Married couples

What are we keeping score of in each other?

Where we are

Who did more washing-up, who looked after the children more, who said sorry first. Before we know it, we are measuring each other. The more we measure, the more love turns into a tally, and our words slowly grow cold.

From the passage

Jesus named the great crisis of the last days: ‘the love of many will grow cold’ (v.12). Its first signs appear not in the sky but at the kitchen table. Yet God did not keep score; he gave up his own Son for us (Rom 8:32).

Confession

We will not be a couple who measure each other, but a couple who reach out a hand to each other. Our love may cool, but the love that holds us never does.

Prayer points

• That our words and looks towards each other would grow warm again
• That our table would be a place of thanks and waiting, not keeping score

Spouses who differ in faith

What part of the gospel can I show before I say it?

Where we are

When the news reports a church leader’s scandal or people predicting the end of the world, my spouse says, ‘See? Churches are all the same.’ I have no answer, and my heart feels heavy.

From the passage

Jesus warned beforehand that false christs and false prophets would arise (vv.5, 11). The church’s shaking is not proof that his words failed, but proof that they are coming true. And the gospel will be proclaimed (v.14). An ordinary life lived by his word becomes a witness to it.

Confession

I am not someone who must win my spouse over; I am someone who lives by love today. It is the Lord who opens my spouse’s heart.

Prayer points

• That I would show the gospel in my life before I speak it
• That, in time, I would have the wisdom and courage to speak it too

Parents of primary-age and younger children

When I tell my child, ‘Keep your eyes on me’, whom am I keeping my eyes on?

Where we are

In a busy supermarket, I hold my child’s wrist tightly so I won’t lose them. They are busy looking at everything and their grip loosens, but my hand does not let go.

From the passage

‘Watch out’ in verse 4 literally means ‘look’. Jesus tells us not to lose our way following other voices, but to look to him. And ‘will be saved’ in verse 13 is a salvation we receive because God holds on to us, not because we hold on to him. Tonight, hold your child’s wrist and tell them, ‘This is how tightly God holds us.’

Confession

God holds me and my child even more tightly than I hold them. I will walk with my eyes on the Lord before I ask my child to do the same.

Prayer points

• That my child would recognise the Lord’s voice among so many others
• That I would set an example by walking with my eyes on his word

Parents of teenagers and older children

When I look at my child’s school report, what am I really measuring?

Where we are

Exam countdowns, mock grades, university and careers. We measure our children’s time, while they listen to countless voices on their phones. We talk less and worry more.

From the passage

Jesus tells us not to be alarmed by rumours (v.6). These things are within God’s plan, and the end is not yet. The first question is not ‘When?’ but ‘Whose voice am I following?’ (vv.4–5).

Confession

I will not be a parent who measures my child’s scores, but one who walks through today alongside them. Their tomorrow is in the Lord’s hands.

Prayer points

• That our children would trust the Lord’s word above the world’s voices
• That we would wait for our children in faith rather than fear

Single members

While I wait, am I living today?

Where we are

A job, marriage, a home of my own. I keep comparing my timetable with everyone else’s. Sometimes I grow impatient; sometimes I grow tired and simply switch my hopes off.

From the passage

‘The end is not yet’ (v.6). Jesus’ ‘not yet’ means neither ‘soon’ nor ‘ages away’, but ‘so live today’. Only the Father knows the day and hour (24:36). A life of waiting is not a life on hold; it is a life with the light left on.

Confession

My timetable is not a number to compare with others, but time entrusted to the Lord. I will wait, and live today in love.

Prayer points

• Freedom from comparison and impatience
• That I would keep love alive today, right where he has placed me