Ordinary 20

26 August 2026

Bible readings for today

Genesis 45:1-15
Psalm 133:1-3
Romans 11:1-2, 29-32
Matthew 15:(10-21)21-28

Liturgical Colour: GREEN

Collect

Come Holy Spirit with new fire;
when our prayers seem to fail,
when we hear no voice nor any answer,
rouse us and light our way.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.
Amen.

Haere mai e te Wairua Tapu, me he ahikā hou;
ki te kore e ū ā mātou īnoi,
ki te kore tōu reo e rangona, te whakahoki kōrero rānei,
whakaarahia mātou, whakamāramatia te huarahi ki a mātou.
E īnoi ai mātou i roto i a te Karaiti tō mātou Kaihoko.
Āmine.

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman (Matthew 15:10-28)

In this Jesus praises a mother's great faith and heals her sick daughter after she refuses to give up asking him for help. It can be a challenging passage to unpack with kids with it's themes of who is in and who is out, not to say anything about Jesus' rudeness! This story is also found in in Mark 7:24-30.

Input for leaders

Gospel Conversation 2023 Matt 15:10-28 (Dio of Dunedin)
The story of Jesus and the Canaanite (or Syro-Phonecian) woman is one of those that tends to strike dread into the heart of the preacher. What do we do with this Jesus who seems to be acting so out of character with all he is and tells others to be?

Intergenerational worship

Yr A Pentecost 12, 2023: (Intergen Australia)
A collection of resources and ideas written and compiled by Chris Barnett. Bible references: Matthew

Talks

Matthew 15:10-28 (Gary Neal Hansen) - paraphrased retelling with wondering questions. See also his talk on Mark 7:24-37

Expect the unexpected (RFour) - ask, tell, share.

Faith and assurance (Bible Lessons for Kids) - full lesson plan.

Trust and persist (Ministry to Children)

The Faith of a Canaanite woman (Ministry to Children) - full lesson plan.

Kids Talk

How far would you go to help a friend?
What would you be willing to sacrifice? (pause for discussion)
How far would you go to help someone that you didn’t like? (Pause)

In today’s story, a woman whose daughter was full of demons was desperate to get Jesus to help her. Well, we know Jesus loves everyone so it would be normal to think that Jesus would help the woman. However, there is something that this story is trying to get across that has nothing to do with the daughter with demons being healed. In Jesus’ time, people who were Jewish believed that there were two kinds of people; those who were Jewish and those that weren’t. And Jews didn’t mix with non Jews. The woman in today’s story wasn’t a Jew and she would have known that Jews didn’t like mixing with non Jews. But she took a risk for her daughter and begged Jesus to help heal the daughter.

At first Jesus didn’t answer her, but she kept asking, risking being embarrassed, verbally abused or worse because of her faith that Jesus could help. Finally Jesus told her that ‘It isn’t right to take food away from children and feed it to dogs.” This is quite important because Jewish people sometimes referred to non Jews as dogs as a kind of insult.

Yet even after this, the woman still persisted and replied that even dogs get the crumbs the fall from the table. Then Jesus did what we would expect, he healed the daughter.

Although we today may not see this as remarkable, it would have been a big deal to the disciples because Jesus made two important statements with this act. One, he confirmed that he had been sent primarily for the Jewish people. But Jesus also showed that we need to break through walls such as Jew versus Non Jew.

A lesson for us today is perhaps to look at our own lives and pin point places that we may have been using differences with other people as an excuse for not getting to know them. If Jesus can do it, so can we.

Pray it!

For something you need

Make a shape with the playdough of something you need from God. As you shape it ask God for what you need. Listen. Pray again. Pray each day this week for what you need.

For someone different you are struggling with

Pick two different colours. Hold them and think about someone who is different from you that you struggle with.
Mold the pieces into simple shapes like people or hearts. As your fingers move the dough, ask God to help you understand and care for people who do not look or live like you.
Roll or squish the two different colours together into one new piece. As the colours mix, pray for God to help you love this person the way he does.

