Newsletter 44.
Newsletter 44 from Maurice Sweetsur
Contents.
T.T. 31- Teaching children to P.R.A.Y.
Definition quiz.
Story - Doing the right thing.
A Golf funny.
Teaching tip 31 - Teaching children to P.R.A.Y.
Here is a simple prayer pattern that you can teach children so as to help encourage them to get into regular prayer habits.
Preparation. Get a piece of cardboard, and write out the four words as shown below, ensuring that the first letter of each word is larger than the others.
Praise
Regrets
Ask
Yourself
Cut and fold the cardboard in such a way that you can show the word 'PRAY' on its own, and then in turn unfold the remainder of each word as you talk about it.
Teaching. Prayer is talking to God, and I can't think of anything that God likes better than when we do this. We can talk to God anywhere, anytime, and about anything. The most important thing about prayer, however, is that it should be regular. Set aside a few minutes every day to talk to God. Most people find that the best time of the day to do this is either first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, before they go to bed. These are times which you can easily remember, and you are less likely to be interrupted.
There are basically four different types of prayer, and if you remember the word 'P.R.A.Y.' it will remind you of them. You can use this as your prayer pattern as you talk to God.
P stands for 'Praise'. (Unfold the card to reveal the first word). Praise is talking (or singing) to God about God. You could pray something like "God you're good, loving, wonderful, awesome etc." Praise also includes thanksgiving. I am sure you can all think of a lot to thank God for - Your lives, His gift of Jesus, your families, friends, school, etc.
R stands for 'Regrets'. Think back to the last time you prayed, and ask yourself if there is anything you regret - anything that you have done, said, or even thought that you are sorry about. If there is, ask God to forgive you, and He well. Then ask Him to help you do better next time.
A stands for 'Ask'. We can ask God to help others. We can pray for our family, friends, anybody at all and ask God to be with them and meet their needs. The Bible particularly says that we should pray for those in authority over us, e.g. parents, teachers, those in government. If you don't know their particular needs, you could ask God to help them make good choices.
Y stands for 'Yourself'. God encourages us to come to Him and ask for our needs. In fact, Jesus promised that He would give us all our needs. What are some of the things we need? That's right, food, water, clothes, homes, families to look after us, peace (if we are troubled), joy (if we are sad), love (if someone is annoying us), patience (if we are waiting for something). However, God did not promise to give us everything we want - our wants are different from our needs. God likes to bless us, and there is nothing wrong in asking Him for whatever you want. But He knows what is best for you, and will never give you something that would be bad for you. Therefore, His answer to your request might be Yes, wait, or no. (You could do the well known traffic light illustration here).
Conclusion. Let's all say aloud together the four different types of prayer.
P stands for - - - - - Praise.
R stands for - - - - - Regrets.
A stands for - - - - - Ask.
Y stands for - - - - - Yourself.
Application. Following on from this teaching, I often get the children to write out a prayer along the lines I have described. I emphasise that if they do not wish to write a particular type of prayer (e.g. Regrets) that is alright. Finally, I encourage them to conclude by actually praying their prayer.
I will share a few of the children's prayers that have been written in my classes recently. They never cease to bless and/or amuse me.
Children's prayers.
Praise.
"God, you are really caring about other people, especially me."
"God, you are wonderful and fun. You are the best Dad."
"God, you are an angel for helping other people."
Regrets.
"I am sorry for doing everything bad, but I will try to get good, and make my family go to church."
"I am sorry that I don't like my brother a lot."
"I am sorry for strangling my brothers and stealing my mum's money."
"Sorry for swearing sometimes. I didn't know what I was doing. Do you forgive me?"
"Forgive me for asking for something that I never got."
Ask.
"Please help the people who live on the street."
'God, I ask you to help my _________. They seem very dim. So please help them."
"God, can you please look after my poor dog 'Racer' in heaven."
"Can you please help my brother to behave better, because he is naughty all the time."
Yourself.
"Please God, can you be with me wherever I am, even when I am in a different country."
"God, I really like to sing. When I am older I want to sing out loud on stage, and live in a big fancy house."
"God, help me make good choices in life, and can I have an air-rifle."
"God, make sure that I will be a professional soccer player."
"Dear Lord, I have nothing to ask for. I have everything I need. Amen."
