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27 July 2025

Bible readings for today


Liturgical colour: GREEN

​Today is also Social Services Sunday.

Collect

E te Atua kaha rawa, e te Atua atawhai,
nui ake tōu rongo, i ā mātou īnoi,
āu hōmaitanga e nui ake ana i ō mātou hiahia, whai wāhi rānei;
rīngihia mai ki a mātou te rahinga o tōu atawhai,
murua aua mea e ngau nei i ō mātou whatumanawa whakawā,
me te hōmai i ngā mea pai e kore nei mātou e āhei ki te īnoi,
engari mā roto anake i tāu Tama tō mātou
Kaiwhakaora a Īhu Karaiti.
Āmine.

Almighty and merciful God,
more ready to hear than we to pray,
giving more than we desire or deserve;
pour upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgive those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and give us those good things which we are not worthy to ask,
except through your Son our Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Prayer (Luke 11:1-13)

In today's gospel passage, a disciple asks Jesus about prayer, and Jesus teaches them the Lord's prayer. 

Input for Leaders

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​Visio Lectio
Another great illustration from Rev. Sarah West from Visio Lectio, part of the Auckland Diocese. Shared with permission
​PNG Download
Terms of Use
Helping Children Notice God (Lacy Finn Borgo)
14 Ways To Pray For The Kids You Serve (Raise Up Faith)
Gospel Conversations 2025: How do we pray? What happens when we simply can't find the words? What do we do when it seems as if God is ignoring us? What is it that God has promised to give us when we ask? There are so many ongoing questions most of us have when it comes to prayer, and our band of conversationalists this week do their best to cover as many as possible in under 15 minutes!
Gospel Conversations 2022: Who could have guessed there could be so much joy in prayer? This week we unpack Luke's version of Jesus teaching about prayer and about who it is we are praying to, and discover some unexpected joys along the way.

Intergenerational Worship

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Ordinary Time Year C 2025 Intergenerational Worship Series
​(Angela Blundell, Auckland Dio Intergenerational Ministry)
This resource has 8 weeks of worship ideas to help your community connect to God and each other through worship, sharing and creativity.
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A collection of resources and ideas (Intergen Australia)
Written and compiled by Beck Finger, Chris Barnett, Rev Sandy Brodine. Bible references: Luke. This week’s resource takes Luke 11:1-4 as a launching point for engaging with the Lord’s Prayer (also, of course, found in Matthew) in multiple creative ways.​
The Lord's Prayer All Age Worship Service (Thy Kingdom Come)
The Lord's Prayer All Age Prayer Stations (Thy Kingdom Come) - you may need to simplify the language for younger children.

Kid's Talks

What is prayer? (Childrens Ministry) - full lesson plan. From the book 'Kids’ Travel Guide to the Lord’s Prayer'.

Teaching kids about prayer (Kids Min Mama) - full lesson plan.

Three session series on prayer (Kids Sunday School Place) - each session includes a full session plan. 

Lesson for children about prayer (Ministry to Children)

Jesus teaches the Lord's Prayer (RFour) - Ask, Tell, Share

The Lord's Prayer (Ministry to Children)
​Lord's Prayer Talk
Well today’s reading was all about one thing, do you remember what it was? (Pause for answers). That’s right, Prayer. Can anyone tell me what they think prayer is? (Pause). Well I think of prayer as a conversation with Jesus or God. It’s a chance for me to tell God about what I’ve been doing, all the things that have been really good and not so good. I can even ask God to help me or other people just as I would if I was talking to one of my friends.

So, why should we pray do you think? (Pause) Well, how often do you see your friends? Do you talk to them much? I know I do. And for my good friends, I like spending lots of time with them. Well Jesus is our friend and he likes talking to us and listening to us just as any of our other friends do, and that is why we pray.
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What are some ways that we can pray? (Pause). Well, we can talk out loud to Jesus, or write him a letter, or sing him a song, draw a picture, even just think our prayers in our heads. Prayer is really exciting, don’t you think?!!!

Games & Activities

 Lord's Prayer Jigsaw
Beforehand: On a large piece of card write the Lord’s prayer. Cut it up into about sixteen pieces. In the room that you do children’s ministry, put bluetack on the back of each puzzle piece and hide them around the room.
Tell the children that there are sixteen puzzle pieces hidden around the room. Get them to find the pieces and put the puzzle together.

