Gather
CHILDREN
Gathering song
Sing to the tune: Row, row, row your boat
Hear, hear, hear about Samuel, David and Saul.
Of how God spoke to them, and how he loves us all.
Game choices E S
You will need: a selection of games.
- Display a selection of well-known games where the choices made have consequences. Encourage the children to play some of these. These games could include JengaTM, Four in a row, KerPlunkTM, noughts and crosses, and DownfallTM. Ask the children how it feels when the choice they make works out well, and how it feels when it doesn’t.
My journey here W E
- Ask the children to describe how they travelled to the group today.
- When everyone has described their journey, ask:
- Could you have gone in another direction or made a change to the way you travelled?
- What would have happened then?
- Who decided how you got here?
Today, the children will hear a story full of choices and changes.
YOUNG PEOPLE
Speed listing W E S
You will need: paper and pens.
- Ask the group to come up with categories based on top five favourites. For example, ‘Top Five Movies’, ‘Top Five Foods’, etc. The more the better.
- Allow two minutes for everyone to fill in as many of the lists as possible. The winner is whoever fills in the most lists.
- Get the group to feedback their choices. Were there any surprising choices? Did all the choices reflect what they thought, or were some choices just made at random, under pressure? Explain that the session will be about the importance of making good decisions.
First impressions
You could also use the image and following questions to help introduce the theme.
 |
Click on the image to view a larger version
or use the Jump menu to go to This week's images.
For artist's details, see this issue's illustrators.
|
Questions
- Can you think of an action you have taken that has caused big ripples?
- Where was God in the decision you took?
- Are you aware of situations in the news where big decisions must be made?How might you pray for the decision-makers?