16 November 2025
Bible readings for today
Liturgical colour: GREEN |
CollectE te Atua kaha rawa
māu anake e taea ai te hari mai i te tika ki ō mātou ngākau aroha, ture kore hoki; hōmai ki a mātou kia tau te aroha ki āu whakahau me te hiahia ki tāu kupu taurangi, inā, i roto i ngā whakanekeneke me ngā wero o tēnei ao hurihuri, ka mau pono ki o mātou ngākau ki te wāhi e kitea ai te hari; Ko Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki. Āmine. Almighty God, you alone can bring order to our unruly wills and affections; give us grace to love what you command and desire what you promise, that in all the changes and chances of this uncertain world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. |
Jesus speaks about the future (Luke 21:5-19)
Gospel ConversationsAs we approach Advent, the lectionary starts throwing some of the toughest passages in the Gospels at us. Here we have the destruction of the Temple and rumours of wars and betrayals- difficult stuff to talk about in terms of Good News! But our panel is up to it. Bishop Justin Duckworth from Wellington Diocese joins Gillian, Jonathan and Michael to find out what this passage might tell us today.
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The Importance of Teamwork (2 Thess 3:6-13)
Team GamesThe Bible passage today is a great one to emphasise the importance of being a team. Use the opportunity to play some of your favourite team games:
Relay Races Divide the children into groups and line them up at one end of the room, wiht a stack of beanbags or balls. At the other end of the room, place a bucket. Children run backwards and forwards to put the beanbags in the tub. First team wins. Cup up, cup down Place 20+ cups around the hall, with half facing up (rim up), and half facing down (rim on the floor). Divide the children into two teams -- one will try to turn all the cups up, and one will try to turn them all down. Each round lasts 2mins, and repeat with as many rounds as you have energy for. This game is so simple, but so much fun -- and great for wearing off energy! Over under game Line teams of children up in rows, with all the children facing the same direction. The person at the front passes a ball over their head, and the next person passes it through their legs, repeating the over/under pattern until the end of the line of children. Once the ball has reached the person at the back, they run forward to the front of the line and repeat until the children are back in the original formation, and the first person is at the front of the line again. You can vary this game by changing the number of 'overs' and 'under' e.g. all overs, all unders. Minute to win it There are some amazing minute to win it games. Our favourites include wrapping sellotape around a person and sticking on as many balloons as possible in the time allowed, and balancing milk bottle lids on a ice-cream stick. Tower ChallengePreparation
You will need newspaper, cello tape and scissors for each group What to do Split the children into groups of three of four, and tell them they have ten minutes to build the tallest tower they can using the things provided. At the end of the ten minutes, judge which is the tallest. |
The Importance of being a TeamWe are all part of God's family, all playing on the same team. Each of us has a role to play!
Here are some question to help kids think about what role they have to play in their 'church team'
The Feel Good JarWhat you need
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