9 July 2023

Bible readings for today

  • Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
  • Psalm 45: 10-17
  • Song of Solomon 2:8-13
  • Romans 7:15-25
  • Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

Liturgical Colour: GREEN

Collect

Holy and eternal God, 
give us such trust in your sure purpose, 
that we measure our lives 
not by what we have done or failed to do, 
but by our faithfulness to you. 
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake. 
Amen.

E te Atua tino tapu, ora tonu,
whakaūngia tō mātou whakapono ki tāu huarahi i whakatakoto ai,
kia kore ai e whakaritea te āhua o ō mātou mauri ki ngā mahi kua oti i a mātou,
i ngā mahi rānei kāore i tutuki, engari ki te kaha o tā mātou piri ki tāu e pai ai.
Whakarongo ki tēnei īnoi i runga i tōu aroha. Āmine. 

My yoke is easy (Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30)

What is a yoke? - Children's talk

Do you know what a yoke is? (pause for answers) Kids may be more familiar with the term 'yolk', the yellow part of an egg! 

​Well, a yoke is the crossbar with two U-shaped pieces that encircle the necks of a pair of oxen or other draft animals working together, it looks like a big letter M. It helps the animals to be able to work in unison together, and to make the most of their shared strength. It is also a word for something that connects or joins together; a bond or tie. In today’s story, Jesus tells the people to take the yoke that he gives us. What do you think he means by this? (pause) Well, I think Jesus is telling us to get to know Jesus and to learn from him. And by doing this, Jesus can help us through our lives, particularly when hard times come along. 

Do you know why a priest wears a stole? It’s that scarf-like thing around their necks? (pause) Well, it’s because a priest is called by God to be a priest. The stole is to represent the priest’s half of a yoke that is also worn by Jesus. When the priest wears a stole, it reminds them and us that what they do as a priest, they do with Jesus. But as we learned from the reading today, priests are not the only ones that Jesus is offering his yoke to, we are also able to have Jesus’ help, we just have to say yes!
​
If you have more than one priest in your parish, why not invite one of them to come and bring their stoles with them. They could show the children and explain what the symbols on them mean, who made them for them, etc.

Liturgy: call to worship

​Here is an intergenerational call to worship, inspired by Matthew 11:28-30, one of the suggested lectionary texts for Proper 9, Year A. 

Brothers and sisters, boys and girls--
come and worship!

Even if you’re tired and worn out--
come and worship!

Lay down the heavy things you are carrying--
come and worship!

Listen to what Jesus wants to tell you--
come and worship!

See if you can discover how Jesus wants to use you--
come and worship!
​
For Jesus is humble and gentle,
and he will give us everything we need to follow him.

~ Christine Longhurst, re:Worship

Yoked relays

Aim: to learn what a yoke is, and what that means for us in our walk with Jesus

What you need: strips of material for tying partners together. Chairs and other obstacles

Preparation: prepare two parallel relay courses that go from one end of the room to the other.

What to do: Get the children to find a partner. Then split the pairs into two teams. Give each pair a strip of material to tie their inside legs together. Line them up at the start of the relay, and start them off. The first team to have all their pairs get through the relay is the winner.
​
 Extra: After the game, you might want to talk about whether it was easier or harder to go through the relay with a partner. What would have made it easier?

Make a stole

Note: you can either make one each, or work together on decorating one stole that you could present to the vicar during the service. If you do, ask the vicar if there are particular symbols they would like on the stole.

What you need:
lots of green material, and scraps of other material, material glue, stuff to decorate

What to do: 
Cut a long strip of material that is about 15cm wide, and long enough to wear around your neck like a stole.
Using beads, material and other things, create symbols to go on the stole. Eg a cross, a figure of Jesus holding the hand of a child, creation, etc.

Extention: You might like to tell the vicar about today’s lesson ahead of time, and see if they will wear one of the stoles that the children make during the service. 
​
Also you might like to give each child a copy of the card that talks about yokes and stoles.
stoles.pdf
File Size: 126 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Relay races

What you need:
  • Pairs of children
  • Items to carry e.g. cricket bat, large ball, bucket. (nothing small)

What you do:
Divide children into pairs and then put them in teams of pairs — you might have two teams if you have a smaller group, or multiple if larger, each with an equal number of pairs in a team. 

