7th Sunday of Easter

9 May 2027

Bible readings for today

7th Sunday of Easter RCL

Acts 1:15-17, 21-26
Psalms 1:1-6
1 John 5:9-13
John 17:6-19

Ascension

Acts 1:1-11
Psalm 47:1-9 or Psalm 93:1-5
Ephesians 1:15-23
Luke 24:44-53

Liturgical Colour: WHITE or RED

Mother's Day is celebrated in New Zealand today

Collect

E te Atua Kaha Rawa,
tāu Tama, tō mātou Kaiwhakaora a Īhu Karaiti he oranga mutungakore kia noho hei kaiwawao mō mātou;
aroha mai mō ō mātou ngoikoretanga,
i runga i tōu atawhai hōmaitia ngā taonga pai e kore nei mātou e āhei ki te īnoi, engari mā roto i tōna painga,
ko ia e ora ana, e kīngi tahi ana me koe me te Wairua Tapu,
kotahi anō Atua, ināianei, ā, mō ake tonu atu.
Āmine.

Almighty God,
your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ ever lives to make intercession for us; have pity on our weakness,
and in your mercy give us those good things which we are not worthy to ask, except through his merits,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Amen.

Mothers Day

As Mothers Day falls on this Sunday, it offers churches the opportunity to honour the amazing mothers in our congregations, and love and encourage all the women in the church. However, we need to be mindful that motherhood is a difficult and delicate journey, and for some, this day can bring reminders of pain, hurt, emptiness, and grief - whether for new mums, old mums, single parents, grieving families, and those without children. This does not mean we shouldn't celebrate the wonderful mothers in our midst, but provides us with a day to bless of all the women in our church family.

Mothers day ideas on our Strandz website

Praying for Young Disciples

A new prayer resource from Strandz and National Youth Ministries, to encourage the church to pray for the First Third during Thy Kingdom Come (9-19 May)

Download Prayer Guide

TKC Prayer Handbook

The Diocese of Wellington have a great TKC handbook, focussing on praying for 5 people to come to know Jesus. It was created by Rev Rebecca Apperley and Diana Abercrombie, and you can download it here

More Thy Kingdom Come resources >>

Jesus' prays for his followers (John 17:6-19)

Today's story looks at the words that Jesus prayed to his father before returning to heaven.

Questions

Who is Jesus praying to?
What do you think Jesus meant by 'I am no longer in the world, I am coming to you, but my followers are till in the world'?
What are some good starters for praying?
When do you usually pray?
Why do we pray?

Thy Kingdom Come

Thy Kingdom Come is a global prayer movement, encouraging churches to pray from Ascension through to Pentecost

Strandz have a range of TKC ideas on their website here

Gospel Conversations

For the next couple of weeks we're continuing with Jesus' final discourse in John's Gospel, in which a sometimes bewildering whirl of ideas, commands, and comfort, are given to the first disciples - and us. In one of our inter-continental discussions, we are joined by Matt Jeffries from the Arthur Rank Centre in the UK, Jerry Morris from the Methodist church of Wisconsin, and Peg Riley from Christchurch. Together they explore our relationships with the church, with God, and with each other in ways that will - as the Spirit does - challenge and comfort you.

Prayer Spirals

This fun idea is from the Flamecreative website, based on this experiment on Carrots are Orange website

Jesus' Ascension (Luke 24:44-53)

The Ascension of Jesus is written about in Luke 24: 44-53 and Acts 1:9-11,

Activities

Jelly/Cream Sky Dessert (The Crafty Crow)
Straw Rockets (Tip Junkie)
Cut and Colour Printable (El Rincon da las Melli)
Ascension Bubbles (Flame Creative Kids)
Printable Paper Craft (Crafting the Word of God)
Jesus ascension craft (123 Homeschool4me)

Story telling

The story of Jesus' ascension can be found in:

Beginners Bible, p.466 - Jesus goes to heaven.
Jesus Storybook Bible, 'Going Home' (318-325)
Bob Hartman's Rhyming Bible, 'Not a ghost story' (p114)

Balloons Up!

You will need:

A parachute
Balloons

This is a parachute game, as you all stand round the parachute, holding on to the edge. Lift up to fill up with air then add balloons and make them float up and hit the ceiling, make an air-mountain, try not to lose any of the balloons off the edge. Play other parachute game variations, if you have a favourite!

Blowing Bubbles

Blow 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.