8 December 2024
Bible readings for today
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CollectKia whakamoemititia, kia whakanuia koe e
te Atua ora tonu mō Hoani Kaiiriiri me ngā reo o rātou katoa e tangi ana i te koraha e whakawātea nei i tāu ara. Meingia mātou kia whakarongo i ngā kōrero ā te poropiti kia mahi ai i āu kupu; E īnoi ai mātou i roto i a te Karaiti tō mātou Kaihoko. Āmine. Praise and honour to you living God for John the Baptist, and for all those voices crying in the wilderness who prepare your way. May we listen when a prophet speaks your word, and obey; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. |
2nd Sunday of Advent - Peace / Rangimarie
For general Advent Planning Resources see our Advent Section here.
Leaders InputSecond Advent Candle/Sunday: Peace
“May we be in this world a ray of that light which shone forth from Bethlehem, bringing joy and peace to the hearts of all men and women.” – Pope Francis The second candle on the Advent wreath represents Peace. Like the first candle, it is also [often] purple. Often called the “Bethlehem Candle,” the second Advent candle reminds us of Mary and Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem before Mary gave birth to Jesus. Building on the meaning of the Prophecy Candle, this second candle recalls that after all of the division, destruction, and dispersion of the kingdom in the Old Testament, there might finally be peace on Earth – Jesus is coming, and so is his Kingdom of Peace. As we read in the quote from Pope Francis, this light of peace shone forth from Bethlehem for all the world. [From hallow.com] 10 Minutes to more peace The whole month of December has a way of dealing a death-blow to whatever small amount of peace we’re hanging onto—the search for perfect gifts, the Clark-Griswald-style attempt at lights, or the added stress of spreading the seasonal flu bug with a quick visit to grandma for some gingerbread. Or if you have a grandma like mine, then maybe you go for a Steelers game and some whiskey. But let’s try anyway. Let’s see if God will meet us this week with some new sense of the peace He wants to give to you. Start by doing this:
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Peace on Earth
The angels proclaimed “Peace on Earth” when the Baby Jesus was born. Today we wonder as we listen to the evening news, is peace possible? We all need two kinds of peace in our lives. We need inner peace, but we also need peace with others. God addresses both. He tells us what to do to find that peace. Keep reading... Helping our children find peace - for households Regularly we each experiences challenge and disappointment along with joy and successes. Children are just the same. At times our homes can be hotbeds of discord and acting out- often because we feel safe when we’re with our family and are less controlled. But, children need opportunities to experience real peace, even when things are rough, and that peace can start with us. The following are a few tips that can help parents create peace at home:
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Lighting the Advent CandleEach week we gather together and light another candle. We see the light growing brighter and brighter as we get closer to the birth of the “Light of the World.”
Here is one way to do it (there are lots of different ways!): The focus this second week of Advent is Peace. This week we light the Hope candle and the Peace candle. Say: This is the candle of Peace. Peace isn’t just about quietness or the absence of fighting. The peace that Jesus gives us is a deep calm that comes from knowing that God is with us and loves us. We remember Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, where Jesus, the Prince of Peace, was born. Read: Luke 2:1-7, about Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and Jesus’ birth in the stable. Ask: I wonder what peace feels like? I wonder how Mary and Joseph felt when they held baby Jesus in their arms? Pray: Thank you, God, for giving us Peace and for sending Jesus to be the Prince of Peace. Help us to share your peace with the world around us. Here's another simple liturgy for lighting your candles in the Advent Wreath, from Build Faith written by Rev. Matthew Kozlowski. Kids Talks
Advent Fun SheetsWe have put together activity sheets for each Sunday in Advent. Download the Peace fun sheet or the whole series.
Christmas CraftThe second week of Advent is for peace. Jesus came to bring peace to the world. Here are a few crafts to remind us:
Alternately you might like to create a DIY nativity. Try these ones:
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Kiwi Advent Illustrations
You can download these Kiwi Advent Illustrations over on our Strandz website
Intergenerational AdventIntergenerational Resources for all the weeks of Advent (Year C 2024)
5 Week Lectionary-based Advent + Christmas Series (Year C 2021)
Intergenerational Christmas resource (Mainly Ministries). Rags to Riches - An intergenerational all age service (SUNZ) Collected Resources A collection of Intergenerational Christmas Service ideas from the Uniting Church in Australia. Engage Together - Advent: Lectionary-based Children’s Talk + Multi-age activities for Sundays in Advent Art in AdventIf you want to mark Advent in a simple rich way, how about creating a space where your kids can spend some time with Advent art. Two of my favourites advent depicting artists are John Swanson, Julie Vivas, and He Qi.
Try these questions or make up your own:
Artwork from The Nativity children's book - Julie Vivas 
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Media
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Songs
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John the Baptist (Luke 3:1-6)
Today's story looks how John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus.
Leaders Input
Visio Lectio
A print design from Rev. Sarah West, Diocese of Auckland PNG Download Download w/ background Terms of Use Visio Lectio is based on the practice of Visio Divina - the thoughtful contemplation of something visual that invites God to speak to us. Making it easier for kids
Sometimes, without even thinking about it, we can put obstacles in the way of our children coming to Jesus. We can expect a certain kind of behaviour or a certain way of dressing. Perhaps we have an expectation that children will sit quietly or speak kindly to each other. These are all good things, but they don’t necessarily have anything to do with our children’s relationship with God. This week, let’s make it easy for the children in our care to get to know Jesus, by allowing them to come just as they are to a God who loves them, just as they are. |
Gospel Conversations 2024: This is the week of Advent where we focus on John the Baptist as the great prophet and preparer-of-the-way for Jesus. In the kind of flexi-time we have in the church year, that means leaping forward to the beginning of Jesus' ministry before we return to Jesus' birth. What does this prickly prophet have to say to us today? The team this week is Kelvin Wright, Michael Holdaway, Anne van Gend and, of course, Michael.
Gospel Conversations 2021: Enter John the Baptist! Preparing the way for Jesus, preaching in the wilderness, fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy of one who will point towards a time when all people will know the salvation of God. A wonderful Gospel this week, and Michael Godfrey is joined by Alec Clark, Judy Ringland and Anne van Gend to unpack it together. |
Road Sign talkSermon given on Luke 3:1-6, where John the Baptist talks about making the way straight to the Lord.
Talk uses roadsigns as a visual prompt. What you'll need:
Road Sign QuizWhat you need:
A journey to JesusWhat you need:
Create a simple obstacle course, but keep a clear path down the middle from the beginning of the course to the end. Make sure the beginning and end are clearly marked. Invite 3 people to come up and go from the start to the finish. (note- have the second and third people turn their backs to the course so that they can’t see what the people ahead of them have done). Some people might choose to go through and around the obstacles, others might go straight from one end to the other. Say something like: When roads are built, the engineers who design them work really hard to make the roads as easy as possible to drive on. They work so that the mountain roads aren’t too steep. Sometimes if the mountain is too high and rocky, workers might build a tunnel straight through the mountain to make driving easier. Instead of scarey, wild turns, engineers smooth the roads as much as possible so that they’re mostly straight. In our course, there was both a twisted obstacle way to go and a simple, straightforward way to go. Some people chose to go through the obstacles, others went straight to the prize. (if that’s the case) In our Bible reading today, we heard about John the Baptist helping people get ready for Jesus’ coming. Can you think of some ways that we get ready for Christmas? (allow answers- buying gifts, going to church, lighting Advent candles, putting up the Christmas tree, etc). Those are good answers and you’re right. December is a really busy time for most of us with all the getting ready that we do! Some of it’s really important and maybe some of it isn’t so important, but it’s easy to get caught up in all the excitement of the season. In our Bible story today, John is a bit like a road engineer. He wants it to be easy for people to get to Jesus, so he reminds them about what’s really important. John the Baptist was living in the desert. He was helping people get their hearts ready, not their houses or their clothes or anything like that. He wanted people to be able to recognize Jesus when he arrived and to know that Jesus was coming to offer them love and forgiveness. By helping people open their hearts to Jesus and his love and forgiveness, John the Baptist was making a straight, easy road for people to follow. Today it’s the same. We are asked to spend time getting ready for Jesus, opening our hearts to him and being excited that he’s in our lives. Sometimes with all the busyness and craziness in our lives- especially in December, it can feel like we’re on a steep and wildly curvy mountain road, but it doesn’t have to be like that. We can take the straight and gentle path to Christmas. Memory VerseIn the desert someone is shouting, “Get the road ready for the Lord!” Luke 3:4
What you need:
For younger children use “Get the road ready for the Lord” Luke 3:4 |
I wonder...
Interactive journey prayersWhat you need:
Journey gameWhat you need:
Have the groups play the game by rolling the die, moving their marker and doing what’s written on the board. Note: you can make enough game boards to send one home to each family. If possible, include 4 playing pieces and a die in a small bag. 
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Media
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Advent 2 from St Albans Diocese
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Saddleback Kids: Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist
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