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Copyright 2012 Scripture Union First published 2012 ISBN 978 1 84427 719 3 Scripture Union 207 209 Queensway, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK2 2EB Email: info@scriptureunion.org.uk Website: www.scriptureunion.org.uk All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of Scripture Union. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Original content from www.lightlive.org Compiled and edited by Christine Wright Design by kwgraphicdesign Printed by Tien Wah Press 0 Scripture Union is an international Christian charity working with churches in more than 130 countries. Thank you for purchasing this book. Any profits from this book support SU in England and Wales to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to children, young people and families and to enable them to meet God through the Bible and prayer. Find out more about our work and how you can get involved at: www.scriptureunion.org.uk (England and Wales) www.suscotland.org.uk (Scotland) www.suni.org (Northern Ireland) www.scriptureunion.org (USA) www.su.org.au (Australia)
Contents What is Mosaic? 5 How to run a Mosaic session 6 Mosaic bookshelf 1 7 in god s HanDs Discover how God protects David in his early life n Introducing In God s hands 8 n close to God s heart 1 Samuel 16:1 13; Psalm 23 9 n larger than life? 1 Samuel 17:1 18:5; Psalm 23 14 n Kept safe 1 Samuel 19,20; Psalm 23 18 n Wait for God s time 1 Samuel 24; Psalm 23 24 n learn and remember verse poster 30 BonUS All-age service 31 The lord is my shepherd Psalm 23; John 10:14 16 Mosaic bookshelf 2 39 Jesus CHallenges us Jesus parables confront us with challenges about how we should live n Introducing Jesus challenges us 40 n Decisions to make Matthew 7:13 29 42 n Bridesmaids Matthew 25:1 13 53 n Talents Matthew 25:14 30 57 n Sheep and goats Matthew 25:31 46 62 n learn and remember verse poster 66 Case study: Mosaic for rural churches 67 Simon Martin, of The Arthur Rank centre at Stoneleigh, gives case studies of where and how Mosaic works for rural settings Mosaic clinic 69 Top tips from ministry practitioners to help you make the most of your small group with a wide age range adventures WitH god Stories from the early chapters of Acts, finding out about our God who communicates n Introducing Adventures with God 71 n philip explains Acts 8:26 40 72 n peter prays Acts 9:32 43 77 n cornelius prays Acts 10 83 n peter escapes Acts 12:1 19 89 n learn and remember verse poster 94 What s next? 95
What is Mosaic? Scripture Union has been providing resources for people working with children in church settings for over sixty years. As times have changed, so have the resources, of course. Where once Sunday School was the highlight of the week for many children, today many other exciting activities compete with the events that churches provide. Where once school life was largely dull and mainly sedentary, today teachers have a vast range of ways of engaging children in the learning process. It is hard now for churches to compete with all the opportunities and activities that fill the 21st-century child s life. Yet Scripture Union still wants children to have the best resources to help them learn about God, decide to follow Jesus and grow in faith. This applies to children in churches both large and small, as well as those who have no contact with churches. We publish a range of resources to equip children s workers whatever their situation. This includes the Light range which has resources for different age groups from 3 to 14. You told us You only have a few children in your group and you have a wide age range. Maybe there is a 3-yearold, two 7-year-olds, a 10-year-old boy and a couple of girls who will soon be 14. Buying the whole range of Light products would be much too expensive and it would be time-consuming to go through each product looking for suitable activities for your session each week. You need a flexible printed product which enables you to choose suitable activities that will work across the age-group. Settings where Mosaic works best n Many churches begin Sunday worship with all ages together. In other churches, everyone arrives together, but separate into adult and children s groups and meet together again for a final time of worship. Mosaic can be used in either of these scenarios when the number of children attending is too small to make the provision of separate age-groups practical. n Mosaic could also be used where the premises in which children meet are limited so that it is impossible to provide more than one group. n Mosaic would also be useful where there are few adults able to work with the children. (Of course, there should, for reasons of safety and child protection, always be at least two adults with CRB clearance with the children.) In this case, most of the activities can be done together, with separate, targeted activities for younger and older children later in the session. n Mosaic would also be ideal if you are starting a new children s group and want a simple programme to work with.
