Puzzle Pages are downloadable A4 double-sided sheets in PDF format. They have colouring, puzzles and activities for children, all linked to the Bible passage. Use them for: Sunday schools and after-school clubs sermon activities for children staying in church school assemblies / CUs missions / outreach / messy church Click here for printable … More Luke 2:41-52 – Puzzle Pages
Epiphany 3 – What Jesus had was not just the temporary ‘up’ of having a good day – it was a much bigger, deeper kind of ‘up’. It was the kind of ‘up’ that stays up even when the scaffolding underneath is taken away.
Ignatius of Loyola called this state ‘consolation’. It is the state of knowing that you are walking in step with God and it is not dependent on the circumstances. … More Luke 4:14-21
What? What was that? A story? Can I listen too?
Narr: Of course you can. It’s a story that Jesus told, about two man who went to pray, one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Rod: A Who-isee and a What-alector?
Narr: Oh sorry. A Pharisee was someone who was very religious and was very careful to do everything right. The tax collector was a cheat who took more money than he was supposed to. … More Two Men Praying – Luke 18:9-14
Epiphany 1 – It’s easy to fake repentance, and even great deeds, as Jesus said in Matt 7. “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’ Then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’” Ouch! Their faith was not real. It looked great from the outside, but had no inside. So how can we tell what’s real beauty and what’s just good make-up? How can we tell real repentance from following the crowd? How can we tell wheat from chaff? … More Baptism of Christ – Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Every parent has lost a kid in the supermarket (though not usually for three days). It’s a horrible feeling when it happens but, somehow, it’s quite comforting to know that it happened to Jesus too.
I love Mary’s reaction – it’s exactly what any parent would say today – people don’t change. But Jesus’ reply is the interesting one. “In my Father’s house”. … More Luke 2:41-52
Advent 4 – God knew, from before the start of time, that we would mess up. And God planned, from before the start of time, that Jesus would be the solution. He always had in mind to have divine Jesus be born as a human baby, live as a human child, suffer and die and rise again. This was not God panicking over what to do about sin. This always was Plan A. … More Micah 5:2-5a
It’s good to ask the tricky questions. We don’t have to have our brains surgically removed to be Christians. … More Jeremiah 33:14-16
So we are living in the time between times, the time of preparation. We are not standing around doing nothing on the off-chance that Jesus is coming back next week, but neither are we so bound up with our lives here and now that we forget about our lives there and then. … More Luke 21:25-36
Narr:
Nope, Jesus is busy. You’ll have to go away.
If your name’s not down, you’re not coming in!
Children:
Oh, right. Sorry. (go away sad)
Narr:
So the children went away sad. (Ahhh)
They were sadder than that. (Ahhhhhhh) … More Jesus and the Little Children
In 1806, a chicken started laying eggs with “Christ is coming” etched into the shell. Now, the burning bush was weird, granted, and you’ve got Balaam’s donkey and all, but why God would want to make a major announcement via a hen’s bum beats me. … More Mark 13:1-8
The Reflectionary 