Daily Devotions for Thursday 26th May, 2022

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from Father God

Thy Kingdom Come prayer venture starts
This is a global venture as Christians around the world
Pray for up to 5 friends to meet with Jesus
Pray for evidence of God’s Kingdom on earth
As it is in heaven
Pray for God’s Kingdom will to be done
In our lives
In our community where we live
In His Church
In our nation
In our world

Reading : ACTS 4 verses 13-22

Meditation : take time and consider these words about following JESUS this morning.
Which words stay with you?
Who is Jesus to you?

Then pause to pray to this God who sent Jesus

All your creatures, LORD, will praise you,
and all your people will give you thanks.
They will speak of the glory of your royal power
and tell of your might,
so that everyone will know your mighty deeds
and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.
Your rule is eternal,
and you are king forever.
The LORD is faithful to his promises;
he is merciful in all his acts.
He helps those who are in trouble;
he lifts those who have fallen.

And so we bring our sacrifice of praise to you, our God
This morning
As we name others we long to see meet with Jesus
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Midday
Pray God’s blessing on God’s people in Libya
God of grace…hear our prayers and pour a blessing we ask on your Church

Evening
Reading : read these verses again from ACTS 4
Reflect on the words and images – at the end of your day
and Pray in response to this God – our God

People will speak of your mighty deeds,
and I will proclaim your greatness.
They will tell about all your goodness
and sing about your kindness.
The LORD is loving and merciful,
slow to become angry and full of constant love.
He is good to everyone
and has compassion on all he made.

O LORD, hear our evening prayers
As we thank you for sending Jesus
As we name others we long to meet with Him
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Call to Prayer with Others

As your Monday closes you are invited to pause and pray with others in our Church Family as we journey through this week

You may want to revisit the Daily Devotions for today from ROMANS 5 verses 1-11

You are encouraged to follow the pattern of A-C-T-S which many have found to be a blessing and a help

A doration … taking a few moments to bring your evening words of praise and worship to our God

C onfession … of the sins of this day

T hanksgiving … for the blessings of this day … and for forgiveness received

S upplication or Asking … for a situation…or another person in need at this time

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Daily Devotions for Sunday 24th October, 2021

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from the Living God

Reading : ACTS 4 verses 23-31

Meditation : take time and consider this passage this Sunday morning.
Praying for Boldness.
What does it mean for you today?
What is God teaching/reminding you today?

And then pray in response – using verse 30 as you turn to prayer

God of grace and might and power
We bow before you
We believe in you
We trust in you
We ask for boldness
To live for Jesus
To speak of Jesus
Even today
In Jesus’ Name, Amen.


Midday

Pray the Prayer for the Month as your own midday prayer

We rejoice in your love, O God!

We rejoice in your care, O Father God!

We rejoice in your saving grace, O Lord!

We rejoice in your good gifts, O merciful Lord!

We rejoice!
We give thanks!
We worship you!

With our words and songs of praise!

In Jesus’ name
Amen and Amen.

Evening
Reading : read these particular verses again from ACTS 4 verses 23-31
Reflect on the words spoken here and then Pray in response to this God

O LORD, hear our evening prayers we ask
As we thank you for the blessings of this Sunday
As we believe and trust in you
As we pilgrimage on into this new week
Build your Church, Lord
Make us strong, Lord!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

A Call to Evening Prayer with Others

As your Monday closes you are invited to pause and pray with others in our Church Family as the new week has begun

You may want to revisit the Daily Devotions for today from ACTS 1 vs 1-11

You are encouraged to follow the pattern of A-C-T-S which many have found to be a blessing and a help

A doration … taking a few moments to bring your evening words of praise and worship to our God

C onfession … of the sins of this day

T hanksgiving … for the blessings of this day … and for forgiveness received

S upplication or Asking … for a situation…or another person in need at this time

In Jesus’ Name
Amen

Daily Devotions for Monday 20th September, 2021

Morning
Look Upward and Pray to hear and receive from Jesus, Son of God, Son of Man

Reading : ACTS 1 verses 1-11

Meditation : take time to consider these particular words as your day starts.
We pause and wait with God, the Three-in-One.
What are you waiting for God to do/give at this time?

Then Pray in response to this God we believe and trust in

P-ause
R-ejoice
A-sk
Y-ield

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Midday
Pray God’s blessing on our Kirkgate Trust group members
God of grace and mercy and rich blessing, hear our prayers we ask.

Evening
Reading : read these verses again from ACTS 1 verses 1-11
Reflect prayerfully on what you read and then pray to our God in response

Loving and Faithful One, hear my evening prayers
As I pause in your presence
As I lay myself and this world before you at the end of today
As I ask to receive more of your Holy Spirit in my life
In our Church
In our nation
Across this world
In Jesus’ name, Amen
!

Sharing God’s Word – a short course

‘Sharing God’s Word – what can we learn from the early church in Acts?’ Led by Jared Hay

This short course is intended to complement the Sunday studies in the Gospels on ‘Sharing God’s Word,’ and the aim is to try to understand how the Early Church shared the Good News in their cultural context. That means investigating the context in which they lived, what they said and did, who said it and did it, and what intentional strategies they adopted to make sure the message was disseminated as widely as possible.

The course will run on Zoom over four Thursday evenings (7.30 – 9pm) spaced out to allow Link groups to meet between sessions to discuss what they’ve learned and how it might be applied in our cultural context. Some discussion questions are provided to help facilitate exploring and applying what has been learned. Members of the congregation are encouraged to join both the course and also a Link group for the follow-up discussion. Please do contact Caroline Barlee, John or Jared if you need help finding a group to join.

15 October – The world they lived in – honour and shame, money, sex and power in the First Century.
What are the major things that shape our cultures today?
How have they influenced the Church’s relationship with others?

29 October – The Word they shared – what was the message the Early Church took to the world?
What actions accompanied the message?
Does the word and action we share reflect the breadth of the activity of the early church?
Are there special emphases that might be useful to highlight when sharing with different groups and cultures?

12 November – The people who shared the Word – who were they and what were they like?
What qualities are needed to share the good news?

26 November – The strategies they used to share the Word – big pictures and jig-saw pieces.
Thinking of our context, what strategies might we adopt for sharing the good news, and how would we need to change to fulfil them?