29 June 2025
Bible readings for today
Liturgical colour: GREEN Today is the first Sunday of the school mid-year break (families may well be tired!) |
CollectE Īhu, e whakakotahi nei koe ki a mātou,
ahakoa, i rīpekatia, i whakahāweatia, i whakamamaetia. Āwhinatia mātou ki te whai i a koe me te waha i te whakamā; mō te korōria o tōu ingoa tapu. Āmine. Jesus crucified, despised and suffering, you made yourself one with us. Help us to follow you and bear the shame; for the glory of your holy name. Amen. |
The cost of following Jesus (Luke 9:51-62)
In today's reading, Jesus and his followers are rejected by the Samaritans and Jesus speaks about the cost of following him.
Input for Leaders
Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission. Download Terms of Use Things to think about (Ministry Matters)
"Verses 51-55 are a lesson in what to do when someone you have tried to love refuses to love you. Children will need background information on Jewish-Samaritan relations to understand the story, but they will need no help in understanding its "reality" message. The reality is that even Jesus was turned away by some people he tried to befriend. Children need to realize that the same probably will happen to them when they try to reach out to lonely, unhappy people at school and in their neighborhoods. When this happens, they are to be as forgiving as Jesus was. Verses 57-62 report Jesus' conversations with three would-be disciples. A child's version of these excuses: "I am not ready to be a real disciple yet. When I grow up, I'll be one. But now I'm just a kid. All I can do is learn about Jesus." Jesus' response is that now is the time to be a disciple. Jesus needs children to do his work on the playground, in the swimming pool, the locker room, and all those other places where adults are not as influential. So children are called to be disciples now." |
Gospel Conversations 2025: Coming soon...
Gospel Conversations 2022: Jesus does not do what we as individuals or we as the church tend to expect him to. Today's Gospel reading is a clear example of this, which means it brings with it daunting challenges, thought-provoking good news, and a lot to think about as we live our everyday lives.
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Kids TalksFollowing Jesus Talk (Ministry to Children) - relates it to how we passionately follow sports teams or celebrities.
Following Jesus Sunday School Lesson (Ministry to Children) - similar to previous but includes some activities. Making Excuses (Sermons 4 Kids) Following Starts With Love (Faith Formation Journeys) Jesus is Focused (RFour) - Ask, Tell, Seek. Looks at all the unfinished tasks in this passage and what would get finished! Holding onto Jesus (Sermons 4 Kids) - simple talk about holding onto Jesus. Uses blindfolded follow the leader as a starter. The Cost of Following Jesus (Sunday Childrens Focus) - Following Jesus costs us everything but it is really worth it. What it takes to follow Jesus (Ministry to Children) - full lesson plan. 
Games & ActivitiesJesus is King! Colouring Book (Ministry to Children)
Discipleship Sandal Craft (Flame Creative) Following Jesus Take Home Sheet (Flame Creative) Trust the leader (Healthline) Divide the group into two teams, with a leader for each. Have the teams line up behind their leaders, one hand on the shoulder of the teammate in front of them. Set up cones for each team. Leaders must take their teams from one side of the room to the other, navigating the cones. This means the leader must pay close attention to the team, and offer directions to people at the right time to avoid hitting a cone. Make it a race to see which team can finish first. Then switch leaders and repeat. Try to make everyone a leader one time. Tag Game (Flame Creative) Play a version of tag where players have to run from one side of the room to the other. If they are caught on the way, they will have to join the team of taggers. It will get more and more difficult to follow a straight path to get to the other side! Alternatively, set up an assault course for children to pass from one end of the room to the other. Talk about - how hard it can sometimes be to follow God's path, even though we know it's the right one. Sometimes we need help from God and from others. Intrepid Adventurers (Sparklers NZ) A game for working together in pairs and trusting each other. Talk about - was it easy to trust your partner? Why? Why not? Is it easy to trust Jesus? Why? Why not? Walking with Jesus Have everyone trace their own feet and cut them out. As a group, brainstorm what it means to follow Jesus today. Pray and ask Jesus to show you each something he wants you to do this week as his disciples. Kids can write or draw on their feet cut-outs and then these can be put together as a group display - or can go home with them as a reminder for the week. For a less structured outside group version, grab some chalk and take it outside. Draw footprints on your church path or driveway along with some verses about following Jesus or practical suggestions. Hold onto Jesus (Sermons 4 Kids) Divide into two groups and play "tug of war". Tell them to hold on just like we need to hold on to Jesus. If one side seems to win too easily, change the children around and continue. Afterwards brainstorm times we need to hold on to Jesus. |
Questions
Preschool FunStarter - why not lay out a trail of footprints from church to kids church or from the back of church to the front of church. Get kids to "follow" the footprints to your lesson space.
Sharing the Story
Active - Follow the leader. Play a simple game of Simon says or follow the leader. Or change it to "God says". Talk about listening to someone else and doing what they say. Is it easy? Is it hard? How do you know whether to listen to them or not? Are there people we should listen to? Are there people we shouldn't listen to? Following the Jesus Path: Have the children trace their own feet and cut them out. Tell the children to place their cut outs on a path around a designated area of the classroom. Then let the children walk (or dance) the path while music is playing. Or set up an art station to decorate them to take home. Talk about - Who do you listen to? who listens to you? How can we listen to Jesus? Footprints - Set up a making footprint making station with some plastic animals and a damp sand tray, or with some paper and a paint tray. Talk about - the footprints are all different. Do we all have to be the same to follow Jesus? Sensory Prayer Path (Flame Creative) - a sensory pathway for kids to walk along and connect with God. Pray it!Labyrinths have been used by Christians as a spiritual practice for many centuries. A labyrinth is different from a maze because it only has one path - just like Jesus is the one true way.
You may like to make some labyrinths during your activity time with the kids. Flame Creative has lots of easy fabulous different versions to make including:
To pray, simply get the children to sit on their own and silently follow the pathway with their finger. encourage them to think about God as they do this and ask God to speak to them. |
Media
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Galatians 5:1, 13-25
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Intergen Ordinary 13: A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Jillian Ross, Intergen Australia. Bible references: Galatians, Psalms.
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Psalm 77
Intergenerational Worship
Intergen Ordinary 13: A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Jillian Ross, Intergen Australia. Bible references: Galatians, Psalms.
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"I yell out to my God,
I yell with all my might, I yell at the top of my lungs" Our God loves and cares for us. Even if we yell, scream, shout, and cry to Him when we’re upset, angry, scared and frustrated, the Bible reminds us that God hears all of our prayers. We don’t need to hide our emotions from God - He listens. Download a Psalm 77 prayer sheet, as seen on the right. 
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