Grace of God

2 Kings 5

Something to say and show

*put on thug voice* Right! My names The Jailor, do you know what the Jailor does? If you've done something bad, then he puts you in prison. And as I look around here I can see a few criminals in this room! Can I have 4 volunteers to be my prisoners. (Line children up behind a jail grate made out of card). The rest of you are the jury, do you know what the jury does? they decide whether or not we should let the prisoners go free! So lets look at the first case shall we? (Get the kids to hold up a piece of paper with their 'crime' on it) What have we here? Oh that's pretty serious etc. So what do they jury think? Should we let them go? why do you think that? (Eventually decide to release the child). Crimes are: Farted in class, Lied, forgot to say please and thank you, and made a little girl my slave and killed her family. go through each crime in the same format, let them go. When you reach the last one ask the 'jury' if they would let the prisoner go. Say, now imagine if you were that little girl, I don't think I'd let him go. could you let someone go who had done that to your family? It would be hard wouldn't it? You'd be very sad and angry. but this is the crime from todays story. The man in our story had a disease called leprosy. A terrible disease that would kill him one day. the little servant girl knew there was a God who could heal him and a prophet called Elisha to do it. Even though Naaman was her enemy, even though he had treated her and her family terribly, even though he deserved no sympathy at all, she forgave him. she showed him amazing grace. So hears a tough question for you. Why do you think the servant did it? Why did she show grace to Naaman, why did she forgive him even though he didn't deserve it? Well lets think about it. Have you ever forgotten to say please or thank you? Have you ever lied? Yeah, because we all make mistakes, we all sin. But we have all been forgiven and we have all been shown grace. We have a gracious God. Every time we screw up he forgives us. that's amazing grace....giving us something we don't deserve!

 

Something to pray

Imagine you have a piece of paper in your hands. I want you to think of something you've done wrong and pretend to write it on the paper. Now we are going to pretend to rip up the paper all together! Go! Pray a prayer of thanks to God for forgiving us and showing us amazing grace!

 

God looks after us

2 Samuel 7, Psalm 23, 51

Something to say

David was a shepherd, a pretty good one too. Ask the kids what makes a good shepherd? They need to be caring and protective, the must be brave and they must be wise to know what's best for the sheep. It was a tough job when David was doing it, he had to keep his sheep safe in all kinds of weather. He had to wander around by himself outside and keep watch for wolves! Some scary things happened to David and he also did some pretty bad things. Yet God looked after him and even made him a king. David knew that God kept him safe and protected him. He knew that God loved him - nothing David had done could change that. God gave David songs to sing of how much he loves us. David wrote them all down and they are called Psalms. One of them, Psalm 23, is about how God is just like a shepherd, looking after us and guiding us because he loves us. David sings about how he doesn't need to be afraid of anything because God looks after him forever. It's true for us too!

Something to show

Get the children to write or draw their own Psalms about how God looks after them and loves them.

Something to pray

Thank you God for guiding us and looking after us just like David cared for his sheep.

 

Let them pray

Prayer can be hard work and praying as a family can be even harder, I guess that's why people call it a discipline. The bible teaches that prayer is supposed to be done continuously so what does this look like with our kids? I mean they've got school to attend, homework to do, musical instruments to learn, friends to play with and that's just one day. Where does prayer fit in?

In my family we've had prayer times that look more like a wrestling match than chatting with God. I think my biggest challenge is often that I'm trying to get my kids to pray rather than encourage them to be with God and it becomes an activity where they have to stop being themselves and become grown up and less themselves. The bible says that it is with boldness we approach God who is seated on a throne. We see from the gospels that children don't have a problem with this but that the adults around them sometimes do. Mark says that Jesus 'took them in his arms and blessed them' (Mark 10v16). Leading our kids in prayer therefore should involve us teaching them that Jesus wants to take them into his arms and prayer makes this possible. It's a wonderful image for us as parents to have. So when children pray they should do so as children, knowing that God accepts them as they are and expects them as they are. 

