3 October 2021

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Bible readings for today

• Job 1:1; 2:1-10
• Psalms 26:1-12
• Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12
• Mark 10:2-16

Collect

Inclusive God, 
your love is offered to the vulnerable and the powerful 
and knows no limits; 
open our eyes to recognise 
where our words and actions exclude others, 
​and by your Spirit turn us to new action, 
​embracing all with unity and care, 
so that your ways of justice and peace may be revealed. 
Through Jesus Christ our Liberator, 
who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever.
Amen

Like a child of God (Mark 10:2-16)

Today's story looks at Jesus welcoming the children. 

Leaders' Tip

Today’s story is about Jesus not being too busy to spend time with the little children. It’s easy to get so caught up in all the other stuff that needs to happen; preparing materials, setting up the room, putting out art materials, talking with parents or other leaders, cleaning up, that it’s easy to forget why we’re really there. Ministering with our children is what we’re all about. Jesus was never too busy to welcome the children. Whatever we’re doing, however important it might be in the moment, take time to welcome and encourage the children around you.

I wonder...

Three wondering questions to extend today's story.

• I wonder why the parents wanted to bring their children to Jesus?
• I wonder how the children felt when Jesus called them to come to him?
• I wonder what it means when Jesus said that the Kingdom of God belongs to people who are like children?

How do Children Spell Love?

Someone once asked me the question, “How do children spell love?”
The answer “T I M E”.

​We all know how important it is to spend quality time with our children, to listen when they want to talk, to be available to them. But sometimes there really are things that we have to do or are in the middle of doing that need to be done right then. Or we’re having a conversation and it would be rude to interrupt. One suggestion is that we teach our children that when they want to talk to us or be with us and we’re busy with something else, they should rest their hand on our arm. This accomplishes 2 important things. The first is that it lets us, as parents, know that our child need us. Second, it offers an opportunity for us to acknowledge her presence without interrupting what we need to finish. This can be done simply by putting our hand over our child’s.  
Initially it can be difficult to help a child put their hand on your arm to say something. Let them know what you expect and then, the next time he comes in to interrupt, gently take his hand, put it on your arm and put your hand over his. In the early stages, as soon as possible, excuse yourself for a moment from your conversation and turn to your child. Your children will learn quickly how effective this can be for them. Of course, if a child comes in distressed or hurt, then she becomes the priority, but in other instances, she can learn to wait a moment and be rewarded with your full and happy attention!

Bible Story

Throwing Game

This is a Bible story paraphrasing today's key text for children.
One day, lots of people were gathered around Jesus, asking him some hard questions. Questions like, “When is it okay to get a divorce?” and “Who will be the greatest in Heaven?” Jesus was very busy giving God's answers to these questions when he looked towards the back of the crowd and saw some parents carrying their babies and holding their children’s hands.  They were pushing their way through the crowd.  Jesus smiled to see all the children coming towards him. Then he noticed his disciples moving angrily towards them. “Don’t you know that Jesus is busy?” they asked.  “We want him to bless our children,” one of the parents said.  “A blessing from Jesus would be a wonderful thing for my child,” another parent added.  All the parents nodded in agreement and tried to move forward. “He’s teaching the adults and can’t be disturbed right now! You have to stay in the back.  How are the important people going to hear him if all your children are playing around and being noisy? Besides,” added one of the disciples, “Jesus is tired, he’s had a long day and the last thing he needs is a bunch of kids hanging on him!”
Jesus watched and listened.  He grew angrier and angrier.  Then he stood up.  “Why are you trying to stop these children from getting to me?” he demanded.  “Don’t you know how important they are? Don’t you know how much I love them? The kingdom of God belongs to children just like these, don’t stop them from coming to me!”  
The disciples were flabbergasted. They’d been thinking that the Kingdom of God belonged to the adults, to people who could do things, not to children who were pretty helpless and needed a lot of love and care.  The disciples learned a big lesson that day.  And the children? They got to run up to Jesus and jump in his lap. He put his hands on each one and blessed them.  He laughed with them and hugged them and watched them do some tricks. The children were all so happy - Jesus had stopped what he was doing just to be with them. All the parents were happy, too.

What you need
A large beach ball (large group) or a bean bag or smaller ball (small group).
What you doSay something like- Have any of you ever played a game of keep away?  Sometimes it’s called monkey or piggy in the middle.  It’s played like this.  One person is ‘it’.  Everyone else throws the ball around from person to person over ‘it’s’ head.  If ‘it’ gets the ball, then the person who threw it becomes the new ‘it’.  Let’s give it a try.  Would someone like to be ‘it’?  Choose a child to be ‘it’. You can also decide that after a certain amount of time a new ‘it’ will be chosen even if ‘it’ doesn’t get the ball. 

Play
​Start play be putting ‘it’ in the middle of the isle or the center of the room and having the others throw the ball across the isle over ‘it’ to someone else.  You can give a few children the opportunity to play and then ask everyone to sit back down.  

Ask
Ask someone who had been ‘it’ how it felt to be in the middle, trying to get the ball.  Allow a few ‘its’ to share.  Ask some of the others how it felt to try and keep the ball away from it. 

Say
Our story was a little bit like a game of keep away.  The disciples were trying to keep the children away from Jesus.  Jesus was like ‘it’. Some of you shared that you really wanted the ball.  Someone else shared that it was a little frustrating and you’d hoped you could get the ball soon (or other appropriate things that were shared). I think Jesus must have felt the same way.  He really wanted the children to be able to come to him and got really mad when he realised that the disciples were keeping them away.

Bring your prayer to Jesus

What you need:

• A picture of Jesus (you can use this one or you might have another you’d prefer)
• A photocopy of a photo of each child in the group. You could do this with illustrations of children if you'd prefer.
• Felts
• A quiet peace of music to play

What to do:

• Cut out the pictures of the children - a rough cut is fine. 
• Put the picture of Jesus up at the front.
• Give each person a child and a felt.
• Explain that everyone can write down or draw their prayer and when they’re ready, they can come and bring their prayer to Jesus.
• Start the music. Give 1 ½ - 2 minutes for people to sit, reflect and write. Most likely people will come and bring their prayers up on their own, but if not, you could bring yours and then remind people to come up when they’re ready. When everyone (or most people) have brought up their prayers, briefly close by thanking Jesus that he always wants us to be close to him, that he welcomes each one of us, and is especially happy when children come close.

Memory Verse

Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me.’ Mark 10:14

​What you need:10 pieces of A4 paper- any colour
A marker or felt

What you do:Write the memory verse, one word per page. The reference goes all together on one page.
Give each child a word. Call them up one at a time in random order and allow the other children to help rearrange the words to make the memory verse.

Note: If you have fewer than 10 children, each child can take more than one word and instead of holding the words in a line, the children can put them down on the floor and arrange the verse that way

Activities

• Hands Craft (Crafting the Word of God)
• Pop up Card Craft (Bible Class Creations)
• Fingerprint Craft (All Kids Network)
• Printable Suncatcher (Crafting the Word of God)
• Paper Plate Craft (Crafting the Word of God)
• Cotton-bud Art  (Reformed Mama)

Paper Clip Race

What you need:

• Paper clips (lots of them)
• Blindfold
• Bowl with uncooked dry rice (the rice will be cookable if desired after the game)
• A table to hold the bowl of rice

What you do:

• Mix the paperclips in the bowl with the rice.
• Choose 3 players who will compete one at a time.
• Blindfold the player.
• Give that person 30 seconds to find as many paperclips as they can in the bowl of rice..
• Count the paperclips and then put them back in the bowl and allow the next player to have a go.  
• The player who finds the most paperclips is the winner.

Sticking Together

What you need:
A large fabric sheet for each group of 6-10 children (if you have a smaller group, one single-sized bedsheet will be fine)

​What you do:
Explain that Jesus welcomed everyone and he makes us like a family.  Families stick together so in this game, you’re going to have to stick close together!

Have the children stand on the fabric sheet.

Say ‘fold’.  When you do, the children have to get off the sheet and fold it in half.  Then everyone needs to get back on. This will be easy.  
Say ‘fold’ again and repeat.  Eventually (after enough folding) this will be a difficult task. The children will need to be creative in order to all stay on the sheet.
Say something like - keeping each of you on the sheet was an important part of this game. If anyone got left out, everyone lost!  It’s a bit like that with Jesus and the children. Jesus’ disciples didn’t think the children were important. They were happy to have all the adults ‘stay on the sheet’ and leave the kids off.  But Jesus wasn’t having any of that.  He wants us to know that everyone belongs in God’s kingdom just like everyone belonged on the sheet.

Gospel Conversations

What do we do with Jesus' blunt statements on divorce? This Gospel passage which has caused heartache and debate and division is discussed today by Gary Griffith-Smith, Anne van Gend, and our latest Gospel Conversation visitor, Lucy Flatt, chaplain of Craighead Diocesan School in Timaru. The issue is far more complex than anything that could be covered in our 15 minutes but since a similar passage comes up each year, there will be more to come! For all the sternness of Jesus' discussion with the Pharisess, the lectionary reading also shows us the warmth of Jesus gathering the children to him: as always, bringing the small and sidelined (which in his day would have included the vulnerable divorced women) into his love.

Bishop Eleanor Sanderson sermon

Bishop Eleanor unpacks the gospel reading, looking at the attitudes of our hearts when we approach Jesus (testing or asking), and how we can come into the kingdom of God like a little child. Mark 10:2-16