everyone, but are persecuted by everyone … They are poor, but enrich each other.”
Because the Early Church was united in their testimony everyone could see what God’s grace was doing in their lives. This is why we as believers strive to unite with all of God’s children to unite our testimonies and work for God.
Lord, give us, your church, one heart and one purpose. Make us one so that the world can believe that only God is Lord. 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.
What if the goal post moves?
Talk together about this question: What emotions do you experience when you think you have finished a task, a race or a project, but you turn the page or reach the top of a hill and realise you are not finished yet? You had the expectation that you were finished, and now you will have to go on some more. What do you need in a situation like that? Who or what will support you? Who or what will help you to finish what you started?
We now live in such a time. We thought lockdown was almost something of the past, but now we will have to stay home for another two weeks. How did you feel when you received the news that lockdown was extended with two more weeks?
This time of isolation is not only good or only bad. It is good and bad. Everyone is experiencing loss, but everyone is also receiving gifts in this time. Gather everyone in your home and draw two columns on a blank page. In the one column you can write down everything that makes you sad and worried. Ask one another, How is God present in our sadness and worries? How does God sit next to us in our pain? In the second column you can write down all the experiences of new life and hope that God revealed to you in these strange circumstances.
Remind one another that God will encourage you and give you the endurance to run this race right to the end and finish this time in a positive way.
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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The important phrase in today’s Scripture is “same attitude”. Being the same and having the same attitude may seem like they are the same thing, but it has different meanings. Being the same means that people or things are very alike or similar. Having the same attitude means that we have a shared purpose. Jesus’ followers don’t all have to be the same, we might look different and like different things, but Jesus asks of us to have the same attitude. We should all have the same purpose or goal and that is to live according to Jesus’ love.
What is the difference between being the same and having the same attitude?
Why should we be united?
Activity
Find objects in your garden and home that are similar or the same. Talk about why these things are similar. When you’ve finished, put everything back and find objects that have the same purpose. Talk about what the purpose of these objects are and then put them back in their place.
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
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