Thursday 7 May

Acts 13:13-25; Psalm 89; John 13:16-20
Offering encouragement
The invitation offered to Paul and his friends by the leaders of the synagogue in Antioch is significant: “Brothers, if you would like to address some words of encouragement to the congregation, please do so”. ‘Encouragement’ is the key guideline – the disciples were not given an open invitation to say whatever they liked. So often people are criticised, blamed, put down, marginalised, ignored. Whenever possible, we should seek to speak encouragingly rather than critically when we engage with others.