Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

This Christmas is a good opportunity to gather your community together to sing and celebrate. This resource gives you all you need to create a community Christmas event. It is approx. 45 minutes long, is easy to use, fun and interactive, and perfect for all ages. Sing together, explore the letters in the word CHRISTMAS and spell out some very important words! Full Resource available here Skit script Spelling out CHRISTMAS activity

An Aotearoa Advent Circle: Written by Liz Eichler, thanks to Adrienne Thompson for this resource idea. The Aotearoa Advent Circle is an arrangement made of shell necklaces and paua shells with five candles, four around the circle and one in the centre. It’s inspired by the traditional Advent Wreath, which was invented in Germany by a village pastor helping his flock to count down the days to Christmas. In Europe the Forest was the place of adventure, quest and danger. The evergreen branches of pine trees symbolised the faithfulness of God’s love and the candles showed the light of Christ. But we live in Aotearoa, it’s summer time, everything is green, and using traditional pine branches in an Advent wreath seems a little odd. So, here is an Advent circle instead, with symbols drawn from the Ocean instead of the Forest. This is how you can interpret it.  The circle reminds us of God. A circle has no beginning or end, neither has God. God is for ever.  The shells remind us of the ocean

This is a resource that can be used by families and households during Advent, as well as by a church congregation. It is simple for a family to use over the four Sundays leading up to Christmas Day. The Sundays of Advent are often focussed around the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. This resource centres around an Advent Wreath, the lighting of candles for each of these themes, and engaging with Bible stories in the lead up to Christmas Day. In uncertain times it is good to create daily and weekly rhythms and routines as anchors or lighthouses to help us stay firm and find our way when the storms of life come with such unpredictability. It is our hope and prayer that these resources will be a part of that for you and your family. You will need: The Full Resource Additional resources

Dr Seuss tells the wonderful story of a Grinch who is not a fan of Christmas. It’s too noisy and disruptive. So, he creates a plan to steal it. Late on Christmas Eve he sneaks down to the village below and takes all the presents, decorations and food. But the Whos of Whoville, in the village  below are not to be stopped! Come Christmas morning, the Whos join hands in a circle and sing with joy! The Grinch cannot resist the sounds of joy, and the final scene sees him seated at the feast, invited to be part of Christmas.  As followers of Jesus we know that Christmas is more than the trimmings. It’s more than just food or decorations or presents. God came to dwell with us. That’s how much we are loved! That’s worth celebrating.  Our focus this year is on ‘The Certainty of Christmas’. In our uncertain times, people are looking for hope and meaning. They may well feel that the Grinch has stolen much from them this year, and is threatening to steal Christmas too. But in the midst of these ch

As we move into Level 3 and more businesses get up and going, great creativity and innovation have emerged. ‘Click and collect’ and ‘contactless delivery’ are now familiar terms . Businesses have had to read the times and adjust —for many, a radical rethink has been needed. I have been wondering what these times mean for the church. It is too early yet to reach any firm conclusions, but let me share with you two conversations I have had recently, and how they are helping shape my thinking about the future of the church in Aotearoa. Friday’s Zoom conversation: a friend in India reflects on the experience of her church In the initial response to the pandemic, most of the energy of my friend’s church was invested in setting up church online and figuring out how to deliver a variety of programmes via technology. Now they are moving into the next phase. Their conversation has turned to how the church can best serve the poor and vulnerable in their community who are suffering greatly a

Looking after number one v Caring for others The opposite of looking after number one is caring for others.  This 20 min devotion will help your family to explore together what God has to say about caring for others.  Each session includes:  - To do: a simple fun activity (no materials required) - To talk about: a question to get the conversation started - To explore: A short Bible passage to read, and an optional video clip to view - To think about: something for the family to ponder - To respond: choose from a few options (prayer ideas, a song to sing, an action) - To pray: finish by praying a simple blessing together Click here to download this session Click here to see all five in the series

Boredom v Purpose I'm bored! The cry of the bored is heard across many bubbles around this country. This devotion will look at boredom and it's opposite - purpose. What does God have to say about finding our purpose? This 20 min devotion will help your family to explore together what God has to say about boredom.  Each session includes:  -  To do:  a simple fun activity (no materials required) -  To talk about:   a question to get the conversation started -  To explore:  A short Bible passage to read, and an optional video clip to view -  To think about:   something for the family to ponder -  To respond:  choose from a few options (prayer ideas, a song to sing, an action) -  To pray:  finish by praying a simple blessing together Click here to download this session Click here for a copy of the prayer - 'Blessing for the Bored' Click here to see all five in the series

Anxiety v Peace This 20 min devotion will help your family to explore together what God has to say about anxiety.  Each session includes:  - To do: a simple fun activity (no materials required) - To talk about: a question to get the conversation started - To explore: A short Bible passage to read, and an optional video clip to view - To think about: something for the family to ponder - To respond: choose from a few options (prayer ideas, a song to sing, an action) - To pray: finish by praying a simple blessing together Click here to download this session Click here to see all five in the series

Easter Grab it! A simple way to explore the Easter story together as a family, using things you can grab from around the house!  You will need: Your family/household all in one place A Bible or access to a Bible online  Click here for a PDF of this content .  To begin: To tell the story of Easter, send each member of the family on a mission to grab an item. Bring this item back to the kitchen table, ready to be used in the telling of the story.  Grab It! 1. A leaf, small branch or twig 2. A rope, string or dressing gown tie 3. A bowl with water in it and a hand towel 4. A piece of fabric that you don’t mind being torn up (or a piece of black clothing) 5. A jar with a lid 6. Egg timer (or the stopwatch on your phone) 7. A flower from the garden (or click here for a virtual one ) When everyone is back from their ‘Grab it! mission’ begin the story. **You could choose a different member of the family to read each section **You could spread these readings out ov

