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 Noelle
Psalm 63:3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3 (NIVUK)
God, help us to remember Your Word.
We’re REFLECTING on the day when Jesus called Levi to be His disciple. Levi was a tax collector, but he left his job behind to follow Jesus.
Read by Noelle
Mark 2:15-17 (NCV)
Mark 2:15-17
Later, as Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and ‘sinners,’ they asked his followers, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus heard this and said to them, ‘It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.’
The religious leaders didn’t like tax collectors. In fact, no one liked tax collectors! The Roman authorities recruited a few Jewish people to collect taxes – to collect money – from other Jewish people. And to make things even worse, some of these tax collectors made extra money by cheating the people they collected taxes from. So… nobody liked them!
And yet here was Jesus having dinner with Levi, a tax collector. No wonder the religious leaders and the other people were annoyed with Jesus!
Most people really didn’t want to be tax collectors. Let’s press pause and talk about today’s question, which is: What kind of jobs can we think of that most people don’t want to do?
Jesus said, ‘It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick.’ What He meant was that He came to be with those who knew that they needed Him.
Kind Jesus, we need You too. Like Levi, we invite You into our hearts and our homes. We ASK You to forgive us and come and celebrate the good gifts of freedom with us.
Let’s take a moment to think of someone we know who may feel like they’re not good enough for Jesus to spend time with them.
Jesus, we know that You love them – we really want them to know it too. We ASK You to visit their hearts and their homes with Your love and joy.
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 2:15-17
Later, as Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ were eating there with Jesus and his followers. Many people like this followed Jesus. When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with the tax collectors and ‘sinners,’ they asked his followers, ‘Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?’ Jesus heard this and said to them, ‘It is not the healthy people who need a doctor, but the sick. I did not come to invite good people but to invite sinners.’
Mark 2:15-17 (NCV)
What word or phrase stood out from today’s Bible verses?
And now, let’s say YES to God together.
Jesus, we say YES to following You like Levi did. Show us how we can follow You this week.
After enjoying this time with God and each other, let’s say our memory verse together:
Psalm 63:3
Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.
Psalm 63:3 (NIVUK)
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.
Chris lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife and two boys. He works for 24-7 Prayer Australia and Red Church and is also a professional musician. When he’s not working or drumming Chris enjoys going on long hikes in the mountains with his boys and playing table tennis.
Noelle is 11 and lives in Kansas City, Missouri USA, with her parents, sisters and dogs. She loves animals, playing basketball, creating art and teamwork. Noelle gives the best hugs.
