Devotions
Devotion #5
+STARTER+
Be quiet for a moment
Name something out of balance for you today
At what point were you most balanced?
+BIBLE+
Have someone read the Bible verse.
Revelation 21:5-7 (New International Version, ©2011)
5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
6 He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
+DIGGING IN+
Show of hands, how many of you bought something new for this trip? Do you know why you bought that new thing?
Did any of you MAKE something new for this trip? The Biblical word for MAKING carries with it a tone of ‘continually’…which means that God is NEVER done creating NEW things.
What does it mean to you that God is ‘making’ everything new?
Does it mean that God is tired of the stuff God made yesterday?
What new thing did God make in you today?
+DEEPER+
THINK about INHERITANCE…you know that way cool thing you get when someone else dies. What would be the coolest inheritance gift you could ever get? Realize this, someone has to die for you to get this inheritance.
So God, in the person of Jesus dies for you. What did you inherit from Jesus?
Yes, he had to die for you to get it.
+END+
Pray this. Good and gracious God. We give you thanks for Jesus, who laid down his life so we could experience your forgiveness, love, and mercy. Remind us daily that it cost Jesus his life that we would be freed from sin. Call out from us actions of thanks and praise for this gift of forgiveness. Amen.
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Devotion #4
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+STARTER+
Be quiet for a moment
Name something out of balance for you today
At what point were you most balanced?
+BIBLE+
Have someone read the Bible verses.
Isaiah 65:25 (New International Version, ©2011)
25 The wolf and the lamb will feed together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox,
and dust will be the serpent’s food.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,”
says the LORD.
John 15:15 (New International Version, ©2011)
15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father
I have made known to you.
+DIGGING IN+
THINK…Think about the animal kingdom. Which are natural enemies? What would cause them to be best friends?
THINK AGAIN…What causes humans to become enemies? Name the smallest way in which a simple act of friendship could change the world. Name a few BIG things that could make the whole human population more like friends than enemies?
+DEEPER+
Having friends comes at a cost. In order to have friends you need to be a friend. Pay attention to the order, your friends are first, you come second. So…how were you a BETTER friend today? How could you be a better friend tomorrow.
+END+
Hold hands, circle prayer, pray for the person on your right, go around the circle. You are going to pray for the way the person to your right shows signs of being a good friend.
Gracious God I give you thanks for …(name the ways they are a good friend) squeeze the hand go onto the next person.
At the end…we are no longer servants, we are friends. Thank You God.
Amen
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Devotion #3
+STARTER+
Be quiet for a moment
Name something out of balance for you today
At what point were you most balanced?
+BIBLE+
Have someone read the text 3 times in a row out loud ( for the shorts) listen carefully because at the end…who can name the key words of the text? Can you memorize this verse?
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (New International Version, ©2011)
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
+DIGGING IN+
ASK….Anybody got a piece of paper they can give away? Take the paper, crush it, squeeze it to it’s smallest proportion. Set it in the middle of the group so all can see it.
READ OUTLOUD….Certainly the Apostle Paul, the author of the Bible verse was crushed and perplexed as he sat in prison. Clearly the people in the city of Corinth, to whom Paul is writing this verse may well have been experiencing the feelings of abandonment by being beat down by an adversary.
DO….Turn to a neighbor …share…When have you felt like that piece of paper?
+DEEPER+
ASK….someone take the paper, unfold it, smooth it out, get as many wrinkles out as you can.
How is this action of ‘unfolding’, ‘un-wrinkling’, ‘smoothing out’ like God’s action of forgiveness?
What do you notice about the paper now?
+END+
This is a slow prayer. 3 phrases, with quiet in between.
Lord UNFOLD this item in my life.
Lord, UNWRINKLE this part of my family life.
Lord, SMOOTH OUT this part of the world.
Amen
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Devotion #2 – July 2
+STARTER+
Be quiet for a moment
Name something out of balance for you today
At what point were you most balanced?
+BIBLE+
Have someone read the text 3 times in a row out loud ( for the shorts) listen carefully because at the end…who can name the key words of the text, was someone able to memorize a portions of the text?
Proverbs 3:5-6 (New International Version, ©2011)
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.[a]
+DIGGING IN+
Name one person with whom you can share your deepest struggles. Why do you trust them with your biggest stories?
TRUST is a huge thing. TRUST can make and certainly break a relationship. Name the critical elements in being a TRUSTWORTHY person.
When TRUST is broken, are there ways to restore it?
+DEEPER+
We rarely talk about SUBMITTING to God. SUBMISSION is an old term used in relationship to LORD and SERVANT days, or SUBMITTING your college application papers. Do you have a hard time submitting to God? Submitting to God comes with a promise…someone read the promise at the end of the Bible verse…what parts of your life need to be submitted to God TODAY? What do you think it means that God will make your “paths straight”? What might that look like in your life?
+END+
This prayer time can take 10 minutes.
Have some read this prayer out loud 4 times.
God, you know our hearts. Take our lean understanding and straighten out a portion of my life that is messed up or crooked.
PAUSE…read it again… PAUSE…read it again… PAUSE…read it again
Amen
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Devotion #1 – July 1
+STARTER+
Be quiet for a moment
Name something out of balance for you today
At what point were you most balanced
+BIBLE+
Have someone read the text 3 times in a row out loud and listen carefully because at the end…who can name the key words of the text, was someone able to memorize a portions of the text?
Psalm 139:13-16
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
DIGGING IN
When you hear that God has ‘knit you together’ what does that look like for you?
Rarely do we link FEAR and WONDER. When you hear that you are fearfully and wonderfully made by God, what goes off inside you?
What sorts of things do you hide from God? Does it make you nervous that God knows these secrets?
DEEPER
You have biography written about you. God has read it. God has read it all the way to the end and STILL loves you. What do you think about that? How does that make you feel?
END
Prayer time…hold hands…have someone read the scripture text one more time…give thanks to God who has knit you, created you, and knows you through and through. Pray for a GREAT gathering. Pray that God IS doing something in your life.
