Show love to those who are unkind to you and pray for them.

SCRIPTURE VERSE FOR THIS WEEK
You have heard people say, “Love your neighbors and hate your enemies.” But I tell you to love your enemies and pray for anyone who mistreats you. Matthew 5:43-44 (CEV)

SAY, PRAY AND BLESS:
A Prayer for the Week:
Jesus, thank you that your love for us never fails. Help us to show love to others today, even when they hurt us. Amen.

Mealtime Prayer:
Gracious Father, thank you for your loving care. Be with us as this meal we share. May your love be known everywhere. Amen.

A Blessing to Give:
May the Spirit of God live in you. May the Spirit fill you with God’s love and God’s wisdom. Amen. (1 Corinthians 3:16-20)

CARING CONVERSATIONS
Discuss in your household or small group:
• When do you find it easy to show love? When is it hard to show love?
• Jesus tells us that we should not only love those who love us, but love
those who treat us badly and pray for them. How can we show love for
our “enemies?”
• How does Jesus show love for those who don’t love him?

DEVOTIONS
In our world today, there are many people who actively oppose the Christian faith, sometimes with violence and acts of terror. Jesus commands us not to repay evil with evil, but to love our enemies and pray for them. In your home devotion times this week, pray for opponents of the Christian faith. Ask God to bless them with good things and to give them a new heart and new spirit. Ask God to help you see them through his eyes, and to teach you how to love them.

SERVICE
In Leviticus 19:9-10, God asked the Israelites to be generous to poor people and to the foreigners who were living among them. When they harvested their crops, they were to leave behind some of the produce for these people to collect. Discuss how your household might better share God’s blessings with the poor in your community. For example, could you purchase an extra food item or two when grocery shopping to donate to a local charity that helps the poor?

RITUALS AND TRADITIONS
Intentional quality time together is a very important building block for a healthy household. Regular household outings are one way of providing time, space and the means for household members to maintain and develop their relationships with one another. With foresight and planning, household outings can also have spiritual elements that help foster your relationships with God. For a household outing this week, search out old buildings in your community. Look for foundation stones that indicate when they were constructed. As you go, talk about what it means to have Jesus Christ as the foundation for your lives (1 Corinthians 3:11).

DAILY BIBLE READINGS
These readings are related to the Lectionary readings for this Sunday.
We invite you to take time each day to read the assigned
Bible passages.
Sunday Matthew 5:38-48 Jesus teaches about love
Monday Exodus 22:21-27 Compassion for neighbors
Tuesday Proverbs 3:27-35 Showing good to neighbors
Wednesday Matthew 7:1-5, 9-12 The Golden Rule
Thursday Luke 6:27-36 Be merciful as God is merciful
Friday Romans 12:9-21 Caring for the enemy
Saturday Proverbs 16:1-8 Living God’s way
Sunday Matthew 17:1-9 Jesus shines on a mountain