ROOTS is a partnership of denominations and other Christian organisations and has been publishing lectionary-based worship resources online and in print since 2002.
Go to: Resources for families; Resources for adults
Copyright
You are welcome to copy this material for use in your own resources e.g. printed sheets or web pages including audio/video recordings. If you do so, please include this acknowledgement to ROOTS:
© ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2020.
Reproduced with permission.
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For families
Introduction
Welcoming people has looked very differently recently; however it’s still a really important principle and today’s passage shows us just how simple that needs to be. Consider how, when it is possible to do so, you can make your home, church, community a welcoming place for all. Use what you make in your worship together to do this now as far as you possibly can.
Gather
Use this prayer as you begin your time of worship together. Nominate a leader or all join in together.
Sing to the tune of ‘Bobby Shaftoe’:
I am welcome, so are you (x3)
welcomed all by Jesus.
Read
Share the Bible story using the idea below to help you explore it together.
Bible story
Open the Bible at Matthew 10.40-42: Jesus wants us to welcome everyone as we would welcome him.
Welcome and wave
Tell the story, asking the children to listen out for the word ‘welcome’. When they hear this word, they should stand up, wave their arms in the air and cheer.
This method of telling the story would also work well for a group meeting online.
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Activities
You may wish to use these additional resources to worship together and/or the activity sheets for children.
Recognition
Print out some pictures of famous people who you think the group will recognise, and disguise them by drawing hats, beards, moustaches on them with a marker pen. Alternatively, distort some pictures of people on a smart phone. Can everyone identify them?
Talk about how we recognise people. How can we recognise God if we have never seen him? How is he visible in other people?
Count your blessings book
Keep a record of the reward of blessings
You will need: A4 paper, a hole punch, wool/ribbon, felt tips.
- God’s reward often comes in the form of a blessing.
- Give each person three sheets of paper to hold together and fold in half to make a booklet. Punch two holes along the spine, thread with wool/ribbon and tie in a bow.
- Write ‘Count your blessings’ across the front of the booklet and decorate as desired.
- Encourage everyone to take their booklets home and use them to keep a note of all the good things that happen to them. Remind them that each one is a blessing and encourage them to thank God for them.
Activity and colouring sheets
(Links to the PDFs for these can also be found at the end of the page.)
Activities for families - English |
Colouring sheet English |
Activities for families - Welsh |
Colouring sheet Welsh |
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For adults
PostScript - reflection for the week
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In conversation with the Scriptures: Already but not yet |
| Cherryl Hunt explores how we read Scripture, in conversation with John Parr | |
Live your faith
This week's Live your faith sheet for adults with Bible notes, prayers, a picture and questions for reflection, a live your faith action
