Wednesday 30 October 2013

Cross Reflective Colouring Sheet

Here is another addition to the collection of reflective colouring sheets I'm building up- this time, helping children to focus on the cross.  To print off a copy, click here.

Have fun!

Saturday 26 October 2013

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector All Age Talk

Tomorrow I'm going to be talking about the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.  When I've taught this before, I've focussed on how we come to God in prayer, but this time I'm looking at the idea of grace.  Here's an easy but very visual way to tell and teach the story!

You will need: A beautifully wrapped box, a smaller, torn and battered box, a gold bag filled with enough sweets to overflow out of the smaller box.

The beautifully wrapped box is like the Pharisee.  He has a lot of things to tell God and others about how good he is.  All his good works are on show for everyone to see.  He wants everyone to notice him for his goodness.

The small, battered and torn box is like the tax collector.  People really don't like him.  They think, like this box, that he is like rubbish.  The tears symbolise the things he has done that probably aren't that good.

Put the small box at a distance from the wrapped box (make sure that the wrapped box has centre stage!)

When the Pharisee comes to the temple he tells God all the good things he is doing.  We could say that he talks AT God.

The tax collector stands far off because he knows he isn't a good person but he ASKS God for his mercy (his love and forgiveness).

Which one of these people goes home right with God?

The answer is the tax collector, which seems quite unfair!  He understands something, though, that the Pharisee doesn't seem to...

None of us, no matter how hard we try, will never be perfect.  We'll always end up doing something wrong that keeps us apart from God.  If we come to Him, though, and ask God for his forgiveness, we can be made right with Him.  Only God can do this for us!  God has so much love and forgiveness for us (show gold bag), but we have to be open enough to ask for it


The Pharisee thinks his Good deeds will get him to heaven, but good deeds are not enough. Only God can make us right with Him.  It's like a gift that only He can give.  Try to pour sweets from the bag into the box.  Because the lid is on the box, nothing will get inside!  The Pharisee is not open to God.  He trusts in himself alone to get into heaven and this will never work.
 
 
The tax collector, on the other hand comes to God and opens himself up, asking for God's mercy.  Because he knows he needs God to make himself right, the tax collector is open to receiving God's gift of forgiveness (pour the sweets into the open box and let them flow out).

Invite the children to take a sweet from the open box as a reminder of the story.

Thursday 17 October 2013

Light Party Ideas!

For anyone planning a Light party/ Bright party as a Halloween alternative, here is my guest  blog on childrenswork.co.uk including a game, craft, food craft, mini talk and take home activity.  Have fun!


Saturday 12 October 2013

The woman and the pots of oil activities (2 Kings 4: 1-7)

This is a fun story to tell with lots of scope for acting out and messy play!  There is also quite a serious message to us about God's provision and asking Him for help when we need it.  Here are some ideas for teaching and responding to this story...

There are a lot of points for discussion: worries, people who help us, God helping us, God giving generous gifts to us.  


When the children have heard the story, let them respond through words and pictures.  What part of the story sticks with them most?  What have they taken from it?  Here is a link to a word cloud  (see above!) using the words of the Bible story with a space for children to write or draw their response in the centre.
Prayer activity:  Get the children to make thumb pots out of air drying clay.  While making the pots, help them to think about things that God has done for them or given them, or how he has helped them when they were worried and didn't know what to do.  They could then put a heart in the pot to remember God's love for them and a button to represent themselves or someone who is worried that they would like God to help.

Other ideas:

  • Rub drops of oil into hands and think about God's generosity and people who help us
  • Play with a variety of pots and jars (possibly filling them with water?? Oil might be a bit too messy!)
  • Play with real coins to remember the real life practical help that God gave the woman and her family.



Friday 4 October 2013

God as our anchor craft and prayer activity

Here is a prayer activity that older children could do independently to help them think about trusting in God for their strength.  It could be used especially if you were exploring stories that involve the sea or storms (e.g the calming of the storm, Paul's shipwreck in Acts 27)!

You will need: long and shorter strips of paper, semi circles of paper, hole punch, glue, string, a washing line

God as our anchor

Anchors keep ships steady in stormy seas.  They are strong and stop them from floating away from the safe harbour.

Think about times when you feel afraid.  Who do you rely on to keep you strong, safe and where you need to be?

Take a longer and a shorter piece of paper and glue them together to make a cross shape.  The cross reminds us that we can ask Jesus to help us to be strong and to be with us when times are hard and scary.
Stick a semi circle on the bottom of the cross and write your name inside it.  Hang the anchor on the line as a sign that you would like Jesus to be like an anchor in your life.

If you know someone who is having a difficult time at the moment, make an anchor for them and ask God to keep them safe.