7 January 2024
Bible readings for today
Liturgical colour: WHITE If The Epiphany is Celebrated today, The Baptism of Christ is transferred to Monday 8 January. For The Epiphany, see the provision on 6 January. |
CollectHoly Spirit,
as you drove Jesus into the wilderness, when John baptised him and the heavens opened, drive us to wrestle and reflect so that we may fulfil our baptism, and live the life of victory. This we ask through the same Jesus Christ our Redeemer. Amen. E te Wairua Tapu, nāu a Īhu i pēia ki te koraha, ā, ka iriiria ia e Hoani, ka tuwhera mai te rangi, karawhiua mātou ki te whātōtō, ki te whakaaro hoki, kia whakaritea ai e mātou ō mātou iriiringa, kia noho i roto i te oranga o te wikitōria. E īnoi ana mātou i roto i a Ihu Karaiti tō mātou Kaihoko. Āmine |
The Baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:4-11)
John the Baptist anticipated a messiah who would be greater than himself. John is portrayed as the forerunner of Jesus who prepares the people for Jesus' ministry. The Baptism of Jesus is also found in Luke 3:15-17, 21-22.
Bible stories with picturesWe stumbled across a great website with some John the Baptist lesson resources, with a John the Baptist story with illustrations, and group discussion questions
Download here Worship resourcesThe Church of Scotland have some good lectionary reading content on their website, which is helpful for those preaching this 1st Sunday after Epiphany, or looking for background information on the scriptures.
You can find their information here ActivitiesJohn the Baptist
Jesus' Baptism
What is baptism?Younger Kids
Sit the children down and ask them if they know what baptism is, have they been to one etc? Do they know if they are baptised? Then read them the story from the Beginner’s bible of Jesus’ baptism. Talk about the symbol of water - it washes us clean, makes us feel fresh. Often people like to shower first thing in the morning so they are ready to start the new day! Jesus didn’t need to be baptised but he chose to start his work on earth by being baptised, it marked the start of his work of telling people about God his father and teaching them how to live as God wants us to. God was so happy with Jesus and all the good work he was doing that he said it aloud for everyone to hear! God is also pleased with you when you try hard to be kind to other people and love them and to remember all the things Jesus taught us. We will make a picture of Jesus’ baptism to help you remember! Older kids Baptism! What is baptism? Why do we get baptised? What are some of the symbols? Get out the bibles and find and read the passage together, taking turns. Then talk about - do they think Jesus needed to be baptised? Why did he choose to be baptised? Why did God choose to speak out loud and send a dove?? Talk about the symbols of baptism. Talk about how when you baptised the priest signs you with a cross on your forehead, like a secret sign of belonging to God. If you have been baptised then you will always have that invisible sign of God’s love on your forehead! If you haven’t been you might like to think about arranging to, just talk to the your church leader. Squirter GameGame : Squirter. Sit the children in a circle with somone in the middle. Leaders sit in the circle too. Start them off with a word, the person next to them has to say a word associated with it, like if they say Banana, the enxt person can say yellow or another fruit. If they don’t or hesitate longer than about 5 seconds, the person in the middle gets to squirt them with water! (suggest you set your squirter to mist!). Then swap out the person in the middle and choose a new word.....
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Intergenerational WorshipRecognising God's voice, an intergenerational resource written and compiled by Melissa Neumann from the Uniting Church, for Intergen Australia. See here >>
Object Talk What you need:
What you do: Set up the bowl of water, soap and towel on a table. Say something like: When was the last time you got dirty? I mean really dirty! Maybe you were playing in the dirt or fixing a car or clearing out the attic. Can you think of what you were doing? Tell the person next to you. Great. What did you do to get clean again? (allow a few answers). My hands are a bit dirty, so I'm going to wash them in this basin. Maybe you used soap and water or got in a shower or bath or jumped in the pool or used a hose. Those are all great ways to get clean on the outside. But what happens when we're dirty on the inside? What happens when we've lied or hurt someone or taken something that doesn't belong to us? Will washing in this basin help those things go away? No, not really. We can be spotless on the outside, but still be full of mess on the inside. When we're baptised, and when Jesus was baptised, it looks like a washing up on the outside, but it's more than that. Baptism is a way of showing that we want to be washed up and clean on the inside, too. When we're baptised, it's like saying that we're sorry for the bad things we've done and we want a new start. And God always forgives us. That makes a lot of sense for us, because we do bad things a lot. Sometimes we do them without knowing, sometimes we know that what we're doing is wrong. We need to be cleaned up on the inside. But Jesus never did anything wrong. He didn't need to be cleaned up or forgiven, but he still got baptised. That made him extra close to all of us, doing something that we do. When God looked at Jesus, he sent his holy spirit, in the form of a dove down.. Then God said that he loved Jesus very much and was really, really pleased with him! God is pleased with us, too, when we want to be clean on the inside and on the outside! Glitter Bottles
What you need:
Small bottles or jars, 1 per child (make sure they have lids)
What you do:
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In the beginning (Genesis 1:1-5)
Today's reading includes the opening words of the first book of the bible, which tells how God created light and separated it from the dark on the first day of creation.
Genesis 1 & 2 describe in creative imagery how God created the world, the home that we love and enjoy. Whether you lean towards a more creationist or the evolution theology, we believe that science and faith need not be so binary and dualistic. Fostering a faith in children that is full of wonder, mystery, openness, creativity and inquisitiveness is key, as we help them understand that God loves the world, and everything/everyone in it. We may not know how God made the world, and we can uncover clues and amazing evidence along the way, but we hold both together in a beautiful tension.
Genesis 1 & 2 describe in creative imagery how God created the world, the home that we love and enjoy. Whether you lean towards a more creationist or the evolution theology, we believe that science and faith need not be so binary and dualistic. Fostering a faith in children that is full of wonder, mystery, openness, creativity and inquisitiveness is key, as we help them understand that God loves the world, and everything/everyone in it. We may not know how God made the world, and we can uncover clues and amazing evidence along the way, but we hold both together in a beautiful tension.
Story booksToday's bible story from Genesis is a great one to share with children, and there are a few different options for doing this. Our favourites include:
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