"God, if you wrote the Bible, why does it not say "Written and illustrated by God" on the cover of my Bible?"
Good question. On the subject of being blessed and amused by what children write and say, a six year old boy recently asked me this question. "If God wrote the Bible, why does it not say "Written and illustrated by God" on the cover of my Bible?"
Definition quiz.
Match the following "Bible' words to their correct (though not necessarily their best or complete) definitions.
1. Grace.
2. Love.
3. Goodness.
4. Thanks.
5. Sin.
6. Repentance.
7. Justified.
8. Sanctification.
9. Humility.
10. Faith.
11. Responsibility.
12. Character.
13. Christian.
14. Worship.
Definitions.
A. Love in action.
B. Self forgetfulness.
C. Doing your own thing.
D. Our response to God's ability.
E. Just as if I had never sinned.
F. Believing in someone/something that you cannot see.
G. Being sorry enough to stop sinning.
H. God's riches at Christ's expense.
I. Being made like Christ.
J. A person in whom Christ is living (A Christ - in - person).
K. A measure of what one has overcome.
L. Desiring the best for someone.
M. Counting God worthy enough to live your life for.
N. Return of some of God's goodness.
The answers are at the end of this Newsletter.
Story - Doing the right thing.
John Howieson worked as a labourer on a farm in a village just outside Edinburgh, Scotland. One day, whilst working on the farm, he notices a traveller walking past. As he watched, five men suddenly appeared and began attacking the traveller. Without hesitating, Howieson ran to the aid of the outnumbered traveller, and fought so hard that the five attackers all ran off. Howieson took the injured traveller back to his cottage and tended to his wounds.
After the traveller had recovered, he told John Howieson that he worked in Holyrood palace, Edinburgh where the king lived. He told his helper to be sure to visit him next time he was in Edinburgh, and that he would show him around the king's rooms, and even introduce him to the king, himself.
Sometime later John Howieson did visit the traveller at Holyrood palace, and was shown around the king's rooms. The traveller then said "Now we will go into the Great Hall, and I will introduce you to the king." Howieson was rather concerned and said "There will be many fine noblemem in the Great Hall. How will I know which one of them is the king?" The traveller replied "In the king's presence, everyone has to remove their hat. So you will know which man is the king, because he will be the only one wearing a hat."
As Howieson and the traveller entered the Great Hall, everyone removed their hats. Slowly Howieson realised that the only man still wearing a hat was his friend, the traveller! The traveller that Howieson has rescued was actually King James V of Scotland, who had the habit of travelling round his kingdom in disguise.
The king rewarded Howieson for his bravery, and bought him the farm on which he worked. But remember, Howieson came to the travellers help, not so that he would get a reward - he didn't know it was the king he was actually helping - but simply because it was the right thing to do.
The Bible tells us that we will be rewarded for the good things we do on earth, but that should not be our motive. Rather our motive should be the same as John Howieson, and we should do good and help others simply because that is the right thing to do.
A Golf funny.
A certain preacher awoke to perfect golfing weather one Sunday morning. It had been either cold, raining, or too windy for a couple of months and, as he thought it over, the temptation was just too great. He called up one of his deacons and told him, "You all are going to have to cover for me today. I have to go out of town on urgent business."
He felt a little bit guilty as he drove to another town, but the birds were singing, the sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, there was no wind at all, and the temperature was just perfect, so he found ways to justify his absence "just this once."
As he stepped up to the first tee, St. Peter said to the Lord, "Look. Isn't that one of your men on that golf course? And on a Sunday?"
The Lord said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of him."
The preacher hit a perfect drive, in fact the best he'd ever hit in his life. It soared about 250 yards, bounced twice, hit the green, and rolled right into the cup! St. Peter looked at the Lord, but he didn't say anything.
The preacher was ecstatic as he quickly teed up for the second hole, where his shot was just as good. He'd made another hole in one -- the second one in his life!
At that St. Peter turned to the Lord, "I thought you said you would take care of him," he demanded.
"I did," answered the Lord. "Who's he going to tell?"
[forwarded by Danny Holland]
Answsers to Definition quiz.
Grace = H, Love = L, Goodness = A, Thanks = N, Sin = C, Repentance = G, Justified = E, Sanctification = I, Humility = B, Faith = F, Responsibility = D, Character = K, Christian = J, Worship = M.
Contents.
