All Age Talk: Harvest

May 31, 2015May 31, 2015Leave a comment

This talk can be used with the story of creation in Genesis or with the parable of the talents.

You will need: A big box covered in wrapping paper containing a torch (Light), water and oil in a bottle (day 2- shake and they separate), sand or soil in a bottle, toy food or plants (day 3), a card sun, moon and stars (day 4), a toy bird or fish (day 5), a toy animal and a human doll or play person(day 6) a pillow (day 6); a gift label of sticker for everyone in the congregation, pens.

Invite someone to come up to the front and unwrap the big box. Take out all of the things inside (it doesn’t really matter what order they are in- they are all God’s gifts!) and speak about the gifts that God gives us in creation, things that we especially remember at harvest time.

I love getting gifts and when I do, I always want to say thank you to the person who has given it to me because it really shows they care and I want to show them that I care back. Sometimes I make a little thank you card to give them and sometimes I think about what gift I can give them. God has given us all of these amazing gifts. If you could give him something back what would it be?

The truth is that God has given us all sorts of gifts- not just gifts in nature, but gifts of things that we are good at doing. How could you use the things that you are good at doing to help God or to help others and, in your own way, give something back?

Get people to discuss in groups what they might individually do and then ask them to write or draw their gift on a gift label or sticker. As a symbolic prayer of thanks, play some music and ask people to come and put their label on the big gift box. Pray that over the coming days and weeks, they will be able to use their gifts as a gift to God.

All Age Easter Talk: Pinata

May 30, 2015May 30, 2015Leave a comment

Before the service:

First of all, make a pinata or buy one! If you fancy making one, there is a link to some instructions here.

Fill the pinata with sweets so that there will hopefully be enough for everyone there. This is important!!

The aim of the talk is to help people to see that, out of something that seems hard and sad, something amazing can come.

Talk (after having previously told the Easter story)

Show the Pinata and ask if people know what it is. Tell them how long it took you to make it and how proud of it you are. Do they know what to do with a pinata? INvote someone to come up and show you. Hopefully they will bash it and break it open to get to the sweets in the middle.

I feel a bit sad now! That was a beautiful pinata and it took ages to make! I’m really quite upset that it’s broken and ruined now. At least we got something good from it- lots of sweets!

It reminds me a bit of today (Good Friday). Something really terrible happened- Jesus died. It felt like everything had gone wrong and was ruined but actually it was not the end of the story. Something amazing came out of the bad thing! Jesus rose to new life and he gives us hope of a new life and a new start too! Sometimes we feel like things in our lives are broken and ruined because we’ve done things that we wish we hadn’t but, because Jesus died and that terrible thing happened, it means that he will take those wrong things away and we can have a new start with God. Like all of the sweets that came out of the broken pinata, God wants to give us something sweet and show us how much He loves us and forgives us. He also wants us to share His love with other people and to let them know that they can be forgiven too so let’s share out the sweets and make sure that everyone has a reminder of the Good thing God wants to give us!

All Age: Jigsaw Intercessions

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

This is a really easy, tactile idea to use for a guided group of children and it would also work in an all age service. All you need is for everyone to be holding a jigsaw piece (it’s a great way to use jigsaws that have pieces missing so can’t be used any more!)

Have either an adult or a child introduce each section and then leave space for response, either silent or out loud.

Hold the jigsaw piece in your hand and pray for yourself

Ask God to help you. Thank Him for the good things in your life. Ask him to help you see the big picture of the plan He has for your life.

Look at the parts of your piece that reach outwards.

Pray for people who reach out and help and show love to others. Thank God for the people who help and show love to you.

Look at the parts of your piece that have spaces waiting to be filled.

Pray for people who have lost something or someone or who feel that they have something missing in their lives. Ask God to help them to know that they are loved by Him.

Try to fit your piece into the piece of the person next to you (it probably won’t fit!)

Pray for people who find it hard to fit in, people who have moved to a new place, people who feel they have no friends, people who are being bullied. Pray that they will find peace, friends and happiness.

Hold your piece and think of someone from your community, your friends or family that you would like to pray for.

Thank God for that person and ask God to bless and help them.

All Age: Beach Ball Prayers

May 24, 2015May 24, 2015Leave a comment

I recently did an all age service on the theme of ‘be ready’. I had an idea for using beach balls and I was a bit worried about how it would work, but it actually turned out quite well!

We talked about things we could say thank you to God for and not waiting to say it or forgetting to thank Him, but telling Him straight away. We then asked people to think of something they were grateful for. When we’d given people some time, we played some music and threw two beach balls into the congregation- one for each side of the church. The idea was that you threw the ball to someone. When they caught it they had to say ‘Thank you God for…’ and then throw the ball on. You had to be ready, because you didn’t know who was going to get the ball next! If you didn’t want to say anything when you caught the ball, you just had to throw it to someone else. When the music was finished, the throwing stopped and the leader at the front said a thank you prayer for everyone.

All Age Pipe Cleaner Intercessions

May 21, 2015May 22, 2015Leave a comment

I love the versatility of pipe cleaners and children seem to feel the same! They are great for playing
with and they are also great for praying with…

Here is a version of some prayers I did at a recent All- Age service with the whole congregation. The prayers would work well with a small group of children or in a family prayer time. Take time to talk with children about each section as you go along so that they know clearly who and what they are praying for. They will undoubtedly have lots of suggestions!

1. Shape the pipe cleaner into an initial or a shape that stands for one of your friends.
Hold the shape and tell God how your friend might need His help. Ask God to bless them.

2. Screw the pipe cleaner up.
Think about people in the world who live in confusion and don’t understand what is happening to them- people who live in war torn areas, who have to leave their homes, who don’t know where they will get their next meal. Hold the shape and ask God to help them.

3. Link your pipe cleaner with someone else’s.
Think about people who are lonely- those who have no friends, family or support around them. Ask God to send them people who will be their friends.

4. Loop the pipe cleaner around your wrist.
Think about when God has been with you this week. Has he answered any of your prayers? If you have any prayers, ask God now. Thank God for always being with us and caring for us. Wear the pipe cleaner around your wrist as a reminder of God being with you.