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers - most of which are never even seen - don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?" Matthew 6 (The Message) Welcome to this series of five devotions for families and households. These sessions are designed for all ages, and are simple to use. They don’t require lots of set up or materials, just you and your family. This series is specifically written for families confined to their homes during the Covid-19 pandemic of 2019-2020. Each session includes: - To do: a simple fun activity (no materials required) - To talk about: a question to get the conversation started - To explore: A short Bible passage to read, and an optional video clip to view - To think about: something for the family to ponder - To respond: choose from a few options (prayer ideas, a song to sing, an action) - To pray: finish by praying a simple blessing together This series i

Greetings from my bubble to yours!  Easter is fast approaching, and it will be a year like no other. And because it's been an intense and worrying time for many of us, I suggest that we don't get overwhelmed by trying to accomplish too much. I have put together five tips for preparing for this season - so that we can worship God, find joy in each other's company and not collapse with stress.  1. Lower your expectations: While we might want Easter to be a super-spiritual amazing time, the chances are our housemates (young and old) may have other ideas. God made families, God understands the craziness. Celebrate the small wins.   2. Raise your expectations:  I shall now contradict myself! Now is the time to be surprised by what God can do in and through our families. God is creative, and works in unexpected ways. I am all too often taken by surprise by children and their ability to cut right to the heart of the things of God. I shouldn't be surprised, Jesus did s

These are strange and overwhelming times. We are under stress, collectively as a nation. We are also under stress in our little bubbles. I t is easy to be pulled apart by the pressure of home-school a class of ungrateful students, or working in a church role where you are expected to collate all manner of online resources in a short space of time. Or the anxiety producing loneliness of isolation. Let me offer into this space one practice I have used for a year or so now and have found very helpful. It will work on your kids too! You could use this on a walk outside or around your house.  Notice 5...4...3...2...1 5. Notice five things that you can see. *Describe them out loud if you like (e.g. green spiky leaf, black hairy spider)  4. Notice five things that you can hear. * (e.g. the screech of a seagull, my heartbeat) 3. Notice five things you can feel. (e.g. the carpet under my feet, the breeze on my face) 2. Notice five things you can smell. (e.g. the sweet smell

Kia tau te rangimārie Peace be with you  We live in anxious times. The spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus is causing the whole world to become an unsettled and unpredictable place. This has an effect on our children. I recently heard of a school that has had to ban the children from playing 'Coronavirus Tag', which is as it sounds. If you get tagged, you have the virus and you will die. Needless to say, this was rather anxiety inducing for all concerned.  We can be proactive in addressing this anxiety, especially as some children will carry their concerns close to their heart without verbalising it.  Here are a couple of tips and resources that you might find helpful: 1. Slow down: This link will lead you to a series of colouring pages produced by Strandz for Advent this year. Download the ' rangimārie ' or 'peace' page and photocopy off enough for one each. During your Sunday morning programme or after-school club give the children time in silence

A 1st Century stone path in Bethsaida, where Jesus walked the streets Understanding the daily life of Jesus helps us to discover who he really was. Context puts flesh on bones, and breathes life into the gospels. There are many great resources out there to help us to dig into the context of 1st Century Palestine. Here are some of our favourite free resources: Modern Photos of Israel/Palestine Annette took these photos during her visit in 2011. Free to download and use in PowerPoint or printed out to show small groups of children. We would be grateful if you could acknowledge Scripture Union New Zealand.  Links to great websites: A virtual tour of Israel Bible Places Great images of reconstructions of the temple in the time of Jesus Free photos of modern Israel A basic interactive map of Israel with photos A free app which gives you a virtual tour of Jerusalem and the temple. Works offline!  A couple of great Youtube clips of the Temple in Jerusalem:

The season of Lent may not be familiar to all of us. It was certainly not a tradition I grew up with. But in the past couple of years I have grown to appreciate the journey that leads to Jerusalem. It gives me time to process and reflect. Take the opportunity to explore Lent with the children in your church and community. It might be one simple practice that you pick up.  Our blog has a variety of resources for the Lent and Easter season: - Intergenerational services  - An Easter story to share as a family or children's programme  - Links to resources, articles and images  You can find them all here! We will also be posting about great resources and ideas via our Facebook page so make sure you follow us.   We also recommend you check out these websites for a whole library of great resources and links. Look no further: Strandz  Kidsfriendly 

Reminders of God’s Faithfulness In Joshua we read that God saved the Hebrew people by leading them through the Jordan River. They found themselves safely on the other side. The LORD then told their leader Joshua to instruct the leaders of the twelve tribes to pick up a stone each and carry it back to camp. Joshua used these twelve stones to create a memorial. We read,  “In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant  of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.  These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”  Joshua 4:6-7 These stones were a physical reminder of a spiritual moment. Every time their children saw them it acted like a prompt. The pile of stones created an opportunity for their family to talk together about the past and God’s faithfulness.  What are your ‘stones’? What is in your ho

I recently ran the evening devotions for an intergenerational camp, and it was wonderful to see people of all ages worshipping, exploring the Bible and praying together. So, I thought I would share these with you to pick up and use, or adapt to suit your own situation.  This resource is two 40 min sessions, suitable for all ages. It is based on Jesus' story of the wise and foolish builders, found int Matthew 7. This would work well for a weekend church camp or it could be adapted for a Sunday morning service.  Sand and Stone: Matthew 7:24-29 is one of Jesus’ most well-known stories. Two builders, two foundations, two houses. And the point of the story? The one who hears Jesus’ words and puts them into action is called wise. This resource includes reflections on the story of the wise and foolish builders, small group activities, key questions and stations to explore. It's all here for you to pick up and use! All you need: Service outline (two sessions) - The who