Explore and respond
Activities marked with an asterisk 
next to the activity title are in addition to the resources in the Ready to go sessions. Suggested timings for these activities are also shown. NB The inclusion of additional activities varies from week to week.
VERY YOUNG CHILDREN
Sensory basket
Play and think about what we treasure
Create a sensory basket full of ‘treasure’ for the children to explore. Include glittery cloth, tinsel, shiny ribbon, baubles, old CDs, toy coins, giant sequins, toy jewels.
Coin rubbings
Create an impression and think about money
Fix some coins to a table with sticky tac. Show the children how to make a coin rubbing using thick crayons on paper. Remind the children that Jesus asked the rich man to give up his money to follow him.
FOR CHILDREN
Tunnel challenge E
Demonstrate how things get in the way of our relationship with God
You will need: two large backpacks; various bulky items.
- Split the children into two teams and invite the teams to make a ‘tunnel’, by standing in two lines and linking hands with the person opposite, up above their heads.
- Give one child in each team an empty backpack, and the others in the line a bulky item.
- Invite the child at the front to go through the tunnel with the empty backpack. As they run back to their team, they should hand the backpack to the next child in the line. They then add their item and go through the tunnel. The last child will have a very full backpack!
- Challenge the group to see which team can get their whole team through first. Then think together about things that get in the way of our relationship with God, demonstrating how these things can hold us back.
What fills our hearts? E S
Illustrate what is important to us
You will need: heart template one per child, scissors, magazines, glue, pens/crayons.
- Give each child a large heart shape and talk together about the things that fill our hearts or things that are important to us.
- Ask the children to cut and stick pictures or draw and write the things that can fill our hearts. Explain that these things are all important and can take up lots of space, but ask them to leave some empty space for where God is in their heart.
- Finally, ask them to draw/illustrate where God is in their heart.
Sing
Preview song, then buy online and download.
Reason, Unspoken on Reason
Find more suggestions on the Hymns, songs & music page.
Talk together and talk to God
Use these questions to discuss the Bible passage and then bring your thoughts together by praying to God.
Talk together
- What things are really important to you?
- What was the most important thing in the rich man’s life?
- How can we work out what is most important to us?
Talk to God: Relationships prayer W E A
Think about how we maintain relationships
- Ask the children to think about someone who is really important to them.
- Discuss ideas about how they maintain their relationship with that person and pray about each one, e.g. they talk together: Dear God, help us to talk to you every day; or, they have fun together; Dear God, we ask you to bring us fun and joy in everything we do.
- Talk about how we need to maintain our relationship with god in the same way we do with those around us.
Camel clip 10 mins W E
Share and discuss this story
You will need: animation of The camel through the eye of the needle story by Nick Butterworth, from his book Stories Jesus Told
- Watch the video together.
- Discuss the following questions:
What did you like best about this story?
What did Jesus mean that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle?
I wonder what this means for us?
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Get through together 10 mins E S
Bring alive the analogy Jesus uses in the passage
You will need: a large back pack, several objects.
- Invite the group to make a ‘tunnel’ by standing in two lines and linking hands with the person opposite, up above their heads.
- One by one, ask the young people to go through the tunnel while wearing the backpack. But each time someone has a turn, add an object for one of the things listed above God/church from the Gather activity.
- Discuss how some of these things might get in the way of our relationship with God.
What’s in your heart? 15 mins E S A
Explore what things we hold in our hearts
You will need: paper, pens; origami instructions.
- Give each young person a piece of paper and ask them to write down things they hold in their heart. It could be God, family, relationships or something that they are passionate about, e.g. climate change.
- Then ask them to follow the instructions and fold the paper into a heart.
Play the track, ‘Holiness’, Sonicflood on SonicFlood, as the young people fold.
Give it to God 5 mins E S A
Examine possible blockages in our relationships with God
You will need: origami hearts from What’s on your heart?
- Ask the young people to pick up the hearts they made earlier.
- Invite them to spend some time in silent prayer, giving over the things written in their hearts to God.
Play the track, ‘Idols’, Kirk Franklin on LONG LIVE LOVE, as they do this.
Check-in: Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues
Screen time 10 mins E
Challenge yourself about your priorities
- Discuss how, each week on our phones, we get a screen time report, telling us the amount of time we spend on our phones every day and what activities we spend the most time on.
- Ask the group the following questions: What does your screen time report say about you? How would you feel about other people seeing it? What is the equivalent of a screen time report for our hearts and minds? How would it reflect where our priorities lie?