Pentecost Prayer Space. June Newton Flotman Church of England Primary School

Transcription

1 Pentecost Prayer Space June 2015 Newton Flotman Church of England Primary School

2 Fruit of the Spirit Christians want the fruit of the Holy Spirit to grow in their lives: This doesn't mean apples and bananas - but good qualities In the bible it says, The Fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness, Self-control. Galatians Eat a grape and think about which one of these qualities you would like to grow in your life Write it on a fruit-shaped piece of paper and hang it on the tree. You could pray, Dear God please grow the fruits of the Spirit in my life

3 Breathing Prayer Breathe in: Come Holy Spirit Breathe out: Bitterness Breathe in: Love Breathe out: Busyness Breathe in: Joy Breathe out: Stress Breathe in: Peace Breathe out: Impatience Breathe in: Patience Breathe out: the need for my own way Breathe in: kindness Breathe out: indifference Breathe in: goodness Breathe out: carelessness Breathe in: faithfulness Breathe out: hardness Breathe in: gentleness Breathe out: recklessness Breathe in: self-control Repeat as many times as you wish.

4 Be Still This sofa is a place to sit and be still ready for prayer. Hold a shell, pebble or piece of wood gently in your hand. Look at it. Does it feel smooth, or rough? Is it heavy or light? Is it brightly coloured or dull? Don t speak, just hold it. Now you are still and calm, look at the pictures on the screen.. What are you feeling now

5 Pray Dough! You can pray or just think quietly while you are making things out of the dough Make a ball- Pray for the world Make a messy shape Pray about something which has gone wrong and ask God to put it right Make a heart Pray for people you love and for those who need love Make a cross Pray for people who suffer Make a loaf of bread Pray that God will meet our daily needs

6 Post-it Prayer You can write your heart-felt message to God on a post-it and stick it on the cross.

7 Prayer Map Find your house or a place you like to visit on the map Think of the good things you would like to happen there If you wish, tell your hopes to God in a prayer Colour in the street or mark the building with a spot of colour.

8 Parts of a Body In the Bible it says that God s people are like a body. The Holy Spirit is like the breath of the body and people are like the different parts. Life is best when we share and work together. If this school were a body, which part would you be? eyes - good at noticing things ears - good at listening mouth -doing at talking brain- good at thinking hands- good at making things heart - good at caring feet - good at moving around 1. Tie a ribbon or cord onto the part of the model body you have chosen 2. Think - How can you use the thing you are good at to help other people? 3. If you want to pray: Dear God, help me to use the things I am good at to help other people. Amen

9 The Holy Spirit is like Wind Jesus said the Holy Spirit is a bit like the wind. The wind is invisible. We only know it s there by watching things being blown about. The Holy Spirit is invisible too but Christians believe that you can tell he s there by the way he moves or guides people. For example, the Holy Spirit might move people to be kind, wise or brave. Feel the wind from the fan. (Please ask if it needs to be turned on.) If you want to pray, Holy Spirit, guide my life.

10 The Holy Spirit is like Fire After the Holy Spirit, the disciples start spreading the Good News of Jesus. One of the symbols of the Holy Spirit is a flame of fire. Fire catches - you can pass on the flame of a candle easily from one candle to another. Every time the followers of Jesus passed on the message of God s love, it was as if a flame was passed on, lighting up the world. When we have good news to tell, it is natural to want to spread it What good news message would you like to tell? Choose one of the flame shapes Write on some good news that you would like to tell. Stick your flame on the large black sheet If you want to pray Dear God, help me to pass on good news

11 The Holy Spirit is like water Water refreshes us, cleanses us, helps us to grow: Jesus said God s Holy Spirit was like water, satisfying our thirst for goodness: On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! 38 Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from his heart. 39 (When he said living water, he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. John Sip some water. Think about your thirst for goodness, joy, love and peace - If you want to you can pray, Lord, I am thirsty Fill me with the Living Water of your Holy Spirit. Amen

12 The Holy Spirit is like a Dove Read the story A Beloved Son on Sally s ipad When Jesus was baptised the Holy Spirit, came on him like a dove. Make a dove or use one already made from the basket. Hang it up and remember that you are a beloved child too - God loves you.

13 International The Holy Spirit works across the world On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit helped the believers to speak in different languages. Today there are about 2 billion Christians scattered throughout the world. Look Follow the ribbons from the boxes to the globe to locate each country Discover Choose a box and discover more about that country. Pray God loves all the countries in our world. Place a heart in the box which you have learned about and if you wish, pray for the Holy Spirit to bless that country.

14 Doing good Listen to the story The Beautiful Gate on the cd player or read it in the Lion Storyteller bible pg 148 Think about how Peter and John helped the lame man they met on their way. It must have taken courage! It is God s Holy Spirit that helps us to do difficult things. What can we do to make a difference? Take a large footprint for each participant to take and write your name on it and place at the edge of the road as a sign that you want to do good If you want to you can pray Holy Spirit, give me the courage and power to do something good to make a difference in our world. Amen.

15 Sorry In the bible it says that if we confess the wrong things we have done to God, he will forgive us. Think of something you ve done that you want to put right. Write it on a small piece of paper. If you want to pray, Dear God, please forgive me for what I ve done wrong Shred up the paper to remind you of God s forgiveness.

16 Healing When Christians pray for someone to be healed, they often use oil which is a symbol of healing In the bible it says Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. James 5:14-15 Think about someone you know who needs healing. Place some oil on a handkerchief. If you want to, pray for the Holy Spirit to heal them. You may keep the handkerchief if you would like to.

17 Stirred! A Story from John s Gospel In the city of Jerusalem there was a pool of water called Bethesda. It was a beautiful pool with porches built around it so that people could sit and rest. Sometimes the water in the pool was very calm. But sometimes the water would bubble up. Many sick people liked to go to the Pool of Bethesda. Some were blind or paralysed. Others could not walk. They came to the pool and waited for the water to be stirred. People believed that if they touched the water before it stopped moving then they would be made well. One day Jesus passed by the pool and saw one of the men lying down beside the pool all alone. He noticed that the man was very sad so he stopped to talk to him. The man could not stand or walk because his legs did not work properly. He was sad because he had been unable to walk for thirty-eight years. Every time the water bubbled up the man tried to get to it and touch it but he could not. He was also sad because he had no friends to carry him to the pool. Jesus asked the man, Do you want to get well? The man told Jesus that he really wanted to get better but there was no one to carry him to the water when it was stirred. He was very sad. He thought that no one cared that he was sad. But Jesus cared that the man was sad! He listened to the man and then he said something very surprising: Get up! Pick up your mat and walk. As soon as Jesus said this to the man the man was cured. For the first time in thirty-eight years he was able to stand up. He did just as Jesus said and picked up his mat and walked. The man was so excited that he did not even notice Jesus slipping back into the crowd. People asked the man who had made him well. The man could not answer because he did not even know the name of the man who had healed him. Later he saw Jesus at the temple and Jesus told the man to always be good. He was so happy to see Jesus. He was happy to see the man who had made him well. Think about someone you know who needs healing. Stir the water of the pool to remember the pool in the story; place a pebble in the water. If you want to, pray for the healing touch of Jesus in that person s life.

18 Your Kingdom Come In the Lord s prayer, we say Your Kingdom come This is a prayer that God will rule over us Christians believe that God s Kingdom means love, fairness, joy and peace for everyone. Some local people have put their name on a brick and stuck it to the wall to show they want to help build God s Kingdom. They want to make the world a happier, more caring, fairer place. If you would like to join in this prayer, write your name on a brick and stick it to the wall.

19 Prayer Painting Paint your prayers and praises on the wall

20 Prayer Plates Lesson plan Explain that there are lots of different ways to pray, and that today we're thinking about 4 words which are each things we might say while we're praying. Using visible flashcards, introduce each of the words (wow, thank you, sorry and please) asking for the children's suggestions on how each one could be used in prayer and having a short discussion about each one before moving on to the next. Then show the children a paper plate, divided into 4 sections and explain that they are going to make a "prayer plate" using each of the sections to make a collage based on each of the 4 words. Have scraps of coloured paper, wool, stickers, pens, glue sticks etc available on the tables for the children to use. Display the prayer plates in the prayer room.