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.

 

For families

Introduction

Another parable – a story with a hidden meaning – which helps us to see that good and evil exist alongside one another in the world. This can be one of the big questions we have to grapple with: why do bad things happen?

Bring those questions to God as you worship together today.

 

Gather

Use this prayer as you begin your time of worship together. Nominate a leader or all join in together.

God of wheat and weeds,
as we gather here today,
from this imperfect world,
help us to take time to
grow in your perfect love.
Amen.

You could learn this song to sing together as you begin your time of worship: A farmer in a field, Carolyn Winfrey Gillette

 

Read

Share the Bible story using the idea below to help you explore it together.

 

Bible story

Open the Bible at Matthew 13.24-30,36-43: Jesus tells a story to help us live in an imperfect world.

The ear of wheat

Print off the grains of wheat outlines on which the reading is subdivided (template), and carefully cut out each one. On a large piece of paper draw a stem on which the wheat grains will be stuck.

Invite different peeople to have one grain each and to read these in order. Then, in turn, they stick their grain to the stem, so that once the story has finished, the whole ear of wheat is complete.

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Activities

You may wish to use these additional resources to worship together and/or the activity sheets for children.

 

Harvest time

Play the game Ker-plunk™ but imagine that the yellow sticks are wheat and the green ones are weeds.

Divide the group into two teams. The object is to ‘harvest’ the wheat, while collecting as few marbles as possible.

The teams take turns until all the wheat is gone, and the one with the lowest marble score wins.

 

Wheat from weeds

A game of discernment 

You will need: the ‘Wheat from weeds’ template, from which to print, on card, one full set (8 cards) per pair of players. 

• Beforehand, download the card templates, print them on card and cut them out.
• Invite people to work in pairs. Distribute one set of cards (8) to each pair and explain that they need to decide whether the picture on each card is of a weed or a good plant. Invite all pairs to sort them into two different piles.
• When everyone has sorted their cards, go through the answers with them – hold up the cards and encourage everyone to shout out whether they think it is a good plant or a weed.

 

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

 

For adults

PostScript - Watching the weeds

 

	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

 

Seasonal activity for all

Use your senses

Go for a walk. Stop at intervals to be very still and smell, see, hear, and feel what is going on around you.

Look for different colours, then see what's high (clouds, birds, buildings) and what's low down and what you are standing on.

Pray or sing songs thanking God for your surroundings.

Take home anything found or picked (as allowed) to make a display.

Thank God for our senses.

[Adapted from Picnics, processions and praise]