Day 29 – Serve one another in love
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Lord, you freed us and gave us new life!
We are grateful to You and celebrate this
Let us not forget that You opened our hands
To receive and to give love
Let us keep our hands busy with your kingdom
And be guided by your will
(Silence)
Amen
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Key
Jesus Christ, You are our Redeemer.
Thank you that we may know that we have been granted salvation through your death and resurrection.
Show us how we may live fully into this gift of freedom in ways that will serve your kingdom. Amen.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love – Galatians 5:13.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection believers don’t have to chase after their own redemption by following each and every law set out in the Old Testament. However, this freedom doesn’t mean that we can live lawlessly. We should choose to serve one another humbly in love, not so that we might be saved, but to show how grateful we are for our salvation.
Before our salvation we were merely slaves to sin, people who did wrong things. But Jesus came to free us from the grip of sin. Now we are free to live according to God’s will. We aren’t slaves to our old sinful ways anymore. We can, therefore, not argue that because we have been forgiven, we can continue to sin. We should always think of the price that Jesus paid for our redemption. It was a heavy price. Therefore we can never take our freedom for granted. Instead we should use our freedom to serve one another in love, like Jesus did.
Thank you, Lord, for forgiving my sins and freeing me so that I can serve others humbly in love. Keep me from abusing my freedom to sin. Amen.
Liturgy for life
See the ordinary things you do in and around the house as signs of God’s care.
Freedom and care
What is the one thing that you so badly want to do now, but because of the corona virus you may not do it? (I would love to go jogging or walk my dogs.) Why do you think you may not do this one thing that you so badly want to do? Because we do not want to come in contact with lots of people, who will then also come in contact with lots of other people, who can spread the virus to a lot of other people that may become ill. We want to work together to slow the spreading of the virus because we do not want to hurt other people.
Jesus died so that we could be free of sin. One definition of sin is that it is everything we think, say or do that can hurt God, other people and ourselves. We were freed to build new relationships with God, one another and ourselves.
In this time of lockdown we sacrifice the things we really want to do because we care for other people. Share with one another what you are sacrificing at the moment. Remind one another why you do this. Pray and ask God to help you to care for all your relationships and strengthen them in this very strange time we are living in.
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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Were your hands or feet ever tied up playfully so that you could not break free? Did you become nervous because you could not free yourself, but luckily someone came along to free you? Jesus did this for us. He freed us from the punishment for our sins so that we do not have to live in fear. We may now live freely and focus on Jesus’ love, and not on sins.
Why don’t we have to be scared of the punishment for our sins?
I wonder, does this mean that we can just keep on sinning, since we won’t be punished?
Activity
Use toilet paper and tie someone up with it. When you’re done, count to three and let the person break free. This activity will remind us that Jesus freed us from our sins. Pick up the torn pieces of toilet paper and try to tie someone else with it now. It doesn’t work, does it?.This reminds us that sin cannot confine us anymore. Jesus freed us from sin and the punishment for our sins.
Picture this
Look at today’s illustration. What stands out to you? Talk to the people in your home or with your friends on WhatsApp about the illustration.
Think about the five languages of love (words of affirmation, acts of kindness, gifts, quality time, touch). How have people served you in love?
How have you served others in love?
Create your own interpretation of the illustration through any medium: dance, photography, videography, music, poetry, drawing, painting or short stories.
Record it and share it with us on social media with the hashtag #countdowndoodles
Thank you’s and testimonies
Share your testimony with us! Use the online form below.
Bedtime story
Bedtime story by storyteller Ewald van Rensburg