This week's lectionary has a variety of stories to choose from, but we will be looking at the old testament reading: the story of God putting a rainbow in the sky as a sign of his promise never to flood the earth again. Some parts of the story of Noah's ark can be quite upsetting, and can inspire big questions about life, God's power and the consequences of doing wrong things. In the background, however, is the overarching story of listening to God, rescue, new beginnings, and God's promise to be with us. As the story ends, we have the powerful symbol of the rainbow stretched across the sky as a sign of God's life-giving love for us and his creation, and his promise never to send a flood again. This week's play dough mat is an invitation to explore this part of the story and also to think about what promises mean. What is a promise? What does it mean to make a promise? What does God promise and what do God's people promise Him in return? How does it feel ...
Here is a play dough mat to help explore Jesus' words in John 14:1-14. I've chosen to go with the theme of 'do not let your hearts be troubled', giving space for children to bring worries to Jesus and then chance to chat about who we trust to help us. As usual, print out, put in a plastic sheet protector and chat as you create! Click here to print off the sheet. I wonder what worries you? I wonder who helps you when you are worried? I wonder what helps you when you are worried? I wonder what it feels like when you tell someone about your worries?