T.T. 31- Teaching children to P.R.A.Y.
Definition quiz.
Story - Doing the right thing.
A Golf funny.
Teaching tip 31 - Teaching children to P.R.A.Y.
Here is a simple prayer pattern that you can teach children so as to help encourage them to get into regular prayer habits.
Preparation. Get a piece of cardboard, and write out the four words as shown below, ensuring that the first letter of each word is larger than the others.
Praise
Regrets
Ask
Yourself
Cut and fold the cardboard in such a way that you can show the word 'PRAY' on its own, and then in turn unfold the remainder of each word as you talk about it.
Teaching. Prayer is talking to God, and I can't think of anything that God likes better than when we do this. We can talk to God anywhere, anytime, and about anything. The most important thing about prayer, however, is that it should be regular. Set aside a few minutes every day to talk to God. Most people find that the best time of the day to do this is either first thing in the morning, or last thing at night, before they go to bed. These are times which you can easily remember, and you are less likely to be interrupted.
There are basically four different types of prayer, and if you remember the word 'P.R.A.Y.' it will remind you of them. You can use this as your prayer pattern as you talk to God.
P stands for 'Praise'. (Unfold the card to reveal the first word). Praise is talking (or singing) to God about God. You could pray something like "God you're good, loving, wonderful, awesome etc." Praise also includes thanksgiving. I am sure you can all think of a lot to thank God for - Your lives, His gift of Jesus, your families, friends, school, etc.
R stands for 'Regrets'. Think back to the last time you prayed, and ask yourself if there is anything you regret - anything that you have done, said, or even thought that you are sorry about. If there is, ask God to forgive you, and He well. Then ask Him to help you do better next time.
A stands for 'Ask'. We can ask God to help others. We can pray for our family, friends, anybody at all and ask God to be with them and meet their needs. The Bible particularly says that we should pray for those in authority over us, e.g. parents, teachers, those in government. If you don't know their particular needs, you could ask God to help them make good choices.
Y stands for 'Yourself'. God encourages us to come to Him and ask for our needs. In fact, Jesus promised that He would give us all our needs. What are some of the things we need? That's right, food, water, clothes, homes, families to look after us, peace (if we are troubled), joy (if we are sad), love (if someone is annoying us), patience (if we are waiting for something). However, God did not promise to give us everything we want - our wants are different from our needs. God likes to bless us, and there is nothing wrong in asking Him for whatever you want. But He knows what is best for you, and will never give you something that would be bad for you. Therefore, His answer to your request might be Yes, wait, or no. (You could do the well known traffic light illustration here).
Conclusion. Let's all say aloud together the four different types of prayer.
P stands for - - - - - Praise.
R stands for - - - - - Regrets.
A stands for - - - - - Ask.
Y stands for - - - - - Yourself.
Application. Following on from this teaching, I often get the children to write out a prayer along the lines I have described. I emphasise that if they do not wish to write a particular type of prayer (e.g. Regrets) that is alright. Finally, I encourage them to conclude by actually praying their prayer.
I will share a few of the children's prayers that have been written in my classes recently. They never cease to bless and/or amuse me.
Children's prayers.
Praise.
"God, you are really caring about other people, especially me."
"God, you are wonderful and fun. You are the best Dad."
"God, you are an angel for helping other people."
Regrets.
"I am sorry for doing everything bad, but I will try to get good, and make my family go to church."
"I am sorry that I don't like my brother a lot."
"I am sorry for strangling my brothers and stealing my mum's money."
"Sorry for swearing sometimes. I didn't know what I was doing. Do you forgive me?"
"Forgive me for asking for something that I never got."
Ask.
"Please help the people who live on the street."
'God, I ask you to help my _________. They seem very dim. So please help them."
"God, can you please look after my poor dog 'Racer' in heaven."
"Can you please help my brother to behave better, because he is naughty all the time."
Yourself.
"Please God, can you be with me wherever I am, even when I am in a different country."
"God, I really like to sing. When I am older I want to sing out loud on stage, and live in a big fancy house."
"God, help me make good choices in life, and can I have an air-rifle."
"God, make sure that I will be a professional soccer player."
"Dear Lord, I have nothing to ask for. I have everything I need. Amen."
"God, if you wrote the Bible, why does it not say "Written and illustrated by God" on the cover of my Bible?"
