Explore & respond

Adult & All Age

Respond to the Word

Ideas to suit different interests, ages and learning preferences.

The Children’s Sheet offers activities to do in worship & at home.

Change direction

Play dominoes or another game that involves changes of direction. Talk about how you choose which way to go when the opportunity to change presents itself.

Learning to change

Blindfold a willing volunteer and ask them to carry out some ordinary tasks. If they are too good at it, tie one hand behind their back too! When we are disempowered we are obliged to change the way we do things.

Shine the light! Change the way!

Gather two small teams of people (Peter and Paul) at the signpost with its direction pointer ‘Towards Damascus’. Give each team some cut-out footprints or some footprint confetti (see Further resources). Each team faces away from the signpost. Behind the signpost, hidden from their view, display the words of Acts 9.1-3. On the word ‘go’, each team starts to create a road to Damascus by laying down their footsteps, while the congregations follow the words from Acts pointed out by a leader. When the leader reaches the words ‘suddenly a light from heaven ashed around him’, everyone shouts loudly, ‘Shine the light! Change the way!’. At this point the road-layers must change direction. Repeat several times until you have two roads with their changes of direction threading their way through the building.

A simple worship activity

A simple worship activity suitable for all ages

Use the song ‘I am the church’. This song is ideal to sing during this time when we are thinking about the growth of the Church. The chorus has easy actions and it is great fun to sing. You can find it as 367 in Junior Praise (2 or combined); 204 in Church Hymnary 4/Hymns of Glory, Songs of Praise and in Big Blue Planet.

Drama: The school for mission

A leading writer on mission is interviewed on the radio

Cast: Radio interviewer; Oswald O. Oswald

The interviewer and (with adjustment to the name) the interviewee can be played by either sex.

Props: several large books, a phial and an ominous looking black box.

Interviewer
I'm very privileged to be talking today on Premium Radio to a man who needs no introduction, the Director of the Cast Your Nets School for Mission, Oswald P. Oswald …

Oswald
Oswald O. Oswald.

Interviewer
I'm sorry.

Oswald
The O stands for Oleaginous. Not many people know that.

Interviewer
Oswald O. Oswald. How long have you been interested in mission?

Oswald
Oh, from very early days, when my brother held me out by the legs from a second floor window, and said he'd drop me if I didn't believe in Jesus.

Interviewer
I must say, you've brought an extensive collection of your methods.

Oswald
This is my pride and joy. The 39 volume Comprehensive Manual for World Conversion .

Interviewer
Let's have a look at some of the titles. The Bogged-down book of Big Meetings, Outreach with Oswald, Fortunes for Fishermen,

Oswald
A snip at £4,000.

Interviewer
Some of your tools have caused controversy because it's claimed they don't work.

Oswald (sadly)
I'm afraid I'm ahead of my time.

Interviewer
Has anyone had success with these manuals?

Oswald
Not that I know of.

Interviewer
Why do you have the urge to write these books?

Oswald
I suppose it's a deep feeling of compassion for the lost. The lost bank balance. There's nothing more tragic than an overdraft.

Interviewer
Let's move on.

Oswald
From my scientific library – 99 godly bottles of scent. Each one scientifically designed to disarm the defences of different kinds of people. Rose for the rosy, banana for the bananas, and peppermint for those taken that way.

Interviewer
There's a classical simplicity about the approach. Try one on me.

Oswald
I think it's prune essence for you.

Interviewer (sniffs)
Revolting! It doesn't put me in the mood for anything!

Oswald
It's a hit and miss affair. But then I've only been training for twenty odd years in their use. Twenty very odd years. A fully qualified Top Nostril studies for thirty.

Interviewer
These scents haven't brought anyone to faith either?

Oswald
No.

Interviewer
Then they've been a complete failure.

Oswald
My potions have been a miserable failure. But I try not to internalise it.

Interviewer
Have you had any other ideas?

Oswald
I've had great success with my next product.

Interviewer
What's that?

Oswald
The Torture Toolkit. Very good initial results, sadly lacking in long term disciples unless regularly applied. But promising so long as the subject remains in captivity.

Interviewer
Smacks of the Inquisition!

Oswald
The soul has a right to be saved, even if the body is reluctant.

Interviewer
Oswald, have any of your tools ever resulted in someone becoming a Christian of their own free will?

Oswald
No. But I've been studying nothing else all my life.

Interviewer
Oswald, it's good you're still trying to fish when so many give up.

Oswald
Thank you.

Interviewer
But maybe you're fishing on the wrong side of the boat. If you prayed and listened to Jesus, he would show you where to fish more profitably. Where are you going?

