Explore and respond
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UNDER 5s
Rain clouds
Together make clouds and rain. Fill clear jars with water to about 5cm from the top. Spray a layer of shaving cream on the top of the water in each jar. This is the cloud. Show the children how to squirt a few drops of food colouring onto the shaving cream cloud. The food colouring will slowly start to rain from the cloud. Talk together about the clouds and the rain that God makes.
Who made these?
Roll out a large roll of paper and place around it star-shaped cookie cutters, plastic toy animals, circle cutters, small sponges, play people and plates of paint in different colours. Encourage the children to print shapes and footprints all over the paper. As you do, ask the children ‘Who made all of these things?’
CHILDREN
Do you know who I am? W E
Understand that creator God made us all different
You will need: to gather images of Global-Majority heritage characters, e.g. Rosa Parks, Madhu Jaffrey, Oscar Romero.
- Explain that October is Black History Month, when we celebrate the invaluable contributions of black people to British society. Job’s encounter with God helped him get a bigger perspective, a different view of his place in the world. Learning about different people who have shaped our world can help us to understand more about our place in the world, and how we can make a difference and how we can be a good friend.
- Give a short explanation of the characters you have selected. Ask: Do you think it was difficult for these people to make a difference? In what ways did they suffer for the thing(s) they contributed to the world?
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Bug hotel S A
Show care for God’s creation
You will need: empty tin cans (prepare by smoothing edges where the opening is), cardboard tubes, small twigs, bark, string, instructions.
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- God’s response to Job’s questions is to show Job the bigger picture – God oversees and cares for all creation. Insects are a part of God’s creation, and we can look after them just as God cares for us.
- Insert twigs into the tubes and insert those tubes into the empty can until it is filled tight. Tie a piece of string around the can and hang it on a tree. Label the can, ‘Bug Hotel’.
- You could see if a child would like to take responsibility for checking the bug hotel and replacing materials, as necessary.
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God’s care for creation E S
Identify God’s greatness by looking at creation
You will need: an outdoor green space and enough adults to supervise the children safely. If an outdoor space is not available, you could provide images or bring some of nature (or even a small pet) in for the children to touch.
- In mixed-aged groups of two to three children, invite children to wander round an outside space and identify what is man-made and what is made by Creator God.
- Adults can lead by asking:
o What has been made by God?
o How does God take care of all the creatures and plants?
God’s care may be indirect, so you can prompt the children to see how God gives pets owners who take care of them.
Talk together and talk to God
Discuss the theme, then bring your thoughts together in prayer
- Job’s friends blamed Job for his problems. What are good ways to support friends in hard times?
- Do you ever feel like God has forgotten you or is far away?
- Sometimes bad and sad things happen, and we don’t understand why, but we know that God loves us. Job was honest with God about his feelings. What do you want to say to God?
Worshipping God the Creator W E S
Thank God for caring for creation
You will need: video clip and the means to show it.
- As you watch the video, remember how God reminded Job of his role in creation. Consider: How many fish are in the sea? How many animals are in the world? What an amazing God we have that made so many different plants and animals and who looks after us all.
Click on the graphic to view this week's sheets.
YOUNG PEOPLE
Paint God’s creation S
Bring the passage to life through art
You will need: paints such as watercolours, paper or small canvas, paintbrushes.
- Ask the young people to select a section of this week’s passage and create a painting from it. Such as ‘The morning stars’. Which verses stand out as displaying God’s majesty and glory?
Listen to ‘Indescribable’, Chris Tomlin, during this activity.
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Who said that? W
Consider what God has revealed to us
You will need: list of quotes from famous leaders, pens and paper.
- Ask the young people to get into teams and make a team name linked to today’s passage.
Play the famous leaders quiz, asking the young people to guess which famous leader said each quote.
- Swap papers to score the quiz at the end. Ask: Were there any quotes that inspired them? What did those quotes say about the leader?
- Ponder: If we can be inspired by human leaders, how much more can we be inspired by our creator God? What has God said that inspires you? What amazes you about God’s creation?
Who do you say you are? E S
Explore who the young people say they are
You will need: two different-coloured sticky notes per person, pens, video and means to play it.
- It can be easy for today’s culture to want to label everyone. Challenge the young people to label themselves using sticky notes. Be mindful, as individuals, of their experience of being labelled and how they present themselves. Choose one colour to label themselves with how society might view them, e.g. student, girl. Then choose a second colour to label themselves how God sees them, e.g. child of God, beloved, forgiven.
- Ask: How different did it feel labelling yourself in God’s view, as part of God’s creation; compared to today’s culture?
Creation prayers S
Show thanks for God’s creation
You will need: images of various places across the globe, paper, scissors, glue, pen.
- Encourage the young people to create a collage of images from the selection you have provided. Invite them to wonder at how amazing God’s creation is.
- Using a marker pen, layer the collage with places and ways in which the young people have felt close to God.
- Invite the group to give thanks for God’s majesty in creation and for all he has provided in their lives.
- Watch ‘Job’s Song’, Kendall Gregory, as a form of prayer to finish.
Check-in: Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues
Available by 10 am on Thursday 17 October 2024.