4 July 2021
Bible readings for today |
CollectCaring 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.
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‘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 NumbersCheck out these most recent figures from the United Nations Refugee Agency (updated 1 July 2021)
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Operation Refugee![]()
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Worship ResourcesWorship resources from CWS may help you profile Refugee Sunday in your worship services. Download here
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Mark 6:1-13
Today's story looks at 'travelling lightly'
Talks and Focus
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Gospel ConversationsGospel 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.
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Power in weakness (2 Cor 12:2-10)
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:
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:
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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:
Guiness Book of RecordsToday 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:
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 |
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