HOW TO RUN A MOSAIC SESSION How to run a Mosaic session What you get Mosaic is a flexible resource designed to give you a structured programme. There are also extra ideas which you can add to suit the time you have available and the group you are leading. Some of the extra resources can be downloaded from the LightLive website at www.lightlive.org.uk. But even if you cannot access the website, this book provides all you need for 12 exciting and meaningful sessions. Introduction Each series of two to five sessions begins with essential Bible background to the passages you will be using with the children. There is also an important paragraph giving insights into how the series can be tailored to the children in your group. Core programme Four activities are provided as the basic template for each session a way of exploring the Bible, a worship response, and two options which help the group apply the Bible teaching to their own lives. Extension ideas Three extension ideas are suggested to provide more targeted activities for younger (perhaps under-8s) and more challenging things for older children to do (perhaps those aged ten and over). Obviously, abilities differ and you will have to direct individual children to the activities best suited to them. Fresh ideas are suggested for each session for the series Learn and remember verse. Bonus All-age service For an occasion when adults and children meet together for worship Mosaic provides a bonus all-age service in keeping with the theme of one of the three series in this book. More all-age services and service starters can be found in The All-Age Service Annual, available from Scripture Union. Case studies Advice designed to inspire and encourage you in your work from a writer experienced in working with small churches. Tips Helpful advice for working with your mixed-age group can be found in the Mosaic clinic. LightLive Create a group on LightLive online (www.lightlive.org) and you will have access to a huge choice of resources for your group. The database is searchable by topic and Bible passage so that you will never be short of an idea for your grouptime or special event! Helpful resources Look on page 7 for targeted recommendations of other Scripture Union titles which will supplement your programmes, provide ideas to help your group grow in faith and help you increase your confidence. Every week online You can enhance your weekly sessions with downloads including: n Bible story picture : a regular activity for 2 7s (These are also available as photocopiable pages at the end of each session.) n Audio Bible story : a regular audio Bible story for 3 7s n Learn and remember : a PowerPoint of a Bible verse to learn, for 5 11s n Presentation : an activity with animation for 11 14s
MOSAIC BOOKSHELF MOSAIC BookSHElF Ultimate Craft 12.99 Ultimate Craft is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your group explore the Bible through cutting, sticking, painting, drawing, sewing and, well, you get the idea! Ultimate Creative prayer 9.99 Ultimate Creative Prayer is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your children s group get praying. Ultimate Games 9.99 Ultimate Games is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help you and your children s group explore the Bible through playing games. Active games, quiet games, team games, individual games, games for children, games for young people they re all here. Ultimate Quizzes 9.99 Ultimate Quizzes is crammed full of creative and imaginative ways to help your group explore the Bible through using quizzes. Ultimate visual Aids 9.99 Open up the Ultimate Visual Aids CD-ROM and find a whole treasure trove of ideas to help you illustrate stories for children s groups, holiday clubs, all-age services and more. With drawings and pictures for use in activity sheets, OHP slides, presentations, banners, etc covering the whole Bible. 7
SeRIeS 1 SErIES InTroDUCTIon in god s HanDs Discover how God protects David in his early life BiBle BaCKgrounD For you God s choice of David was surprising by any human standard; no one expected it at the time, and reading it now we still feel surprise. Why pass over the more obvious candidates? God sees things that we do not. he can see the potential created by a resolve to serve him, which is not always obvious to the casual observer. how far do we make judgements that are based on the wrong considerations? God always has a different perspective; how far do we go along with the assessment of those around us? God shows his love to people we might not naturally love. Some of the children in your group will be familiar with the story of David and Goliath. It is easy to see it just as a gung-ho adventure story of the underdog winning out. There is far more to it. It is part of a bigger story of what God is doing to save and protect his people. David has a special place in God s plans. In this story he demonstrates