Ponderings of a disciple: Emmanuel Kids Church Sunday 22nd March

Mothering Sunday

Here are some suggested activities for you to worship God together as a family this Sunday. They are given in the order in which I would lead Kids Church, but feel free to use them in any way that suits you. Not all activities will work for younger kids, but hopefully there will be some ideas you can make use of. As ever with anything I do, feedback would be great! God bless us all while we are apart! xx

Getting ready - you will need:

pencils

paper

means for playing music eg youtube

a talking stick eg wooden spoon

Bible and or access to the internet

Craft materials: paper plates or circles of card / small felt or fabric squares / cotton balls / glue / crayons / card / yarn

Opening prayer

In order to be ready to spend time with God lets put the things that might distract us to one side. Choose a place where you are going to put them (eg on a shelf). It might be a favourite toy, it might be your phone or other tech, it might be a distracting thought (write this on a piece of paper).

Each person place their distraction on the shelf and say:

Dear God

I give this to you to look after.

Help me to focus on you.

Amen

Worship

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Tr5eUBTClw&list=PL-3aEhnkZ8LMPOZYNrVPV03-3fcjT_K3H

or a song of your choice.

There a also list of youtube suggestions at the bottom of this page.

Activity - sardines

Its Mother's Day! Give mum to a count of ten to go and hide. Then split up and look for her. Each person who finds her has to hide with her, until the last person finds her. Play this as often as you'd like.

Think About

Sit in a circle. Pass the talking stick around. The person who has it says one thing they love about mum eg "Mum, I love it when you tickle me", or "Mum I love that you are kind", or "Mum I love your shepherd's pie"

Bible Story - Hannah

Read 1 Samuel 1

(You can find it here if you don't have a bible at home

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Samuel+1&version=NIV)

Or watch it on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVBZO4YEtbg

Think About

Hannah desperately wanted a baby and being a mum made her very happy.

Give Mum the talking stick so she can tell the family all the things about being a mum that make her happy.

God calls himself 'our Father'. In what ways do you think God is like a mum to us too? How many ways can you think of?

Most importantly, God loves us hugely, just like Hannah loves Samuel.

God wants us, just as much as Hannah wanted Samuel.

And us being God's kids, makes God just as happy as Hannah was.

Further Bible Reading

For those of you who want to study the bible more, why not look up some of the verses at the bottom of this page?

Craft

If you have the resources, this is a nice Hannah craft

https://sundayschoolzone.com/activity/god-answered-hannahs-prayer-bible-craft/

Alternatively you could:

use playdough to make Hannah & Samuel
draw a picture of the story
act the story out using dress up clothes
write an acrostic poem about God's love

Prayer

When Hannah was upset she prayed to God. God answered her prayer. Pray together a family about the things that are upsetting you.

If you are not in the habit of praying together, don't be nervous! This is a great time to learn new skills. Read the Top Tips For Prayer bottom of this page