Ah, winter drawers on, as we say in (some parts of ) the Northern Hemisphere. The equinox is past and there’s fine old storm brewing in the Atlantic. Brrr!
Time to haul out the jumpers, methinks.
This week we have fun game with a thoughtful theme based on Philippians 2 – perfect for an Intergen Slot in a main service, a youth group activity, Messy Church, Collective Worship etc. Plus of course, your liturgy resources.
Remember to check out the menus for Harvest and Remembrance resources, or see last week’s post for a mahoosive round up.
Next week will be a Christmas resources round up, featuring a lovely Advent devotional called The Jesse Tree Anthology (including yours truly on Christmas Eve!)
But before that, here’s a sneak-peek of my latest, hot-off-the-press Nativity play, Not a Very Silent Night. It is simple to do, expandable for a range of performers, fun and meaningful. You can use it for a traditional rehearsed Nativity for schools etc, part of a Carol Service, or as a Pop-Up event with No Rehearsals Needed!
Not a Very Silent Night is a mere snip at £4.99, the same at the other single-volume books of the Nativity-To-Go series. The compilation volume, I saw Three Skits, contains books 1, 2 and 3.
Buy them all now!
Just a note. The Reflectionary is free because I believe this stuff is important. But I still need to pay my bills. So if you’d like to support this ministry, a painless way to do that is to buy my books AND LEAVE REVIEWS!!! Please, that last part is really important. It’s great when folks send me emails saying how much they’ve enjoyed my book, but it’s better to put that on Amazon and tell everyone else, too. ty xx
The Same Mind
Philippians 2:5-11, Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.
You will need:
- 2 mini-whiteboards + dry-wipe pens / clipboards and paper + marker pens
- small prizes
Those of you of a certain age may remember a game show called Mr and Mrs, where contestants earned points for matching their answers. I need a couple of volunteers to play a similar game today. You don’t have to be a Mr and Mrs. You could be brothers or friends, any two people who know each other well. [Give each volunteer board + pen]
You can play along in the congregation as well. Team up with someone nearby and see if you can match your answers. See if you can be of the same mind.
Ten questions, here we go.
- Circle or Square?
- Rugby or football?
- Tea or coffee?
- Summer or winter?
- Heels or flats?
- Star Trek or Star Wars?
- Future or past?
- Here or there?
- Vanilla or tutti-frutti?
- Pizza or chips?
[Volunteers write their answers separately, then reveal them to host. If both have the same, score 1 point]
[Gather scores and award prizes]
That was a bit of fun, and we were asking very easy questions. But would your answers match if we making bigger decisions than ‘pizza or chips’? In today‘s reading we will hear that we need to have the same mind as Christ Jesus, so a final question for us to think about. If you were playing that game with Jesus, on the decisions you make day by day, would your answers match?
Liturgy Resources for Proper 21
Philippians 2:1-13
Confession and Absolution
Christ himself was like God in everything,
but he did not consider being equal with God
something to be used for his own benefit.
Lord God, we have grasped and struggled for status,
forgetting our place in your family. Forgive us, we pray.
Forgive us and help us.
He gave up his place with God and made himself nothing.
He was born as a human
and became like a servant.
Lord God, we have looked down on those of lower rank,
failing to show your grace. Forgive us, we pray.
Forgive us and help us.
While living as a man, he humbled himself
and was fully obedient to God,
even to death—death on a cross.
Lord God, we have valued our own plans above yours,
thinking we know better. Forgive us, we pray.
Forgive us and help us.
So God raised him to the highest place
and made his name greater than every other name
so that every knee will bow and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
As God raised Jesus and placed him in glory,
so may God raise us who are his forgiven children,
and seat us in his presence that we may live in his glorious light.
Amen and Amen and Amen!
Blessing and Dismissal
May God, who is working in you,
help you to know what pleases him,
and to want what pleases him,
and to do his what pleases him,
that we may live and work to his praise and glory.
Amen and Amen and Amen!
The Reflectionary 