Easter 6

5 May 2024

Bible readings for today

The reading from Acts must be used each Sunday in Eastertide
Liturgical colour: WHITE

Collect

E te Atua kaha rawa,
nāu mātou i ako i āu kupu,
ko te aroha te tutukinga o te ture;
tukua mātou kia aroha ki a koe,
mā te katoa ō mātou ngākau me ō mātou hoatata pēnei i a mātou nei anō;
E īnoi ai mātou i roto i a te Karaiti tō mātou Ariki.
Āmine.

Almighty God,
you teach us in your word that love is the fulfilling of the law:
grant that we may love you with all our heart and our neighbour as ourselves;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

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

More Thy Kingdom Come resources >>

Remain in my love (John 15:9-17)

Today's story looks at the words of love that Jesus shared - "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love."

Intergenerational worship

A series of intergenerational resources for today's lectionary readings, written by Elizabeth Waldron Anstice for Intergen Australia

Quick Questions

What do you think Jesus meant when he said: I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last?
What do you think would be producing bad fruit?
Why do these produce bad fruit?
Which would you rather produce? Good fruit or bad fruit? Why?
What are some ways that as Christians we can produce good fruit?

Activities

Pop up Heart Card (Jennifer Maker)
Washi Tape Suncatchers (Kid's Craftroom)
Jewelled Heart Suncatchers (Kid's Craftroom)
String Heart (iheartcraftythings)
God's Love Bracelet (123 Homeschool 4 Me)

Children's Talk #1

A talk for younger children

Tell the children that today's bible reading isn't a story, although Jesus often told us stories to teach us things. Today's bible reading is a simple command. What's a command?
Jesus told us to love each other! Sounds easy doesn't it? How can we love someone? What does that mean? (talk about speaking kindly, putting what someone else wants/needs before what they want, being thoughtful, kind etc).
Ask them to think of some people in their lives who are always loving towards them.... who is that ?
Remind them that God always loves us, not matter what. Jesus wanted us to try and be like that. So probably even the person you know who loves you very much sometimes makes a mistake, or sometimes gets cross (we all do!) but God always loves us.

Visio Lectio

Prints from Rev. Sarah West from the Diocese of Auckland, shared with permission. Terms of Use

Gospel Conversations

Continuing on through John's Gospel, we dig deeper into that amazing word, "Abide", which we encountered last week. Our conversationalists find in it comfort, questions, and challenges . Especially, how does abiding in Christ connect to his command for us to love each other? Professor David Tomb (University of Otago), Rev Wendy Scott (Masterton), and Dean Ben Truman (Christchurch Cathedral) give us memorable pictures and ideas to ponder on.

Previous GC conversation from 2023
In this Gospel Conversation for Easter 6, the Diocesan Ministry Educator Michael Godfrey is joined by Bishop Steve Benford, Katie Marcar (University of Otago New Testament lecturer) and Steve Mitchell (Pilot and Businessperson, Invercargill). The conversation is on John 15: 9-17 exploring what it might mean to be the True Vine… on being loved and loving each other. Who would have thought that God wants to be our friend….?!

Children's Talk #2

What do you think Jesus meant when he said: I chose you and sent you out to produce fruit, the kind of fruit that will last? Does that mean he wants us to all become fruit gardeners? No! I believe that it means that Jesus wants us to love one another.
For example, if you smile at someone, or give them a present, or say something nice to them, you are showing that person love and producing good fruit. And because you did, they may in turn, do the same for someone else.
What do you think would be producing bad fruit? (pause) Things like saying mean things or hitting someone. Why do these produce bad fruit? (pause) I believe it's because these things make people feel bad, and so they then want to make other people feel bad.
Which would you rather produce? Good fruit or bad fruit? What are some ways that as Christians we can produce good fruit?

Fruit Kebabs

What you need: pieces of fruit, fruit lollies, kebab sticks, ribbon and the photocopied fruit gift tags.

What to do:

Take a kebab stick, and then thread the fruit pieces and lollies onto it.
Then write the name of someone that you want to give it to on one of the gift tags.
Attach the tag to the kebab with the ribbon.

Variations: If you don't want to make kebabs, you could instead turn the fruit gift tags into a 'prayer kebab' Get the children to write/draw on at least three fruit tags prayers for one of the following, or something else that is appropriate to your situation: