St Pauls Wibsey WWJD This week 23 29
St Paul’s Wibsey WWJD This week: 23 -29 August ‘Belong, Believe, Become’
WELCOME TO YOUR WEEKLY ‘WWJD’ (What Would Jesus Do): activities for young people around the Bible. This Power. Point presentation will give you all what you need to think, read, sing and pray, alone or with others. The Presentation is divided in 5 parts: ‘The Bible’ (which gives you the text of the week and activities to read it more deeply); ‘Connect’, to actualise the text; ‘Explore’ to approach the text differently; ‘Pray’; ‘Live your faith’ with a challenge proposed for the week. Feel free to do all the parts, or only some: it’s your time. To listen to the songs, just click on the weblink, and watch on full screen.
WARM-UP
What are your favourite stories? What makes these stories so memorable?
Father God, build us together as your Church, one family. Amen.
‘SWITCH’ by ‘Symphony’
Part 1 THE BIBLE
THE TEXT
Read the text, then try to retell it with all the details that you remember. Read it a second time, and note the details you didn’t notice the first time. Matthew 16. 13 -20 (The Message)
3 When Jesus arrived in the villages of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “What are people saying about who the Son of Man is? ” 14 They replied, “Some think he is John the Baptizer, some say Elijah, some Jeremiah or one of the other prophets. ” 15 He pressed them, “And how about you? Who do you say I am? ” 16 Simon Peter said, “You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the living God. ” 17 -18 Jesus came back, “God bless you, Simon, son of Jonah! You didn’t get that answer out of books or from teachers. My Father in heaven, God himself, let you in on this secret of who I really am. And now I’m going to tell you who you are, really are. You are Peter, a rock. This is the rock on which I will put together my church, a church so expansive with energy that not even the gates of hell will be able to keep it out. 19 “And that’s not all. You will have complete and free access to God’s kingdom, keys to open any and every door: no more barriers between heaven and earth, earth and heaven. A yes on earth is yes in heaven. A no on earth is no in heaven. ”
20 He swore the disciples to secrecy. He made them promise they would tell no one that he was the Messiah.
Look at the character of Peter, then select emojis to show his emotions during the story. Do the same with Jesus and a disciple. What are the similarities and differences?
QUESTIONS Go deeper into the text.
• What do you think convinces Peter that Jesus is the Messiah? • Caesarea Philippi was a reminder of the power of the Roman emperor and the whole empire. How is Jesus’ power different? • What makes Jesus more trustworthy than an earthly leader?
STUDY
• The exchange between Jesus and the disciples takes place in a newly named district where Caesar is proclaimed to be God. For Jews, this is a repugnant, blasphemous place to go to. But Jesus comes here to ask pointedly political questions about his identity. • In this charged atmosphere, Jesus asks his disciples who they think he is. Peter shoots back, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. ’ In the shadow of the walls of the seat of government, where there was a king, this was dangerous talk; if Peter is saying that Jesus is Lord, then he is saying that Caesar is not. But Jesus confirms that Peter has spoken God’s view on the matter. • Throughout history, empires have told the same story: they all celebrate power and self-interest, and crush anyone who opposes them. But there is an alternative story to be told: one that champions forgiveness, compassion and self-sacrifice. This is the agenda loosed by Jesus and his followers. Jesus offers something different from the narrative of power and self-interest: a better story than the one told by Caesar and other earthly empires.
• With the confession that Jesus is the Messiah, we break free from a system that oppresses us. It is a statement of liberation. But not only will God’s people be set free, they will also hold the keys to God’s kingdom. How can we proclaim afresh that message of liberation to those oppressed in our society today?
Part 2 CONNECT
1. FAKE NEWS? Which news are fake and true in the list below? 1. Will Smith diagnosed with a lifethreatening disease 2. Balloon-like object in Japanese sky sets Twitter afire with talk of UFOs 3. Russian chefs protest naked because of their income being stripped from them due to the pandemic 4. Study shows that breathing hot air from a hair dryer can help curing covid-19
5. Officials remove Wakanda, the fictional nation, from the U. S. trade list 6. A black teen has requested to be tried as a white man in a court of Mississippi 7. A 5 -year-old found in the driver’s seats on U. S. highway 8. An exhausted funeral home employee has been cremated by mistake 9. Why the WHO refuses to reveal that the name COVID stands for Chinese Originated Viral Infectious Disease
10. Animal baby boom observed at a Palestinian zoo because of the absence of visitors 11. Belgians urged to eat more fries to offset a slump in demand during the lockdown 12. Elon Musk insults Microsoft and Apple founders, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, on live TV
The true news are: 2 (June 2020) 3 (June 2020) 5 (December 2019) 7 (May 2020) 10 (June 2020) 11 (April 2020) (You calick on the link to read the story on Reuter. com)
2. WHO DO YOU TRUST? Look at the photos of famous people in the next slide, and arrange them in 3 columns: I trust them, I don’t know. Then in the first column (I trust them), order the people on how much you trust them. Why do you or don’t trust each of these people?
Part 3 EXPLORE
1. THREE SECONDS Watch the clip from the Simon Guillebaud film 3 Seconds. Play up to 1 minute 43 seconds (or the whole clip, if you have time). How it can/should affect the way we live, if we trust Jesus?
2. BOTTOM OF THE SCALE Revisit the pictures from Who do you trust? Pick out one or two of your least trusted people. What ‘stories’ these people are they telling? What messages do these people give their followers? How is Jesus’ story different?
3. PICTURE POINTERS • How might this image be representative of things we can put our trust in? • What overshadows some of the stories you live by? • What overshadows some of what you can put your trust in?
Part 4 PRAY
‘DESERT SONG’ by Hillsong
PRAISE Lord Jesus, We thank you and praise you that You came to earth and walked among us, You have shown us the truth, You are living with us, showing us the way to live You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Amen.
‘SORRY’ Lord Jesus, we are sorry that we do not always recognise who you are. Help us to see you as our Messiah, the Son of the living God. Amen.
(Open your heart to God’s forgiveness)
PRAYER FOR YOURSELF (Hold in your hands the keys you may have) Mighty God, I think about the keys I hold. Each one shows a responsibility of some kind. Thank you for all that you entrust me with. Thank you most of all for Jesus, who gives me the keys of the kingdom. Amen.
PRAYER FOR OTHERS To the God we can trust, we pray for those who do not have you in their story: for those who have stories of pain; for those who have stories of loss; for those who have stories of fear; for those who have stories of need. Help them find a better story in you. Amen.
(Have your own prayers for others)
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name; Your kingdom come; Your will be done; on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours, now and for ever. Amen.
Part 5 LIVE YOUR FAITH
Take a stone and leave it somewhere so that you will see it often, to remind you to trust Jesus and live by his story.
‘YOUR NAME IS POWER’ by Rend Collective
SENDING OUT Through our words and actions, make us Ready to take every opportunity under your protection and guidance. Send us out to share your story, the good news for all people.
SEE YOU NEXT WEEK! Most material is © ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www. rootsontheweb. com) 2002 -2020. Reproduced with permission.
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