the faith that God looks for and that will bring victory. how do we show our faith in God to look after us? For your small group with a wide age range Just as God helped David grow from a shepherd boy to a king, so he helps our children grow and achieve their God-given potential. The basic step which even the youngest can take is the realisation of God s love for us, and our priority is to see that everyone knows that. Knowing his love, it is easier to grasp that God understands, protects and helps us grow in faith. Try to choose activities which make this message relevant across the age groups, providing enough challenge for older ones while giving younger ones reassurance, especially when the stories contain violent elements. resources for ministry X:site is a town, area or city wide children s event for anyone who is 7 to 11 years old. Events happen every two months and everyone that goes has lots of fun whilst learning more about God. It s a great opportunity for children from small churches to meet with lots of other Christians of their own age. Each event combines silly games, live music with a great band, videos, creative prayer, craft, drama, Bible stories and lots more, so that everyone can have a good time and learn about Jesus while having fun at the same time! Maybe there is an X:site event in your area. Go to www.xsiteuk.org to find out! Highlights from LightLive Go to the Search LightLive tab at www.lightlive.org and enter this session s Bible reference to find: n Bible story picture : a regular activity for 2 7s n Audio Bible story : a regular mp3 download for 3 7s n Learn and remember : a PowerPoint of a Bible verse to learn, for 5 11s (see also page 30) n Presentation : an activity with animation for 11 14s 8
SErIES 1 IN GOD S HANDS SESSIon 1 Close to god s heart Bible: 1 Samuel 16:1 13; Psalm 23 Aim: To discover that God sees us differently than others Core PrograMMe For 3 14s Bible with games t 2% minutes Why: to discover that God looks at what people are like on the inside With: a variety of gift-wrapped packages, pictures copied from page 10, envelopes, small cards or slips of paper, SU Bible Timeline (optional) 1 prepare Before the session, prepare a variety of gift-wrapped packages wrap some packages so that it is obvious what is inside, but make others less obvious. Make two or three sets of the pictures. 2 Guessing game Display the gift-wrapped packages and invite the children to guess what is inside each one. Once the children have made their guesses, invite a volunteer to unwrap the package and see what is really inside. After all the packages have been unwrapped, chat about how easy it is to get fooled by wrappings, not just in the case of gifts, but also people! Say that in today s Bible story they will learn that God never gets fooled by the wrappings, such as what sort of clothes they wear and how they do their hair. He knows exactly what each person is like on the inside. 3 Bible verses game Divide the children into pairs or threes and give each team a set of six pictures from page 10. Read 1 Samuel 16:1 13, pausing at verses 1a, 1b, 5, 10, 11 and 13. Each time you pause, challenge the teams to select the picture that they think best represents that part of the story. Encourage them to arrange the pictures on the floor or a table from left to right, in order. Continue until the end of the Bible verses. Each picture in the correct place earns a team one point. The winning team is the one with the most points. 4 Bible Timeline Display the Bible Timeline. Invite the children to find the characters Abraham, Moses and Daniel. Chat about what those around them saw when they looked at these people. (For example, Abraham was a very old man who was childless.) Ask what they think God saw when he looked at the person. (He saw Abraham, a man of great faith.) Invite the children to think of suitable descriptions for David (for example, a young shepherd boy who became a great king). Stress that no one is too ordinary or too unimportant to be used by God. 5 response Read aloud God s words in 1 Samuel 16:7 (CEV): People judge others by what they look like, but I judge people by what is in their hearts. Remind the children that God knows exactly what is in their hearts the thoughts, attitudes and feelings deep inside them, which nobody else might see or know about. Give each child an empty envelope and a small card or slip of paper. Invite the children to spend some time in silence, thinking about what God sees when he looks into their hearts. Ask them to write down their thoughts (or draw something symbolic) on the card or paper and place it in their envelope. Suggest that they seal their envelopes and take them home as a reminder that God knows exactly what they are like on the inside and he loves them. 9
SERIES 1 IN GOD S HANDS photocopiable page Bible with games pictures 10
