Call to Worship to say aloud
Parenting God,
as Jesus came from you
and returned to you,
welcome us,
receive our waywardness and our disobedience,
receive our enthusiasm and our worship.
HYMN – Praise my Soul the King of Heaven
All-Age Prayer
God,
help us to pray
not just with words but with our lives.
Help us to understand,
not just to hear or to perceive,
but to understand within our hearts
the depth of your love,
the grace of your Son,
the call of our lives
and the assurance of your goodness.
Amen.
Reading: John 17:1-11 to read in your own bible at home
Dramatised reading:
HYMN – Do Not be Afraid
Reflection:
Sunday School Activities:
Casting Our Cares Game
You will need: rocks or pebbles and a body of water, or paper and a bin.
If the weather is good and you happen to be situated near to a body of water then take a walk alongside the water or use a basin of water inside. You can also use bits of paper and a waste bin.
Have a chat about Jesus praying for his friends for safety and strength in difficult times. Read 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your cares upon God, because God cares for you!” Ask each person to find a few rocks or pebbles (or scrunch up some paper). Ask them to think of something they are worried or anxious about for each stone that they would like to give over to God. After a wee bit of time invite them to cast their rocks into the water. Cast the scrunched up paper in the bin, as the alternative, which does also give the possibility of the children writing their ideas on the paper first before casting them away.
The life of faith is not easy. Yet we do not need to carry the weight of burdens and anxiety by ourselves. We can share them with God and with each other.
Prayer Pot Craft
You will need: small plant pots or yoghurt pots, lots of shredded brown or green paper, craft lollipop sticks, stick-on jewels, shiny stickers, felt tip pens.
Give each child a plant pot and ask them to decorate it using the stickers and jewels. Give them some of the shredded paper and ask them to fill their pot three-quarters full. Now give them some lollipop sticks and ask them to stick a jewel at one end only.
Talk with the children about the story and Jesus praying for his disciples. Talk about simple prayers which can be ‘thank you’ prayers, ‘sorry’ prayers or prayers when we ‘pray for others’.
Discuss with the children what they might pray if they were praying a ‘thank you’ prayer or a ‘sorry’ prayer and who they might think about if they were praying for someone else.
Now give the children some lollipop sticks and get them to write a short prayer phrase on each such as “Thank you for my friends”, “I am sorry for not sharing with my sister/ brother”, “Please take care of my Gran”. When they have written their prayers, they can then ‘plant’ them with the jewel side upwards into their plant pot and each day take one out and pray their prayers, and of course they could add more too! Note: they could make a flower head to stick to a lollipop stick and add this to their plant pot also.
HYMN – Take O Take me as I am
Take O Take me as I am, summon out what I shall be.
Set your seal upon my heart and live in me.
Prayer for Others and Ourselves
God of Christmas Calling,
Easter Joy
and Pentecost Fire,
our days are filled with strange ways of being right now,
our world is filled with hurt.
our too-quick breath is filled with anxiety.
We strive after solutions and solace
that ease the pain,
but do not lighten the load.
Help us cast our cares upon your shoulders,
help us to rest our anxiety in your love.
Attune us to the needs of others
that we might be for them,
the comfort promised by you.
Help us to be present to our inward unrest
that we may show up for others
with gentle words
and quiet comfort.
Be with those filled with angst and anger
that so often threatens to devour them.
Help us cast our cares upon you
that we might know
and be lead to show
your deep care for us
and all of creation.
Amen.
HYMN – Lord of all Hopefulness
Sending
Jesus showed us the way to go,
in us he has planted a seed of faith,
and now we go out into the world,
nurtured by the Holy Spirit,
to fulfil that faith,
to share God’s love
and to live God’s grace. Amen
For those joining in with the global prayer initiative Thy Kingdom Come: 21-31 May 2020 (Ascension to Pentecost Sunday) today is day 4.
If you would like to have a prayer journal for the 11 day journey you can find one on the Thy Kingdom Come website:
https://www.thykingdomcome.global/
NEXT SUNDAY – PENTECOST SUNDAY
Sunday 31 May, 10-10.30am – Pentecost – streamed on the Church of Scotland website and Facebook page
Next Sunday the new Moderator will lead a service to mark the birthday of the Christian Church, with contributions from many different places. Like the disciples on that first Pentecost, here is the invitation to step confidently into whatever the future holds. All churches have been invited to make this the service for their congregation on that Sunday, so that as much of the Church of Scotland as possible will be gathered in fellowship and praise. Newbattle Parish will join this national service at 10am and I will then host a zoom coffee time after the service until 12 noon. To drop in for a cuppa and a chat with friends from the congregation and those you’ve not yet met please email either myself of Mabel (Session Clerk) for the zoom invitation.