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

Gospel Conversations

This week's gospel is the story of Jesus healing a leper, and the beautiful interactions between them. Why was this one healing told in detail, when there had been so many healings before this one? Damon Plimmer, Gary Griffith-Smith and Anne van Gend join Michael Godfrey to explore the significance of this life-changing story for the leper, and for us.

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.

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

Media

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.
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Download the resources from this website

Media