Welcome Each week I compile a number of resources to help you contemplate the RCL readings with your family. While designed to be used during a Sunday service at church or by zoom, these readings can also be used during the week to help you remember and build on what you experienced on Sundays. My objective is for faith to be a lived experience and for children to learn how to worship and explore the Bible and pray by participating in Worship with you. The goal here is not for them to learn names or facts though they may want to do that for themselves, but rather to find ways of connecting with the text and sharing that with others. The ideal is to form a life long love of Christ, for the Word of God and to participate in Worship.
We enter a new Church Season, Christmas, and it’s liturgical colour is WHITE (if you find that choice repressive many are now substituting GOLD)
There are 3 sets of reading for use on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services.You can find Option 1 and Option 3 here. Check with the Church you are attending or the on-line service you are viewing to find out which one they are following. Or have all three open so that you are ready to share the message of these amazing worship expereinces with the children in your company.
If worshipping at home you might want to set up a focal point, possibly the Advent Candles
, and adding a white Christ candle and maybe a nativity.
For Christmas Eve services some people remove the baby, adding him in for Sunday morning services.
If able to worship in the Church buildings pack a special backpack, as well as filling, it with your Covid Safe equipment, add the books or materials required to help your young ones relate to today’s readings. And especially today a new something found under the Christmas tree.
For adults and older students, you might like to use a journal with which to record anything that grabs your attention during the service. This could be a special, bound book or use your ipad or iphone. You could write a precis of the message (traditional words or pictures), draw, keep a record of emotions and hymns that you did or did not like. Young scholars could use a template like this free downlhttps://kidsbibleteacher.com/christmas-sermon-notes-page/%E2%80%8Boad. Remember, this is for you, you do not have to show anyone what is in it unless you want to, and you feel safe to do so.
CONGREGATIONAL USE: Though parents are the best at sharing their faith with their children, if you are a small congregation where children are a very small, or rare part of your congregational life. Please feel free to make these suggestions available to your congregation. Very happy for you to copy and paste idesa into your own Order of Service.
SING It’s Christmas by David MacGregor
LIGHTING OF THE CHRIST CANDLE LITURGY
We come to you God and you present us with a baby (pretend to rock a baby in our arms)
to show us how to LOVE others (make a love heart with your fingers)
to bring us JOY (do a star jump)
to teach us PEACE (take a deep breath in)
always to look to for HOPE (arms out wide)
Amen (one clap)
THE LORD’S PRAYER:
ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY
PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE – Christmas Present Prayer Response.
In advance wrap a present, if you are environmental, you could wrap the smallest items in hankies, progress to wrapping in a tea towel, or hand towels. Between each layer of wrapping stick a post it note with the names of people or areas of concern to spark people’s ideas so that when the parcel is unwrapped the person taking off the layer, can pray for the person or item of concern, or you can leave space for everyone’s individual prayers to be quietly said. (Some of the notes can just have a drawing or a photo of the area of concern so that even the non-readers can participate.
COLOURING-IN Scroll to the end to find the MERRY CHRISTMAS sheet.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 62:6-12
READ: Tea and Sugar Christmas by Jane Jolly If you are a Storybox Library subscriber you can watch it here
DO: Who guards/protects you, ie, lifesavers, policeman, etc. DRAW, write or make a model of something being protected to make life better.
PRAY
Protective God
Keep me looking for you,
Keep me celebrating
the good things you bring
Amen
PSALM 97
Psalm 97: Rejoice, the Lord is King!
Rejoice! The Lord is King! (Star Jump beep bow)
Lift up your heart, (raise your arms high above your head)
lift up your voice; rejoice; (open your mouth wide)
again I say, rejoice. (Star Jump)
Power! All the forces in the planet (Show your muscles)
are powered by the Lord. (put your hands in the prayer position)
Love! All the love in the universe (Make a love heart with your hands)
flows from the Lord. (Open your hands out)
Joy! All the happiness in the world (Jump)
is given by the Lord. (hands in prayer position)
Thanks! All our thanks we give back to you. (look up hands out wide)
My thanks and Christmas Blessings to Rev Purdie for this rewrite of the Psalm. Actions in Italics are my additions.
How does this Psalm make you feel, point out an emoji that shows how you feel or show in your face and body how you feel.
SECOND READING: Titus 3:4-7
READ: You are Mine by Max Lucado
WATCH This is a long reading of the book, watch it in small bits with young children or let them move away when they need to they will return to it, especially if older children are watching.
MAKE a love heart card, 
on the front draw you in the middle of a love heart and inside write everything about you, the good and bad, becasue God loves you because you are you.
SING God is love by David MacGregor
OR I am loved by Heather Price
PRAY:
Father God,
we are loved by you,
not for what we do,
but because you
love us
Amen.
GOSPEL READING: Luke 2:(1-7)8-20
READ: The Whirl Story Bible, Jesus is Born pp.198-203.
PLAY: with sheep and shepherds. What would happen if the Angels arrived? Who would the Shepherds guard?
DEPARTING SONG Love has come by David MacGregor
To all a Blessed Christmas
Wendy L.
Please check local guidlines before using items that are not mine especially if you are using this page for congregational use. Please acknowedge this page if you find it useful. Thank you.
I am writing this on Wurundjeri land and wish to pay respect to all Elders, past, present and emerging.
and maybe a nativity.
Everyone is welcome here.
The Cross in My Backyard 