Children’s Group Planning Autumn 2018

Reflection

As part of the reflection for each week use this simple sentence that the children can join in with. You can insert something into the sentence instead of ‘this’ e.g. If the God of heaven can heal people or walk on water…Then talk with the children about what they have heard in the Bible passage this week. What difference will it make to their lives. E.g. this week – the word of God is a real and living thing, it is meant to change the way we live. So what could we do this week to show that we want to live by God’s word?

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

September 9th

Bible Verse Isaiah 35

Be strong! Do not fear! Here is your God.

Introduction – Isaiah was writing a long time before Jesus, before people knew much about God. But they still trusted in Him to help them when times were hard.

Game – trust game e.g. leading a blindfolded person through an obstacle course

Activity – give the children a piece of wool and ask them to make a shape showing how they feel when they are happy, then when they are sad, then when they are confused/worried. Show by tangling the wool that sometimes we don’t quite know what’s going on or which way to go. God is still with us in those times

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

What situations might we face this week where we feel fear? We need to remember God is with us at those times.

September 16th

Bible Verse

Mark 8 Who do you say that I am?

Introduction – this is a part of the Bible when Jesus is asking his disciples who they think he is. If Jesus was to say to you ‘who do you say I am?’ what would you say today?

Game – use some riddles to show the idea that the more we know about something, the more we know what it isI am hot.I live in the sky.I am bright.Don't look straight at me.I disappear in the night.

I am in your body.I am red.I am the symbol for love.Blood pumps through me.Please don't break me.

I am circular.I go up and down.You can throw me.You can catch me.Be careful with me near windows.

I am usually green and brown.I can live for a long time.I'm a house for a bird.Children love to climb me.I need rain

Activity – explore some names of Jesus with the children. Maybe they can think of some themselves or how they would describe him. Get them to decorate strips of paper with them and use them to build a multicoloured cross shape on card.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Do we know who Jesus is for us? If we do, how do we tell other people about Him this week?

September 23rd

Bible Verse

James 4 Submit yourselves to God

Introduction – this is about how we live our lives, we need to listen to God and see what he wants us to do, think and be.

Game – mirror partners. Get the children to partner up. One person is the leader and the other (facing them) tries to mirror their actions. Get them to swap over. Talk about what you have to do to follow – concentrate, keep looking etc.

Activity – decorate a person by adding things that make you who you are, place it onto a piece of paper with hands drawn/printed to show you want to be in God’s hands. You could use these ‘foam’ people from a craft shop.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

How, where and when can we listen to God this week?

September 30th

Bible verse

Mark 9 Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Be like salt to one another

Introduction – This is a complicated way of explaining what we need to be like. What do we use salt for? Flavour, healing (saline drips), preserving food, keeping the roads safe etc.

Game – using a tray of salt play a ‘pictionary’ style game where children take it in turns to draw something and everyone else has to guess what they are drawing

Activity – Salt painting/writing

Use pva glue to squeeze letters onto card spelling out the words ‘be like salt’

Sprinkle salt over the top of the glue to cover every part then shake of the excess.

Use watercolour paint to brush over the top of the salt and paint the letters beautiful colours.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

How can God use us like salt this week?

October 7th

Bible verse

Mark 10 Be like a child to enter the Kingdom of God

Introduction – Jesus is explaining how his friends can get close to God and the best way he can describe is they have to become like children – how cool is that? We are showing them the way.

Game – Follow the leader – choose one of the children to be the leader. They make their way around the room in any way they choose and everyone else follows, swap around so that other children have a go at leading.

Activity – Make something like these but let the children decide what they want God to know about them

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Why do you think Jesus tells his friends he wants them to be like children?

October 14th

Bible verse

Mark 10 With God all things are possible

Introduction – This doesn’t mean that we can be like superheroes but we remember that in John 15:15 it says we are not anything without God. So with God, we have everything!

Game – Mission impossibleGive the children ‘impossible’ tasks to complete in a minute e.g. to run back and forth across the room 100 times or to balance 30 straws on top of one anotherget through the middle of a piece of A4 paper using just scissors. Then show them how http://flamecreativekids.blogspot.com/2013/07/nothing-is-impossible-to-god-paper.html

Some things are possible when you know what can help you, God can help us in all things.

Activity –

Add to the cloud things that you find hard or situation when you need God’s help

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Is there anything you think is impossible where you need God’s help?let’s pray about some of the things we have put on our clouds today

October 21st

Bible verse

Mark 10 The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve

Introduction – This is explaining what type of person Jesus is. Although he is important and a King and God! He still wants to serve people and be like us.

Game – do an act of service for each other around the circle e.g. pouring the person to your left a drink

Reflect on the Bible story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet

Activity – Using a template make and decorate a jug like this one

Add water droplets of people or places where you can serve

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Is it a nice job to be a servant to other people?

Why might it sometimes be a hard thing to do?

Why do we need to keep doing it? (to follow Jesus’ example)

October 28th

Bible verse

Mark 10 (the healing of a blind man)Go your faith has made you well

Introduction – There are lots of stories where Jesus heals people. Often we think Jesus has amazing power to do this – which is true – but this story shows that when people believe in Jesus amazing things can happen.

Game – Have the words ‘Go your faith has made you well’ written out and hidden around the room. Get the children to search for them and piece it together. You could do this in teams with a larger number of children.

Activity – Let children cut out the letters for I BELIEVE and then decorate and glitter the letters, etc. They can then stick them onto a wooden/card sign to hang up at home. Make the ‘I’ in believe a cross shape.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Do we have faith in Jesus?

Do we believe that Jesus can do anything we ask of Him?

