Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

We had some fun with these at Messy Church a few weeks ago!  I know I'm having a bit of a play dough mat overload at the moment but they are so useful!! Click here to print off the mat, laminate for future uses and get play dough-ing!

This is a simple but fun craft with a real ‘awe’ factor when the children see the curds and whey separating.   The fact that something solid is made from the liquid helps children to reflect on the fact that God’s promises to Abraham are solid and firm and that Abraham can trust God to do as he says.  This activity is linked to the story of Abraham in Genesis 15, where God tells Abraham: “Look at the sky. See the many stars. There are so many you cannot count them. Your family will be like that.” You will need: 250 ml milk, 3 tablespoons vinegar, a sieve, a spoon, a bowl, kitchen roll, cookie cutter stars (or other cutters if you would like children to choose!), food colouring if you want to make coloured stars! Heat up the milk until it is hot but not boiling and pour it into a bowl.   Add the vinegar to the hot milk and start stirring.   Very quickly, the milk will separate into solids (curds) and liquid (whey).   ...

The rainbow is a great symbol for Christians of God's love and promise to us.  It's also the symbol of new beginnings- a key message of Christianity.  This activity helps children to think about their own ability to share God's love with others and to pray for those who don't yet know that love.  Plus it's pretty amazing to watch over time! You will need: 6 clear cups, water, food colouring in red, yellow and blue, 6 sheets of absorbent kitchen roll Fill 3 of the cups half full with coloured water and arrange with the three unfilled cups like so: Fold the kitchen roll in half lengthways and then double it over again. Place the end of each piece of kitchen roll in one of the cups of water and the other end in an empty cup, so that it looks like this: Wait! The water will start to climb the paper and pass into the empty cup where it will mix with the water from the next cup but one, which will also be transferring over... Your empty...