SESSION 1 CloSE To GoD S HEArT CORE PROGRAMME CONTINUED Creative worship t minutes Why: to praise God because he knows us so well 1 Invite the children to form a circle. In turn, ask each child to tell everyone something that no one in the group will know about them encourage them to share something unusual or humorous! 2 Explain that there is someone who knows everything about them, someone who knows them even better than they know themselves! Ask the children who this someone is. Say that God knows each one of them so well their thoughts, feelings, fears, hopes, dreams, strengths, weaknesses. 3 Read Psalm 139:1 6. After each verse, invite the children to respond: I praise you, Lord. You know me so well. Describe and imagine 10 minutes Why: to be assured that God knows us and loves us With: a photograph of someone the children don t know 1 Show the children the photograph and ask them to describe the person. Say that all the things they have said are true, but these are just about the outside of the person. Explain that God knows everyone, both on the outside and what they are really like inside. Read 1 Samuel 16:7. 2 Invite the children to sit quietly and imagine God looking at them with love. 3 Say a prayer out loud for each child, Thank you, God, that you know [child s name] and you love him/her, just the way he/she is. Medals 10 20 minutes Why: to remember how God sees us With: ribbon or string, large coins (2p UK currency), circles of card, tin-foil squares, permanent markers or biros 1 Give each child 60 cm of ribbon or string, a large coin, two circles of card bigger than the coin and two tin-foil squares bigger than the coin. Make medals together by sandwiching the coin between the two pieces of card, then wrapping each square of foil tightly around it on each side. 2 Ask each child to think of one good thing they think God sees in them, for instance being kind, brave or funny. Help them write their word on their medal using a permanent marker or a biro. Attach string or ribbon to the back of each medal and present them to the children, saying out loud the things written on them. 11
SERIES 1 In GoD S HAnDS extension ideas Activities for younger children Finding game t minutes Why: to learn that God loves everyone With: any models or pictures of sheep available, at least one for each child 1 Stand the sheep together. Ask the children to pretend these are real sheep. Imagine David the shepherd boy looking after them. How would he find food and water? How would he keep them safe? 2 Ask the children to pick up one sheep each. Say that if the sheep got lost, David would go looking for them. The children should go and hide their sheep somewhere in the room and then come back. 3 When the sheep are hidden, pretend they are lost. The children must now go and find their own sheep and bring it back. 4 Comment that they knew their own sheep and were very good at finding them. God knows each one of us in just the same way. He loves everyone and never forgets where we all are. 5 Play the game several times, reminding the children each time of God s love for them. For older children t a minutes Why: to thank God that he looks at what people are like on the inside With: the Bible verses given on page 13 (optional) 1 Divide the children into two groups. Explain that one group is worried about what they look like, or the stuff they haven t got. The other group are agony aunts (or uncles). (It is probably best if an adult chairs the proceedings.) 2 Ask one group to come up with a problem. For example, I don t wear the latest fashions and some people laugh at me. Invite the agony aunts to suggest answers that relate to what they have learned in this session. (Check out 1 Samuel 16:7.) 3 After a few turns, encourage the children to thank God that he loves them for who they really are. 4 If appropriate, give each child a copy of the Bible verses. the learn and remember verse I have confidence in your strength; you are my refuge, o God. Psalm 59:9 Write each word on a paper strip. Make a paper chain out of the strips and join the two ends to form a circle. Practise saying the verse together, starting from different places in the chain. Find a poster for this Learn and remember verse on page 30. You can also sing the verse with the song UR my refuge on the Bitesize Bible Songs CD, available from Scripture Union. 12
photocopiable page SESSION 1 close to God s heart Check out these Bible verses when you are Angry Ephesians 4:26,27 Worried 1 Peter 5:7 In need Matthew 6:19 34 Afraid Isaiah 43:1,2; Matthew 10:29 31 Struggling to forgive someone Matthew 18:21 35 Feeling guilty about sinning Psalm 51; 1 John 1:9 In danger Psalm 91 Finding it difficult to pray Romans 8:26,27 In a situation where you don t know what to do James 1:5 Burdened with problems Matthew 11:28 30 In need of courage Joshua 1:9 Tempted to do wrong Ephesians 6:10 18 Feeling all alone or abandoned Isaiah 49:15,16 Feeling that everything is going wrong Romans 8:28 13