Messy Christmas!

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 07 December 2013. Have a look and try a few!

Advent candle

Decorate the candle and add the numbers 7 to 24 with 7 at the top and 24 at the bottom.  Write small so that you can fit them in – you may need an adult’s help.

Take the sheet home with you too and use through the rest of December as you wait for Christmas

Mary and Joseph were waiting for Jesus to born.  What would that have been like?

Pregnant Mary biscuit

Take a gingerbread person.  Put a marshmallow in the tummy and then cover it with a dress made out of icing

Mary  hadn’t expected this to happen.  The plans she had were messed up.

Can you think of something unexpected that has changed your plans?

Hobby Donkey

Stuff a sock for the head.  Stick on eyes, ears and put a rubber band round the nose.

Use a tube to attach it to a stick.

Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem before Jesus was born for a census.  They may have travelled with a donkey.  Their plans were messed up.

What different ways have you travelled?

Cotton bud sheep

Stick cotton buds into clay to make a sheep and add a face

The shepherds were looking after sheep in the fields when angels appeared to them

What do you think the sheep did when the angels appeared?

Christmas Crackers

Take a tube, some paper and a picture from the Christmas story.  Roll the paper round the tube to make a cracker.

When you pull this cracker remember you are celebrating Jesus birth

When Jesus was born even angels celebrated.

How do you celebrate Jesus birth?

Wooden decoration

Colour in a star or an angel to make a decoration

Jesus was born in a place for animals because they couldn’t find anywhere to stay.  It wasn’t decorated nicely.

How would you decorate a room for a baby?

Card angel

Take a cut out angel.  Fold paper for the dress, and draw in the hair and the face.  Put on glitter for the wings.

If you want to put it on a tree, attach a tube to the back

Angels appeared to shepherds to tell them Jesus had been born and they were afraid

What do you think it would be like to meet an angel?

Handprint angel

Make two handprints next to each other.  They are the angel’s wings.  Then draw in the angel’s face.

An angel told Mary that she was going to have a baby  She was very surprised.  Angels often say surprising things.

Have you been told anything surprising?

Horrid smells

See what horrid smells you can make by mixing things together

Jesus was born in a place for animals because they couldn’t find anywhere to stay.  It might not have smelt very nice.

What is the worst smell you can think of?  What might be the nastiest smell in the Christmas story?

Pastry manger

Put a jelly baby Jesus into a pastry manger.  Wrap it in icing to make a blanket

Jesus was put in a manger when he was born.  A manger is used to feed animals

What would it be like in a manger?

Spaghetti straw

Put some spaghetti into the paint.  

Put your paper in a box and place the spaghetti on it.  Then shake it around to make a pattern.  You can use the tongs to move it a bit more

It looks like straw in the stable where Jesus was born

What would be the messiest thing in a stable?

Tea Towel shepherd

Decorate a tea towel to make a shepherd’s head cloth

The shepherds lived out in the fields looking after their sheep

What would you like about being a shepherd?

Wooden nativity

Take pegs for Mary and Joseph.  Put some straw on a piece of board for the stable.  Add a cardboard manger and put a wooden baby Jesus into it

Joseph and Mary had to stop in a stable because there wasn’t any room for them in the inn

Have you ever been somewhere where farm animals live?  What was it like?

Playdoh baby

Make a baby out of playdoh and put it into the box

Jesus was put in a manger when he was born.  A manger is used to feed animals.

What would normally be kept in a manger?

A friend at night

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 09 November 2013. Have a look and try a few!

Night time sounds

Listen to the sounds and see if you can work out what they are.  There are 8 different sounds.

The story begins when someone goes to a friend’s house at midnight

Have you ever been up at midnight?  What sounds have you heard?

Bread

Make a bread roll and take it home to bake it

Jesus said ‘Suppose one of you should go to a friend’s house at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, let me borrow three loaves of bread.  A friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to my house and I haven’t got any food for him.’’

