Mothers' Day

On Mothers' Day our Awesome Kids made cards and bead necklaces and bracelets, which they presented to their mums in church. 

In this week’s story from the bible, Jesus calls his followers his friends. There are no grades of friendship, no rules, everyone is in. It’s  that simple. That is the message; the community of faith is a shelter and a home for everyone, no questions asked.

Jesus wants us to live in his love and share God’s love and friendship with other people.

In the bible stories there is lots of ‘inviting’. What are the ways people invite others? Perhaps a fancy invitation to a wedding, or a birthday party might appear in your letterbox.

What about other ways? A phone call to come and play with me? A verbal invitation to come and sit with me? Would you like to dance with me?

What is similar about all invitations is that they reach out to a person to be sure they are included.

To be a good inviter you need to pay attention to people who need to be included and to people you want to include.

Being a good inviter is one way we love others as Jesus asked us to.

Jesus’s friends remembered Jesus talking about what it meant to be a true friend. Jesus knew that when people are true friends who love and care for each other they are connected in a special way. When we share God’s love we help to create a huge web of friendship that includes Jesus, his friends and followers, and each of us.

We also heard one of my favourite stories from the wonderful Joy Cowley, The Fierce Little Woman and the Wicked Pirate. This is a modern-day parable about friendship, accepting people and caring for one another.

It is a fun, feel-good story and the illustrations in this book are just beautiful.  

So, the next time you are looking for someone to sit next to or play with at school, just remember to be a good 'inviter' and you can find surprising friends in unexpected places. Be like Jesus and pay attention to people who need to be included.