Mon

4 Mar

The theme for this week is The Lord’s Prayer taken from Matthew 6:9-13. Click here to listen to Eleanor Calder read the Bible reading and some questions to help you to engage with it.

Prayer before Scripture:
Be present Spirit of God as we listen to these words of Scripture.
Open our ears that we may hear the call to embody Christ to the world.
Open our minds to be challenged to new ways of thinking and being.
Open our hearts that we may be formed for mission in your world.
We ask these things in Jesus’ name.
Amen.

At the end of the reading:
Whakarongo ki te kupu a te Wairua ki te Haahi.  Whakapaingia te Atua.

 

Tue

5 Mar

Click here to see a version of the Lord’s Prayer from The Message, produced by World Vision.

 

Click here for a text version.

 

What resonates with you from this translation?

What makes you either curious or uncomfortable?

Write your reflections in your journal.

 

Wed

6 Mar

Your kingdom come.

Our world is facing a global refugee crisis. The Asylum Seekers Support Trust calculates 65.6million people are currently displaced. A number of that magnitude is incomprehensible.

Focus your prayers today on those who have been displaced and those who have lost loved ones. Pray too for the agencies of care involved in supporting refugees. You might consider donating to one of them.

 

 

Thu

7 Mar

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

One of the five marks of mission is Care of Creation. Take a shopping bag with you on your travels today and whenever you see rubbish on the street, pick it up. With each piece of rubbish you collect, repeat this phrase from the Lord’s Prayer.

 

Fri

8 Mar

Give us this day our daily bread.

What is your spiritual diet like? Are you hungry? Do you need more nourishment? What form might that take? Is there a pattern you want to increase or begin?

Here are some links that might help you to broaden your spiritual diet.

The Revd Bosco Peter’s website has several options for the daily office.

Scripture Union NZ has an app called ENGAGE which is a daily Bible reading app. Click here to visit the SUNZ site.

Pray as you Go is another way of engaging with Scripture daily.

 

Sat

9 Mar

Lead us not into temptation.

Wikipedia defines temptation as “a fundamental desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment, that threatens long-term goals. In the context of some religions, temptation is the inclination to sin.”

“Short-term urges” can get in the way of our relationships with God, with friends and family, and with our true self.

What “long term goals” might be under threat?

Write in your journal.

 

Sun

Lent 4

10 Mar

This photo is the sanctuary of All Saints in Ponsonby.

Click here to be led through The Examen.

Concluding Prayer:

God, you call us to serve you with all the strength we have:
you are faithful to those you call;
may Jesus’ resurrection raise us if we stumble,
the Christlight beckon us if we lose our way,
and we shall have strength once more
to walk with you to the cross. Amen.