Welcome to ROOTS at home for families
Copyright
You are welcome to copy this material for use in your own resources e.g. printed sheets or web pages including audio/video recordings. If you do so, please include this acknowledgement to ROOTS:
© ROOTS for Churches Ltd (www.rootsontheweb.com) 2002-2020.
Reproduced with permission.
Read our article ROOTS at home - support for nurturing faith at home (www.rootsontheweb.com/faithathome)
Introduction
Welcoming people has looked very differently recently; however it’s still a really important principle and today’s passage shows us just how simple that needs to be. Consider how, when it is possible to do so, you can make your home, church, community a welcoming place for all. Use what you make in your worship together to do this now as far as you possibly can.
See Bible notes for more information on the passages for today.
Gather
Use this song as you begin your time of worship together. Nominate a leader or all join in together.
Sing to the tune of ‘Bobby Shaftoe’:
I am welcome, so are you (x3)
welcomed all by Jesus.
Read
Share the Bible story using the idea below to help you explore it together.
Bible story
Open the Bible at Matthew 10.40-42: Jesus wants us to welcome everyone as we would welcome him.
Welcome and wave
Tell the story, asking the children to listen out for the word ‘welcome’. When they hear this word, they should stand up, wave their arms in the air and cheer.
This method of telling the story would also work well for a group meeting online.
Jesus said to his disciples, "Wherever you go, if people welcome you, then they are welcoming me, too. And if they welcome me, then they are also welcoming God."
He continued, "If someone welcomes a prophet and welcomes them because they are a prophet, then they will receive the same reward as a prophet. If someone welcomes a good person and welcomes them because they are good, then they will receive the same reward as a good person.
And if someone helps one of these little ones – if they give them only a cup of cold water because they are one of my followers – then they will certainly be rewarded."
Talk
Spend time reflecting on the Bible passage, using the questions below as appropriate.
Talk together with children
- What does it mean to welcome someone?
- How do you welcome someone who comes to your home?
- What might you be able to do to offer a welcome to someone
at home, school or church?
Talk together with young people
- How does it feel to be more valuable than sparrows?
- Do the challenges in this passage outweigh the promises Jesus makes?
- What does the passage tell us about being disciples of Jesus?
Activities, songs and prayers
Choose from the activities below and do any or all of them in any order you wish. Some are designed for younger children and some for young people. However we hope using a mix will work for any ages in your household.
Play
Welcoming others
Welcome people with words they can understand.
You will need: paper, pencils/pens, access to a translation website or dictionary,
sticky tac.
- Ask the group which languages they know. Ask them to write down different words for ‘Hello’, e.g. Bonjour, Hola, Ciao, one word on each sheet of paper.
- Suggest that the group members look up some other languages and write down other translations for ‘Hello’.
- Stick the pieces of paper displaying the words around your space and encourage everyone to practise greeting each other in the different languages.
- Discuss how we could welcome someone who speaks another language if we can’t speak that language e.g. wave, smile.
Create
Welcome banner
Write ‘welcome’ in block letters across the middle of a large sheet of paper. Pour paint onto large, flat plates. Ask everyone to use the paint to make handprints around the letters. Provide bowls of water for cleaning up. Display the banner for all to see.
You might then like to learn and sing Everybody’s welcome, Vineyard music on Great big God
Count your blessings book
Keep a record of the reward of blessings
You will need: A4 paper, a hole punch, wool/ribbon, felt tips.
- God’s reward often comes in the form of a blessing.
- Give each person three sheets of paper to hold together and fold in half to make a booklet. Punch two holes along the spine, thread with wool/ribbon and tie in a bow.
- Write ‘Count your blessings’ across the front of the booklet and decorate as desired.
- Encourage everyone to take their booklets home and use them to keep a note of all the good things that happen to them. Remind them that each one is a blessing and encourage them to thank God for them.
Think/reflect
Spend some quiet time reflecting on the passage, as well as what you have been doing in the activities you chose.
Be our guest
Watch the clip together from Beauty and the Beast [U], then reflect on the following questions:
- Which characters do we relate to in this clip?
- Do we act similarly to this when welcoming people in our homes, churches, school?
- Can you think of a time when you felt welcomed?
Names
Use a baby names book or search online to find out the meaning of each of the names of those in your group. Reflect on and discuss welcoming and being welcomed ‘in the name of’ Jesus.
- Do you like the meaning of your name?
- How important do you think our names are for identity?
- If you knew a stranger was coming to your home, would it make a difference if you knew their name?
Pray
Finish your time of worship by praying together in any way you choose (there are more prayers on our Prayers page).
Rejoice in God's names
Invite the children to shout out names
for God, e.g. Father, Creator, Holy One.
Rejoice that God knows your name too…
Invite them to then shout out their own name.
Amen.
A prayer to end the session
Let’s share the peace of God
with one another,
with a smile, a handshake or a hug.
Amen.
You may wish to use the additional resources below to worship together and/or the activity sheets for children.
Sing and listen
Preview songs on YouTube, buy online and download.
The welcome song on Absolute modern worship for kids volume 3
Jesus’ hands were kind hands, doing good to all
Ask seek knock, Hillsong Kids on Can you believe it?
Heaven is our home, Hillsong Kids on Can you believe it?
Come, now is the time to worship
Better is one day, Kutless on Christian music’s best – worship
All are welcome, Marty Haugen on All are welcome
Love is here, Tenth avenue north on Over and underneath
See also Same Boat @ HOME
Live your faith
Try and smile at everyone you meet this week.
Activity Sheets
(Links to the PDFs for these can also be found at the end of the page.)
Notes on the Bible story for parents and carers
- Here the disciples have been sent out ‘in the name of Jesus’, proclaiming the same good news and performing the same good works as him. They share in his poverty and are called to go out into new places, taking no extras with them; no clothes, shoes or food – they have to rely solely on the hospitality of others.
- This call to be welcoming and to be welcomed is incredibly significant, as in those days, identity of a person was very much tied into family and community. In showing hospitality to one person, you were in fact welcoming the whole family or whole community they were a part of. So, welcoming someone who had come ‘in the name of Jesus’ was actually extending welcome and hospitality to Jesus himself.
- The Gospel and the reading from Jeremiah are both concerned with the ways in which the people of God, bringing the message of God, are received by others. As such, they demonstrate that the reception is not always positive. Jesus warns that not everyone will welcome them or be very accepting of what they have to share, and that they might well experience hostility, just like Jesus did. However, we are also warned in the readings that at the end of the age, there will be profound consequences. It can be difficult sometimes to be welcoming or to accept hospitality from others, especially when we’ve never met them before. How welcoming are we to those we come across?