4 July 2021

Bible readings for today

Collect

Caring God,
you equip us with all we truly need 
in the business of our daily lives; 
turn us to you in prayer that we might 
trust in your provision 
and hold only to those things of true value. 
Through Jesus Christ, 
who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God now and for ever. 
Amen

Refugee Sunday

As the number of refugees passes 26.4 million (2021), we are now more aware of displaced people more than ever. And with growing calls to increase the refugee quota here, the church has a great opportunity to extend grace, manaakitanga and love to refugees arriving in Aotearoa New Zealand.
‘When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt.’
​Matthew 2:13-14

Why do people become refugees?

People are forced to flee—from war and violence; from natural disasters; from religious persecution, political oppression, and ethnic injustice; from food crisis, drought, and famine. They have no choice but to leave behind their land, their homes, their belongings, and their sense of identity. They run in fear for their lives, either within their own country (internally displaced people) or to another country entirely (refugees). And the heaviest toll is felt by the children. 
- World Vision

Refugee Numbers

Check out these most recent figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency (updated 1 July 2021)
  • ​82.4 million displaced people worldwide at the end of 2020, as a result of persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.
  • 48.0 million people are internally displaced
  • 26.4 million are refugees
  • 4.1 million were asylum seekers
  • 68% originate from just five countries: Syrian Arab Republic, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Myanmar. 
  • 39% hosted in five countries: Turkey, Colombia, Pakistan, Uganda, Germany.
  • 35 million refugees are children
  • 1 million children were born as refugees
  • 285,400 refugees returned or were resettled
  • 86% are hosted in developing countries. 
  • 4.2 million stateless persons
  • 73% hosted by neighbouring countries. 

Operation Refugee

Picture
  • Christian World Service asking you to remember refugees and displaced people in your prayers on Refugee Sunday. As a member of ACT Alliance (Action by Churches Together), CWS is in touch with many local organisations working with them.
  • Christian World Service is challenging churches to join this year’s Operation Refugee.  Individuals, teams or churches can eat from the Food Box equivalent refugee rations for five days, organise a banquet or feast or undertake a walking challenge. Funds raised will mean the Department of Service to Palestinian Refugees can help Syrian, Palestinian and other refugees with food, education and medical care in Jordan and Lebanon. Contact organiser, Eric Park to find out how you can take part: eric.park@cws.org.nz or phone 022 377 6606. Operation Refugee runs from June 20 to October 24.

Worship Resources

Worship resources from CWS may help you profile Refugee Sunday in your worship services. Download here
Lost Sheep
Jesus was a Refugee - get the book/graphics on the Lost Sheep website and you can watch the story being read here 

Mark 6:1-13

Today's story looks at 'travelling lightly'

Talks and Focus

Gospel Conversations

Gospel Conversations with David Tombs (University of Otago), Bishop Kelvin, Trish Franklin and Michael Godfrey engage in a lively and varied discussion of Mark 6:1-13. This conversation is crammed with insights into the incarnation, mission, and finding God in the ordinary people and things of our lives.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Power in weakness

What you need: 
2 Corinthians 12:9 bible verse printed out in words, with some images. There are several different versions of this reading, depending on your favourite bible translation:
  • NIV: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness"
  • CEV: “My kindness is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.”
  • Message: "My grace is enough, its all you need"
If you children are older, words should be fine, but you may like to include pictures or different colours to help kids remember the words. 
What you can say:
Today we are thinking about a reading from Corinthians - this is a letter Paul wrote after Jesus had left earth. Paul was a great leader, preacher and a man of God.  However, even he had his troubles and he gives us lots of ideas of how to live a good Christian life.  It is an interesting snippet from his letter - who wants to read it out?
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (You can change this depending on your favourite translation, or one that you think would be better for your kids)
From this Bible reading, there is one important, very important thing I want you to take away - to remember when life is difficult, or you feel you can’t do something, God is strong. God's grace -- his love, his kindness, his forgiveness -- is enough. Its all we need. 
Game:
  • Put the verse jumbled up at one end of the room and encourage kids to take turns running tot he end and bringing a piece back to the group. If you don't want to make it a team game, you can challenge them to try and get the order of the verse correct within a time limit. 
  • Repeat and reduce the time allocation they have -- they should get faster with practice!

Salt Dough - Weak, To Strong.

This Salt dough craft will take some time to make, so you might like to start your session with this activity, or bake it after the session and have the pieces ready for the following week. 
You will need:
  • I or 2 batches of salt dough
  • cutters, butter knives, rolling pins, straws, etc.
What you do:
  • Our craft today needs some time to bake so we will start with the craft!  
  • Explain that we are thinking about how with God, so much more is possible. “I am giving you some of this soft salt dough to make yourselves with, I want  you to remember that we are soft and weak - and then we will put ‘you’ into the oven to bake (you might need to bake them some more at home) and you will see how the figure hardens up and becomes stronger - this is how we can feel stronger inside as we let God more and more into our lives to help us.  
  • Hand out everyone a lump of salt dough and get them to make themselves. 
  • If you have some people cutters you could bring them and some rolling pins or bottles.  
  • Other than that they can use butter knives, cocktail sticks, straws etc to give them decorations.  
  • When they’re ready to cook, get the kids to whisper in their figures’ ears, something they want God to help them with, or to do better.

Guiness Book of Records

Today we are going to find out who is the weakest and who is the strongest. 
Here is the test, you have to hold out these two (bottles of pop or cans of food, something fairly heavy so that it doesn’t take too long if everyone has a go!  Maybe bring cans too in case the bottles of pop are too heavy.
Time all those who have a go (write up their times on the white board).
You could look at the Guinness Book of records for some facts about the strongest people in the world

Cornflour Slime

Why cornflour slime?!
This activity helps kids play with the idea of strength and weakness. The unusual slime can be both strong and weak! 
You will need:
  • Cornflour
  • Water
  • Food colouring
  • A bowl
  • A tray

What you can do:
Put the cornflour in a  bowl, along with a couple of drops of food colouring. Add the water in slowly, stirring gently to combine the solution. You can pour this into a tray for children to play with. 
The cornflour slime will remain a solid when pressure is applied (punch, or push firmly), but also be weak when you handle it gently. 
You can watch some instructions in the youtube link 
Bible Explore
Developed by Strandz for the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand and Polynesia
© 2021 Copyright Strandz. All rights reserved.
Photos from Unsplash