29 May 2022
Bible readings for todayToday is the 7th Sunday after Easter, and also marks Christian Unity. |
CollectEternal God,
Between Ascension and the Spirit; Between your going and your coming; we await your purpose: grant us expectant hearts; give us the vision of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. |
Jesus prays for his followers (John 17: 20-26)
This passage of John 17 shares part of Jesus' last address to his disciples, before he is arrested by the soldiers and taken off to Pilate. Jesus speaks of unity, and finishes by saying: “O righteous Father, the world doesn’t know you, but I do; and these disciples know you sent me. I have revealed you to them, and I will continue to do so. Then your love for me will be in them, and I will be in them.”
Thy Kingdom ComeThy Kingdom come is a global prayer movement between Ascension and Pentecost that encourages the church to pray for people to become Christians and follow Jesus. There are lots of prayer ideas on our Strandz website, such as praying for 5, labyrinth prayers, and our prayer puzzle.
All age talkWhat you need: cake ingredients, such as flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, eggs, milk.
Look at all the things I have to show you this morning. (Hold up several items and comment on each.) I have some flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, eggs, milk, and much more. Just by looking at the individual items, you might not know what we could do with them. The individual items could have many uses, but guess what we might be able to do with them if we put them all together. Well, for one thing, we could make a chocolate cake! Would you like to eat a spoonful of flour? How about a spoonful of salt or some vegetable oil? I didn't think so! Most of the items we have here wouldn't taste very good by themselves, but when you mix them all together in one bowl, put them in a pan and bake them in the oven, you can end up with a delicious cake! These different ingredients that go into baking a cake can teach us an important lesson about the church. The church is made up of many individual members. Like these ingredients, the members of a church are quite different, but when you put them all together and they work together as one, the church can do some wonderful things. In our Bible reading this morning, Jesus himself prayed that all believers would be one so that the world would see God's love in them. You and I are part of the church. Jesus wants us to love one another, help one another, and serve one another. When we do that, we become one, just as Jesus prayed we would be, and when we are one, the world can see God's love in us. Unfortunately, sometimes the individual members of the church have a hard time being one with one another. We may hear people in the church saying things like "I don't like the songs we sing" or "The preacher preaches too long." When we say things like that and want to have everything our way, we are no longer being one. We are like the individual ingredients of the cake. The world cannot see God's love in us. They don't get to enjoy the wonderful things that God has in store for them. If you ever find yourself thinking about yourself, rather than being united with others in the church, remember that Jesus prayed that we would be one. When we are one, bound together by Christ's love, the world gets a taste of the wonderful things that God has for them. Dear Father, help us to be one so that the world may taste your sweet love in us. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Gathering Prayer"We come to re-weave the unravelling fabric of community.
To re-connect once more with the larger human family. To find once more that place of calm. To remind ourselves that we belong. And to remember what it is we belong to." See more in this link - Gathering Prayer (Church of Scotland) - scroll down to find the prayer! Christian Unity Resources |
Gospel ConversationsThanks to the Diocese of Dunedin for these great videos! Some conversations are stand-outs, and this is one of them. As Jesus comes ever closer to the cross, his final words are ones of challenge and promise, not only to the disciples sitting around him, but to us as well. Join +Kelvin, Trish, Jonathan Gale and Michael as they explore the glorious complexities of Jesus' prayer with honesty and insight.
Visio LectioA beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
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Picture prayers
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Jesus' Ascension (Luke 24:44-53)
Today also marks the Sunday after the Ascension of Jesus, which is written about in Luke 24: 44-53 and Acts 1:9-11,
Balloons Up!You will need:
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Activities
Blowing BubblesBlow bubbles and they have to pop them/catch them, try blowing from low down and blowing them up in the air. If it seems appropriate, you can mention that today we are thinking about Ascension day when Jesus went back up to heaven to be with God and we are blowing the bubbles up to the sky like Jesus going up to God.
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Paul and Silas in Prison (Acts 16:16-34)
Activities
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Quick QuestionsThese questions are from Ministry to Children website and could be a great follow up activity
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The Adventures of Paul: Prison Break
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Paul and Silas: Acts 15 & 16
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Paul and Silas in Acts 16: 16-36
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