Line all the children up at one side of the room, and have them take turns racing to the other side of the room as a pair, carrying different objects to the opposite side and back. They have to work together to share the load and carry it equally. 
​
Items could include a large ball, a bucket, cricket bat. Do not use small items that might lead to unnecessary physical contact.
You could repeat these races without using their hands as help! You could also get them to rearrange the pairs to see whether it was easier with similar sized children (ie. eliminate height disadvantages, so the burden is equally spread)

Colouring page

A beautiful colouring page from the blog Mary Dean Draws, the pdf of the colouring page can be found on her site here.

Media

Here is a great video from PursueGOD Kids that explores the story of Jesus talking about the Oxen and the yoke.
Here is another video resource of a man with two oxen and a yoke which can be used as great visual aid to go along with teaching.

Sea Sunday

From the Sea Sunday website: "The second Sunday in July, is when we come together across the globe to celebrate the role seafarers play in our daily lives. To thank them for the hardships they face and the sacrifices they have been forced to endure due to the Covid lockdowns. You can join with your church, community group, school or individually.
From London to Lagos and Manila to Melbourne, our community gathers together to give something back to these essential workers who spend months away from their families in often difficult conditions to help keep our global economy afloat.

​Mission to Seafarers Wellington - Facebook Page

Boat themed Activities

Boat Race

A game for younger children
​What you need: Large boxes from the supermarket.
What to do: Give each child a box and get them to line up at one end of the room.
Get them to kneel inside the box so they can push themselves along with their hands.
When you say ‘Go!’ they have to try and get to the other side of the room first!

Prayer in a Bottle

What you need: paper, pens and felts, bottles (1 per child). Soft drink bottles are ideal! Paddling pool filled with water, or a piece of large blue material to represent water.
What to do: Get each of the children to write/draw a letter (prayer) to God for help with something that scares them or they are having trouble with. 
Roll up the letter and put it in a bottle. Write ‘SOS!’ in large letters on the bottle.
Tell the children about how in the past people would write messages in bottles and throw them out to sea in the hope that someone across the sea would find the message -- either a stranger, or someone they loved (if you were a hopeless romantic!). 
With either the paddling pool or the piece of material, get the children to one by one put their bottle into the ‘water’ and remind them that God hears their prayers, even in the storms. 

Crossing the Sea Tag

A game for older children
​What you need: Nothing!
What to do: Choose someone to be ‘In’. Have them stand in the middle of the room. Get the rest of the children to stand at one end of the room.
The person who is in, calls out ‘Crossing the Sea!’ and all the children have to try and run to the other end of the room without getting tagged. The person who is in tries to tag as many people as they can. If a child gets tagged, they must freeze where they are. They are now also ‘in’ but can only tag people that they can reach without moving. The next round starts when the person who is in calls out ‘Crossing the Sea!’  The game ends when there is no one left to tag!

Boat prayers

We used these origami boats to pray for the plans that God has for us in the weeks ahead. They are a bit tricky to master first time, so you might like to make some in advance, and then get people to decorate or write prayers on them. And then float your boats in a paddling pool or tub! Instructions here. (the video is helpful!)
Picture
Source: One Little Project

Matariki

Matariki is celebrated every winter when the seven-star constellation, ‘Matariki’ (also known as the Pleiades or Seven Sisters) appears in the dawn sky. The dates for Matariki change every year around the mid-winter moon cycle, but it’s usually around late May to mid July (this year it’s going to be in the week of 13 July 2020). 

While Matariki is an ancient festival for Maori – it’s also known as the Maori New Year – it has been adopted in wider New Zealand culture. Non-Maori are also learning and embracing this event as part of our calendar – and it’s a part of our pre-school and primary school curriculum.

​So even if Matariki is not something you’re familiar with, it’s good to find out more - and to discover that even while its origins lie in Maori mythology, Matariki is also an opportunity for families of faith to learn more about and celebrate the goodness of our God. Families reflect on the people who have gone before them (their tipuna), and reflect on the beginnings and endings. The appearance of the group of stars reminded people to start preparing their gardens to plan their crops, and give thanks for the food we have stored and preserved. It is a time to share ideas, to remember the past and celebrate the future.
It is the LORD who created the stars, the Pleiades and Orion. 
He turns darkness into morning and day into night. 
He draws up water from the oceans and pours it down as rain on the land
​Amos 5:8

Resources

Useful Websites​
Scripture Union New Zealand
Presbyterian Church
​Our friends in the Presbyterian Church have some great resources listed on their Kids Friendly website. Some of our favourites include:
Te reo to learn
  • Nga Whetu - stars 
  • Te Marama - the moon 
  • Nga Ranginui - the sky

Media
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Bible Explore
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