Do you know how bread is made?  What are the ingredients that you use?

Friendship bracelets

Make a friendship bracelet

The man said ‘A friend of mine who is on a journey has just come to my house and I haven’t got any food for him.’

Has a friend ever asked you for help?

Locks

Can you open any of the locks with one of the keys?  There is a prize inside if you can.

Suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me!  The door is already locked.’

Do you have anything that needs a key to open it?

Baby in bed

Use wafers to make a bed.  Put a jelly baby in bed and make sheets from the icing.

Suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me!  My children and I are in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything.’

What would you get up for once you are in bed?

Pillows

Take two pieces of fleece.  Make a pillow by tying the pieces at the edge of the fleece together.  Stuff it before tying the final pieces together.

Suppose your friend should answer from inside, ‘Don’t bother me!  My children and I are in bed.  I can’t get up and give you anything.’

What time do you go to bed?

Door knockers

Attach the knocker to the door and draw on a handle 

Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

 Do you have a door knocker at home or a bell?  Or do people just knock on the door?

Door cards

Decorate a card and choose a prayer to go inside

Ask and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

When Jesus said this he was talking about what it is like to talk to God.  God always takes notice when we talk to him.

Snakes on sticks

Cut out the paper to make a snake, decorate it and add it to a stick.

Would any of you give someone a snake when he asks for fish to eat? 

Do you like snakes?  Jesus was thinking of poisonous snakes that would be bad to eat.

Scorpions

Paint a scorpion

Would you give someone a scorpion if he asks for an egg?

Scorpions have eight legs and are related to spiders.  They have poison at the end of their tail that they use to sting their prey.

Egg cups

Decorate an eggcup and then put a hard boiled egg in it

Would you give someone a scorpion if he asks for an egg?

How do you like to eat eggs?  Scrambled, poached, fried or boiled?

Gift boxes

Decorate a gift box

You know how to give good things to your children.  How much more then will your Father in heaven give himself to those who ask him.

The best thing that God can give us is himself

A Man who Finds Treasure - 12 October 2013

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 12 October 2013. Have a look and try a few!

Spade
Design your own spade out of junk.  Then see if you can lift some sand with it to get a prize.

The man dug his treasure out of the ground

How big a hole do you think he had to dig?

Hidden things
Can you find something hidden using your hands only?

The treasure in today’s story was hidden

What did you find?

Shaving foam


Can you find anything in the shaving foam?

The treasure in today’s story was hidden

Did you find anything in the foam?

Glass beads
Paint the glass beads and then thread them on a string

When the man found the finest pearl he had ever seen he paid everything he had to get it

Which of your beads do you like best?


Threading beads
Make a bracelet out of the paper beads

When the man found the finest pearl he had ever seen he paid everything he had to get it

Which of your beads do you like best?



Clay treasure box

Make a treasure box out of clay.  Leave it to stand to set hard.

The man dug the treasure box up in a field

What would you like to put in your box?

Folded treasure box

Colour in your treasure box.  Then fold it into a box and glue it down.  Put a jewel inside.

The man dug the treasure box up in a field

Where will you keep your treasure box?

Treasure map

Make a treasure map

The man who found treasure hid it so no-one else could find it.

How do you remember where you have put things?

Picture frame


Stick paper onto the card to decorate the frame.  Then put a sheet with a bible verse inside.

The man gave everything he had to get the pearl

How much would you spend to get a pearl?

Special mobile

Make a mobile with coat hangers and then hang things that are special to you on it

The man gave everything he had to get the pearl

What is special about the things you have put on the mobile?

Hidden things

You can have one go at each of these
Lift a lolly and see if you can find a special one
Feel in the sand and see if you can find a penny
Feel in the sawdust and see if you find a chocolate coin

When the man found the treasure he buried it again so that other people wouldn't find it.

Where would you hide something you don’t want other people to find?

Wafer treasure chest

Make a treasure chest out of wafers and fill it with chocolate and treasure

The man spent everything to buy the field so that he could get the treasure

If you had a lot of money what would you buy?