Don't just listen to what I've got to say visit this page to find out more.

God helps us

1 Samuel 17

Something to say

Recap the story emphasising that God is always there to help us in all we go through. Sometimes it might seem like it is physically impossible for us to conquer an enemy or a situation, but we need to remember that no matter how big a problem seems, we serve a bigger God who is always there to help us and bring us through stuff. He is bigger than anything out there and the best part is he is always with us and always there to help us.

Something to show

With the aid of props talk through some problems we might have that we can ask God to help us with (homework, bullies, nightmare....)

Something to pray

Lead the children in a prayer to ask God to let them know that no matter what the situation may be, or how things seem, God is always there to help them and we can trust in the strength he gives us.

A verse to remember

Our help is in the name of the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 124:8

God picked me

1 Samuel 16

Something to say

The things we choose are very important (jenga blocks, very important to remove the right one) If you were choosing a king, what kind of person would you want? Brave? Strong? Eloquent? Clever? Grown up? But God chooses differently, he chose David. God told Samuel to find his chosen king. David didn't look like someone you'd choose to be a king - on the outside he was little and young. Not impressive, smelly shepherd! God knew his heart was like God's and that he'd obey God and be a good king. He wasn't a good king because chose him, it was the other way round! David didn't do anything to prove himself or earn being a king, God chose him just like he chooses us. He chooses us because he loves us.

Something to show

Make some paper crowns and write on them things the children are chosen for. 'Leading others in worship' 'Praying for others' 'Being friends with the lonely kid' 'helping' 'being generous'. Explain that David was chosen to be king when he really little and in the same way we are chosen to do things now, we don't have to wait until we are older. Go around and place crowns on different kids heads explaining they can be chosen for the thing that's written on it (this works even better if you put the crown on a child who you believe has a certain calling or gift!)

Something to pray

Get the children to be still and ask God to show them what they are chosen to do. Pray, God we thank you that you choose us because you love us. Holy Spirit come and show us what it is we are chosen to do and help us with that. Amen

A verse to remember

You did not choose me, but I chose you. John 15:16

Good Friday for Tots

Here is what we did with our Tots on Good Friday to help them explore what Jesus did for us. Feel free to use our ideas.

St Barnabas Tots Church – Good Friday 2014

Theme: Light & Dark

Room: Praise baby creation DVD

Aim of the session: The free flow session is designed to help the children explore the theme of light and dark through a range of specially designed hands on play activities. Using the story ‘Can’t you sleep little bear’ as a starting point for the theme the leaders will have the opportunity to meet the children in their different play activities and use open ended questions to help the children think more about and make links to Jesus and the meaning of Easter to them.

Activities 11.30am-12.30pm (1 leader per activity)

Focus Activity: Story Telling Corner

Set up: a soft area in one of the corners of the room where the children will enjoy listening to a story. Invite small groups of children throughout the whole session to come and listen to the story ‘Can’t you sleep little bear’ by the end of the session all the children should have visited story telling corner.

Leader: Read the story ‘Can’t you sleep little Bear’ by Martin Waddell

Ask the children what was wrong with Little Bear in the story? Why couldn’t he go to sleep? Ask the children to close their eyes tightly and then open them again. What is different when our eyes are open, what can we see? Talk about how light helps us see clearly, shows the way and makes things bright. Read John 8:12 aloud: ‘Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”’Remind the children that we need light to help us see clearly, just like Little Bear in our story. Tell them that Jesus helps us to know how to live and how to understand things ,just as light help us see things in the dark .Explain to the children that we call Jesus ‘light’ because he shows us how to live his way, he helps us understand things, makes us happy.

Play Activity 1. The Bear Cave

Set up: a dark den for our bear cave, make this large enough to be the focal point of the room and not too dark as young children may be a little weary. In the cave decorate with shiny objects such as hanging CDs, non toxic glow sticks or other appropriate shiny material, perhaps LED lights. Inside the cave have a selection of torches, lights that the children can use in the den to look around and see what happens as they catch the different materials in the light. Fill the cave with small soft bear toys that they can look for.

