W/C 21st November

Our reading this week is Colossians 1:11-20

¹¹ God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come.

Then you will be happy ¹² and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light. ¹³ God made us free from the power of darkness. And he brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son. ¹⁴ The Son paid the price to make us free. In him we have forgiveness of our sins.

The Son of God Is the Same as God

¹⁵ No one can see God,
    but the Son is exactly like God.
    He rules over everything that has been made.
¹⁶ Through his power all things were made:
    things in heaven and on earth, seen and not seen—
all spiritual rulers, lords, powers, and authorities.
    Everything was made through him and for him.

¹⁷ The Son was there before anything was made.
    And all things continue because of him.
¹⁸ He is the head of the body, which is the church.
    He is the beginning of everything else.
And he is the first among all who will be raised from death.
    So in everything he is most important.

¹⁹ God was pleased for all of himself to live in the Son.
²⁰     And through him, God was happy to bring all things back to himself again— things on earth and things in heaven.
God made peace by using the blood sacrifice of his Son on the cross.

Prayer for the week:

Dear God,
We acknowledge that our world and our society are far from perfect.
For this, we are sorry, and we seek your forgiveness for the times we have hurt others, hurt your creation and hurt you. 
Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer. 

Dear God,
We pray for a greater understanding of what it means to be part of your kingdom.
Help us to know what true love, justice, forgiveness and compassion are really like.
Lord in your mercy: Hear our prayer.

In school:

We listened to the song 'Perfect Day' by Lou Reed, which you can listen to below, before thinking about what would make our perfect day. 

We then thought about how we would describe the perfect society.

We considered Thomas More's view of the perfect society as described in his book, Utopia. He believed Utopia was included:

- a nation based on rational thought
- people sharing property
- a healthy distrust of wealth and gold
- no class distinctions
- no poverty and little crime or immoral behaviour
- religious tolerance.

According to the Bible, a key part of Jesus's teaching was about the Kingdom of Heaven where:

- the weak and vulnerable matter
- people burdened by guilt can be forgiven and released from the grip of shame
- intention matters
- all are loved and welcomed.

In one of the Parables, Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven being like a Mustard Seed:

He told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.' 

 Matthew 13: 31-32

The parable suggests that an ideal society can begin with the smallest of intentions or actions. A kind word, a smile of thanks, including someone in our conversation - these small, intentional actions could transform someone’s day. Perhaps it might just help someone to get that bit closer to experiencing their ‘perfect day’

There is a phrase we use today with a similar meaning: 

Mighty oaks from little acorns grown. 

Questions to think about at home:

Which countries have you ever visited or heard about?

How does life differ in different countries?

Do they have different food, weather, laws or values or are some things the same? 

Christians say they are members of God's kingdom, not a physical place, but where God rules in their lives.

What do you think the values of the kingdom of God are? 

How would you expect members of God's kingdom to live?