27 August 2023
Bible readings for today
Liturgical Colour: GREEN |
CollectAlmighty and everlasting God,
by your Spirit the whole body of the Church is governed and sanctified; hear the prayer we offer for all your faithful people, that in the ministry to which you have called us we may serve you in holiness and truth; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. E te Atua Kaha rawa mutungakore, nā tōu Wairua ka kawanatia ka whakatapua te kāhui o te Hāhi; whakarongo mai ki tā mātou īnoi mō āu tāngata whakapono katoa, mā roto i a mātou minitatanga, nāu nei mātou i karanga kia mahi ki a koe i roto i te tapu me te pono; Ko Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki me tōu mātou Kaiwhakaora. Āmine. |
Peter, the Rock (Matthew 16:13-20)
In today's reading Jesus gives Simon a new name - Peter "the rock"
Introduction to discussion |
Questions |
You may like to focus your session on Peter -- and the words that Jesus speaks over his life. Peter is a wonderful example of someone who messes up, time after time, but God still uses him for Good.
Introduce your children to the person of Simon Peter and adventures he had with Jesus. Highlights of his life (Source: here) include:
Interview with JesusNote: for younger children you might like to go through the questions together and then get them to draw a picture of themselves and Jesus doing something together eg. Playing in the playground
What you need: A copy of the interview template, felts and crayons, bibles What to do: The children can do this individually, in pairs or as a big group. Give them each a copy of the interview questions and a bible. Get them to answer as many questions as they can (some of the questions they can feel free to make up the answers for!) After answering the questions, fold the interview sheet in half and then decorate the cover. After a set time, ask the children to come back together as one large group. Invite those that want to share their answers to do so with the larger group. If you have time, then divide the children into pairs and get them to interview each other. ![]()
|
Game - who am I?Preparation:
You will need large pictures of famous people. (Magazines are a good place for this) Cut each picture into six pieces. (Make sure you know how to put them back together!!!! Put all the pieces of a complete picture in a separate envelope. What to do: Get the children to sit in a circle. Tell them that you are going to give them a puzzle that they need to put together again. Empty one envelope and get them to put it back together. When they succeed, ask them if they can tell you who it is and why they are famous. Repeat with another envelope. Game - people charadesPreparation:
You will need a list of people or characters that the children will be familiar with eg, Jesus, SpongeBob Squarepants, Donald Duck, etc. What to do: Divide the children into two teams, and number each team member. Separate the teams so they are back to back and can’t see the other team. Ask the first team member from each team to come up the front. Explain that in a moment, you will show them the name of a famous person. What they then must do is without speaking, get their own team to guess who the person is. The first team to guess correctly gets a point. Keep going until every member has had a turn. The team with the most points wins. |
Moses in the papyrus basket (Exodus 1:8-22, 2:1-10)
Exodus 1:8-22, 2:1-10
Baby Moses paper plate craftA paper plate craft from Let their light shine!
Image sourced from Let their light shine
|
Baby mosesThe story of Moses as a baby, as told by Saddleback Kids media. You can watch it on YouTube here
|