28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

13 October 2024

Bible readings for today

Liturgical colour: GREEN

Collect

E te Atua o te kaha me te ngoi,
nāu ngā mea papai katoa,
whakatōngia ki roto i ō mātou ngākau te aroha mō tōu ingoa,
whakatupua te pai ki roto i a mātou,
ā, tohungia mātou kia ū tonu ai mātou i roto i tōu aroha noa.
Ko Īhu Karaiti nei hoki to mātou Ariki.
Āmine.

God of all power and might, the author and giver of all good things,
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion, nourish in us all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

The Rich and the Kingdom of God (Mark 10:17-31)

Leaders Tip

One of the challenges this week is to help our children understand that having a lot is not a problem, but making all of our stuff the most important thing in our lives is. Be prepared to answer some potentially tricky questions from children this week. We all have special treasures in our lives; things, pets and people. Allow children to talk about the things in their lives that are special. And point them back to making room 1st for God. This week isn’t about feeling guilty for what we have, it’s about opening our lives so that God has the most important spot in our hearts and lives.

The Basket

What you need

A basket
A lot of stuff that kids might have and love - dolls, teddy bears, books, crayons, cars, legos, a ball. Be creative with ideas (enough to over fill the basket)
A picture of Jesus or a cross
A table to put everything on

What you do

Put the empty basket on the table, surrounded by all the other stuff. Say something like, “This basket is a bit like my heart- I have lots of things that I love and want to keep really close”
Pick up each item, name it and say that it’s definitely one of your favourites. As an adult, you might want to talk about when you were a child… but you don’t need to.
Fill the box to overflowing with all the things that you love and have.
Pick up the picture of Jesus or the cross. Say something like, “Hmmm..this is a bit awkward. Here’s my heart all full of these wonderful things. I know I’m supposed to have Jesus in here somewhere, but I just can’t quite get him to fit. I mean, I want him in my heart, I do love Him, I’m just not sure how to manage this. I wonder what I can do?” Allow people to give you some helpful suggestions. Listen and acknowledge people’s ideas. You can try a few of them out. If someone suggests the following, you can act on it. If no one suggests it, then you can ‘think’ of it yourself. Empty the basket completely. Put your picture of Jesus or the cross in the basket first. This will allow it to be there and then you can put everything else on top. Say something like, “Now I get it. I need to have Jesus in my heart first because he’s the most important thing.”

Messy Church Ideas

Game: Through the eye of a needle

What you need

2 pillows
6 adult sized chairs
2 ties or belts

What you do

Invite two people up
Remind them that Jesus talked about how hard it was for a camel to get through the eye of a needle.
Tie a pillow onto the back of each player and tell them that they’re the camels
Line the 6 chairs up in two rows so that the players can crawl through the first and then the second and then the third.
Make a starting point and when you say ‘go’ have the two players crawl through the chairs as quickly as they can without overturning the chairs. The first one through their 3 chairs wins.
Note: Make sure you match fairly similarly sized players. Small people have an advantage. You can play a number of rounds if you’d like.

Camel Jokes

What do you call a camel with no humps?
Hump-free/Humphrey!

What do you call a crying Camel?
A humpback wail!

Prayer

God of the possible,
and the impossible,
when we come to you with questions
and struggle with your answers,
grant us faith in believing as we await the treasure from heaven,
which is your faithful promise.
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

Rich Young Ruler Drama

What you need

A copy of the script for each character
Optional - dress ups (plain robes, dishtowels and ties for Jesus and disciples and a fancy looking coat or cloak for the rich young ruler)

What you do
This can be an impromptu skit. Choose people to be each of the characters. Make sure all of those taking speaking parts can read well. You can have lots of disciples (who don’t need to read) so younger children can also take part.

Characters

Jesus
Rich young ruler
Narrator
Disciples

Script
Narrator: One day a rich young ruler came running up to Jesus and got on his knees.
Rich Young Ruler: Teacher, what good thing do I have to do so that I can go to heaven and have eternal life?
Jesus: Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.
Rich Young Ruler: Which ones?
Jesus: You shouldn’t commit murder; You shouldn’t commit adultery; You shouldn’t steal; You shouldn’t lie; Honour your father and mother; and You should love your neighbor as yourself.
Narrator: The rich young ruler was pleased. He’d done all those things.
Rich Young Ruler: I have done all these things. Is there anything else I need to do?
Narrator: Jesus looked straight at the young man with love and compassion.
Jesus: There is still one more things you need to do. Go and sell everything you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.
Narrator: But when the young man heard this statement, he went away very sad because he had a lot of things that he wanted to keep.
Jesus: Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Disciples: (very astonished) Then who can be saved?
Jesus: With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible

Media

The Parable of the Wealthy Man - Saddleback Kids. This video is based on Luke 12: 13-21, but also covers how the love of money can separate us from God.