Skip to main content

Strengthened Heart: Esther Prayer and Craft Activity


This can be quite a reflective activity, so it might be good to create a peaceful atmosphere for the children when they do this.  Equally it's good to make room to chat to them about what they are thinking as they do it so see how it goes!

You will need: Paper plates, scissors, wool, a pen, mats e.g. made of cork, plastic tapestry needles

Fold the paper plate in half and draw half a heart at the middle fold.  Cut the shape out and open the plate up so that you can see the whole heart

 Lay the plate on a mat that will be forgiving to holes (e.g. cork!) and poke a pen through the paper around the cut out heart.  Leave a wide margin or the paper might tear when you come to sewing.

Talk to the children about what the heart symbolises to them: love, strength, caring etc?

Esther showed great love for her people and for Mordecai but she also showed that she had a great deal of courage in her heart.  Ask the children to think about times when they have needed to show love to others or needed to be brave so they could help others.  Share times when God has helped you to do either or both.

Sometimes we might feel that we need God to help us to be stronger in such situations.  At the moment, the heart shape is an empty space.  Ask children to choose colours of wool that reflect people they would like God to help them love, or situations where they would like God to help them to show bravery to help others.  Sew though the holes in any order to make a 'strengthened heart'.


When children finish, gather the hearts together and thank God that he is with us when we need to draw on his strength and love, especially when we are in situations where we need to show love and strength for others.   Suggest that the children hang the plates in their windows or keep them by the bed during the following week as a reminder of their thoughts and prayers.

An adapted version of this craft might also for well with exploration of Ezekiel 36:26

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Button Prayers

If you are looking for an active, kinaesthetic, way of praying in a small group or even with the whole congregation, then this might be for you! You will need: A collection of buttons of different shapes, sizes and colours- at least one button for each person praying. Give everyone a button. Feel the hardness of the button and think about people who are going through hard times.  Ask God to help them. Buttons are used to fasten clothes together.  Ask God to bring together people who have fallen out and moved apart from each other.  Pray that He will bring peace. Look at your button and see how many holes it has.  Think of that number of things you would like to say thank you to God for and say Thank you prayers. Look at the colour of the button and say thank you to God for something that is that colour  Find someone who has the same colour button as you.  You might want to make a small group of people with the...
1 comment
Read more

Trusting God: The Amazing Water Glass Trick!

I used this idea in an assembly yesterday, focussing on people we trust and what it means to trust God.   This would work really well if you are exploring miracle stories or stories about trust.  Suitable verses to use with it might be:  Joshua 1:9: Remember, I commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid, because the  Lord  your God will be with you wherever you go.” Psalm 56: 3  When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. John 14: 1  Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me  I have to admit that this trick is not an original idea.  I found the trick in this book:  Simple Science Object Talks by Heno Head Jnr  and would definitely recommend getting cold of a copy if you can! You will need: A glass of water (about half- 2/3 filled) and an index card. This is what you do: place the index card over the top of the glass, making sure that the whole of the rim is covered by it, and press...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Power of Prayer: Skittles Experiment!

This experiment with skittles is colourful, easy and makes a great statement about what we are asking God to do when we pray.  In essence, prayers are a way of joining with God and asking him to have an effect on the world and situations around us. We pray because we believe that our prayers, through God's power, will make a difference to the world.  In this activity, colour is released from the sweets into the surrounding water, creating a colourful picture, symbolic of how the prayers we raise to God are a way of us joining with Him to release the kingdom here on earth and have an impact. You will need: A bag of skittles, a plate, hot water (not hot enough to scald, but hot enough to make the colour run!) Arrange the skittles in the plate Pour some hot water onto the plate to cover its surface.  Pour it carefully so that the skittles stay in place.  Wait and the skittles will gradually release their colour Try an alternative... Cover the s...
Post a Comment
Read more