2nd Sunday after the Epiphany

17 January 2027

Bible readings for today

1 Samuel 3:1-10 (1 Samuel 3:11-20)
Psalms 139:1-5,12-18
1 Corinthians 6:12-20
John 1:43-51

Liturgical Colour: WHITE or GREEN

Collect

Praise to you, God, for all your work among us.
Yours is the vigour in creation,
yours is the impulse in our new discoveries.
Make us adventurous, yet reverent and hopeful in all we do.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen.

E te Atua, ngā whakamoemiti ki a koe, mō āu mahi i waenga i a mātou.
Nōu te ihi i tāu i hanga ai, Nōu te hihiri i a mātou rangahau hou.
I roto i a mātou mahi hīkoi katoa, whakakahangia mātou,
kia noho ai i roto i te ihi, te wehi, me te tūmanako.
Whakarongo ki tēnei īnoi i runga i tōu aroha.
Āmine.

Do you know me? (John 1:43-51)

Epiphany is a season

We often think of Epiphany as just being one day/Sunday, but in fact it is a season in our liturgical calendar. For three weeks we celebrate how Epiphany is all about expanding God's Kingdom beyond his people Israel.

I Spy

IntroductionAs Carolyn Brown points out in Worshipping with Children, "Eyes are important. Using them well to really see is even more important! John the Baptist saw and knew who Jesus was when he came to be baptised. When Nathaniel asked Philip, in reference to Jesus, if anything good could come from Nazareth, Philip answered, “Come and see.” And they saw a lot in the years that followed! Use this story to urge children to really see or pay attention to people and to what is happening around them."
GamesHere are some icebreaker game to get kids noticing and using their eyes:

I-Spy
Take turns to play i-spy (I spy with my little eye, something beginning with ... choose a letter and wait for kids to guess that item)

Where's Wally
Source some where's wally or I Spy books from the library, where they have to hunt out different items on the pages.

Kim's Game/Tray Game
Collect an assortment of items on a tray. Give the children 30 seconds to look at them and then cover it with a cloth. Give the children a minute to name as many items on the tray as possible. This is a good team game and can be themed to your other activities.

Treasure hunt
Hide different items around the room that the kids have to search for. Give them a time limit or until the last item has been found. You could print off small speech bubbles and hide them around the room. Download here

Disciples Mobile Craft

Jesus and his disciples mobile craft which links in the idea of being fishers of men, taken from guildcraftinc.com and seen on Pinterest
Download crown and fish template here

Name above all names

What's in a name? When John saw Jesus coming, he called out ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! He is the one I told you about - he is the Son of God!” Jesus’ friends also called him “Rabbi,” which means “Teacher.” And the first thing Andrew did was to find his brother and tell him, “We have found the Messiah!” The Hebrew word “Messiah” means the same as the Greek word “Christ.”
Jesus was called many things - What would you call him?

Activity

'Name above all names' Craft sheet -- Download here. Print on paper for colouring, or card if you are making a more robust sign.
Pens, crayons or colouring pencils
Scissors (optional)
a long stick or skewer, with the sharp end removed (so you don't poke any eyes out!) and tape to fasten (optional)

Give each child a craft sheet and ask them to think about the name they would call Jesus if they saw him for the first time, like the disciples did. Brainstorm ideas and encourage children to write their name for Jesus in the speech bubble, and draw a picture of how they would feel calling him. You can cut out the speech bubbles and attach to stick, like the props we often use in a Photobooth.

Colouring in

Twelve disciples colouring page, with spaces to write all of their names (if the group is too young to manage the writing easily, print one copy and write the names on it before making copies).
Colouring sheet found here

The Lord calls Samuel (1 Samuel 3:1-10, 11-20)

Samuel was about 9years old when God called him by name one night. He kept thinking his friend Eli was calling him but on the fourth time realised it was God and, as Eli suggested to him, he answered saying ‘Speak Lord, I am listening’. God can use any of us. God loves all of us, no one is too young!

Read the Story

Bob Hartman is a creative storyteller, and has produced a range of great books and poetry to retell this story of Samuel. Some of our favourites include:

Bob Hartman's Rhyming Bible (Somebody's calling my name, p49-52)
My Epic Doodletastic Bible Storybook and The Link-it-up Bible, by Bob Harman (A Very Interruptive God, p.94-97)
Act-Along Bible, by Bob Hartman (Samuel, p.39-41)

Intergenerational Worship

Written and compiled by Melissa Neumann from the Uniting Church of Australia, for Intergen Australia. View Here

Icebreaker games

Play a listening game as part of an introduction to the story today. The aim is to help children recognise that they have to listen well to find out what is happening.

Assemble a range of items or instruments that make a noise, and hide them behind a piece of fabric, or in a box. One by one make noise and get the children to guess what the noise was
Whisper challenge. Sit the children in a circle and tell the first child a word to remember, and pass on. Once it has reached the end of the line, check to see if it is the same word as the beginning.
The above whispering challenge can be adapted to become a running relay game

Seven Minute Sermon

A Seven Minute Sermon from Rev. George Penk. God spoke to Samuel in the Temple, and to Martin Luther King in his kitchen. How will we respond if the Lord calls us?