Sunday 7 April 2013 Isaac is born Bible passage: Genesis 18:1 15; 21:1 8 Session aim: To see that God faithfully keeps his promise Ask people for suggestions of promises that they or others have made in the last week, such as picking someone up after school, buying a birthday present, texting a friend. Don t ask whether or not the promisemaker kept the promise but ask what might stop them from keeping that promise. Be as imaginative as you can, such as a car breaking down, just forgetting, losing a purse, not finding the ideal present, falling ill, the mobile battery running low. Then ask what promises God has made and allow for a few suggestions. What might stop God from keeping his promises? (The answer should be nothing, but don t assume that!) The children are going to explore how God kept his promise to Abraham in giving him a son. Write the word FAITHFUL down the left-hand side of a flip chart sheet or acetate. Ask people to call out characteristics of God, for which they are grateful, that begin with each of the eight letters for example: Forever, Amazing, Ingenious, Trustworthy, Helping, Friend, Unique, Lord. Invite people, in small groups or all together, to say one-sentence prayers of thanks to God, mentioning one of these characteristics. If you have a copy of the Scripture Union Bible Timeline, use it to point out where Abraham and Isaac are placed on it. Understanding chronology is a challenge for all, but it really helps us to see where key people in the Bible belong. For ever Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD God s promises Light for Everyone CD Father God, I wonder kidsource 52 Faithful one, so unchanging Songs of Fellowship 89
Sunday 14 April 2013 Abraham passes the test Bible passage: Genesis 22 Session aim: To realise that God wants his people to trust his faithfulness Ask two or three people to share a favourite Bible story about a time when God demonstrated that he can be trusted. For example, Peter walking on the water trusting Jesus that he would not sink, David escaping from King Saul into the wilderness or Moses who needed to trust God as he led God s people out of Egypt. It is always good to encourage people (of all ages) to talk about what matters to them in the Bible. Explain that the children are going to hear how Abraham needed to trust God. Identify a few people in your church who are facing a challenge and who need to trust that God is with them. Call them to the front and pray for them, as appropriate. Share the series Learn and remember verse together by splitting into three groups, each boldly stating their part: Group 1: The Lord is good; Group 2: his love is eternal. Group 3: and his faithfulness lasts All: for ever. Psalm 100:5 Repeat this several times, and even swap the parts around. The first time it could be said loudly, then quietly, then in a deep voice, or with a crescendo. You could repeat this the next two weeks. For ever Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Great big God Great Big God CD Faithful one, so unchanging Songs of Fellowship 89 So I ll trust in God kidsource 300
Sunday 21 April 2013 Isaac s children Bible passage: Genesis 25:19 34; 27:1 45 Session aim: To be confident because God is faithful even though life is messy If there are any twins or just one twin in the congregation (adults or children), ask them to talk briefly about what it is like to be twins. Alternatively, conduct a light-hearted questionnaire to find out the causes of disagreements between brothers or sisters. Or you could play a version of Mr and Mrs in which two siblings are asked questions to discover what they know about the other one. Questions could include: What does your brother/sister do better than you? What do you like best about your brother/sister? What does your brother/sister do that most annoys you? What one thing would you like to change about your brother/sister? Explain that children in their groups are going to encounter the bitter disagreements between Isaac s twin sons. Ask one family (adults and children) to lead prayers, thanking God for his faithfulness even when life gets messy. They could thank God for family life. Say: Isaac blessed Jacob. Then in small groups, ask people to write their own blessing in which they ask for God to bless everyone else in church. The blessing should consist of the following: May the God who (is/did). bless you. May God come close to you when (identify a difficult time). May God give you. Amen. Each group can pray the prayer all together at the end of the time, or at the end of the service, or the children can take their blessing to their children s groups. For the beauty of the earth Mission Praise 152 He s got the whole wide world in his hands Mission Praise 225 Faithful one Songs of Fellowship 89