Play Activity 3 - Craft Table

Set up: Large black craft paper A3, white chalk, silver, gold chunky crayons, silver and gold star stickers. Silver, gold glitter pens for the night pictures and for the day, paper plates with yellow and gold collage material and strips of yellow for the rays. Other suggested crafts from Baker Ross – paper lanterns, acrylic mirrors, tea light holders for older children.

Play Activity 4 – Building a bear den/cave

Set up: using a selection of different size boxes and fabric, blankets, the children can build a cave for their bear, provide larger Soft toy bears for role play.

Play Activity 5: Tough Spot/messy play tray - mirrored

Set up: Play tray with the mirror insert (from TTS) put on it a selection of ‘treasure’ perhaps hidden in sand on the tray. Shiny objects they can collect (but not too small that they can eat!) use coloured sand and little jewels from Baker Ross.

Baby soft play area (0-18 months)- toys & mirrors

Set up: In the usual soft play baby area, have the usual selection of toys but some mirrors for the babies to look at and explore.

Group Time 12.30pm-1pm – Outdoor

Children to be taken outside into the bungalow garden weather permitting. Below are suggestions of games and songs that could be done in this time followed by a drink and a biscuits. Finish with a ‘hunt’ around the garden to find their Easter gift to take home.

Reach for the Stars
Have the children pretend to catch stars. Ask them how many stars they caught. 

Mister Sun
Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun, (Place hands over head to form sun) Please shine down on me. (Wiggle fingers while moving hands down) Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun,(Place hands over head to form sun) Hiding behind the tree. (Place hands over eyes) These little children are asking you, (Points to children) To please come out so we can play with you. (I don't know sign) Oh mister sun, sun, mister golden sun,(Place hands over head to form sun) Please shine down on,(Wiggle fingers while moving hands down) Won't you shine down on,(Wiggle fingers while moving hands down) Please shine down on me.(Point at self) 

Star Light, Star Bright
Star Light, Star Bright First star I see tonight, Wish I may, Wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star....

Light of the world

Good Friday follow on

Here is a copy of the takeaway that families will receive tomorrow. It contains ideas for helping your family think more about Easter this weekend and celebrate what Jesus has done. Let us know how you get on.

Jesus said ‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.’ John 8v12

Good Friday in Tots Church…

Today we have been exploring the theme of light and dark using the story ‘Can’t you sleep little bear’ by Martin Waddell to help us. Through lots of activities about light and dark we have been thinking more about how Good Friday was a dark day but Jesus is the light and that’s what we celebrate today.

At home...

If you would like to continue this theme at home over the Easter period here are some ideas you might like to try – have fun!

• Decorate your wooden cross tea light holder with an adult and use it as a focal point for Easter prayers
• When opening your Easter eggs think about the empty tomb  
• Dead or Alive? Put together a selection of seeds, bulbs, dried flowers, , dead pot plant, to help introduce the idea of death and dying
• Plant cress seeds in a yoghurt pot (cotton wool, water) to illustrate new life as the dull and dry seeds grow into cress
• Paint pictures using purples, greys, deep blues and reds for the children to express sad or serious feelings.
• Make or buy hot cross buns – explain that when people eat these it reminds them of Jesus being put on the cross on Good Friday.
• Think about new life; egg hunt, fun with craft feathers, make Easter chicks. Play lots of active games to show they are alive; heads, shoulders, knees and toes!
• Create an Easter picture using bright colours to show how we feel about Jesus being alive!
• Talk about how we feel when we receive good news and that makes us happy
• Make a traditional Easter decoration from Sweden. Push a branching twig into play dough, decorate and hang card Easter egg shapes from the branches using ribbon. Label with Jesus is Alive!

