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 will find OPTION 2 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 9:2-7
WATCH stop at the 1.18 second mark.
DRAW: This passage lists a number of names for God, what do you think they mean? How whould you expain them or draw about them
PLAY: with things that bring light, torch, shiny paper, mirror, the light on your phone, look for the sun (don’t look at it), or the moon and stars. MAKE a suncatcher, hanging on the corners make it almost star shaped.
PSALM 96
A Christmas Psalm:
based on Psalm 96
Sing a new song to the Lord
All the earth, sing! (Pretend to sing)
All you people, sing!
See God’s glory, it is coming! (shield your eyes as if looking far away)
Tell of God’s salvation, it is coming into the world!
Speak of greatness, strength to overcome. (show your muscles)
Come out to meet the Lord, proclaiming his name.
Come into his holy place and tremble.(shake)
All the earth, tremble in wonder.
All the galaxies, rejoice in praise! (Look Up)
All the oceans and all that lives in the sea – sing for joy!
All the fields and forests and all that lives on the land – shout for joy! ((star jump)
For the Lord is coming –
he is coming to make everything new, (dust off your hands)
he is coming to put things right.
Rejoice for the Lord is coming … (Star Jump)
But will we see him, born in a manger?
Will we proclaim him, son of Mary? (pretend to cradle a Baby)
Will we welcome him, this stranger in a strange land?
Will we honour him, this unexpected judge of the world? (make a fist with one hand and bang it down on top of the palm of your other hand)
Lord God, we see you, born in a manger.
Lord Jesus, we proclaim you, son of God and son of man. (pretend to cradle a Baby)
Loving God, we welcome you; come make your home among us.
Lord Jesus, we honour you and praise you and choose again to follow. (bow your head, then arms up high)
Amen.
My thanks and Christmas Blessings to Rev Purdie for this rewrite of the Psalm. Actions in Italics are my additions.
Traditonally the words in bold are said by the congregation.
SECOND READING: Titus 2:11-14
READ:
God gave us a present
That will change the way we live
God’s own son
Born of Mary
Who lived and died 
To show God’s love 
for us.
SING Practise Being Godly by Colin Buchanan
MAKE: Make a Christmas present/bag/box or card, and place a note of something nice you will do for the person recieving the gift ie, feed the cat, make breakfast, etc.
GOSPEL READING: Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
READ: The Whirl Story Bible, Jesus is Born, pp.142-145
SING JOY on Seeds of Christmas EP by Seeds Family Worship
MAKE: Create your own nativity and retell the story with these stick puppets
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 