6th Sunday of Ordinary Time

16 February 2025

Bible readings for today

Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1:1-6
1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Luke 6:17-26

Liturgical colour: GREEN

Collect

E te Atua o te hunga matekai,
meinga mātou kia hiakai kia hiaīnu mō te tika,
kia mākona rā anō ō mātou mō te tika
kia ngaro rawa te hiakai i te whenua.
E īnoi ana mātou i roto i a Īhu Karaiti tō mātou Ariki.
Āmine.

God of the hungry,
make us hunger and thirst for the right,
till our thirst for justice has been satisfied
and hunger has gone from the earth.
This we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

Sermon on the Mount (Luke 6:17-26)

The Sermon on the Mount is one of the most enduring and most loved teachings of Jesus' ministry. This radical teaching went against the popular rhetoric that said our 'good deeds' were enough for God. However, this series of 9 truths point to a God who cares about our internal transformation and personal relationship with our Creator, more than the acts we can do for Him.

Leaders Input

Benediction: Blessed are they who have little faith
Nadia Bolz-Weber shared a striking blessing, based on the Beatitudes, where she says, "Maybe the Sermon on the Mount is all about Jesus’ lavish blessing of the people around him on that hillside who his world—like ours—didn’t seem to have much time for: people in pain, people who work for peace instead of profit, people who exercise mercy instead of vengeance...This Jesus whom we follow cried at the tomb of his friend and turned the other cheek and forgave those who hung him on a cross. Because he was God’s Beatitude—God’s blessing to the weak in a world that admires only the strong"

You can download the words of the blessing below here

Visio Lectio
A beautiful image from the Visio Lectio project, created by the Anglican Diocese of Auckland. © Sarah West. All Rights reserved, shared with permission.
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Sermon on the Mount Leaders Training (The Gospel Project)
One of the more important questions we can help our kids answer is this one: What does a follower of Jesus—one of His disciples—look like? This question should naturally flow from our sharing of the gospel. We start with who God is and what He has done for us in Christ, but we cannot stop there. We need to get to the preceding question. We have to help kids know what practical differences Jesus should make in our lives. Continue here...

Gospel Conversations 2025: There is much of the Bible that is complex and open to many interpretations. There are other passages that are uncomfortably clear! "Love your enemies." No compromises, no concessions - just a clear statement of how God wants us to live. What would happen if we actually did it?

Intergenerational Worship

A collection of resources and ideas, written and compiled by Melissa Neumann for Intergen Australia. Bible references: 1 Corinthians, Jeremiah, Luke, Psalms.

Activities

Jigsaw Puzzle (Sunday school Zone)
The Beatitudes Poster (Sunday school Zone)
Beatitude bookmarks (Sunday school Zone)
Colouring pages (The Colouring Pages)
Folding paper activity (Etsy - pay to download resource)
What are the beatitudes? (Children's Ministry Deals)
"Bee-Attitudes" Poster (Biblewise)
Reflective Colouring Sheet (Flame Creative)

Filled-Heart Sandwiches (childrensministry.com)
Make a snack together, changing the shape of the bread and filling it with good things You'll need: bread, a selection of fillings, heart shaped cutters, a plate and 2 slices of bread for each kid.

Say: It’s time for a snack—and this is one that’ll keep us talking about how following Jesus’ teaching changes our hearts for good.
Demonstrate how to take one slice of bread and use a heart-shaped cookie cutter to make a heart-shaped piece of bread.
Give each child a paper plate with two slices of bread. Take turns using the heart-shaped cookie cutters so everyone ends up with two heart-shaped pieces of bread.
Let each child choose a topping or two to spread on one of the heart shapes, then have kids place the other heart on top to create a simple sandwich. Have kids wait to eat until everyone’s finished.
Looking at everyone’s sandwiches around you, explain whether you can tell what’s inside those hearts.

Say: We changed the shape of our bread into hearts—and put something good inside each heart. Some of the hearts have the fillings oozing out—so it’s easy to tell what’s inside. Others might have a topping that’s harder to see from the outside. We’d have to open up the sandwich to see what’s in those hearts.

Let everyone begin eating as you continue.

How do you think others can tell what’s inside our hearts?
In what ways do our actions reveal what’s in our hearts?

Say: It’s true that our actions tell people more about our hearts than anything else. Our actions can let others know that we’re Jesus’ followers.

Kids Talks

The Upside Down Kingdom of the Beatitudes (Gary Neal Hansen)

Beatitudes Cards (not a talk, but a way to explain the beatitudes in child friendly language), plus ideas for props and a prayer activity. (Flame Creative)

What is a blessing? (Ministry to Children)

Teaching curriculum

If you're looking for a longer teaching series on the Beatitudes for children, then have a look at the Kid's Travel Guide to the Beatitudes by Group Publishing. It has 13 sessions, and provides some fun object lessons and activities for each of the beatitudes. Check out the introductory Full Session Plan which could easily be adapted for this week's session.

Prayer

Bless the broken-hearted prayer station (Flame Creative)

The Sermon on the Mount in Art

Clara Velasquez, Sermon on the Mount

Art is a wonderful way for kids to explore and express their understanding of stories and scripture and connect it to what is happening in their lives.

You might like to share some different artistic expressions of the Sermon on the Mount with your kids. Just google 'Sermon on the Mount artwork'. Try and choose a range of styles and cultures. Wonder about: