Jesus is Born

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 12th December 2015. Have a look and try a few!

Sock Baby Jesus

Take a sock and fill it with stuffing beyond the heal.  Poke your finger to the side, fill it with a little ball of stuffing and put a rubber band over it to make an arm.  Then do the same on the other side.  Put a rubber band round the neck fill the head and then another rubber band above it.  Turn the top down to make a hat.

Wrap it in cloth and place it in a tray with hay.

Jesus is also called ‘Christ’ which means chosen one

Have you a baby in your family?  What are they like?

Advent candle

Stick the peel off numbers 12 to 24 on to the candle with 12 at the top and 24 at the bottom. 

Jesus was given different names which meant special things.  They showed who he was

The sheet on the table tells you some of these names.  Take the sheet home with you too and look at it each time you light the candle.

Names of Jesus mobile

Tie pieces of ribbon around the card loop and then thread them through the hole punched different names of Jesus.

Jesus was given different names which meant special things.  They showed who he was

How many names have you got?

Lollystick crib

Glue the lolly sticks together with glue dots to make a stable.  Colour in the cut sticks to make them into people and stick them on.  Add a bit of straw.  Tie some string on the top so you can hang it up.

Jesus is called the ‘prince of peace’.  This is because he would bring peace with God

What do you find peaceful?

Envelope crib

Cut the yellow sheet along the lines to look like straw.  Decorate the envelope.  Stick the star to the top point of the envelope.  Then slot in the straw and the baby.

Jesus was born on earth, but he had been since the very beginning of the world

That is very hard to imagine isn’t it.  What is the oldest thing you can think of?

CD Nativity scene

Decorate the CD with nativity stickers to make a nativity scene.  Slide it into the wooden block so that it can stand up.

Jesus calls God his father

Do you have anyone with you here from your family?

Mosaic Jesus

Roll out some clay and use cutters to make the name Jesus.  Then stick on tiles to make the name stand out.  This will make the word JESUS look very special

Mary treasured Jesus and all the things that happened when he was born

Can you think of some things that are very special to you?

Nativity painting

Paint the nativity scene.  Use the stamps if you like to

Jesus was called ‘Emmanuel’ which means God with us

What would it have been like to go and see Jesus when he was born?

Gingerbread stars

Ice the gingerbread stars to decorate them

The special star showed the wise men the way to Jesus

If you go out in the dark, how do you find your way?

Tile nativity

Make a footprint on a tile in brown paint for a crib.  Paint on to it some straw and a baby

The name ‘Jesus’ means God saves

This was a popular name for Jewish boys to have.  What popular names can you think of?

Blackboard Sorry

tick the black sheet in the middle of the board.  Decorate it round the edge.  Thread some raffia through the hole and tie it to some chalk.

Jesus came to put right the wrong things we do

We mess things up when we do the wrong thing.  Perhaps we say something to hurt someone, we don’t do what we are told, or we say something that isn’t true.

Write on the blackboard something you are sorry for.  Then rub it off because Jesus forgives us when we say we are sorry.

Nativity set

Can you tell the story of Christmas with this nativity set?

Which is your favourite part of the story?  

Why do you like it?

Are there any parts you can’t remember?

Scratch nativity scene

Scratch a pattern into this nativity scene

The pattern is bright in the dark background.  

Jesus brought brightness in the darkness too, but a different sort of darkness.  It was dark because people had forgotten about God

What do you like best about your pattern?

Foam star nativity

Stick two stars together.  Add some raffia for straw then add a baby.

Like the star Jesus gives light so that people can see the way to go

Do you ever look at the stars?  Do you know any of their names?

Card competition

If you have brought a card for the competition leave it here with your name, age and phone number.  Three prizes will be given out over the meal.

Also if you like you can still make a card.  It must include something about the Christmas story.

Stable

Go and have a look in the stable.  What can you see from the Christmas story?

The angels, the shepherds and the wise men all worshipped Jesus. 