Fun animation for the family

After reading a review of this video in Children's Work magazine I couldn't resist watching it for myself. I have come across Taylormation before and am encouraged to see a UK based animation studio producing material that is funny, relevant and to a high standard. They have a very veggie tales feel to them without the America. I thought this new episode was a lot of fun and is rounded off well with a good message. See for yourself at beanwrestlemania.com.

SpringFest

With over 470 attending SpringFest last month, we had such an amazing time. Here are some pictures to give you an idea of how much fun it was. If you missed it this time be sure to come along to AutumnFest October 19th.

Listen to God

Joshua 3 and 6

Something to say

Recap the story. Ask the children what the first thing Joshua did was? He listened to God! Ask the children what else could Joshua have done? He could have made a bomb, got scared and ran away, decide to fight....there are endless answers. Reinforce that Joshua chose to listen to God. God gave Joshua a very odd battle plan but Joshua trusted God and led the Israelites round the walls. God's plan worked!

Something to show

Ask for 4 volunteers. Split them into pairs and give one child in each pair a piece of paper with a simple sentence on it like 'listen to the voice of God'. Send one pair into a quiet corner of the room. With the other pair, keep one child next to you and send the other child (the one with the piece of paper) as far away as possible. Explain that on the count of three you want both the children with the pieces of paper to read out the sentence so their partner can hear the message. Get the rest of Kids Church to also shout really loudly at the same time! After the challenge ask the pair who were next to each other whether they successfully passed on the message. they should have done as even over Kids Church shouting they were right next to each other! Now ask the child who is stood next to you whether they heard their partner reading out the message. They shouldn't have heard it as the partner was too far away and Kids Church were shouting.
Explain this is what listening to God is like. The further away we are from God the harder it is to hear him. We need to be in a relationship with him, get close to him, know him so we can hear his voice.

Something to pray

Get the children to practice listening to God by asking God a question such as 'how much do you love me?'. Then ask them to think of a problem they have like Joshua had a problem. Explain that they can choose to do what Joshua did and listen to what God says about it. Listen to God again asking him what he wants them to do. Pray God would speak to them and that he would help them.

A verse to remember

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

Some helpful hints

How to have a positive session

Children need:

·        To know they are welcome: How do you greet them?

·        To know that their place is ready for them: Clean tidy and 
          attractive environments

·        To be safe: Rules, clear of hazards

·        To have your attention: Are you listening?

·        To experience your skills: Are you prepared?

·        To have quality resources: Are our kids worth spending money on

·        To have your prayers: In and out of the session

·        To have your interest: What matters to them matters to me

·        To be encouraged: Your words have great power

·        To know the boundaries: Clear expectations

·        To be engaged: Do our activities have the children in mind?

·        To know God’s love: It is a privilege to be with the children

For more information see the Core Skills for Children's work book

Keeping kids safe

Safeguarding children may not sound glamorous or exciting but it is essential if we want children to thrive through the work we are called to do. The various events we put on for the children in our community are for the benefit of those who attend. From toilet trips to hot drinks our children deserve to come to a place where the adults who are serving them have done all they can to ensure that they are safe. The world children live in is not always a safe place; our church and church activities need to be!

On Monday 31st March we are hosting a training evening at St Barnabas for all those working with children and families so we look forward to seeing you there. 

Click here to see more from CCPAS, about the importance of safeguarding

God knows best

Exodus 16-17, 19-40

Something to say

Recap the story. Rules, rules, rules! They're not much fun are they? Ask the kids to raise their hands if they have ever heard anyone say 'you can't have dessert until you've finished your dinner' or 'no running in the house' or 'raise your hand if you have a question'. There's rules everywhere! When I was younger my mum would always shout at me for picking my nose and I'd always ask 'But whhhyyyyy?'. Ask the kids if they have asked that. It's a good question to ask. We want an explanation as to why we can't do something. My mum would just say to me 'because I said so'. That doesn't sound like a good reason does it?

Something to show

Show the kids a selection of road signs, ask them if they know what the sign means. Ask the kids why we have rules on the road? Is it to be mean? is it 'because someone said so'? No! It's because we don't always know what's round the corner, there may be a bump in the road or children crossing the road. We need rules because we don't always know what's best for us. When I got older I realised my mum was right about my nose picking because now I get nose bleeds! I didn't know the reason for the rule when I was little but if I had listening to her and trusted her, it would have been okay. Like the Israelites instead of complaining and questioning all the time, sometimes we just need to respect God's rules and learn that he knows what is best for us even if we don't understand why.

Something to pray

Talk to the kids about a 'respect fist bump'. Respect is like saying I value you, I care about you and I will listen to you. so obeying God's rules is like giving him a massive 'respect' fist bump! When people around see us fist bumping God, they will notice. By obeying God's rules we are acting like Jesus and others will see Jesus in us! Pray, God help us to respect your rules even if we don't understand them. Help us remember we have your rules because you love us and you know what is best for our lives. Amen.

A verse to remember

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. Psalm 19:7

Impossible made possible

Exodus 14-15

Something to say

Recap the story. There was a big sea, what on earth were they going to do? It was impossible to escape! Ask the kids what they did? They panicked. There was no way out but God had a plan, he was going to make the impossible, possible!

Something to show

Get a girl and boy to volunteer to do a challenge. The challenge is to open as many wrapped sweets as they can in 60 seconds. Ask the volunteers and the rest of Kids Church if this is an impossible or a possible task. They should say its possible. Just before the challenge starts suddenly produce a pair of oven gloves for each child to wear while they unwrap the sweets. After 60 seconds ask them and the rest of Kids Church whether the challenge was possible or impossible. They should now say it was impossible!! Ask the kids if they can think of anything else that's impossible for us to do but that God can do. Remind the kids that God can do anything! Nothing is impossible for him!

Something to pray

Get the children to think about something in their life that seems impossible and that they can't do anything to fix it or help it. Pray, Father God, we know how powerful you are. You parted the sea and made the impossible, possible. Please come and change our situations and make the impossible, possible. Amen

A verse to remember

With human beings this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

Keep on Trusting God

Exodus 3-13

Something to say

Recap the story emphasising the promise God gave to his people. He made the promise to bring them out of Egypt even before they became slaves. Even though God had promised to free them, the Israelites were in Egypt for over 400 years. Moses kept going back to Pharoah and Pharoah kept saying 'no, you can't go'. Moses and the Israelites had to really trust in God. Sometimes it's difficult to trust God because we can't see him or touch him. But God is here, he's with us, he is in control and we need to put our trust in him.

Something to show

Get a selection of everyday objects of varying weights (heavy to paper light). hold an item up and ask the kids to guess what would happen if you let it go? As it drops to the floor, talk about how we all trust gravity to bring things down and stop us floating away. (repeat for al the objects, they will fall at different rates but they will eventually all come down) Explain again that when we wake up we expect to be able to walk on the floor without floating away because we trust gravity to be there even though we can't see it or feel it. In the same way, we can trust God to be there even though we can't see him.

Something to pray

Ask the children to think of something they would like to trust God with. Pray, Father God, teach us to put our trust totally in you and to know that you always have the answers and you will always be there for us. Amen.

A verse to remember

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

A Fair Lent

 I am all too aware of the many pressures bearing down on parents, so the idea of trying to engage the family
in some sort of Lent fast or habit has the potential of becoming the straw that breaks the camels back. For those who missed it, yesterday was the beginning of Lent which ends on Easter Sunday. Lots of christian's choose to observe Lent in some way either by fasting in a certain way or as encouraged by '40 Acts', taking on something new and living more generously.
What I like about the '40 Acts' is that rather than encourage us to give something up for 40 days like chocolate, which if you're like me is broken on Easter day by a chocolate gorge, they're encouraging people to take something on. The hope behind this is that we make a positive a permanent change in our life becoming more of a blessing to those around us. The 40 ideas they've given are fantastic and you can see them in Becki's earlier post. They include things like trying to live off £1.40 for one day or baking cakes and sharing them with class mates as well as many other creative ideas.
Fairtrade fortnight ends this weekend and we have a guest speaker coming to Kids Church on Sunday to help raise children's awareness to the importance of Fairtrade. This is an issue that God cares about and I believe he wants children to care about this as well.

