11 February 2024

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Bible readings for today

• 2 Kings 5:1-14
• Psalms 30:1-12
• 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
• Mark 1:40-45

Liturgical Colour: GREEN

Collect

Mighty God,
strong, loving and wise,
help us depend upon your goodness
and to place our trust in your Son.
​Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen. 

E te Atua kaha rawa,
te kaha, te aroha me te mātau,
āwhinatia mai mātou ki te whakawhirinaki ki tōu painga
ki te whakarite i a mātou i roto i tāu Tama.
Whakarongo ki tēnei īnoi i runga i tōu aroha.
Āmine.

Jesus Heals a Man With Leprosy (Mark 1:40-45)

Today's old testament reading talks about a man's miraculous healing at the hands of Jesus.

Lent Begins!

​This week marks the start of Lent! 
​
For more ideas about how to engage your families in the lenten journey, head to the Strandz website

Jesus Heals Leprosy Mazes

Help the man with leprosy get through the city to reach Jesus and be healed.  There are three different levels of difficulty: simple, average, difficult.
Download printable pdfs here:

• Simple maze
• Average maze
• Difficult maze

Games

The games are taken from the website Jesus Without Language, at the following link and play on the three ideas of links to Jesus, healing and touch. See here

Holding On
Give the youngsters tape, paper and scissors to make paper-chains. Get the youngsters to construct a paper-chain that links everybody’s wrists together. Talk about how we all came to church because of somebody we are linked to – a family member, a friend, etc. then stand up and try to move without breaking the chain… this probably won’t last long. Say that even though we came to church because of somebody else we are each loved individually by God. 

Plastering Balloons
This is a messy game that can be played with water in the summer. You need at least one balloon per child, tape or small sticky plasters and a sharp pin. Before you give the balloons out make 3 or 4 pin holes in them. Give the children a balloon and say it’s broken, but they can fix it. The game starts when you shout start and ends when either all the balloons are fully inflated, or the first balloon is fully inflated. 

Plaster Hunt
Like hide the thimble meets a treasure hunt but with plasters. Just be careful that they can be removed from where you place them. As they are found they can be stuck to the person who finds them. 

Hand Letters
This game must be played in pairs. Each child uses one hand and must combine it with the other child’s hand to make the shape of a letter. Have the children make the letters GEHNAIL… and then ask they to rearrange the letters they have made to tell you what the story is about today – HEALING.

Shortbread Baking Activity

A tasty reminder of today's story! Make and easy shortbread with added M&Ms using the recipe below, cut into shapes with gingerman/woman cookie cutters. 

Shortbread recipe
Ingredients: 

• 200g butter
• 100g sugar
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Half cup of m&ms, more or less depending on your love of m&ms.

Method: 

• Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof or baking paper.
• Place the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, then whisk together until pale and fluffy. 
• Sieve in the flour, then add the vanilla extract. Whisk again until the mixture comes together in a dough.
• Add m&ms
• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to around 1cm thick.  Cut gingerbread man shapes or hearts from the dough, then carefully transfer them to the baking trays.
• Place the trays in the fridge to chill for around 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile preheat oven to 160°C (Gas mark 2/325°F). 
• Remove the trays from the fridge and bake for around 15 minutes until golden.
• Once cooked, leave the shortbread to cool on the baking trays for 15 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling.

Media

Saddleback Kids: The Thankful Leper (Luke 17:11-19)

Naaman (2 Kings 5:1-14)

In today's story, we hear about Naaman and the servant girl. 

Activities

There are four printable activities to go with the story: retelling part of the story, an acrostic poem, a reversible puppet, and a review game.
​
Download the resources from this website

Media

The Transfiguration (Mark 9:2-9)

When Jesus takes Peter, John, and James up a mountain to pray, the appearance of his face was transformed, and his clothes became dazzling white.

What is transfiguration?

Discussion Questions

The word "transfigured" is a very interesting word. The Greek word is "metamorpho" and it means to transform, literally or figuratively to metamorphose, or to change... In the case of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ it means to match the outside with the reality of the inside. To change the outward so that it matches the inward reality. Jesus' divine nature was "veiled" in human form and the transfiguration was a glimpse of that glory. Therefore, the transfiguration of Jesus Christ displayed the... glory of God incarnate in the Son.

"Moses and Elijah were about to leave, when Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here! Let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” But Peter did not know what he was talking about."

• Have you ever felt a bit like Peter? Wanting to keep something for ever, that was only meant to last a short time? Perhaps you found a butterfly and wanted to keep it in a jar for ever, or looked after a bird in a box, but didn't want to say goodbye to it? 
  
• Have you ever said something that you later regretted? 
• If you could have lunch with anyone dead or alive, who would it be? 

Transfiguration and Grace

Bishop Eleanor, Assistant Bishop of Wellington, shares a short talk about a painting of the transfiguration, as apart of the Wellington Lenten series for 2019

I wonder

• I wonder how Peter, John and James felt when they woke up and saw that Jesus looked different?
• I wonder why Peter wanted to build a shelter for Jesus, Moses and Elijah?
• I wonder why Peter, John and James were quiet after the loud voice said: "This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!”
• I wonder what happened next? 
• I wonder what they spoke about between that event, and coming down the mountain the next day?

Changing Appearances

Source: This game was found on the Family Faith Ministry website
Purpose: Play this game to help students begin to think about how Jesus’ appearance changed. 
Supplies: None 

Can you tell when something changes? Sometimes seeing how something has changed is easy and sometimes it is hard. Today, we are going to learn how Jesus’ appearance changed on the mountain. Everyone who was with Jesus noticed the change. Before we discover what happened, let’s play a game to see how well you see changes. 
Directions:

1. Form teams of three or four children.
2. Have all the teams sit on the floor facing the front of the classroom.
3. Have the first team stand in front of the other teams. Tell the seated teams to carefully study the appearance of the standing team. Have them pay special attention to details like clothing, hairstyle, and jewellery.
4. After a minute, send the first team out of the room to secretly choose one thing to change about the appearance of one player on the team. For example, they might turn a hat backwards, put their hair in ponytail, or switch jewelry with another team member.
5. Have the team stand in front of the other teams again.
6. The seated players must guess what change the team made.
7. Repeat steps 3-6 until all teams have had a turn.

Teacher Tip: If playing the game with younger children, either you or an assistant may help the team choose and make a change. 

Tent building

Tent building is a lot of fun, and can happen outside in the garden or indoors. Here’s how to make a simple tent with blankets or sheets:
What you need:The best thing about building your own tent is that you only need objects you’re likely to have lying around the house already. You may need to pay a quick visit to the garden centre for the bamboo canes!

• A roll of rough string
• Scissors
• 3 x 8ft (2.4m) and 6 x 3ft (90cm) bamboo canes from a garden centre
• Old sheets and blankets
• Pens and card to make a sign for the entrance

What to do: 

• The easiest tent to construct is a simple two-sided prism shape like a triangular Toblerone box! 
• Make a sturdy frame using your canes - lay the 3 longest canes 3 ft (90cm) apart, and attach using the shorter canes and string, until your tent takes shape. 
• Then drape with sheets or blankets, and decorate inside and out with pillows, rugs and pictures, before moving in

Source: Persil

Transfiguration Sunday - 11 February 2024 tbc?

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Bible readings for today

• 2 Kings 2:1-12
• Psalm 50:1-6
• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6
• ​Mark 9:2-9

Collect

tbc.