30 August 2026

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Bible readings for today

• Exodus 3:1-15
• Psalm 105:1-6,23-26,45
• Romans 12:9-21
• Matthew 16:21-28

Liturgical colour: GREEN

Collect

God of unchangeable power, 
our strength at all times; 
guard us from all dangers 
and support us in all difficulties 
that we may live victoriously now and forever; 
through Jesus Christ our Saviour. 
Amen. 

E te Atua mau tonu, 
tō mātou kaha i ngā wā katoa; 
tiakina mātou i ngā kino 
me te tautoko i a mātou i roto i ngā raru 
kia ora ai mātou i runga i tōu wikitōria inaianei, 
ā, ake tonu atu; 
ko Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Kaiwhakaora. Āmine. 

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The cost of being a disciple (Matthew 16:21-28)

In our Gospel reading today Jesus explains to his disciples the cost of following him.

Leaders Input

Call to Worship (re:Worship)
(based on Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28)

Listen! God is calling!
Can you hear it?
Calling us to turn away from self-interest;
to put down the things that distract us,
to take up our cross
and follow.
Can you hear it?

Gospel Conversation 2023 Matt 16:21-28 (Dio of Dunedin)Who would have thought that this short passage in Matthew could hold some parenting advice? Or voting advice? 

Intergenerational Worship

Yr A Pentecost 14, 2023:  (Intergen Australia)
The beginning of the Season of Creation series, written and compiled by Michelle Cook. Bible references: Exodus, John, Psalms, Matthew, Romans.

Talks

Peter gets turned around (RFour) - Short talk using their Ask, Tell, Share the good news format.

What does it take to follow? (Ministry to Children) - full lesson plan.

Intro Drama (Waikanae Anglican Church) - A drama written and performed by the teenagers at Waikanae Anglican Church, a great way to introduce an all-age talk on Matthew 16:26.

Doing the small stuff
What do you think would happen if no one ever washed their dishes or cleaned their toilets? (Pause for discussion) It wouldn’t be very nice, would it? In fact, if no one ever even flushed the toilet, it wouldn’t take long for it to get very gross indeed! So I guess it’s important that we do clean dishes and toilets regularly. Do any of you have to do the dishes or clean toilets at home? (Pause) I do, and it’s my least favourite job. Well, in today’s story Jesus talked about something unpleasant that he had to do. Can anyone remember what that was? (pause) Jesus knew what God wanted him to do. But Jesus also knew that by obeying God that good would come from it, so he was willing to make the sacrifice. And we benefit from Jesus’ sacrifice everyday!

When I have to do something that I don’t really enjoy like cleaning, I try to make it easier by remembering why I’m doing it, just like Jesus did. So, next time you are asked to do something that you don’t particularly enjoy, such as cleaning your room, try turning it into an act of service for Jesus. You could use it as an opportunity to pray for God while you are cleaning, you could even put on your favourite music to listen to while you clean.

Games and activities

Cross themed activities (Sermons 4 Kids)

Craft – Service Toolkit
What you need: Toolbox and tool templates - try this one (Gathering Beauty) or make your own, scissors, glue, felts and crayons.
What to do:

• Decorate your toolkit with pictures of tools that represent ways you could help at home – e.g. a broom for sweeping, a rubbish bin for taking out the rubbish, or a scrubbing brush for washing dishes.
• On small pieces of paper, write or draw some acts of service you could do during the week: clear the table, tidy the shoes, empty lunchboxes, vacuum, wipe the bathroom basin, or sweep the doorstep. Put them in your toolkit.

Prayer challenge:
Choose at least two jobs from your toolkit during the week. As you do them, think of your act of service as a prayer – a way of showing God's love by helping someone else. Follow up next week: What did you do? How did it feel to serve someone?

Fortunately, Unfortunately – A Game for Older Children

• Sit in a circle. Start a story with a sentence such as: “Once upon a time, Bob was going for a walk.” The next person adds a sentence beginning “Fortunately…” The following person continues with “Unfortunately…” Keep going around the circle, alternating between fortunately and unfortunately. Try to finish the story by the time everyone has had a turn.
• For example: “Bob went for a walk.” / “Fortunately, he took his dog.” / “Unfortunately, his dog ran away.” / “Fortunately, Bob had a dog treat…”
• See where the story takes you!