Questions

I wonder how the woman felt when Jesus first spoke to her.
I wonder why she didn't give up.
I wonder what Jesus wanted the disciples to learn.
I wonder how the disciples felt when they found out Jesus loved people they didn’t like?
I wonder if you've ever felt left out or not included.
I wonder who it can be hard to welcome or love.
I wonder how we can show others that everyone matters to God.

Games & activities

Dogs and leftovers (Ministry to Children)
Choose one student to be the Master. They turn around with the rest of the students behind them. They then throw a ball or paper wad. The rest of the students are the Dogs who try to catch the 'leftovers'. The one who catches the ball or picks it up then has to run from the rest of the Dogs to keep their prize. If they make it in front of the Master, they’re safe and become the new Master. If another Dog tags them, they’re out of the game, and the Dog who tagged them becomes the new Master.

Finding Faith (Ministry to Children)
Before class, hide strips of paper around the room with the word “Faith” written on them. Then, divide kids into two or more teams. When you say, “Go!” the team members search the room to find the slips of paper. The first team to have all their members find a slip of paper and make it to their team’s starting area wins.

Celebrate You Card
You will need:- A large piece of paper, a large envelope, stamps, magazines/ newspapers, felts and crayons, glue, scissors

Create a big group letter/card to send to someone celebrating who they are. e.g. someone in the parish that the children don’t know very well. Or a local librarian, vet, shopkeeper, person in the community etc.
Choose who and get the children to brainstorm about that person. What they know about them, what they do, why they chose this person etc.
Decorate the card. Inside write a message to the person. Get all the children to sign it. Post or deliver it.

Similarities and differences game
You will need:- you need a circle of chairs or cushions, one less than the amount of people in the group.

Have everyone sit on a chair including any leaders. The person who is running the game should stand in the middle of the circle. Explain that the person in the middle is to complete the following ‘My name is ……… and I ………….’. eg My name is Sue and I like the colour red.
If anyone sitting in the circle agrees with the statement (eg they like red too) then they must get up from their seat and swap places with someone else. The person in the middle has to try and get a seat. Who ever is left without a seat becomes the person in the middle and starts the next round by saying ‘My name is …….. and I ………..’

Preschool Play

Tell the Story - You could use dolls or toy people to tell the story.
A woman came to Jesus.
She loved her daughter very much.
She asked Jesus for help.
She kept trusting Jesus.
Jesus listened to her.
Jesus helped her daughter.
Jesus showed that God's love is for everyone.

All are welcome
Set up a pretend house using a large cardboard box, a play tent, or a doorway. Take turns knocking, asking to come in, welcoming visitors, and listening to one another.
Talk about: What do you say when someone needs help? How does it feel when someone listens to you? Jesus listened to the woman.

Get crafty
Provide paper hearts, stickers, crayons, stamps, and collage materials. Decorate hearts to take home or give to someone else.
Talk about: Who do you love? Who loves you? I wonder who Jesus loves?

World of Friends
Provide toy people representing different ages, cultures, and families, along with houses, vehicles, and animals. Children can build a town where everyone belongs.
Talk about: How can we welcome new people? Jesus loves people everywhere.

Joseph forgives his brothers (Genesis 45:1-15)

Introduction

Much has happened in the story of Joseph between last week's reading, and today's. Joseph was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and rose to become vizier, a high official and the second most powerful man in Egypt next to Pharaoh, where his presence and office caused Israel to leave Canaan and settle in Egypt. In today's story, Joseph forgives his brothers for their betrayal.

Yr A Pentecost 12, 2026: (Intergen Australia)
A collection of resources and ideas written and compiled by Jillian Ross. Bible references: Genesis, Isaiah, Psalm, Romans

Media

Saddleback Kids Saddleback Church have an animated video on their YouTube channel about 'Joseph Forgives' which is suitable for children to watch. This will be a useful video for this weeks Old Testament reading from Genesis.

Psalm 133:1-3

A song of ascents. Of David.
1 How good and pleasant it is
    when God’s people live together in unity!
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,
    running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
    down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew of Hermon
    were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
    even life forevermore.

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