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Warm up            5 mins W

Have a true or false quiz. Find/adapt one online, or make up your own.

Group lectio divina            10 mins ES

Distribute copies of John 18.33-37 (download from www.biblegateway.com) and lead a lectio divina (sacred reading). Read the passage aloud, then invite someone else to read it. Allow five minutes’ silence, reflecting on, ‘What is God saying to me today, through this portion of Scripture?’ Share thoughts if desired, but don’t discuss them; just thank people for their contribution. Invite someone else to read the passage. Sit silently, thinking, ‘What is my prayer, or response to God, as a result of what he’s said to me?’ Share prayers if desired and thank people. Rest in God’s presence and close with a simple prayer.

Questions to discuss

  • What is Pilate’s concept of a king?
  • Where is Jesus’ kingdom from?
  • What truth does Jesus testify to?

Royal descriptors            10 mins W

On a large sheet of paper, write down 10 words that the young people associate with the word ‘king’. Reflect together on whether Jesus fits all, or any, of these descriptions. If not, what words would they use to describe him? Add these to the sheet in a different colour.

Real me vs Instagram me            5 mins W

Talk with the group about Instagram. Is it important to them, and if so, why? Does anyone use the filters? How do they choose them? What do the images say about them? How truthful are they?

Preview songs on YouTube, buy online and download.

Nimrod Lux Aeterna, Edward Elgar, with Voces8 on Lux
King Of My Heart, John Mark McMillan & Sarah McMillan on You Are The Avalanche
Trust In You, Lauren Daigle on How Can It Be

The question before last            15 mins WE

Show the group the Two Ronnies’ hilarious ‘Mastermind’ sketch in which the contestant answers the question before last. Let the young people devise their own questions and have a similar quiz themselves. It doesn’t have to be scripted to be funny.

Kingdom collage            15 mins ES

Provide newspapers and magazines, scissors, glue and a large sheet of paper. Invite the group to create a collage of God’s kingdom, both earthly and heavenly, showing how the two interact. There is no wrong or right way to depict this, but simply their own way.

  • What qualities are desirable in a monarch today?
  • What is the nature of Jesus’ kingship?
  • How might you help God’s kingdom come?

Crown of confession            5 mins S

Use a toy crown, or make one from card, and attach acrylic jewels, glass nuggets or shiny buttons with sticky tac. Place the jewelled crown on a table in the middle of the group and say a simple prayer of confession. Invite people to detach a ‘jewel’ from the crown, as a symbol that they are forgiven and renewed.

Prayer of Confession
O Christ the King,
for unloving attitudes,
for words that hurt,
for actions that cause pain to others,
we seek your forgiveness;
we seek renewal;
we seek to be made whole in you.
Amen.

The coming kingdom            5 mins S

Pray together that God’s kingdom might come.
The response is: Your kingdom come.

Jesus, Lord and King,
we pray for those who are oppressed;
Your kingdom come.

for those subject to unjust regimes…

for those who face persecution…

for… (add other prayers, or keep silence).

Jesus, Lord and King,
we pray for the coming of your kingdom
of justice and mercy.
Amen.

W

Spend time considering the news and decide what is true and what is fake

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