Monday: Understanding
Pray: Begin by making the sign of the cross and calling upon God's name.
From God to us, from death to life, from me to you …
in the name of the Father, and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
O God, life can be difficult. But with you by our side, we can face anything that comes along. Be with us now, and open our minds to understand your Word. We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Listen: Pay close attention as these verses from the Bible are read aloud.
Acts 21:27-33
When the period of seven days for the ceremony was almost over, some of the Jewish people from Asia saw Paul in the temple [in Jerusalem]. They got a large crowd together and started attacking him. They were shouting, “Friends, help us! This man goes around everywhere, saying bad things about our nation and about the Law of Moses and about this temple. He has even brought shame to this holy temple by bringing in Gentiles.” Some of them thought that Paul had brought Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple, because they had seen them together in the city.
The whole city was in an uproar, and the people turned into a mob. They grabbed Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Then suddenly the doors were shut. The people were about to kill Paul when the Roman army commander heard that all Jerusalem was starting to riot. So he quickly took some soldiers and officers and ran to where the crowd had gathered. As soon as the mob saw the commander and soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. The army commander went over and arrested him and had him bound with two chains. Then he tried to find out who Paul was and what he had done. (CEV)
Engage: Talk about the Bible by having parents respond to children’s questions.
Child: In today’s story, people were saying untrue things about Paul. How do you think he felt? Do you think Paul’s relationship with God helped him deal with this?
Child: The Bible tells us that “the people turned into a mob” and went after Paul. Have you ever gone along with a group that was being mean, and regretted it later? What happened, and what did you learn?
Affirm: Pray for God to put his Word into action in your daily life.
Lord God, it’s hard to be the target of cruel words. And it’s also hard to stand up when we’re in a group that is being mean. Help us when we are in these situations. Give us wisdom, and courage, so we know what to do. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Have each person in the family bless one another with these words:
May you be brave enough to stand up for what is right. Amen.