Serve Your Church

• Put this week's reading into action by doing a practical job for your church community. Clean the church kitchen, sweep pathways, tidy the garden, stack chairs or find another job that needs doing.
• Divide into small groups with appropriate adult supervision – and perhaps provide a treat when the work is done!
• Talk about: How did it feel to do something for others? Did serving together make the job different?

Quick questions

• What do you think it would be like if no one ever washed their dishes or cleaned their toilets?
• Do any of you have to do the dishes or clean toilets at home?
• What do you think sacrifice means? What about ‘taking up your cross and following Jesus?
• What are some ways that you could turn your chores into acts of service for God?

Pray it!

Try these string cross prayers from Flame Creative Children's Ministry

Preschool Play

Matthew 16:21-28 has some big and difficult ideas for preschoolers. You may like to focus on Jesus' invitation to follow him. Jesus tells his friends that following him won't always be easy — but he asks them to keep following anyway.

Tell the Story
Use Jesus and disciple figures and make a simple pathway for them to travel along.
Jesus told his friends that some very hard things were going to happen to him. People would hurt him and he would die — but he would come alive again.
Peter didn't like this at all!
"No, Jesus!" he said.
But Jesus told Peter, "You don't understand yet."
Then Jesus said to all his friends, "If you want to be my follower, come with me. Following me won't always be easy."
His friends had to decide — would they keep following him?

Follow the Path
Make pathways around your space with masking tape, footprints, stepping stones, cushions or hoops. Have some that are straight and easy and others that twist, turn or require climbing over something. Let children explore them however they choose.
Talk about: Is every path easy to follow? What do you do when you get to a hard bit? I wonder what it is like to follow Jesus?

Follow the Leader
Play Follow the Leader. Walk, crawl, jump, tiptoe, go around obstacles or head outside and make it into a longer adventure. Take turns being the leader.
Talk about: Is it easy to follow someone? What makes it harder? I wonder why Jesus' friends kept following him?

Carrying Together
Provide baskets, boxes, cushions or bags with different things inside. Let children experiment with carrying them from one place to another.
Some things might be easy to carry alone. For heavier things, children can work together or ask someone for help.
Talk about: What feels heavy? What feels easy? What can you do when something is too hard to do by yourself?

Small World Journey
Set out toy people with blocks, fabric, stones, sticks and other loose parts. Children can create roads, mountains, bridges and places for the people to travel. Add a Jesus figure if you have one and let children explore the story through their own play.
Talk about: Where are your people going? What might happen along the way? I wonder where Jesus might lead his friends?

Crosses
Provide playdough with sticks, stones, wool and other loose parts for children to create with. You might like to include a simple wooden cross among the materials. If children notice or use the cross, talk naturally about it: Jesus talked about carrying a cross because he knew that following God's loving way could sometimes be very hard.
I wonder: What do you notice about the cross? I wonder why Jesus told his friends that following him could be hard? I wonder what helps us keep going?

Media

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Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15)

This well known passage describes how Moses encounters God in the form of a burning bush. It's a striking visual image, and changes the course of Moses' life. 

Leaders Input

Yr A Pentecost 14, 2023:  (Intergen Australia)
The beginning of the Season of Creation series, written and compiled by Michelle Cook. Bible references: Exodus, John, Psalms, Matthew, Romans.

Crafts

• Burning Bush cup craft (Breezy Sunday School)
• Battery operated tealight craft with tissue paper
• ​Salt Art pictures (With Love, Ima)
• Bleeding Tissue paper flames (Flame Creative)
• Shape play dough into coloured flames
• Do a co-creation art project, adding on coloured flames to a big bush outline. You could always handprint the flames (paint hands, print on paper, cut out).

Discussion questions

• Is it possible that God could do something unusual and strange to catch our attention like that in this day and age? 
• Does anyone have any stories of God appearing to people in unusual ways?
• I wonder why the bush was on fire but did not burn up?
• I wonder why Moses took his shoes off and hid his face when God spoke to him?
• I wonder what this story means to people who are not part of our church family? 
• How can I help explain what God is like because of what I hear, see and feel through this story?

Source: Lynn Alexander

Fire slime

How to make 'Fire Slime' by Everyday chaos and calm

Explore together

The Purple edition of Explore Together, available at Scripture Union New Zealand, has a session on Moses and the burning bush. Contact your diocesan office to see if they have a copy, or order one from SUNZ. ​

Prince of Egypt

The Prince of Egypt (PG, 1998) is a beautiful animated film about the life of Moses. You could also encourage families to watch the film at home, if suitable for the ages of the children. You can read the Commonsense Media review here.

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Media

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