1 June 2025
Bible readings for today
Liturgical colour: WHITE or RED Today is also the Sunday after the Ascension, which may be celebrated here, so we have included resources for Luke 24: 44-53. |
CollectE te Atua tapu, nāu mātou i whāngai ki ngā kai tinana, wairua hoki.
E kore te mate e pā ki a koe, e kore anō tōu āhua tapu e rerekē, ahakoa i ō mātou hara, nāu mātou i tohu, ki te whakarongo ki tāu kupu, ki te kauwhau i tōu pono. Hareruia! Whakaritea mātou ki te tote o te whenua; meinga mātou hei rēwena i roto i te paraoa. He whakamoemiti ki a koe, e tō mātou Atua; ka whakamana te īnoi. Āmine. Holy God, you feed us with earthly and spiritual food. Deathless, unalterable, you have chosen us, sinful as we are, to hear your word and to proclaim your truth. Alleluia! Make us salt of the earth; make us yeast in the loaf. Praise to you our God; you answer prayer. Amen. |
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.”
Input for Leaders
Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission. PNG Download Terms of Use |
Gospel Conversations 2025: This week a smaller group do their best to give some insight into this beautiful and challenging passage.
Gospel Conversations 2022: Thanks 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.
Gathering Prayer (Church of Scotland)
"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." |
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.
Thy Kingdom Come also has a series of fun, short videos for kids exploring all the different ways we can pray to God. 
Intergenerational WorshipIntergen Easter 7: A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Rev Beth Nicholls Intergen Australia. Bible references: Acts
Kids TalksMany Parts, One Body (Faith Formation Journeys) - object lesson with lego minifgure
Jesus prays for us (Sermon Writer) Making Peace (Flame Creative) - Lesson on peace with activities and questions. Could easily be adapted for this weeks passage. Unity and Cake!
You will need: a recipe and cake ingredients e.g. flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, eggs, milk. Start out by showing the kids the ingredients. (Hold up a few of the items and comment on them). 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! The church is a bit like a cake! It's make up of lots of different ingredients (or people). Like these ingredients, each person is quite different. But when you put them all together and they work together, it makes something wonderful! In our reading this morning, Jesus prayed that all believers would be one so that the world would see God's love in them. You and I are part of that. 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. When we are one, the world can see God's love in us. Sometimes we have a hard time being one with one another at church. People might like different songs, or a different way of doing Sunday services. We might find some people annoying, or boring, or difficult. We need to remember that just like the ingredients we are all different, and we can work together and love each other even when it is hard. Jesus prayed that we would be one, so that people who don't know God yet would see how wonderful he is and how much he loves them. Finish by handing around some cake to enjoy! 
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ActivitiesBake a cake!
Try this basic vanilla cake (Picklebums) or this super easy chocolate cake (Bake Play Smile). You may like to cook the batter as cupcakes in paper cases as they will cook faster and kids can take them home and be reminded of todays lesson. Big Group Art Activity Create something beautiful together! Two easy ideas:
Work as One (Sermons 4 Kids) Try one of these group building activities to show them how important it is to be ONE. If you have an older group, have them all stand on a blanket. Together, they must figure out how to turn the blanket over without anyone getting off the blanket. It can be done (but it’s difficult)! Or make a pretzel - have them stand in a circle and grab someone else’s hands (two different hands). Then they have to untangle themselves. Connections that Stretch (Sermons 4 Kids) If you have a connection with a church in another country, or to missionaries living elsewhere) make some cards to send or email to the children in that church/family. Make sure and write on the letter – WE ARE ONE IN CHRIST!! Pray it!Pray it with Pictures
Gather a collection of pictures from newspapers or online images that represent the differences between people, and people in unity. Spread out the pictures for the children to see. Take time to look and choose one which you feel God is nudging you towards. As you hold your picture in your hand:
Playdough Prayers (Flame Creative)
Give the kids two colours of playdough and getting them to think of someone they find difficult to love. One colour is them and one the other person. As they ask God to help them love and accept this person, mix the two colours together, blending them. Preschool FunHere are some ways you can invite your preschoolers to play their way into the bible story and spend time with God.
The Story - A simplified versions of the Many Parts, One Body Talk or the Cake and Unity Talk may work well with little ones. They both have something concrete (a lego/duplo) minifigure or a cake) to help them understand the idea of putting things together to be one. Most of this week's general 'Activities' can be easily adapted to Preschoolers. |
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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.
Kids TalksEmpty Shoes (BRF Ministries)
Celebrate Ascension (BRF Ministries) I'll Be Back (Ministry to Children) Teaching Children about Ascension Day (Kids Corner) - talking points for Ascension Day Quick Questions
Activities
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Preschool FunBalloons Up!
You will need:
Blowing Bubbles
Blow bubbles and they have to pop them/catch them, try blowing from low down and blowing them up in the air. Things to talk about: 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. Hide and Seek / Peek a boo: Make a fort or play a game where the children can hide from you. Takes turns hiding. Things to talk about: sometimes we can't see each other, but we are still there. Jesus promises to always be with us, even if we can't see him. Cloud Walk: Go for a walk outside and look at the clouds. Flame Creative have a cloud-spotting sheet you can use. Things to talk about: How Jesus friends might have felt when he left them to go back to heaven. Pray it!Ascension Prayer Spirals (Flame Creative)
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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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