Category: House Church Series

Philippians 2

15/6/2022

Sentence:

‘If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.” Philippians 2:1-2

Collect:

God of all authority, enable us to hear your call and do what you ask of us. Forgive us for judging others, help us to embrace the outcast and the downtrodden. Transform our lives so that everything we do may proclaim your generous love. Through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Bible Readings:

Philippians 2:1-18
Philippians 2:19-30
Mark 15:16-20

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Children's Resources:

ACTIVITIES AND CRAFTS
Check out this week's Bible Explore for a children's talk, craft and activities based around Te Pouhere.

A Tale of Two Cities

18/5/2022

Sentence:

"And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God." Revelation 21:10

Collect:

Alleluia, King Eternal; grace and wholeness show your glory: deliver us from sin’s oppression; free us from despair; and have us stand to reflect the glory of Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings:

Revelation 22:10, 22-22:5
John 14:23-29

Questions:

Discuss your understanding of the book of Revelation. How does the context, as described in chapter 1, affect how we read the letter.
Name some of the ways our society manifests aspects of Babylon today
What practices and ways of thinking might God be calling you to distance yourself from at the moment?
What practices will you commit to that represent the way of Jesus?

Quick Links:

RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources:

VIDEO:

Overview: Revelation 12-22 (for older kids - shown above)
Book of Revelation for Kids - Revelation 21 & 22

ACTIVITIES

The Future is Now!

11/5/2022

Sentence:

Then the one sitting on the throne said: I am making everything new." Revelation 21:5

Collect:

Alleluia, God Eternal; love marks your presence. Plant in us your love, nurture in us your likeness, and let us reflect your glory. For you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Readings:

Revelation 21:1–6
Acts 11:1–18

Due to technical issues we were unable to livestream this service. An audio recording will be available on our "sermons" tab from the 17th of May 2022.

Questions:

Revelation is often seen as prophetic writing. Is this true? How is it relevant to today?
How do you respond to the image of Jesus being like a Kinstugi potter?
Read Psalm 31:12. In what ways are we like broken pottery?

Quick Links:

Quick Links:RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

RESOURCES:

Making Things New Lesson Plan and activities
Revelation 21 Bible Study Quiz
Visit Bible Explore for more resources

Palm Sunday 2022

6/4/2022

Sentence:

Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Luke 19:38

Collect:

May God our Creator, walk with us during this season of Lent. May we enter more deeply into the passion of Jesus and come to depend more completely on his Spirit, that we may live a life that shines with the light of the resurrected Christ. Amen.

Readings:

Psalm 118:1–2, 19–29
Luke 19:28–40

NOTE: There will be no prerecorded message this week. Please skip to the sermon section of the Livestream 9am on Sunday. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Questions:

How are you coming back to worship? Celebrating or ….?
What are you expecting/hoping for going forward?
What is a 'kingdom' thing that could come out of this?

Quick Links

RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

VIDEOS:

The Story of Easter - The Triumphal Entry (shown above)
How to make a Harakeke (Flax) Cross

ACTIVITIES & CRAFT:

Visit Bible Explore for a range of fabulous activities, including how to make Palm Sundaes, chalk printed palm leaves, donkey masks and palm leaves.

The Saviour We Need

10/3/2022

Sentence

"Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord". Luke 13:35b

Collect

May God our Creator, walk with us during this season of Lent. May we enter more deeply into the passion of Jesus and come to depend more completely on his Spirit, that we may live a life that shines with the light of the resurrected Christ. Amen

Readings

Questions

What is a negative experience you have had lately? Sometimes these things are just bad but can you talk about a time when they served God's purpose?
Share a time when you witnessed someone standing up for an unpopular truth and discuss how they went about it.
Discuss a time when you have had a wrong perspective and were confronted with it. How did you respond?
How might we know we are under the form of judgement of being left to our own devices? What might our response be to that?
Can you state what God is doing in your life at the moment? In the life of the church, the town or our nation?