God rules

Use paint, glitter and jewels to colour in ‘God rules’. Then add some pictures of places God rules over like home, school, shops, world

The kingdom of heaven is the place where God rules.  Jesus told this story about the kingdom of heaven.

What does this story tell us about God?

Pinata

Hit the bag with a stick and see if a sweet comes out.  Only one go.

The man who found the pearl was very pleased.  He went to a lot of trouble to get to the pearl.

Was it easy or hard to get a sweet?






Prayer Prompts

How are you today?

Choose something from the box that fits with the way you are

Talk to God about it

The Story of a Man Sowing Seeds - 14 September 2013

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 14 September 2013. Have a look and try a few!

Match up

Match up the seeds with the leaves.  Then decide which tree picture you think they belong to.
Seeds need the right conditions to grow and bear fruit

Have you grown any seeds?  How did you care for them?



Clay coasters

Roll out the clay and cut a circle or a square.  Press some seeds in a pattern to decorate it.

The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.
Do you get birds in your garden?  Can you tell what kind they are?

Bird beaks

Make a bird’s beak.

The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.

What kind of birds do you think ate the seeds?






Bird wings

Cut the plastic bag to make two wings and add feathers to it.

The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.

What do you think it would be like to fly like a bird?

Bird cake

Mix all the ingredients to make some bird cake. Hang it outside when you get home and watch the birds enjoy it.

The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.

Do you put out seeds to feed birds?

Scarecrow

Take the scarecrows coat and stuff it with straw. Put canes through and add a head and hat on the top. 
The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.

A scarecrow is put out to scare the birds away.  Sometimes we want to get rid of scary things in our lives, can you think of any?


Grass heads

Put some seeds and then some soil in the stocking.

The seed that was planted in good soil grew well

Take it home and water the seed.  Wait for it to grow.








Plant care

Plant a daffodil bulb in a pot.  Follow the instructions to care for it. You can decorate the pot too.

The seeds that were planted in good soil grew well

What is your favourite flower?

Large collage

Make a picture of the four parts of the story – a plant growing on a path, a plant growing in rocks, a plant growing with weeds and a plant growing on good ground

Jesus told the story about the man sowing seed to show people that it was important to listen to him

Why do you think it is important to listen to Jesus?

Story cakes

Decorate the cake with the different kinds of ground that the seed was sown in

The story talks about different things that get in the way of listening to God

Can you tell the story by looking at the cake?






Toffee

Break off a bit of the toffee.

The seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds.  They didn’t grow.

The toffee is very hard isn’t it, like a path.  How could a seed grow in something hard like that?






Shallow ground

Can you get a straw to stand up in the sand.  How much sand do you need?

There is only a little soil amongst the rocks.  The seed starts to grow but then the roots can’t grow any further.  When the sun shines the plant dies.

Do you like it when the sun is hot or do you prefer the shade?

Tangled wool

Try to untangle some of the wool.

The roots of the weeds and  plants were tangled up together

In the story this was like the way we get busy and don’t have time for important things we want to do.  What important things do you want to do?

Playdoh fruit

Make different fruit out of the playdohPlants grow well in the good soil.  

Nothing gets in the way and they have a lot of fruit.

What are some good things about knowing Jesus?



Plant a seed

Plant a seed in the good soil

In the story the seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.

Say a prayer for someone you know

Prayer stones

Plant a seed amongst the stonesThere is only a little soil amongst the rocks.  The seed starts to grow but then the roots can’t grow any further.  When the sun shines the plant dies.

Things that are difficult can get in the way of us living in the way Jesus wants, like the rocks.

Say sorry to God for things that get in the way of living for him

Prayer Box

Think of something you would like people to pray for

Then write on the paper– someone’s name– Or a sentence describing what needs to be prayed for– Or write a prayer yourself Put it in the box

Between now and the next Messy Church, a few people from St Helen’s will pray for this