25 August 2024

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Bible readings for today

Collect

• 1 Kings 8:1, 6, 10-11, 22-30, 41-43
• Psalms 84:1-12
• Ephesians 6:10-20
• John 6:56-69

Liturgical Colour: GREEN
Today is Anglican Communion Sunday

E te Atua o Īharaira te tawhito me te mea hou,
tuhia ki ō mātou ngākau ngā whakahau o āu ture;
whakatikaina ō mātou hinengaro kia mau ki te rongopai e whakatinanatia i roto i tāu Tama i a Īhu Karaiti.
Āmine. 

God of Israel old and new,
write in our hearts the lessons of your law;
prepare our minds to receive the gospel
made visible in your Son Jesus Christ.
Amen. 

The Armour of God (Ephesians 6: 10-20) 

Putting on the armour of God

Discuss and make the armour of God.
This resource has a full lesson plan:  Question pages for discussing each part of the armour and then making the armour.
The activity can be done in groups, with each group making one part of the armour or the full armour, depending on time and available resources.
Resources needed:

• Bible
• Cardboard
• Tinfoil
• Tape
• Scissors
• Felt pens

Download the activity plan and question pages here.

Intergenerational Stories

The armour of God is for all ages! Why not use this opportunity to ask other generations to share how they have needed God's armour in their lives. Consider inviting a couple other people to share their stories -- from kids, intermediates, teenagers, young adults, adults, seniors. You could film their responses and create a video for your whole church to be encouraged by the faithfulness of all generations. ​

Children's Ministry

The Salvation Army have a good Junior Soldier resource with some teaching ideas, questions to ask and interactive learning. You can find it here

Dress Me Up Armour

Taken from the Teachers Pay Teachers website (you'll need to sign up for a free account) at this link

"Teaching on the Armor of God?? Here is a fun lesson that can get really personal. Each child colors a paper version of him or herself (which can be mounted, laminated, felted..etc.) As you teach through each piece of armor, the children can cut, color, and dress "themselves" until they are covered with the "whole armor of God."

Lollipop Soldier

The idea is from a Dutch website, Trak Tatie and while there are no english instructions, you can see how easy it is to make it
You will need

• Printed out templates from here
• Enough lollipops for one per child
• A feather
• Sellotape (bluetack optional) 
• Scissors

What you do

• Cut out the heads of the soldiers on the template and tape onto the lolly stick, along with a feather.
• Cut out the feet and tape to the bottom of the round lolly. You could fold the tape into a circle, or use blueback if that's easier. 

Minecraft Soldier

We loved the Mylittlehouse.org nativity set they did a few years ago, which are similar in style to Minecraft figures. 

Here they have an armour of god soldier to make. They're not the simplest of things to construct, but good for kids who like a challenge. Perhaps provide them with the materials to start at church and finish at home, if you're limited with time. 
​
You can download the template here

Armour of God illustrations

​There are some beautiful Armour of God illustrations and worksheets on the mighty interweb, and these are some of our favourites:
Armour of God -- girl in armour to colour in, from Melonheadz Blog.

​There are also some great Armour of God printable sheets from Religious Doodles.

Activities

• Printable Helmet (Crafting the Word of God)
• Printable Breastplate (Crafting the Word of God)
• Printable Shield (Crafting the Word of God)
• Printable Sword of the Spirit (Crafting the Word of God)
• Object Lesson (Our Journey Westward)
• Snack (3 Cherry Cokes)
• Waterpistol Game (Bible Baton)
• Make your own Armour (Free Time Frolics)
• Sword Games (Creative Bible Studies)
• Nerf Gun Idea  (One She Two She)
• Shoes of the Gospel Obstacle Course (The Littles and Me)

Media

These videos below talk more about how the armour of God defends us against the work of the devil/satan. You may like to watch them first before deciding if they are appropriate for your children. 

Jesus the Bread of Life (John 6:56-69)

Today's gospel reading looks at how the bread and wine of communion remind us of the body and blood of Jesus. Many of Jesus' disciples begin to leave him when things get tough. 
Last week we looked at lots of bread of life resources and ideas, some of which can be adapted for today.

Sermon resources

Church of Scotland worship resources

Michael Godfrey talks with Lisa Emerson, Richard Johnson and Gary Griffith-Smith about the challenges and promises surrounding Jesus' difficult instructions to "eat my flesh and drink my blood." Anyone not brought up in the Christian faith could be justifiably horrified to hear that read from the Bible. What do we do with it?

Memory verse

"You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know you are the Holy One of God" - John 6:68

Scripture Reflections

"It’s sad that Christians have turned v. 65 into a resounding negative. “No one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father” is often intoned as a “so tough luck, the rest of you.” It need not be.  There are myriad ways beyond our understanding by which the Father can nudge humans to a way of faith. Our task is primarily to live with some integrity the way to which God has nudged us, and leave others in the loving care of God." - Rev. Michael Godfrey