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Acts 9.1-6,(7-20); Psalm 30; Revelation 5.11-14; John 21.1-19

Gather

Bringing people to community

Adult & All Age

Prepare the space

Renew your signpost cross from last week

Renew your signpost cross from last week. Replace ‘Jerusalem’ with ‘Towards Damascus’. On or around the signpost cross, display pictures and newspaper headlines that have been cut and disjointed so that they no longer make sense. Pin up a local map upside down, so it seems unfamiliar. Place a set of Peter & Paul: factfile sheets beside the signpost cross and encourage people to take one.

Gathering words

Gathering words on when God interrupts our life

There are times when God interrupts our life, stepping into our busyness to turn us around so that we can suddenly see what is real and important. When Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, everything about his life changed, and not all of it for the better.

A gathering prayer

Meet us as we gather here

Risen Christ,
you met Paul on his way to Damascus
and Peter while he was fishing.
Meet us as we gather here
and be with us in our daily life,
that we may be transformed as they were,
fulfilling our potential and discovering new possibilities
in ministry and service.
Amen.

Children & Young People

Prepare the space

Display some maps/photos of the road to Damascus

Get together some maps and photos of the region where Paul was travelling, from Jerusalem to Damascus. Google these or find them in an illustrated Bible.

Gathering activity

Have a ‘What happened next?’ quiz

Have a ‘What happened next?’ quiz. Play clips of sporting events, or films, pausing them just before a key event. Ask the group to guess what happened next, then play the clip on to find out if they were right. Examples can be found using Google or YouTube. In today’s story, what happened next was extraordinary.

A gathering prayer for children

God, our Creator and our guide

God, our Creator and our guide,
you call us to be your witnesses and you are with us as we go.
As we gather together today,
shine your light into our hearts
so that we may see how we can be your witnesses
in the lives that we live every day.
Amen.

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