Day 6 – To spur one another on
Morning prayer
Start you day with this prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
as You are one with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
so are You with each one of us.
We profess and declare our deep and all-encompassing unity with you.
(Silence)
Let your will be done.
Amen.
Prayer station
Use this symbol to lead you in prayer for the day.
Symbol: Drawing of the South African flag
We pray for president Cyril Ramaphosa and for all the leaders of the politcal parties in South Africa. We pray that they will receive wisdom and discernment to run our country well.
We say thank you for the strict measurements during the lockdown to curb the spreading of the corona virus.
Reflection
Read this reflection on the text for the day.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds – Hebrews 10:24.
As Christians we are not only responsible for our own spiritual life. We are also responsible for the lives of our fellow believers. In the words of the author of Hebrews, we should care for one another by choosing to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. The word paroxysmos he uses here for “spur on” is a very strong word in the Greek language. Sometimes it will even be translated with “irritate”. The New Living Translation says, “Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” We should never cease to spur one another on to love and do good deeds.
Anyone who has ever tried doing something that does not come naturally – like exercising or following a diet – knows it is much easier to do it with someone else. The chance that you will get up early on a winter’s morning to go jogging is so much bigger if you know your friends are waiting for you to go jogging with them. If they do not constantly remind you that you should come jogging with them, it will be of no use to you to have exercise buddies. Like these joggers, believers who are serious about their spiritual growth will surround them with fellow believers who will think of ways to motivate them in their faith, who will spur them on to live according to their faith and not to stay away from the meetings of the congregations (Heb 10:25).
Father, thank you so much for all my brothers and sisters in faith who motivate me to grow spiritually. Help me not to stay away from the meetings of my congregation and to live my faith by loving others and doing good deeds. 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.
More and less
We are now, more than ever, sharing the space we call home with our family. We share our space and our time much longer than we were used to in the past. Therefore, we should care for one another and help one another to use our space and time in the best possible ways. Maybe there were words and actions in your home today that hurt someone or that made the day extra difficult for them. And maybe there were things you have said and things you have done that made the day much easier for them.
There are two questions we can ask one another at the end of each day. The first is, What have I done today that I should do less often? The second is, What have I done today that I should do more often?
By making these two questions part of our daily practices, we will spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
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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Imagine you are running a race, but there is no one to cheer you on or to support you. That would make you sad. Just as it helps you to run a race well when there are people to support you, we need other people to spur us on in our life and our faith.
Think of three compliments you can give to each person in your house today. What would you say to them?
When do you feel that others care for you and support you?
Aktivity
Go outside and pick up a few sticks, of grab a few kebab sticks. Try to break one stick in two. Was it easy? Yes! Now take a whole handful of sticks and try to break them. Not so easy this time! We are just like these sticks: Together we are stronger.
Maak a people chain from paper. Take a long piece of paper and fold it like a concertina or a fan. Draw a figure of a person on the front of the folded paper. Make sure the arms and legs of the figure go right to the edges of the paper. Now cut out the figure on the lines and unfold the paper. Colour in and decorate each figure differently.
For more hints how to make such a people chain, go to wikihow.com/Make-a-Paper-People-Chain
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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