Flame: Creative Children's Ministry

I've been doing a little bit of experimenting with sensory bottles this week as I wanted to make some to help under 5s to explore the story of Jesus Calming the Storm.  Sensory bottles are great!  They're easy and cheap to make and provoke a lot of wonder-even in the adults who play with them!  Children can use them in a very reflective way, watching the shapes and colours and we've used them before in prayer activities for over 5s. Here's what I've made so far... 1. Water, green glitter and blue seed beads 2. Rice and matchsticks (to make rain/ storm noises) 3.Water, blue and green sequins and blue and green mini Pom-poms  4.Water, coloured with a little bit of blue food colouring  (filled to just over half way up the bottle), topped up to the top of the bottle with baby oil. 5. Baby oil, blue and green sequins and blue loom bands. As you can see, the idea was to keep with a blue/green 'water' theme. The baby oil and water mix is great as there ...

Take one of the sweets and suck it.  As you suck the sweet, think of the good things that you have in your life and thank God for them.

Listen to the music and, if you want to, read the words and sing along quietly. Lie or sit and use the music to help you imagine being with God.  If God speaks to you, don’t forget to share it! Write your own song about God!

Take one of the scented tissues and smell it.  Even though we can’t see the smell, we know it’s there because our nose tells us! God is with us all the time, even though we can’t see Him. Ask God to be with you today. Take the tissue and keep it with you as a reminder that God is there.  The smell may fade, but God never will!

Feel the sand with your fingers.  Write or draw in the sand something you’d like to tell God you are sorry for. God wants to forgive you When you have spoken to God, smooth the sand over so the picture or word disappears and imagine God taking it away.

This term, our prayer stations at the start of each session are based on the senses.  Here is the station for 'sight' Look at these pictures.   What do they make you think and feel about God?   Use the colours to make your own picture about God.  This could be a picture of something He has made, a picture of what He is like or a picture of how He makes you feel.  Be creative!