Rewrite the Lord's Prayer (Kids Church Ideas)Go through the Lord’s Prayer line by line and talk about what it means. Decide as a group how to write it out in everyday language.  The end product should be a rewritten Lord’s prayer in everyday language that everyone understands.
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The Lord's Prayer Video with Multichoice Questions (Kids Church Ideas)

Lords' Prayer Colouring sheets (Ministry to Children)

The Lord's Prayer in NZSL (Deaf Pastoral Worker Catholic)
The channel also has separate videos for each phrase to make it easier to learn. 

Some other prayer basics in NZSL - God, thanks, sorry, help, amen. NZSL Signbank has videos of these signs if you need to see what they look like.

Make a Calm Jar (Goodto.com) for praying with.

Prayer hands printable (Sunday School Works)

​Pray for the adults in your church (Kids Church Ideas)
  • During the church service talk about prayer with the kids. Talk about praying for others, and let the kids know that you are going to pray for all the people in the church.
  • Divide the kids up. Ask some kids to make cookies (with a leader helping them), lots of kids to make cards (one for each person who gets prayed for) and other kids to set up an area to pray in. 
  • Group the kids in 3’s. One can pray, one can give a card and the other can give a cookie.
  • When the church service is finished, invite the adults to come and get prayed for by the kids.​
  • Stand back and watch the magic happen.

Quick Questions

  • What is prayer?
  • Why do we pray?
  • What are some ways to pray?
  • I wonder how we can know God is listening when we talk to him?
  • Will my prayers be answered? (Yes, but not always in the way you expect or want.  Remember, ‘No’ is an answer to prayer too!)
  • Can you think of a time God answered one of your prayers?
  • Can you think of a time it felt like God didn't answer your prayers? Why do you think that was?
  • What does God promise us about prayer in the bible?
  • What is the most active way you have ever talked to God?
  • What is the silliest way you have ever talked to God?
  • When or where or what makes you feel especially close to God?

Preschool Play and Pray

Here are some ways you can invite your preschoolers to play their way into the bible story and spending time with God. 

Share the Story
Playdough and Playdough mats or these simple Playdough Prayers (Flame Creative)

Foam Crowns (Flame Creative): exploring the idea that God is King over all.

Balloon Prayers (Godventure)
A fabulous kinetic prayer activity for wiggly wee ones. Just use pics instead of words on your balloons. 

Duplo Prayers (Godventure) 
​A simple way to pray as a group but without without using words. Build a Duplo house and give it a title such as: The House of Peace. Invite kids to choose a Duplo person to represent someone they know who needs more peace and put them inside the house.

Pray it!

 Today is a great day to not only great to teach our kids and church about prayer, but also to provide an opportunity for them to experience prayer.  Why not choose 3 or 4 from the list below and try them with your group? ​Or revisit your favourite 'Pray It!' activity from Bible Explore this term.
The Lord's Prayer
Strandz has some playful ways to get your kids praying!
Godventure has some simple but meaningful ways to pray with kids
Flame Creative has a multitude of creative ways to pray. 
Active Prayers for kids that need to engage their bodies
  • Make up some actions to do as you say The Lord's Prayer (or learn the sign language version) - see our Games & Activities section.
  • Try praying in different ways - standing up, dancing, laying down. Which do you like most?
  • Prayer Jenga (Kitchen Table Project) - play and pray!
  • Prayer Labyrinths (Flame Creative) - all sorts of different ones.
  • Make a Calm Jar - shake it while you talk to God, then listen as you watch the glitter settle.
  • Try some Road Signs Prayer prayers (Strandz) - instructions and signs
  • Prayer Walk - a good one to encourage households to do together. Try this one (faithsandiego.org) or make your own.
Praying for Others (Kids Church Ideas)
Bring in a globe. Let the kids spin the globe one at a time and stop the spinning by putting their finger down on the globe. Pray for whatever country the child’s finger lands. Look up the leader of that country and pray for them as well. 
Or how about 'Praying in Color' = prayer + doodling. A beautiful, creative way to intercede when:
​1) You want to pray but words escape you. 
2) Sitting still and staying focused in prayer are a challenge. 
3) Your body wants to be part of your prayer. 
4) You want to just hang out with God but don’t know how. 
5) Listening to God feels like an impossible task. 
6) Your mind wanders and your body complains. 
7) You want a visual, concrete way to pray. 
8) You need a new way to pray. ​

Media: Prayer

Media: The Lord's Prayer
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Bible Explore
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