Good question. On the subject of being blessed and amused by what children write and say, a six year old boy recently asked me this question. "If God wrote the Bible, why does it not say "Written and illustrated by God" on the cover of my Bible?"
Definition quiz.
Match the following "Bible' words to their correct (though not necessarily their best or complete) definitions.
1. Grace.
2. Love.
3. Goodness.
4. Thanks.
5. Sin.
6. Repentance.
7. Justified.
8. Sanctification.
9. Humility.
10. Faith.
11. Responsibility.
12. Character.
13. Christian.
14. Worship.
Definitions.
A. Love in action.
B. Self forgetfulness.
C. Doing your own thing.
D. Our response to God's ability.
E. Just as if I had never sinned.
F. Believing in someone/something that you cannot see.
G. Being sorry enough to stop sinning.
H. God's riches at Christ's expense.
I. Being made like Christ.
J. A person in whom Christ is living (A Christ - in - person).
K. A measure of what one has overcome.
L. Desiring the best for someone.
M. Counting God worthy enough to live your life for.
N. Return of some of God's goodness.
The answers are at the end of this Newsletter.
Story - Doing the right thing.
John Howieson worked as a labourer on a farm in a village just outside Edinburgh, Scotland. One day, whilst working on the farm, he notices a traveller walking past. As he watched, five men suddenly appeared and began attacking the traveller. Without hesitating, Howieson ran to the aid of the outnumbered traveller, and fought so hard that the five attackers all ran off. Howieson took the injured traveller back to his cottage and tended to his wounds.
After the traveller had recovered, he told John Howieson that he worked in Holyrood palace, Edinburgh where the king lived. He told his helper to be sure to visit him next time he was in Edinburgh, and that he would show him around the king's rooms, and even introduce him to the king, himself.
Sometime later John Howieson did visit the traveller at Holyrood palace, and was shown around the king's rooms. The traveller then said "Now we will go into the Great Hall, and I will introduce you to the king." Howieson was rather concerned and said "There will be many fine noblemem in the Great Hall. How will I know which one of them is the king?" The traveller replied "In the king's presence, everyone has to remove their hat. So you will know which man is the king, because he will be the only one wearing a hat."
As Howieson and the traveller entered the Great Hall, everyone removed their hats. Slowly Howieson realised that the only man still wearing a hat was his friend, the traveller! The traveller that Howieson has rescued was actually King James V of Scotland, who had the habit of travelling round his kingdom in disguise.
The king rewarded Howieson for his bravery, and bought him the farm on which he worked. But remember, Howieson came to the travellers help, not so that he would get a reward - he didn't know it was the king he was actually helping - but simply because it was the right thing to do.
The Bible tells us that we will be rewarded for the good things we do on earth, but that should not be our motive. Rather our motive should be the same as John Howieson, and we should do good and help others simply because that is the right thing to do.
A Golf funny.
A certain preacher awoke to perfect golfing weather one Sunday morning. It had been either cold, raining, or too windy for a couple of months and, as he thought it over, the temptation was just too great. He called up one of his deacons and told him, "You all are going to have to cover for me today. I have to go out of town on urgent business."
He felt a little bit guilty as he drove to another town, but the birds were singing, the sun was shining, the sky was bright blue, there was no wind at all, and the temperature was just perfect, so he found ways to justify his absence "just this once."
As he stepped up to the first tee, St. Peter said to the Lord, "Look. Isn't that one of your men on that golf course? And on a Sunday?"
The Lord said, "Don't worry, I'll take care of him."
The preacher hit a perfect drive, in fact the best he'd ever hit in his life. It soared about 250 yards, bounced twice, hit the green, and rolled right into the cup! St. Peter looked at the Lord, but he didn't say anything.
The preacher was ecstatic as he quickly teed up for the second hole, where his shot was just as good. He'd made another hole in one -- the second one in his life!
At that St. Peter turned to the Lord, "I thought you said you would take care of him," he demanded.
"I did," answered the Lord. "Who's he going to tell?"
[forwarded by Danny Holland]
Answsers to Definition quiz.
Grace = H, Love = L, Goodness = A, Thanks = N, Sin = C, Repentance = G, Justified = E, Sanctification = I, Humility = B, Faith = F, Responsibility = D, Character = K, Christian = J, Worship = M.
posted by Maurice Sweetsur @ 7:15 PM