Oswald
You've just given me an idea for another book – Cast your nets on the other side by Oswald O. Oswald. Just wait till I tell my accountant.

Interviewer
Thank you, Oswald O. Oswald.

Children & Young People

Respond to the Word

A range of activities for Children (C) and Young People (YP) based on Acts 9.1-20

Respond

Timed listening (YP 10 mins)

An exercise in ‘zoning in’ in order to listen well

Play ’Just a minute‘ – ask the young people to take it in turns to talk about a subject – without hesitating, repeating themselves or going off the subject. If they do, the other young people can ’buzz in‘ and the player has to stop. Do it quickly; get everyone to have a go (subjects can be general, such as church, football, my XBox, and so on).
When everyone is done, instil a minute of quiet. In this time, just pray together (you can lead it, or invite a young person to): In the week to come we pray we will not be so focused on what we are doing or have to get done that we miss God trying to speak to us – if we need to, let us pray that we let God interrupt our lives so we can draw closer to him.

Play

Dominoes (C+YP 15 mins)

Follow the lead

You will need: sets of dominoes, perhaps one for every six children. You could use picture dominoes with younger children.

Divide the group into groups of six, or all play together.
Explain the rules of dominoes. Divide the pieces out between the groups. People take turns to put down a domino – it has to have the same number as the last one shown by the previous player. Play is started by the person holding double six.
People take turns adding pieces, as long as they have a number that follows on from one at the end of the line of pieces. Double numbers can change direction.
Link this to the idea of following a direction, but then having to change.
This game may be very familiar to older people in your congregation, so you might invite some to come and play with the group.

Walk

What’s the story? (C 10 mins)

Walk through the story of Paul’s experience

Take your group for a walk around your space. Talk about the journey Paul was on. Who was Paul? Where was he going? What was he going to do there?
Talk about what it was like on his journey. How did he feel as he made his way along the road towards Damascus?
Suddenly bring the group to a stop. If possible, get another leader to do this so that it is unexpected for the children. Talk about Paul’s encounter with Jesus. Ask them how they think Paul felt now. How would they feel?
Finish your journey by walking to ‘the house in Straight Street’, and talk about how Paul’s encounter with Jesus changed him from the man in verse 1, who was breathing threats against Jesus’ followers, to the man in verse 20, who is proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues.

Imagine

Power cut (C+YP 10 mins)

Think about how it feels to be disempowered

You will need: pens and paper.

Ask people to make a list of everything they do in a day. This should start from getting up. Prompt them with things such as having toast, listening to the radio, playing on the computer.
Once they have written the lists, invite them to work in groups to cross out all the things they do that rely on electricity. What is left?
How does it feel to think that they will have no power?
When Paul went blind he had no power. How do you think that made Paul feel?
In what ways can we, or others, be disempowered? How might we react?

Compare

Before and after (C+YP 10 mins)

Think about the change meeting Jesus made in Paul’s life

You will need: Bibles; pens and paper; copies of the Paul cartoon, one per person.

Using the Bibles, get the youngsters to find and read Acts 9.1-2, and then Acts 9.17-20.
Talk about the difference between Paul before his experience on the road, and afterwards. What made that change in Paul?
Get the youngsters to draw ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures of Paul on either side of their cartoon copy of him (using the template), writing or drawing around him the characteristics that describe him.

Pray

Keep walking (C+YP 15 mins)

Ask for God’s help to keep going

You will need: coloured paper, pens and scissors.

Give each person a piece of paper to stand on and draw round their foot. Cut out the footprints, and lay them in a line on the floor, as if they are walking along the road.
Talk about how Paul got up after his encounter with Jesus and kept walking along the road, even though he needed help to do it. Sometimes in our lives things happen that make it seem difficult to keep going. Sometimes we feel disempowered the way Paul did. But if we ask Jesus to help, we too can keep walking along the road.
Pray together, asking Jesus to help us when we feel we can’t keep going.

Next week Please invite your group to bring something with them that is precious to them, something they would be happy to show and tell.

Explore & respond

Adult & All Age

Respond to the Word

Change direction

Learning to change

Shine the light! Change the way!

A simple worship activity

Drama: The school for mission

Children & Young People

Respond to the Word

Respond

Timed listening (YP 10 mins)

Play

Dominoes (C+YP 15 mins)

Walk

What’s the story? (C 10 mins)

Imagine

Power cut (C+YP 10 mins)

Compare

Before and after (C+YP 10 mins)

Pray

Keep walking (C+YP 15 mins)

Template: Paul cartoon