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,

    and this is what he requires of you:

to do what is right, to love mercy,

    and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6v8

Walking home yesterday evening I came up with a practical idea that I can do with my family to support Fairtrade and help us think about the issues facing people who work so much for so little. What we've decided to do is change our usual breakfast meal not every day but just once a week. Every Monday throughout Lent instead of having our favourite cereal we're all going to eat a banana together and pray for Fairtrade. It's not 40 acts it works out as 6 acts but it's something that we as a family can all do together from the youngest in our family through to the adults. 
You might want to do  the 40 Acts throughout Lent, you may want to do one every other day, you may want to give up chocolate (heed my earlier warning), you may want to give my idea a try or come up with your own idea as a family. I want to encourage you to give something a go but don't let Lent overwhelm you because that is not what Jesus wants. What matters most throughout lent is what matters most throughout life and his name is Jesus. Any activity, any prayer or any idea we adopt as part of Lent that isn't aimed at getting closer to Jesus in my opinion is a waste of time, so lets try and get closer to Jesus this Lent.

40 Acts for Lent

Lent has begun and rather than giving something up for 40 days why not try 40 acts. Below is a poster giving you an idea of a simple act you can do as a family every day during Lent (Sundays don't count!). Give it a go and join in with us blessing each other and the people in our community.

How to love

Genesis 37-46

Something to say

Recap the story saying that good and bad things happened to Joseph. Ask the kids what did Joseph decide to do at the very end of the story? He FORGAVE. Tell the kids you are going to show them what forgiveness looks like.

Something to show

Heart cut out of fabric. Ask the children who were the people that hurt Joseph and what did they do to hurt him? Write these on the heart using a washable felt tip. Once the heart is full show them the messy heart and talk about how sad and angry Joseph would have been if he had carried around his messy hurting heart every day. But, the story tells us he made the choice to forgive and when he forgave something amazing happened. Put the heart into a bowl of undiluted bleach (wear rubber gloves!), then take it out. It will take around 30 seconds but all the felt tip will wash away and the heart will be clean again. Show the children the clean heart and tell them that God made his heart clean. He took away the hurt and filled Jospeh's heart with love. Repeat this whole process using another fabric heart, but this time write down some of the people who hurt us and what they do to us. Then put the heart in and out of the bleach again and tell the kids that God cleans our hearts too and wants to fill them with love.

Something to pray

Ask the children to think about whether they have hurt in their hearts. Encourage them to make the choice to forgive the people who have hurt them. Pray: Father God we ask that you would come and take away our anger and our hurt and our sadness. Holy Spirit please come and clean our hearts and fill them with your love.

A verse to remember

Then Joseph said to his brothers, 'come close to me.' Genesis 45:4

Five finger prayer

Have a look at this post from ministry-to-children.com for a couple of different five finger prayers to use with children.

Handy hints

Some handy hints to help keep you, and the children in your care safe

Serving children effectively

Ø  Treat children with dignity and respect

Ø  Don’t seek contact

Ø  Be sensitive to the individual

Ø  Avoid rough and tumble contact

Ø  Be gentle with your words and always encourage

Ø  Challenge unacceptable behaviour

Ø  Be a good role model

Responding to allegations

Ø  If you are suspicious or uncomfortable speak up

Ø  Listen carefully, don’t ask questions

Ø  Don’t promise to keep it a secret

Ø  Don’t judge anyone involved

Ø  Tell the child what you are going to do

Ø  Report it and write it down ASAP

Ø  Don’t talk to others about the report