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RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

VIDEO:

As a Hen Gathers Her Chicks

ACTIVITIES:

CRAFT:

Sunday 20th February - The Character of the Disciple

16/2/2022

Sentence

And now do not be distressed, or angry with yourselves, because you sold me here; for God sent me before you to preserve life. Genesis 45:5

Collect

God of welcome, we encounter you in those different from us; enlarge the tent of our lives to embrace both friend and foe, so that we grow to be more like you; through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings

Sermon

Questions

When was the last time you were in a conflict situation
What are some things that help in conflict situations - to remain in the room, to be open and kind?
What are you seeing in terms of God’s purposes at this time - what is the good he intends?
What might God be calling you to do to be part of that?

Quick Links

RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

Video:

Joseph Forgives His Brothers

Activities:

Craft:

Sunday 13th February - 'The Cost of Discipleship'

9/2/2022

Sentence

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:20b

Collect

God of transformation, you heal our troubled spirit; turn our hearts to follow our way of humility that we may find the blessing of new life; through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings

Sermon

Questions

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” 1 Cor 15:17 Along with this, what role does the resurrection play in the life of the Christian?
Discuss the connection between Jesus’ teaching and his resurrection.
If the resurrection is central, how do we understand that people live good, successful lives without it?
How do we understand the resurrection amidst the struggles we face in our lives?
‘I like getting in hot water, it keeps me clean’. Discuss what ‘hot water’ might be for you and how that keeps us clean.

Quicklinks

RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

Video:

Sermon on the Mount

Discussion:
Use the information found below to discuss with the children what each of the beatitudes mean:

What are the Beatitudes for Kids in Simple Terms

Activities:
Pick from the activities below to find ones suitable for your age group.

Younger children

"Bee-Attitudes" Poster (Biblewise)
Colouring pages

Older children

Craft ideas:

Bumblebee Squishy Toy (warning: messy play!)
Have each child pour about 1/3 a cup of flour into the corner of a fold top sandwich baggie. (Can use a little more or less, depending on the size of the child’s hands and the size of the balloons.) Twist the bag and fold it over itself to make sure the flour is completely contained. Make sure there is no air in the baggie. Cut the neck off two yellow balloons. Have one friend hold open the balloon and while another friend puts the flour bag in the balloon. Hold open another balloon and shove the balloon with the flour bag in it into the second balloon so that the flour bag goes in first and is not exposed. Now you have a squishy, stress ball type toy! Use black permanent markers to make the squishy toy look like a bumblebee. Tell the children that this toy can help them remember to have BEE ATTITUDES instead of ME ATTITUDES.

For more ideas visit Bible Explore.

Sunday 6th February - 'The Nature of Discipleship'

4/2/2022

Sentence

'Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.”' Luke 5:10

Collect

God of mission, you call us by name; as you send us out may we continue to follow you, listening to your word, living your life, and declaring your message;
through Jesus Christ our Liberator, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Readings

Sermon

Livestream from 9am Sunday

Questions

Share a time when something shifted for you in your understanding of Christ - what happened?
Who are the people who are open to you, who might listen to what you say?
Have you challenged someone to take a step of faith before?
If not, discuss what a challenge to someone around you might be.
How is God challenging you in your faith at the moment?

Quicklinks

RESOURCES

LITURGY

COMMUNION

MUSIC

Music Resources

PRAYER

Prayer Resources

HEALTH & SAFETY

Children's Resources

Video:

Jesus Calls Peter

Activities:

Jesus calls us to fish for people puzzle

Craft ideas:

https://www.daniellesplace.com/html/bible-crafts-fishers-of-men.html

Prayer:

Playdough Prayers
Using 2 blobs of playdough each. Talk about God bringing peace and that it is one of our jobs as Christians to pray for peace. Is there anyone that you can think of that needs help to be united by prayer? As you pray for these people, squish the two balls together until they become one.

For more ideas visit Bible Explore.

We have a variety of tools that we are working on to help small groups 'connect'. These include activities that you can choose to do together as a small group worship service.
Remember that these are simply a starting point for your small group - you may discover other tools or activities that suit you better. If you do discover something fabulous, please share it so others may also be encouraged.

We thank the Diocese of Wellington for their work in forming the framework for the house church liturgy.

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