28 June 2026

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Bible readings for today

• Genesis 22:1-14
• Psalm 13:1-6
• Romans 6:12-23
• Matthew 10:40-42

Liturgical Colour: GREEN

Collect

Almighty Father, 
grant that we your children 
may never be ashamed 
to confess the faith of Christ crucified, 
but continue his faithful servants 
to our lives’ end; 
through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen 

E te Matua kaha rawa, kaua mātou,
āu tamariki e tukua kia whakamā ki te whāki i te whakapono o te Karaiti i rīpekatia,
kia ū tūturu tonu āu pononga ā,
mate noa. i roto pū i a Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki.
Āmine. 

Welcome (Matthew 10:40-42)

Welcome questions

"Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me. And anyone who welcomes me also welcomes the one who sent me"

Jesus talks about how important it is it welcome people -- and that when we are welcomed, or welcome others, Jesus is welcomed too. 

• How can we welcome people well? 
• How can we welcome new kids at church?
• If you were going to a new place, how would you know that you were welcome? 
• What things can you do to make sure children are welcome at your home, school or church? 
• Can you remember the last time you were given a really warm welcome? 
• Why do you think the Bible says that anyone who welcomes you, welcomes Jesus?

Intergenerational worship

This resource is the first of 5 weeks looking at how we can 'check our heart', using the upcoming gospel passages of Matthew. From Intergen Australia

Craft - welcome mats

What you need: 

• Outdoor natural coir mats -- you can buy them from Bunnings for approx $10
• Tester pots of outdoor paint. (Resene often donate these to community groups, although you might not get the colours you want!) Outdoor paint lasts well, although there are no guarantees in a high traffic area.
• A thick paint brush for stippling paint onto the mat
• Masking tape
• Paper templates with 'welcome' or 'kia ora' printed in a typeface you like, and cut out using a craft knife or scalpel. Don't use a font that is too fine -- chunky sans serif typefaces are good! 

What you do:
Children work together to design and decorate the welcome mats. These can be used at church or given away to new people in the community, such a new refugee family. 

Have a template cut out in advance, with the letters for WELCOME or KIA ORA. Where a letter has a counter (e.g. the inside of an o) you might like to stick those down separately with masking tape. Secure the whole template to the mat with masking tape

Doing one colour at at time, dip the paint brush into the test pot and dab it onto the mat, keeping the brush vertical. Complete one layer, and you might like to add another layer once that one is dry. You could do a different colour per letter. 
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Give the mat to a new family in the area, or use them at church to welcome the community when they arrive. 

Game - welcome relay

A fun, active game to help kids think about welcoming people well. You could do this as one group, or divide the children into teams

What you need:

• 2 chairs
• 2 cushions
• small table -- light enough for one or two kids to carry
• 2 plastic cups filled with water
• jug of water
• A non breakable vase with a flower in it (such as a tall cup)
• plate of biscuits or snacks
• A bible
• You can add other props if available, e.g. table cloth, your church newsletter, teapot. 

What you do:

• Choose a child to be the 'visitor' who arrives at your door unexpectedly. If you have lots of children in your programme, you could do multiple visitors and houses.
• You welcome them into your house and then realise that you have nothing to welcome them. 
• Children run a relay race bringing things from one side of the room to the other, so that the guest is welcomed well. You could race teams to be the first team to finish, when everything is on the other side of the room.
• Children should think about what order they should send things (eg. you need a table to put the cups of water on first!
• Repeat if you have time. 
• Highlight the importance of welcoming people well. It's not about having material goods, but making sure that we are prepared to be kind and hospitable to those who need us to be Jesus to them. 

Gospel Conversations

Thanks to the Diocese of Dunedin for their great Gospel Conversations each week. For some reason the lectionary, after giving us a long and complex reading last week, gives us 3 verses this week. What could we find worth spending time on in such a short passage? Bishop Kelvin, Nicki and Mark Wilson join Rev. Michael Godfrey to discover applications for our ministries, our relationships, and even the future of the church!

Visio Lectio

A Lino cut inspired image from Rev. Sarah West for this week's gospel reading, shared with permission. 
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Manaakitanga

Manaakitanga means hospitality, kindness, generosity, support - the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others.

​Strandz put together a video for the Wellington Diocese about Manaakitanga and Faith 5, introducing how we could invite Jesus to be a part of our meal times. 

Reward questions

• What would be your ideal reward?
• Have you ever received a reward?
• As a Christian, what reward do we have?
• Why do you think ‘Anyone who welcomes a good person, just because that person is good, will be given the same reward as a good person’ means?

Reward chart

What you need: lots of stickers, a copy of the template, cardboard, stuff to decorate with, glue

What to do. Glue the template to the cardboard. Decorate.

In the spaces provided, get the children to choose some things they would like to work on. Eg helping show hospitality, learning a particular bible verse off by heart, helping to clean up without being asked, praying before they go to bed, using kind words to welcome new children at school. 
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Give each child some stickers. Explain that whenever they do one of the things they have listed, they can put a sticker next to it on the chart. When they have five stickers by an item, then the next time they come to Children’s Ministry, they can share about what they did, and what it was like or what they learned and they will get a special reward. (this might be a pencil or bookmark. The main point of this is to get them to share with the group about their experience and what they learned.)

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Seven Minute Sermon

This seven minute sermon podcast from Rev. George Penk looks  Romans 6.14-23, and how grace makes Christianity unique. But does grace mean that we can keep sinning?

Abraham and Isaac (​Genesis 22:1-14)

Caution: This story is a really difficult one, and it's probably the last passage we'd start with in children's ministry! While we know that all scripture is living and active, and important to engage with, it's also important to consider the age of the children you are sharing it with. Some children hearing this story have placed themselves in the eyes of Isaac, and been scared and afraid. Please share this story cautiously and wisely.

Children's talk

​Flame Creative say: "It seems that God is asking Abraham to do something terrible but Abraham obviously trusts that God has a plan, so he does what God tells him. Because Abraham trusts God, God gives Abraham what he needs." 

​Flame: Creative Children's Ministry have partnered with the Diocese of Newcastle (UK) to put together some resources for this week’s worship, on the story of Abraham and Isaac. To join in this week’s prayer activity you will need a glass of water and some card.

Each week they produced a video with a short service including sorry and thank you prayers, a story and a creative prayer activity that people at home can easily join in with. For this Sunday they looked at the story of Abraham being asked to sacrifice his son Isaac and how God provides what he needs.

Click here to download the words to the simple liturgy if you'd like to join in the words.

Match game

A printable matching game from Sundayschoolzone.com for kids to play the game 'pairs'. Print out two copies of the cards, and get the children to play them in groups of two. ​

Media

Song - Not Afraid

Not Afraid is a wonderful song by Rend Co. Kids, with a simple and beautiful message for all ages. 
Chords and music here on Worship Together​
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Psalm 13

Liturgy: call to worship

​Intergenerational Call to Worship
(based on Psalm 13)

We’ve come to worship,
to sing and pray and hear God’s Word, because:
God’s love lasts forever!
Even when God seems far away, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!
Even when nothing is going right, and we’re ready to give up, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!
When people treat us badly, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!
When we’re all alone,
and we feel like no one loves us, we know:
God’s love lasts forever!
Let’s worship God together!

~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship