Sunday 1 July Joseph and his brothers. Theme introduction. Prayer idea. Extra idea

Transcription

1 Sunday 1 July 2012 Joseph and his brothers Bible passage: Genesis 49:22 26 Session aim: To look at winning and losing and how God wants us to handle both Today it is 26 days to the start of the Olympic Games, and 60 days to the start of the Paralympic Games! What will athletes be working towards and dreaming of? And what will they be hoping will not happen during the games? What do people think they will be doing by way of preparation? Explain how this will include physical but also mental preparation. Briefly outline the story of Joseph as found in Genesis 37, & 49. Ask people to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to his behaviour at different times in the narrative. Comment on how he handled winning or losing at these different moments. Ask whether people think God would have given Joseph a thumbs up or thumbs down at these different moments. Invite people to join in the lines in bold type: When I am a winner, and do well in life, Help me to celebrate without boasting. When the team I support is succeeding, Help me to celebrate without boasting. When you, God, give good things to me, Help me to celebrate without boasting. When other people succeed and I don t, Help me to be glad for others, and handle disappointment well. When my team comes last or my hopes are dashed, Help me to be glad for others, and handle disappointment well. Whether others are watching me, or only you, God, Help me to be glad for others, and handle disappointment well. Give everyone at the service a picture of an Olympic medal and encourage them to keep it where they will see it as they get dressed each day. It should act as a reminder to put on a winner s attitude each day, whatever happens, because they know that God is on their side. Be bold, be strong kidsource 17 In my life, Lord, be glorified Songs of Fellowship 242 Jesus is the name we honour Songs of Fellowship 870 Jesus, send me the helper kidsource 213

2 Sunday 8 July 2012 Miriam Bible passage: Exodus 15:19 21 Session aim: To have fun praising God as members of his team, for who he is and what he has done Remind the congregation that when an athlete wins a medal at the Olympics, their country s national anthem is sung. This is a way of recognising what they have achieved. In a similar way, in church we sing songs to praise God and celebrate what he has done. Interview your church music leader or someone from your choir/worship group whose experiences as a child inspired them to get involved as an adult in leading worship. Keep the interview focused on the way they use their gifts to praise God. Link to Miriam s story and read Exodus 15: Divide the congregation into six groups and give each group one of the letters of the word PRAISE. In small huddles, invite them to think up words beginning with their letter that describe God. After a few minutes take feedback from groups and turn their ideas into a prayer of praise. Learn a new song of praise to God. You could also encourage people to write their own songs of praise, and set a date by which these should be submitted to your music leader, with appropriate ones being sung in the future. Our God is a great big God Songs of Fellowship 2004 Praise God from whom all blessings flow Songs of Fellowship 980 Praise to the Lord, the Almighty Songs of Fellowship 470

3 Sunday 15 July 2012 Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego Bible passage: Daniel 3 Session aim: To understand that it is important to stand up for God, in our own way Invite ten people of mixed ages to come to the front to play Simon Says. Choose three people within the group and challenge them to play the game in reverse: ie when you say Simon says... they must NOT do the action, but instead must do it when everyone else does not. Encourage the congregation to watch out for the most successful players. After playing, ask the three how it felt to go against everyone else. In sporting events, the athletes involved are usually all doing the same thing; doing something different would seem mad and would lead to failure. Briefly outline the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and explain that they knew they must act differently from others if they were to honour God and not fail him. Say this responsive prayer: If people laugh at those who go to church, Help me stand up for you, God. If the name of Jesus is used in wrong ways, Help me stand up for you, God. If someone wants me to tell a lie, Help me stand up for you, God. If people are cruel to someone and want me to join in, Help me stand up for you, God. If I am at risk of making wrong choices, Help me stand up for you, God. Every day and in every situation, Help me stand up for you, God. In advance, invite a member of the congregation who has had to take a stand for God in some way to talk about their experiences. How might each one in the congregation have to stand up for God in the coming week? Be bold, be strong kidsource 17 Don t be afraid kidsource 38 He is the Lord kidsource 103 I m gonna trust in God Songs of Fellowship 1339 Strong tower Bitesize Bible Songs CD

4 Sunday 22 July 2012 Ezra Bible passage: Ezra 7; Nehemiah 8:1 10 Session aim: To appreciate the leaders God gives us Ask the congregation to name roles in sport that are about leadership (eg captain, manager, coach). How does each lead other players? What would happen if they were not there? Who are the leaders of the different activities and groups in your church? As they are named, invite them to come to the front and tell everyone in one sentence what their activity contributes to the life of your church. Thank each for their work. Choose one person to stand by each leader, preferably someone who benefits from their leadership. Pray for each leader by name as follows, asking the person standing by them to put a hand on their arm or shoulder as you pray. Invite everyone to join in the repeating line eg Amanda, as you lead our children s team (All) The hand of the Lord our God is on you. In advance, prepare a thank you card for each leader. These could be made by the children, or by a member of the relevant group. Invite other members of the group to sign it after the service. Be thou my vision Songs of Fellowship 42 For I m building a people of power kidsource 61 I, the Lord of sea and sky Songs of Fellowship 830 Men of faith, rise up and sing Songs of Fellowship 921

5 Sunday 29 July 2012 John the Baptist Bible passage: Luke 3:1 20 Session aim: To find out what it means to live for God Prepare the following or similar items to be eaten in these strange combinations: cheese and jam, ham and chocolate spread, pasta and yogurt, and so on. Ask the congregation to tell someone sitting near them about the strangest food they have ever eaten. Then get some to tell you, and try to include children as much as possible. Ask for two adults and two younger people to come out to the front and try the strange combinations of food. Let them have a go at different ones, and tell you what their impressions are. Talk briefly about the diet that the Bible tells us John ate honey and locusts, plus other things he could find in the desert wilderness. This prayer has the same repeated response. Before you begin, ask everyone to work out simple actions for the response, and then choose one or two to demonstrate. Invite everyone to join in with some actions every time the response is said. As John obeyed God he did things that were different Help me to be different; help me to obey you As John obeyed God he gave up his comfort Help me to be different; help me to obey you As John obeyed God he went to live in the wild Help me to be different; help me to obey you As John obeyed God he spoke out God s message Help me to be different; help me to obey you As John obeyed God he lived a tough life Help me to be different; help me to obey you As John obeyed God he did things that were different Help me to be different; help me to obey you. If possible, split the congregation into mixed-age groups of up to eight people. If it is not possible to get into groups, do this as a whole-church activity instead. Hand out paper and pens to each group and ask them to: 1 Write down one thing that is really important to them. 2 Write down what they would give up, if God asked them to. Talk briefly about the things we hold on to, and how important it is to be open to God about what we really need and what he may call us to give up. Will you follow kidsource He walked where I walk the source 168 Be bold, be strong kidsource 17 O Jesus, I have promised Songs of Fellowship 418

6 Sunday 5 August 2012 Barnabas Bible passage: Acts 11:20 26 Session aim: To learn about encouraging others and being encouraged ourselves Ask all people over 50 or so years of age to stand, and then tell them that they are marvellous, and the church benefits so much from their wisdom! Then ask all people under that age to stand, and thank them for their energy, enthusiasm and life! You could continue by praising those who have leadership roles in church, those who are musicians, those who do backroom jobs, and so on. Explain that it is really important to encourage others, and to be encouraged. Then ask everyone to stand, and move around saying something encouraging and positive to someone else. Suggestions could include You look good today, Thank you for all you do, I like you, etc Explain that Barnabas made a real difference to all those around him because he encouraged them and made them feel good about themselves. Place some large sheets of paper on the wall, or use flip charts. Have marker pens available. Ask everyone to spend a bit of time in quiet reflection about all the people who support, help or encourage them, and have some quiet worship music playing. Then invite them in their own time to go to the graffiti wall or flip chart and write the name/s of those who encourage them. Ask adults to help children fully participate in this. Finish by thanking God for all the helpers and encouragers, and read out the names on the sheets of paper. Make sure everyone has a piece of paper and a pencil. Slowly read out what was said about Barnabas twice, asking everyone to listen carefully: He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:24) In pairs, or small groups, ask everyone to talk to others about what they would like others to say about them. If there is time, ask them to write down those thoughts on to their piece of paper, and encourage adults to help younger children do this also. Here I am Songs of Fellowship 167 Give me oil in my lamp kidsource 66 How good of Father God kidsource 113 Father, make us one Songs of Fellowship 98

7 Sunday 12 August 2012 Apollos Bible passage: Acts 18:28 28 Session aim: To see how God trains, teaches and equips his people Invite three people of different ages to volunteer to come to the front. The challenge for each of them is to speak enthusiastically for 30 seconds on one of these subjects: cucumbers / lamp-posts / soil / the colour grey It is likely that they will find this difficult when they try it! Then ask them to speak for another 30 seconds with real enthusiasm about any subject they choose. Thank them at the end, and mention that Apollos was a great speaker whose enthusiasm for his subject Jesus made people listen. This activity begins and ends with the same prayer that everyone needs to be able to read and say together. Then say each of the intervening lines, allowing time for everyone to think briefly, before saying the next line. God, you created me and you know me well. God, you gave me the ability to learn. God, you gave me the ability to change. Thank God for our gifts and abilities that we think about now Thank God for the things we have learned in the last few days Ask God to help you learn more about him Tell God the things you don t understand, and need answers to Ask God to help you change to become more like he wants you to be God, you created me and you know me well. God, you gave me the ability to learn. God, you gave me the ability to change. Remind everyone that Apollos was a great speaker, and was willing to tell anyone about Jesus, even if they argued back. Then show the following verse from 2 Corinthians 4:13 (projected or on a large sheet of paper) and invite everyone to say it together: In the Scriptures it says, I spoke because I had faith. We have that same kind of faith. So we speak. (CEV) Keep repeating it louder, then quieter, and so on. Once you are sure it has been learned, take the words away and see how well they know it. You have called us the source 598 One shall tell another the source 406 Tell out my soul Songs of Fellowship 520 God s people kidsource 86

8 Sunday 19 August 2012 Timothy Bible passage: Acts 16:1 5; 1&2 Timothy Session aim: To discover that each person has a part to play for God You will need two unsung heroes of the church who do lots of things behind the scenes that are important but often go unnoticed. You may want to warn them in advance. Interview the two people, asking them some of the following questions or similar: What is the job that you do? Why do you do it and what would happen if you didn t do it? Do you think God wants you to do it? How do you think it helps other people? Do you feel good about doing this job? Timothy had an important part to play in the development of the early church and the growth of Christianity. We all have our parts to play too. Each person will need three short pieces of wool. Ask each person to twine their pieces of wool around each other to make one thick, tough strand. Explain that for many of us doing what God wants us to do is not always easy. Timothy had a job to do that God had called him to, but he got it wrong and struggled sometimes. When we struggle it is like trying to pull and break the twine. Pause, and then ask everyone to close their eyes while holding the twine tightly, and say this prayer: Loving God, help us when we struggle, and when things are difficult. Then invite everyone to split the twine into the three pieces of wool again, and try to break the wool. Some people will find that this is possible. Then pause for prayer again, saying: Loving God, we thank you that with your help all things are possible. Read this passage from Paul s first letter to Timothy without saying the words in bold. This is the correct version. Ask everyone to listen carefully. Then read it again, replacing the italic words with those in bold. Invite everyone to shout out when they hear a mistake: From Paul Pauline. God our Saviour and Christ Jesus commanded me to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. Timothy, because of our faith face, you are like a son daughter to me. I pray that God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind and merciful to you. May they bless you with peace Playstation! When I was leaving for Macedonia Milan, I asked you to stay on in Ephesus and warn certain people there to stop spreading their false teachings. You needed to warn them to stop wasting their time money on senseless stories and endless lists of ancestors. Such things only cause arguments happiness. They don t help anyone to do God s work that can only be done by faith. Jesus, stand among us Songs of Fellowship 303 I want to serve the source 256 Don t be afraid kidsource 38

9 Sunday 26 August 2012 Luke Bible passage: Luke 1:1 4; Acts 1:1,2 Session aim: To think about our place in God s big story and to realise that we all have a story to tell Line up six people at the front who are quite creative and able to speak out well. Then explain that they are going to imagine they were disciples of Jesus and will tell a story on the spot, at your direction! When you have had enough of one person s contribution, or when they are struggling, say move for the story to move on to the next person. The person at the end of the line has the challenge of finishing the story! Start the first person off with this opening line: One morning, when we were walking along with Jesus This activity has the response: I am part of God; we are part of God s big story. Ask each person to stand on their own, and think about how God made them and loves them. Then say the response together. Ask each person to join with a few others in groups or families, gently touching to show connection. Then, after a moment of quiet, say the response together. Invite the groups to then join with other groups, and so on, until the whole congregation is in contact with itself. Then say the response again. Ask the congregation to sit in small groups of eight or so. Then read any passage from these parts of the Bible in turn, and ask the groups to identify the style or where each on is in the Bible: Proverbs Gospels (story of Jesus) Epistles (letters) Psalm (poems and songs) Song of Songs (love poem) Prophets (stories of the future) So I ll trust in God kidsource 300 I, the Lord of sea and sky the source 246 Great is thy faithfulness Songs of Fellowship 147 Father God I wonder Songs of Fellowship 92

10 Sunday 2 September 2012 God makes light, day and night Bible passage: Genesis 1:1 8 Session aim: To discover more about our Creator God in and to explore our response to him If possible, make your building as dim as you can. Invite everyone to close their eyes to imagine that they are floating in nothingness and darkness. If possible play soft, apparently formless music, or ask someone to make swishing sounds over the PA system. Explain that in the beginning of time there was nothing no light, no darkness, no form, no smell, no voices just God. Switch on the lights and explain that the first thing that God created was the difference between day and night. Split the whole congregation into two groups: Day and Night. (You could split into several subgroups for Day and Night, or invite two smaller groups to come to the front on behalf of everyone else.) Each group is to decide what the good things about either day or night are. Gather together the suggestions on a flip chart and then ask why it is important to have both. What would happen if we only had one of them? Ask if you had been God, where might you have started in creating the world. (This is a speculative question that may provoke people into interesting thought. There is no right or wrong answer!) Explain that this is the start of the series on God in creation, where everyone will discover more about him and be able to respond. The Learn and remember verse for this series is: O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens. Psalm 8:1 The whole congregation would benefit from learning this over the month, but take the first part to guide your prayers as follows: Ask people to call out the name or description of something that shows God s greatness in the created world beauty, order, detail, perfection. After each suggestion, repeat the words: O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! A PowerPoint presentation on the creation in Genesis is available at and can be used to stimulate an appreciation of God s world and lead to worship. It is suitable to use in an all-age setting as well as with smaller groups of children. If used in both contexts, one showing would reinforce the other. Use this throughout this series. Your greatness Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD All things Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Imagine a world Reach Up! CD God made you and me Light for Everyone CD Praise to the Lord, the Almighty Songs of Fellowship 470 All things bright and beautiful kidsource 8

11 Sunday 9 September 2012 God makes land, plants and sea Bible passage: Genesis 1:9 13 Session aim: To discover more about our Creator God in and to explore our response to him This game is to encourage people to think about what they have noticed in God s creation this week. Put people into groups of at least ten. In each group invite everyone to think of just two things they have seen this week that are signs of Autumn the more obscure, the better. All adults then hold out the fingers on one hand they have five lives. Everyone else holds out both hands they have ten lives. Go round the group in turn, naming the first thing each has thought of. If three people have thought of the same thing, they all lose three lives (put down three fingers) and so on. If the first thing has been said, someone can name the second. No cheating! The aim is to see how many lives people have got after going round the circle once. Once this has been played a first time, it could be repeated, asking people to think of something that grows on a tree or in the ground. Comment that this week the children s groups will be looking at more of God s creation. They will discover something of the rich variety in God s world. The refrain between each prayer topic is: Thank you, God, that your world is good, very good, very good indeed! Mention the following topics, slowly expanding on them as appropriate, to mention things of local, seasonal or contemporary significance. Water, rivers and seas Earth, islands, high ground and mountains, low ground and deserts Trees with their leaves and fruit Vegetables in and on the ground Wheat, barley, rye and oats, pulses and beans The Learn and remember verse is: O Lord, our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up to the heavens. Psalm 8:1. Put this on an acetate or PowerPoint slides or write each word on separate sheets of card. Remove one or two words each time as the congregation learns this verse together, so that when all the words have gone, they can say it perfectly! Check that the youngest child has some understanding of what the second half means! (Note, if you need people to do some planetary research for next week, you will need to ask them in advance!) Your greatness Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD All things Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Imagine a world Reach Up! CD God is good, we sing and shout it kidsource 74 Let everything that has breath Songs of Fellowship 880 For the beauty of the earth Songs of Fellowship 112

12 Sunday 16 September 2012 God makes sun, moon and stars Bible passage: Genesis 1:14 19 Session aim: To discover more about our Creator God in and to explore our response to him If it is not raining, take everyone outside to look at the sky. If possible, begin your service outside by singing a song of praise to God for his creation. Give everyone a collection of felt-tip pens and a sheet of paper and ask them to draw and colour something that they can see in the sky, which may include the sun. You may need to provide boards for people to lean on. Or ask people to observe and then draw when they get back inside the church. If it is raining or you have not been able to all go outside, ask people to draw from their imagination. Once in church, comment on the range of things we can see in the sky. You could count how many things people drew. People could bring their drawings to place on a flip chart or display board. Then explain that in the children s groups they will be exploring what God created on the fourth day. Use Psalm 19 as a guide to your prayers: Read verse 1, then pray: Father God, we thank you for all that we have seen (can see) in the skies above us especially Read verses 4b 6 and pray: Father God, we thank you for the warmth of the sun, its light, the way it enables things to grow, especially Read verses 2 4a and pray: Father God, we thank you for the moon, for its light, its beauty, its changing brightness, its mystery. You have made all things good, very good, very good indeed. On the internet, find out about any interesting planetary activity that is happening and give out some interesting facts to the congregation. You could ask some families to do this the previous week which might inspire some younger members to become engaged who do not usually feel they have anything significant to contribute to the church family. Your greatness Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD All things Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Imagine a world Reach Up! CD God is good, we sing and shout it kidsource 74 Let everything that has breath Songs of Fellowship 880 For the beauty of the earth Songs of Fellowship 112 From the rising of the sun Songs of Fellowship 121

13 Sunday 23 September 2012 God makes animals and people Bible passage: Genesis 1:20 2:25 Session aim: To discover more about our Creator God and to explore our response to him Invite ten people to the front and then ask how many ways you can sort them into different groups. For example, adults and children, male and female, dark and fair, different nationalities, sporty or not, old and not so old, and so on. This could be done in smaller groups. Comment on the variety that there is in the people that God has made. Then ask for a name to be given to each of these ten people which is not their first name or even a nickname but a phrase that would describe them, such as the girl with long hair, the man who lives in the house with the green front door, my friend s mum. This may involve lots of discussion. Explain that God asked the first man to names all the animals. God created us inside our mothers and he knows us all by name. Ask everyone to be quiet and think of their name and also a phrase that describes them. What name would people like God to call them? This may be hard for younger children if this has not been talked about earlier, so allow time for some input from adult helpers. Lead in prayer as follows: Dear God, we thank you for the different names we have the name our parents gave us, our family name, our nickname, a phrase that describes us. Thank you that you know us better than we know ourselves. You call us by name. We pray also for anyone who is called a name they do not like. Help them to be brave and to know what they can do to change that! The idea of names that have not always been used kindly may provoke some sad thoughts. Be aware of this and make it possible for a discussion at a later stage with a children s or church leader. The Must Know series of books has been published by Scripture Union. These have been voted as the ten Bible stories that must be passed onto the next generation. They are for three different audiences, for adults: The Must Know Stories; for 8 11s: The 10 Must Know Stories; and for under 8s: The Green Book of Must Know Stories and The Red Book of Must Know Stories. To draw together this series, you could read the first story in The 10 Must Know Stories The beginning of time which has been written to be read out loud to a school or church audience. Your greatness Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD All things Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Imagine a world Reach Up! CD Let everything that has breath Songs of Fellowship 880 All creatures of our God and King Songs of Fellowship 645 My God is so big kidsource 255

14 Sunday 30 September 2012 Creation praise Bible passage: Psalm 104 Session aim: To use Psalm 104 to praise our Creator God In preparation decorate a hat in a flamboyant way, using items such as feathers, dried flowers and grasses, fake fur and cotton wool. Wear the hat yourself at the start or ask someone else to come to the front wearing it, for example, to deliver a notice. When the laughter has died down, protest (or the wearer should protest) that you have made a wonderful creation and that it is unfair to make fun of it. Ask the wearer to explain why it is unfair, or do so yourself, as follows: point out the feathers, saying that the birds God has made wear feathers and no one laughs at them. Animals wear fur, flowers and grass grow (indicate these on the hat) and clouds (cotton wool) float in the sky. Everyone says they are beautiful, so why isn t your hat beautiful? Pacify the hat wearer by saying their hat is indeed a wonderful creation. But go on to say that actually God s creation is a lot better. Explain that today we are going to think about God the Creator and praise him for the wonderful things he has made. You may wish to read out some appropriate verses from the psalm. If you have church Bibles, ask everyone to find Psalm 104 and read verse 33 together. Otherwise, learn it by saying it through once or twice together in your preferred version. This verse will be the response in the prayer. Make up a PowerPoint presentation or show slides of God s creative power, eg a flower, a bird, a mountain scene, the sea, a river. Use at least five images but not more than ten. You could use the PowerPoint slides for this series which can be downloaded from Allow a few seconds for people to look at each picture. After each one say, Lord God, you are the King of Creation. The people respond by saying verse 33 of the psalm. Invite everyone to join in a dramatised reading of Psalm 104. Ask for suggestions of miming or hand actions for the following subjects: the sky, the sea, flowing water, animals (mammals), birds and trees. Practise the actions together. Each time one of these subjects is mentioned in the reading everyone should do the appropriate action. They will have to listen carefully as, for example, animals will include donkeys, goats and lions; trees will include firs and cedar. Choose a reader to read Psalm 104 clearly and slowly, allowing time for the actions. You may want to use just part of the psalm. Verses 1 25 would be a suitable section. Wow! Reach Up! CD God made me and you Light for Everyone CD All things Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD God is good, God is great kidsource 73 All things bright and beautiful kidsource 8