Sunday 28 April 2013 God s promise to Jacob Bible passage: Genesis 28:10 22 Session aim: To find out that God is with us, even when we re on our own An internet search would reveal the fact that Jacob s ladder is the title of a whole range of programmes and places from a voluntary service to assist people in expressing grief, helping unemployed or underemployed people, a patented treadmill climber, an inn, a neuro-developmental learning centre, a hillside flight of 274 steps in Cheddar Gorge and a bookshop. Ask what people think about when they hear the phrase Jacob s ladder, then talk about some of their suggestions. Briefly tell the story and then, if possible, show a copy of William Blake s picture of Jacob s ladder (downloadable from the internet). Talk about how much this image relates to people s idea of what happened to Jacob on that memorable night. The children are going to discover more about Jacob s experience in their groups. Label at least three areas of the church as a place where people are likely to go this week school, work, church, home, hospital, etc. Light a candle in each place as a symbol that God is there. Invite people to visit at least one of these places to pray about what they might experience there, concluding with these words based on what God said to Jacob: Lord God, thank you that wherever I go, you promise to be with me. Splash! suggests using an active prayer, God is with me (see page 26 of Splash! for Leaders, and as a download from Splash! Web resources for Session 4), which has come from Let s All Clap Hands (SU). If this is not being used in the Splash! session, ask the children to prepare to lead the whole congregation in prayer by speaking and miming the words. I am with you Bitesize Bible Songs CD UR my refuge Bitesize Bible Songs CD God is our guide Junior Praise 56
Sunday 5 May 2013 Jacob gets married Bible passage: Genesis 29 31 Session aim: To be confident because God is with us when we go to new places In advance, ask two people to talk about a new situation and how they felt about it, before the situation happened, as well as once it had begun. This could be a new job or school, a new home or even marriage. Ask how they prepared and how they talked with God throughout the process. You could show three faces (happy, sad and scared) and as they speak, ask which face best represented how they felt at any one time. Explain that the children will hear about a new situation that Jacob found himself in and also hear what he discovered about God. Write the word CONFIDENT vertically down a flip chart sheet of paper. Explain to younger members of the congregation what it means and briefly say why we can be confident in God. (This would follow on well from learning the Learn and remember verse.) Ask people to suggest things about God that enable us to trust God each beginning with a letter from the word confident. For example: Cares, Offers kindness, Never far away, Faithful, Inspiring, Dependent, Everywhere, Not hateful, Trustworthy. Draw all the suggestions together into a prayer of thankfulness. Write out the Learn and remember verse on five large castle-tower-shaped pieces of card, as follows: I have confidence/in your strength;/you are my refuge,/ O God./Psalm 59:9. Show these towers in the right order and after repeating the verse three times, remove the towers one at a time, until everyone can say the verse from memory. You could come back to this verse next week. UR my refuge Bitesize Bible Songs CD God s home Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD God s promises Light for Everyone CD Our confidence is in the Lord the source 417 Our God is an awesome God the source 418 Great is thy faithfulness Mission Praise 200
Sunday 12 May 2013 Jacob goes home Bible passage: Genesis 32,33 Session aim: To know that God is with us in difficult relationships Splash! for Leaders has a set of cards for three Happy families page 36. These are also available as Splash! Web resources. Check if the children s group leaders are going to use these and, if so, moderate what you do. Give out copies of the cards to everyone and then ask people to find out who is in their family, getting into groups of four. When everyone is in a family of four, ask what people notice about their family. You should get comments such as, how happy they all look and the fact that families do not always consist of two adults with the father in employment and with one boy and one girl. Comment on the fact that the majority of families do not conform to this pattern and that sometimes families are unhappy. The children are going to discover how God was with one unhappy family, where some of the relationships were sorted out Jacob and Esau. It would be very appropriate to pray for families after the introductory activity. Ask two or more families to prepare prayers, asking God to be with families, along the following lines: thank God for families for families who are sad at this time, because of illness or other sadness for families where relationships are breaking down, that there will be those who offer support and do all that they can to strengthen the parents and care for those who are hurting for families who are expecting change in some way soon a new baby, a move, a new school for your church to be welcoming to all people, whatever shape their family is. How family-friendly is your church? Split into smaller groups and ask for comments on the following points: How many families (of all types) are you in contact with as a church? Try to name them. Which parts of the service are valued by which age groups? Make a list such as: Music, Welcome, Notices, Prayers, Bible reading, Ending, Bible talk, Refreshments, Visual aids. Look around the building. Which parts of the building are best suited to which age groups and abilities? Make a list. If you came to church for the first time, what words would you use to describe the church service and/or building? How does the church family support families who are experiencing difficulties? Listen carefully to the feedback. There may be something important for you to hear! Visit www.scriptureunion.org.uk/ families to find out more about families ministry within the church. Leave all your worries Bitesize Bible Songs CD God s home Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD For the beauty of the earth Junior Praise 48 Father God, I wonder Junior Praise 337
