Ordinary 22

31 August 2025

Bible readings for today

Jeremiah 2:4-13
Psalm 81:1,10-16
Hebrews 13:1-8,15-16
Luke 14:1,7-14

Liturgical colour: GREEN

Collect

E te Ariki, āwhinatia mai mātou kia kite:
kia kite ai he aha te pai me te pono mutunga kore,
kua kite nei mātou, me rapu tonu
ā, tae noa ki ngā harikoa o te rangi;
mō te korōria o tōu ingoa tapu.
Āmine.

Lord, help us to see:
to see what is eternally good and true,
and having seen, to go on searching
until we come to the joys of heaven;
for the glory of your holy name.
Amen.

How to be a guest (Luke 14:1,7-14)

In today's story, Jesus went to eat dinner in the home of a leader of the Pharisees, and the people were watching him closely.

Input for leaders

Another great illustration from Rev. Sarah West from Visio Lectio. Shared with permission
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Gospel Conversations 2025: This is a great example of how a seemingly simple gospel passage can bring out a whole range of perspectives and teachings. If you want a fresh take on where to sit at the table, have a listen!

Gospel Conversations 2022: We are so grateful for these helpful sermon discussion videos from the Diocese of Dunedin. It's remarkable the way one parable can be challenging, uncomfortable, and yet full of hope for us as we dig deeper into it. And this week we have some great diggers, uncovering all sorts of treasures you may not have seen before!

Monday Meditation (Gary Neal Hansen) - more food for thought. (No pun intended!)

Intergenerational Worship

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.

A collection of resources and ideas (Intergen Australia)
Written and compiled by Chris Barnett, Rev Sandy Brodine. Bible references: Hebrews, Luke, Psalms.

Talks

Best seat in the house (Faith in Kids): Full Lesson plans for 3-5, 5-7, 8-11, and mixed age.

Left out (Sermons 4 Kids) - Jesus doesn't leave anyone out and neither should we.

God's honour is enough (RFour) - Why do we chase what we already have?

All puffed up (Sermons 4 Kids) - Don't think too highly of yourself.

You go first! (Sermon Writer) - God should have first place in our lives. Short simple talk.

Don't honour yourself (Sunday School Works) - suitable for older kids who will understand concepts of social media posts and 'likes'.

Jesus confronts hypocrisy and embraces humility (Ministry-to-children)

Quick Questions

Have you ever been invited to a party? How did you feel about it?
Have you ever invited someone you your place? What sorts of things did you do to make them feel welcome?
How do we make people feel welcome at church?

I wonder...

I wonder what it would be like to have dinner with Jesus?
I wonder why Jesus noticed where people were sitting?
I wonder how it feels to sit in the lowest place?
I wonder what kind of guests Jesus would invite to a party?
I wonder why Jesus asks us to invite people who can’t pay us back?
I wonder what God’s party might look like?
I wonder where you would want to sit if you were at the table with Jesus?

Pray it!

Prayer is an opportunity to encounter God. It can involve words spoken in a group, art we hang on our walls, or a stroll in the park. Try one of these prayers from the Methodist Prayer Cards which offer 52 different prompts for creative prayer.

Household Connections

Carry on the conversations this week with this great resource for families. Shared with permission from Lisa Carlton, Parish of Johnsonville, Churton Park & Ohariu Valley.

Activities

Musical chairs
Play a game of musical chairs, removing one chair each time until you have a winner remaining. Give them a prize. Then give the first person who got out a prize as well.

Have a banquet:

Set up a banquet table with some yummy finger food. Think about how you can make it fancy - placemats? flowers or decorations? Special tablecloth? Create ONE super extra special seat - perhaps a seat at the head of the table draped in a fancy fabric, with a gold plate.
Tell the kids they are going to be seated one at a time and served the snacks they want. (For large groups you may need several servers). Invite them to line up in order to receive first pick of chairs and food. After the chaos of jostling for a good spot in line, deliberately walk to the last person in line and let them go first. Go down the line in reverse order to seat and serve kids. When everyone is seated, explain that today we are going to talk about what it means to be humble, and what it means to do things that go against our usual expectations. Jesus sure did this a lot! Then serve kids in the same order you seated them.
Kids can sit and snack while they listen to the story or while you talk about wondering questions. If using paper/plastic plates, kids could also decorate one to take home as a reminder of the story.
Safety note: Be aware of any allergies.

Thanks to the thankless (Ministry-to-children)
Come up with someone who demonstrates humility by working hard, but does not always get the credit deserved (cleaner, teacher, church flower person, parent etc.). Create a thank-you card for them to show appreciation for what they do.

Decorate and make placements to remind you of the story. Template here (Trueway Kids)

Puffed Up Pillows (Sermons 4 Kids)

Best seat in the house
Get the children into group of 2-4 (depending on numbers) and give each group a box of ‘stuff’ that they can use. (Things like boxes, toilet rolls, newspaper, tape, scissors, magazines, glue, cellophane, wool, etc). Tell each group that their job is to design ‘The best seat in the house’ using the things provided. Tell them to think about things like maybe a cup holder for a drink, a built in remote control for the tv, wheels so the person doesn’t have to get up, etc. All the things that would make this the best seat to sit in. Give them a limited amount of time to do it (eg 15min) and at the end, get each group to present their chair to the whole group and explain it.

3D Craft (Jesus Without Language)

Door Hanger Craft (Jesus Without Language)

Preschool play

Best seat in the house (Faith in Kids): Full Lesson plan for 3-5

Sharing the Story - Set up a toy party - a picnic rug, some cushions, and some toys. Have a special cushion. To start, only enough seats for half the toys, but have extras ready.

Use the toys to act out the story. Move one from the “best” seat to a lower seat. Then invite them back to a “special” seat. Say, "Jesus went to a special dinner. Some people sat in the very best seats. Jesus said, “Don’t take the best seat. Let someone else have it. Then the host might say, ‘Come, sit here!'"
Jesus also said, “When you have a party, invite people who can’t pay you back. Invite everyone. That makes God happy.” Add the extra cushions and toys so everyone can sit around the table!

Special Seat - Decorate one chair with cloth or ribbon. Take turns inviting someone else to sit there. I wonder... what it feels like to wait your turn? ...how it feels to be invited to a special place? ...who we could invite to play or eat with us? ...how we can show kindness to everyone?

Playdough table - why not set a playdough table with playdough, plates, playdough, and some playdough mats. Try these fun food mats (Picklebums) or this lovely Grace for under 5's one (Flame Creative). Talk about what it would be like to have dinner would Jesus? What would you eat? What would you talk about?

Decorate biscuits - grab some wine biscuits and coloured icing and let the kids go for it! Safety Note - be aware of allergies.

Finish with a party and some yummy snacks!

22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time