Very young children's session

Jesus recognises that the Pharisees are trying to distract him from his mission and ministry, but, despite the apparent danger, he is not dissuaded. He knows that his journey to Jerusalem will be a journey to his death, but he does not speak about it in terms of being courageous, nor as a scornfully fierce martyrdom to expose the corruption of Jerusalem. He simply states his purpose.

This week we explore our core values and how they affect our behaviour.

Prepare

Very young children's Session

Provide the following play materials for very young children throughout the session: chicken and fox toys or puppets.

Gather

Very young childrens Session

Gathering song

Sing to the tune: London’s burning

Brother Jesus, in the desert,
being tempted, he resisted!
What can we do?
Talk to Jesus when we’re tempted.

Share the Word

Very young childrens Session

Prepare a bag with the following objects (or pictures of them) and invite the children to pull them out as you tell the story: an arrow, a fox, a bandage or plaster and a hen.

One day, some Pharisees came to Jesus and warned him:
‘Get away from here! Herod wants to kill you.’
But Jesus said, ‘Herod is a fox, I will carry on with my work,
healing the sick. I will go to Jerusalem.
I wanted to keep you safe, like a hen protects her young
but you did not want me.
You won’t see me now until you see who I am.’

Explore and respond

Very young childrens Session

Choices game

Play and explore making choices

Offer children a series of simple choices, e.g. would you rather be an ant or an elephant?

Hen collage

Create a symbol of one of Jesus’ values

On a large sheet of paper, create a group collage of a hen with its wings outspread, gluing feathers onto an outline. Ask the children to think about how it makes them feel.

Very young childrens Session

0-5s song(s)

I’ve Got Peace Like a River (CHY 113)

Pray in a ball

Ask the children to curl up tight into a tiny ball and think about what it means for us to put God at the centre of who we are and what we do.

Very young childrens Session

Childrens Session

Stuck in the mud E S

Play and think about how our values affect our behaviour

Play a game of ‘stuck in the mud’. Choose one child to be ‘on’. The other children have to run from one side of the room to the other. The child who is ‘on’ has to ‘tag’ the children as they cross the room. If a child is tagged, they have to stand still. The other children, as the game continues, can free those stuck in the mud by running around them in a circle. Once they have been freed, the ‘stuck’ child can re-join the game.
After a few goes, ask everyone to play the game while being guided by different values, i.e. the first could be ‘success’ (winning the game) and the second could be ‘kindness’ (helping others).
After the game, ask the children whether they played differently each time? Were they looking out for themselves and trying to ‘win’, or willing to be generous and kind by ‘releasing’ others? What was more important to them?

Activity sheet

Go with God

Very young childrens Session

Sing

To the tune: Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Farewell friends, as we depart,
keep these stories in our hearts.
Through these days of Lent we know,
that our faith in God may grow.
Through temptations in our days,
be like Jesus through our ways.

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