What could we do to show our faith in Jesus?

November 4th

Bible verse

John 8 I am the light of the world

Introduction – This week is bonfire night and we may have already seen some firework displays. It’s also an important time of year to remember, as it gets darker, that Jesus is the light of the world. Not like a firework which disappears as quickly as it came but one which lasts for all time and is greater than any darkness.

Game – Similar to ‘bulldogs’ where children cross the room from one side to another. Someone is in the middle and tags the other children as they pass across the room. This can also be adapted so the person in the middle has a torch to shine on the children as a way of tagging them.

Activity – Using black card and watery yellow/white acrylic paint in spray bottles make pictures of fireworks/light spreading across the world. You could add a globe image onto the black card.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

What do you think is a dark place/situation in the world?

How can we be light to someone/somewhere this week?

November 11th

Remembrance Sunday – thematic week

Introduction – Today is Remembrance Sunday when we remember people who have given their lives in wars and conflicts in our world.

Rather than a game it might be appropriate to have some time talking about WW1 and WW2 perhaps looking at some pictures. It would be a good idea to also have a 2 minute’s silence as in memorial services.

Activity – make poppies out of red cupcake cases and green straws. Each child could make a small posy. Add black card in the centre.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Let’s thank God for the people who gave their lives trying to make the world safer. Let’s pray for places where there is violence and where people are still not safe.

November 18th

Bible verse Isaiah 9,6

Unto us is born a Son and his name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace

Introduction – A long, long time ago a man called Isaiah told the world that someone special was coming and God’s promises would all come true in one man. There were many promises made about what sort of person that would be.

Game – make a promises paperchain, small things we can promise to do at home or school this week. Write one onto a strip of paper and then join them all together to make a chain

Activity – using black card or paper create a similar image with one large central star (with ‘Jesus is coming’ written on it) around it have lots of shiny stars. You can then have some of the ‘promises’ written around the stars e.g. the names listed in the passage from Isaiah ‘Wonderful Counsellor’ etc.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

What would we tell someone about who Jesus is? How would we describe him?

November 25th

Bible verse

Malachi

Prophecies

‘suddenly, the Lord you are seeking will come’ and ‘surely the day is coming’

Introduction – Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament, the last part of the picture before we have the gospels and the good news of Jesus

Game – Bible race – put two Bibles at one end of the room and get the children to race to them and find the end of the Old Testament. Make sure you use the words ‘get ready’ to emphasise the theme as you announce the race.

Activity – Make a large banner saying ‘Jesus is coming’ remember the word prophecy – a promise for the world about something which will happen in the future. As we are moving into the time of Advent we remember these promises coming true as Jesus comes to the world.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Who will you tell this week about getting ready for Jesus to come at Christmas time?

December 2nd

Bible verse

Matthew 3:11 Someone is coming who is more powerful than me

Introduction – John the Baptist is remembered as somebody who prepared the way for Jesus, who told the world that he was coming and that we needed to get ready to meet him.

Game – What sort of things might we do to get our house ready if a special guest was coming? Cleaning, cooking etc. Have two houses (doll’s house if possible) or a printed picture with things that need tidying etc. Have the children race in teams to tidy the house and make it ready.

Activity – this time of year is about getting ready but not for a person to come to our house, for Jesus who comes to our hearts

Make a Christmas hanging heart decoration but add the words ‘getting our hearts ready for Jesus’. You could always add pegs or a countdown to the string to act as an Advent calendar and encourage the children to do something each day to get their hearts ready.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

How can we get ready for Jesus coming to the world?

What things might we need to do to change the way we live now?

December 9th

Bible verse

Luke 1:26 The angel Gabriel tells Mary she is to have a baby

Introduction – Without Mary we would not have Jesus. We remember her as the person who said ‘yes’ to God’s plan and enabled Jesus to be born as a gift to us.

Game – Ask the children silly questions and they have to say ‘yes’ to every one without giggling e.g. do you sleep upside down? Do you eat snails for breakfast?

Activity – Make a ‘Mary puppet’ using a template and a toilet roll. Add a speech bubble saying ‘yes’

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

What might God be asking you to do for him?

Will you say yes?

December 16th

Bible verse

The story of the journey of the shepherds and the wise men

Introduction – Don’t talk yet about Jesus having been born but continue the idea of the world knowing that something amazing was about to happen and focus on who came to see him and how they travelled. Shepherds were ordinary people – Jesus came to know people like you and me. The wise men came to show what sort of a person Jesus was – a king like them, a leader and someone who would change the world.

Game – journey around the room overcoming several ‘obstacles’ which you have set up in advance e.g. going around a chair, under a table, between some other pieces of furniture, perhaps changing direction etc. Talk about how it feels making a long journey and especially when you are going somewhere exciting.

Activity – Make your own ‘journey’ maze using shoebox lid and either folded card or straws to make the walls and pathways.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

Where might you need to go to find Jesus this week?

What do we learn when we make journeys?

December 23rd

Bible verse – the Christmas story

Introduction – as Christmas is so close we are going to have the story of the first ever Christmas day when the greatest gift you can imagine was given to the world and all God’s promises came true.

Game – Pass the parcel game – describe how going all the way back to Isaiah people had learned more and more about this person who was coming who they called the Messiah, until eventually Jesus was born and God’s plan was revealed to the world. Perhaps have jelly babies as the central prize?

Activity – Make a simple decoration highlighting Jesus as God’s gift to the world

e.g.

Reflection

If the God of heaven can do this and make all things newWhat can he do this week for me and for you?

What will be your best present this Christmas? Will you remember that Jesus is a present from God?