Sunday 19 May 2013 Promise delivered Bible passage: Acts 2:1 13,43 47 Session aim: To receive God s power to live as he wants us to Invite someone to come a share a short story about a time when they needed God s power to live God s way. Encourage them to keep it specific, jargon-free and under five minutes. One of the images in the Bible of the Spirit at work is of new life being given to dead bones Ezekiel 37:1 14. Remind people of this, then talk about how these dead bones lay lifeless waiting for life to be poured into them. Ask people to drop their lower arm so that it hangs lifeless. Pray that we will be ready and waiting for the new life that God, by his Spirit, longs to give us. Then ask everyone to hold their lower arm bone and wobble it. It is hard but because they can move it, they know it has life. Be quiet for a moment before asking that God, by his Spirit, will pour his life into us to help us to live as he wants us to. To engage the children more fully, ask them to lie on the floor and feel several of the bones in their body, such as fingers, skull, neck, legs. These could be floppy and then move energetically, as life flows through them. Finally, they can jump up and down and throw their arms and legs around. The Learn and remember verse for this series is: God s Spirit fills us with power, love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 Work out some actions or signs for this verse and use them as you learn the verse together. The signs will indicate how much everyone understands what this means. You could split into small groups with each group then demonstrating their actions for the benefit of others. God s Spirit Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Holy Spirit, we welcome you Songs of Fellowship 188 More love, more power Songs of Fellowship 392 Spirit of the living God Songs of Fellowship 510
Sunday 26 May 2013 Beautiful miracle Bible passage: Acts 3 Session aim: To discover more about our promise-keeping God and how he can transform our lives Act out the following scenario put on rubber gloves, produce a washing up bowl and a pile of dishes. Pour in water from a kettle and add plenty of washing up liquid, making an impressive mound of bubbles. Put in the dishes and start to wash them. Everyone should be a bit bemused, so explain that you made a promise to your wife/husband/mother/friend to do the washing-up and you want to make sure you keep your promise while you remember. It s easy to forget promises you have made! Continue by saying that God has made lots of promises. One of the really big promises was that he would send someone to save his people. People had to wait hundreds of years for that promise to be kept, but to prove that he hadn t forgotten, God kept asking different people (the prophets) to tell and remind others and even to write it down. We can read what they wrote in our Bibles today. But we now know that the promise was kept, because Jesus was the promise. Unlike with the washing-up, God was not afraid he would forget to keep his promise. But he kept reminding people of it until the right time. We can trust God never to forget his promises to us. In the story the children are going to think about, several people have their lives transformed, changed in one way or another. One is transformed physically; his body is changed in an amazing way. Others are transformed spiritually and find they can do things they never could before. This is all the work of God s Holy Spirit. Give everyone an A4 sheet of paper. Ask them to think how they would like God to transform their lives maybe a specific desire about a physical ailment or becoming brave to tackle something tough, or something general such as getting to know God better. Write or draw these desires on the paper (symbols are useful in these situations). To remind everyone that we know God can transform lives, transform each paper into an aeroplane. Be ready to help anyone who doesn t know how to do this. When all the planes are ready, pray together by saying, Thank you God for your power to transform our lives. Then send the aeroplanes across the room. Collect the planes up to take away for shredding. Remind everybody that in the story in Acts 3 Peter stood up publicly to talk about God. Together, plan some ways your church (all the age groups) could do this. You could concentrate on God s promises (designing posters to display in a public place might be a good way to do this) or you could use testimony about the ways God has transformed the lives of people in your congregation in some form of public worship. If you want to use street evangelism or public witness, check with your local authorities and with other churches. This in itself gives opportunities to witness! I am with you Bitesize Bible Songs CD God s Spirit Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD Call to me Light for Everyone CD So amazing God Light for Everyone CD King of all Reach Up! CD Peter and John went to pray kidsource 281
Sunday 2 June 2013 God-talk Bible passage: Acts 4 Session aim: To discover more about our promise-keeping God and how he can transform our lives Ask two young sports players to the front, the smaller the better. Chat about how often they play, who they play against, what it s like to score a goal/runs. Then, ask any adult sports players to come forward, if possible dressed ready to play, with as much intimidating body armour as possible. They stand looking aggressive while you ask the younger players how they would like to play on their own against them. If you don t have adult players, display a picture of an American football team looking intimidating. Ask the congregation to imagine that this situation isn t as it first appears because the young players have the very latest in football boots (hang a label around one of their necks saying WONDERBOOTS ) and the adults have heavy balls chained to their feet (hang a notice round one of their necks saying BALL AND CHAIN ). Who would get all the goals then? This is a bit like how it was in the story the children will hear today and it s not the story of David and Goliath! Jesus disciples didn t have wonder boots but they did have something else. Turn the WONDERBOOTS notice around to read GOD ON THEIR SIDE. The other side did not have a ball and chain but another handicap. Turn the other notice around to read AGAINST GOD. God has promised that his Holy Spirit will help anyone who needs him. He can help people win in the most unlikely circumstances, including us! Give out some information, ideally visually, about a place where Christians have to stand up for their faith against the authorities. This may be in your own country or local area where Christians are taking a moral standpoint, or in another country where living as a Christian is difficult. www.csw.org.uk is one useful source of information. In small groups, give out sticky notes and ask people to write or draw a prayer to God for this situation. Invite each group to place their stickers on a world map or on a cross or suitable poster. Then pray for all people who are trusting God to help them, as he promised, as they face antagonism from authorities. I am with you Bitesize Bible Songs CD God s Spirit Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD God s promises Light for Everyone CD Jesus, send me the helper kidsource 213 Jesus, we celebrate your victory kidsource 217 The Spirit lives to set us free kidsource 334
Sunday 9 June 2013 Jesus in the Temple Bible passage: Luke 2:41 52 Session aim: To be inspired that God prepared Jesus in the routines of daily life You are going on an imaginary family outing in the spring. Choose a place that is about two hours journey away, somewhere that an extended family in the church might go to. The discussion about this journey could be done altogether or in family groups. Decide on the size of the family group (make it as allembracing as possible), how you are going to travel, where you will meet, what time you need to start out, what you will take with you, what the weather would be like in the spring, and so on. Finally talk about what each person would most look forward to. Allow time for brief feedback, if the discussion is in small groups. The children are going to hear about an outing that Jesus family went on, a long trip to the city of Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. It was in the spring. Briefly draw comparisons with the planned trip that you have just talked about. What would Jesus have been looking forward to as an ordinary boy in an ordinary family? Comment that Jesus life as a boy was nothing special. Ask God to bless us in the normal things of our lives. Ask for anyone who does the following to stand up, each group in turn: travels by public transport each day goes to school buys food once a week travels by car uses a computer plays a sport speaks to a friend for at least five minutes each day cleans their teeth As each group stands, pray: Leader: Lord God, may we know you with us as we [go to school, etc]. Response: Lord God, may we serve you every day. Finally, ask everyone to stand. Leader: Lord God, may we make you our number one priority each day. Response: Lord God, may we expect to see you at work in our lives in all we do. I am with you Bitesize Bible Songs CD From heaven you came kidsource 62 I want to be like Jesus kidsource 181 Once in royal David s city Junior Praise 185 (especially verses 3 and 4)
