26 January 2025

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Bible readings for today

• Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10
• Psalms 19:1-14
• 1 Corinthians 12:12-31
• Luke 4:14-21

Liturgical colour: WHITE or GREEN

Collects

E te Atua o ngā atawhainga katoa,
i mauria mai e tāu Tama te rongopai ki te hunga taumaha,
kia tukua te hunga e pēhia ana,
me te harikoa ki a rātou e pōuri ana;
whakakīia mātou ki tōu Wairua
kia kitea ai te iwi, i tōu āhua i roto i a mātou
kia whakakorōriatia ai tōu ingoa.
E īnoi ana mātou i roto i a Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki.
Āmine.
​
God of all mercy,
your Son brought good news to the despairing,
freedom to the oppressed and joy to the sad;
fill us with your spirit that the people of our day may see in
us his likeness and glorify your name.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Back to school

As our kids head back to school at the start of the academic year, we want to ensure they know they are supported by their local church whānau. Head to our Strandz website for great ideas and resources to help you pray for your students and teachers, giving them the best start to the school year. Small things really can make a big difference. 

Back to School Strandz resources >>

Jesus announces himself at Nazareth (​Luke 4:14-21)

When Jesus visits Nazareth, the town where he was from, he told a synagogue full of people that He was the fulfilment of the Isaiah scriptures. 

Leaders Input

A Reflection on this week's reading: 
So, what do we find in this perhaps oddly cut and oddly set gem of a text?
First we see that people just love Jesus.

This story rings one of the deep supportive bass notes underneath the rise and fall of stories carrying the melody of the Gospels. Most people thought Jesus was just fantastic. They wanted to be around him.

We got the first hint of it when Jesus was a boy of twelve. Luke told us that as he grew he enjoyed the favor or both God and the people (Luke 2:52). We see it throughout so many stories when he healed all who came to him, and when crowds anticipated his movements, arriving at his destinations before he did.
We see it on Palm Sunday when the crowds waved their palm branches and acclaimed his arrival. And in a quiet but powerful way we see it in the simple fact that children wanted to be near him.  Continue here.

Visio Lectio:
​Visio Lectio is based on the practice of Visio Divina - the thoughtful contemplation of something visual that invites God to speak to us.
​
​A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
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Gospel Conversations: ​The GC team normally take a well deserved break over the summer, but have put together some short reflections on the gospel readings, to help any preachers stepping in to fill the gaps! 

Intergenerational worship

A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Chris Barnett for Intergen Australia

Kid Talks

• The Surprising Sermon (Garynealhanson.com)
• Jesus Teaches the Synagogue - lesson plan for preschoolers (Kids Bible Lesson)
• How Scripture is Fulfilled - Ask, Tell, Share talk (Rfour.com)

Reflective Colouring

Printable colouring in for Luke 4:18 (Flame Creative)

Activity - make a scroll

What you'll need: 

• 1 copy of Luke 4:18 per child
• prepared paper (see below)
• 2 chopsticks per child
• sello tape
• glue sticks
• scissors
• felts/crayons
• ribbon

What you do:

1. Prepare the paper to look old ahead of time.  Make a solution of regularly brewed tea in a baking tray.  Lay the paper in the tea for a few minutes then lay out or hang to dry.  The longer the paper sits in the tea solution, the darker it will be.  When the paper dries, it will not only be light brown, but it will also have a slightly crumpled feel.
2. On Sunday morning, give each child a piece of paper, 2 chopsticks and a copy of the verse. Make sure there are glue sticks, tape and scissors available.
3. Glue the verse in the middle of their browned paper. Decorate the verse with felts or crayons if desired.
4. Take the chopsticks and put one at each end. Take the chopstick to the paper.
5. Roll the paper slightly from each end so that the chopsticks are no longer visible and tape again (this is so that even with the scroll unrolled, you won't see the chopsticks and the paper will stay in place)
6. Roll the scroll closed from both ends and tie with a piece of ribbon.

Household Mission Statement

A fun activity to do as a  household, to set your heart on what God has for you as a family/group this year. ​

What you need

• This printable template (From our Strandz Family on Mission Journal) or just plain paper to make your own
• Poster paper
• Felts, pens, crayons, pencil
• Ruler and glue stick
• Optional: Decorating materials— ribbon, sequins, glitter, stickers, etc
• Photo of your family/ household or draw your own

What you do

1. Talk together about what a mission statement is. Encourage your children to understand that families can have mission statements, too and that these can help remind everyone of what's important to your family.
2. Work together to brainstorm things that are important for your family. These can be things you do for each other and those outside your family, and values that you hold. It's ok if you have a lot of ideas!
3. Talk about your ideas.  Re read Isaiah 61:1 thinking about Jesus' Mission Statement. Point out that it only mentions a few things-- not everything that Jesus did.  
4. Decide together on the most important statements on your brainstorming page. Choose 3-4.
5. Work together to write your family mission statement including your chosen points. An example might be something like, "The Smith Family will love and support each other, pray together each day and spend time being helpful to our neighbours and people who need our help."
6. You can either use the template provided, or make your own poster. At the top of the poster write "The (Smith )Family Mission Statement" or "Our Family Mission Statement"
7. Decide where you're going to put your family photo. Lightly pencil around the photo so you can make sure you don't write where the photo is going to be.
8. Write out your mission statement. You might want to have everyone in your family sign or write their name on the poster.  Explain that this is a way of saying that each person agrees with what you've written.
9. Glue your photo, or draw your own picture, on your poster. Decorate it if you'd like.
10. Put your Mission Statement up where you can all see it!

Media

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One body with many parts (​1 Corinthians 12: 12-31)

Potato Head Talk

You will need

• Potato Head print outs, cut out and put in a separate envelope. You might want to print out enough for children to share or have one of their own. 

Get the children to name some parts of their body – hands, arms, feet, head, etc etc. Which is the most important part of the body? Invite answers and then ask them if they would miss their ears, eyes or a hand. Get them to think about how each of their body parts have an important job to do and that even something small like an ear would be very much missed! Church is a group of people who are all different but are all important – like a body or like a puzzle! Jesus said that we are all just as important to Him as the other – he wants you, even if you are young, just as much as he wants our church leader/vicar or people in the choir. Jesus knows that what YOU have to offer is just as key. 
When a part of the puzzle or a part of the body is missing, its not complete, it's not quite right!.
We're going to have some fun with Potato head to remind us that of all the parts of our church, none is more important.  
Let the children play with the Potato head and talk about how the church is like a body. 

Puzzle

You will need: 

• A simple puzzle - you can make one by printing out an image and cutting it up. 
• A Bible for the 1 Corinthians reading

​Give out the puzzle(s)to do first – this what we are thinking about today! We need all the pieces to make the whole picture...

Read the 1 Corinthians reading.

• How many parts of the human body can you name?  
• What jobs do they do?  
• How are they different from each other? 
• Are there any we don't need?
• Which parts of the body can't you see?  
• Do you know what they do?
• Think about the different people in your family and the different personalities and gifts they bring even though they are one family unit.
• What different things do Christians do to show they belong to Jesus and the Christian family? 
• In church? At home? At work/ school?
• What could you do to show you are part of the Christian family?  
• What gifts do you think that God has given you?

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