Sunday 16 June 2013 John in the desert Bible passage: Matthew 3:1 17 Session aim: To see how God equips his people through the Spirit Briefly explain the background to Psalm 51 in which King David realised that he had sinned in relation to Bathsheba, and the prophet Nathan pointed this out to him (2 Samuel 12). Then read Psalm 51:5 11. Display the words of these verses and read them alternately. King David realised that he could confess his sins to God and experience cleansing and forgiveness. Comment on verse 11. David recognised that he needed God s Spirit to be with him and to assure him of God s forgiveness. The children will hear how Jesus experienced God s Spirit at his baptism, when he identified with the need for all people to be cleansed. Baptism is evidence that someone has wronged God, needs cleansing and needs to receive God s forgiveness. Invite everyone to stand up and ask them to think if there is anything that they wish they had not done this week, something they know has displeased God. Pause for a short time. Then ask everyone to hold out their hands and declare that God longs for us to turn back to him, as John the Baptist declared, and seek God s forgiveness. Ask people to silently speak with God, knowing that he longs to forgive. Take a bowl of water and sprinkle it over the congregation, declaring that God has forgiven them and made them clean. Use your normal form of absolution, if that is your tradition. Conclude by reminding people that God s Spirit is given to those who have turned away from their sin and turned to God. Use this service to help people of all ages think about a baptism that may have recently taken place, or will take place soon. Talk about the differences between the style of Jesus baptism and what takes place in your church. (Co-ordinate what you are going to say and do with the Light leaders.) God s Spirit Bitesize Bible Songs 2 CD God forgave my sin Junior Praise 54 Purify my heart Songs of Fellowship 475 Create in me Songs of Fellowship 76 Holy Spirit, we welcome You Songs of Fellowship 188
Sunday 23 June 2013 Jesus in the desert Bible passage: Matthew 4:1 11 Session aim: To realise that God equips his people with his Word In advance, ask four people (of all ages) to decide on their favourite Bible story, Bible character, Bible book or Bible verse and why. To begin, ask everyone to think how they would answer the question, What is your favourite Bible verse/ character/story/book? Say that, while they are thinking of an answer, four people are going to share their answers. Later in the service make sure you invite people to share their favourite Bible bit (and the children may like to do that in their session). Explain that in their groups the children are going to see how God equips his people with his Word, the Bible. Display the following response (Psalm 119:105) on a screen or notice sheet so that everyone can say it between the three requests to be made to God: Your Word is a lamp that gives light wherever I walk. Ask God to cast his light upon you when you feel afraid or uncertain and in the dark, such as Ask God to help you to obey him wherever he leads or challenges you to walk, such as Ask God to help you hear his Word as a lamp when he speaks. This week sees the beginning of the Big Schools Birdwatch 2009, run by the RSPB. Christians value God s world and all that he has created and are saddened at how the natural world is affected by human actions. Draw attention to this special week and then thank God for the birds which are part of his created world. For more details visit www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch. The Word Bitesize Bible Songs CD Say the word Songs of Fellowship 993 May the words of my mouth Songs of Fellowship 1449 Come on, let s go exploring kidsource 439
Sunday 30 June 2013 John in prison Bible passage: Matthew 11:1 19 Session aim: To discover that God s people are equipped when they see God at work In advance, ask someone to demonstrate how they make something that a child can copy, step by step. This could be arranging flowers, sorting out the notice sheets or music, putting a new string on a guitar or it could be something not related to church such as doing up a tie. Whatever it is, it needs to be safe, visual and possible for a child to copy, but difficult or impossible for them to do without guidance. Ask a child to come to the front to watch what is being done and then copy it, step by step. Afterwards, ask the child if they could have completed the task without seeing how it was done. Then explain that John the Baptist saw and heard what Jesus was doing. The children are going to discover what effect that had on him and his disciples. Break into small groups, giving each group one sort of person to reflect on. What did they see Jesus do to help such a person when he was alive? How might they now pray for anyone who is like that this week? The topics could include: sick people; sad people; people making big decisions about life; lonely people; people preparing to serve God. This should prompt gratitude to Jesus for who he is and what he has done. Invite people to share their observations and then pray for these people, either in small groups, or all together. Say that very early on in Jesus ministry he preached that he had come to fulfil the Messianic expectation, which included giving sight to the blind and freeing prisoners (Luke 4:16 21). People were amazed but then turned against him, despite seeing all that he was doing. John was in prison because of his commitment to serving God, so it would be appropriate to pray for those in prison in 2013 because of their faith. For more details, visit www.csw.co.uk or www.opendoorsuk.org. God is an awesome God Light for Everyone CD Who was the man? Light for Everyone CD Make me a channel of your peace Junior Praise 161 Jesus, how lovely you are Junior Praise 133