Take one of the cut out babies.  Think of something you can say to praise God.  There are some examples on the sheet.  Write or draw on the baby what you would like to say to Jesus and place it in the manger.

Cardboard stable

Work with the group to make the stable out of cardboard

The Garden of Eden

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 14th November 2015. Have a look and try a few!

Playdoh People

Make some people out of the playdoh

God made people to live in the world

What is the most amazing thing about you?  Thank God for making you.

Breath Prayer

Decorate a fan with a picture of the Garden of Eden or of anything else you want to

God breathed life into people

As you fan yourself, feel the air move over your face and body.  Thank God for giving you life.

 Edible Garden of Eden

Cover a wafer biscuit with green cream cheese.  Stand on it 2 jelly babies for Adam and Eve and a cheese string for a tree

God made the world to be a beautiful place

What do you think is the best thing about the world that God has made?

Colouring pictures

Colour in one of these pictures of the Garden of Eden

The Garden of Eden was a beautiful place.

What is the most beautiful place you have been to?

Name the animal

Guess which is the right name for this knitted hippo from the list.  The answer will be revealed at the end.  The person with the right name will win the hippo.

God told people to give names to the animals

What is your favourite animal?

Name the animal quiz

Can you name these different animals from the pictures of their eyes?  Their is a list to help you if you get stuck.

God told people to give names to the animals

What is your favourite animal?

Tie Snakes

Attach eyes to the tie.  Then stuff the tie to make a snake.  Fasten the end to keep the stuffing in.

The snake tricked Eve to do the wrong thing, to eat the fruit that God had said not to take

Do you ever do something, even though you have been told not to do it?

Clay snakes

Make a snake out of clay.  Leave it to dry hard.

The snake tricked Eve to do the wrong thing, to eat the fruit that God had said not to take

Why do you think Eve did what the snake said?

The Tree of Knowledge

DO NOT TOUCH

YOU MUST LEAVE THESE BAGS OF SWEETS ON THE TREE

God  told Adam and Eve not to touch the fruit on the tree of knowledge

Are you feeling tempted to take one? 

Fruit tasting

Can you tell what the different fruit are by tasting them?

Eve ate the fruit from the tree that God had told them not to touch

What fruit do you like to eat?

Fruit printing

Use the fruit to make a stamp.  Put paint on it to stamp it on the paper.

Eve ate the fruit from the tree that God had told them not to touch

Which fruit makes the best stamp?

Adam and Eve

Put leather tunics on the wooden people, add a face and some wool hair. Make a snake out of pipe cleaners around a lolly stick. All 3 can then be put in a ball of clay to keep them in place.

Adam and Eve didn’t wear clothes until they disobeyed God.  Once things had gone wrong they knew they were naked.  God made clothes for them out of animal skins.

If you had to make clothes for yourself, what would you use?

Messed up world

This is a picture of the world.  Put something on it to mess it up

When people disobeyed God they messed up the world

Can you think of a way in which the world is messed up?

Plant Bulbs

Plant a bulb in a pot

Because they had disobeyed him God said that people would have to work hard to be able to live

Take the bulb home with you and keep it until it grows and flowers

Shoebox

If you have brought a shoebox or gifts for Operation Christmas Child you can leave them here

Help to wrap a shoebox to be filled with gifts

Girls hairband

Wrap ribbon around the hairband with a few glue dots to keep it in place. You can also stick sequins on.

The hairband will go in a shoebox.  These are given to children around the world who don’t get any other Christmas presents.

Joseph in Egypt

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 10th October 2015. Have a look and try a few!

Fat cows and thin cows

Take a tube and attach legs, a head and a tail to make a cow.  You can make a fat cow and a thin cow.

Pharaoh had a strange dream about fat cows and thin cows.  The thin cows ate the fat cows. 

Do you ever dream about cows?  Or do you dream about any other animals?

Corn sheaf

Take some straw and tie it into a sheaf of corn

Pharaoh had a dream about ears of corn.  The thin ones swallowed up the full ones.  God told Joseph what this strange dream meant.

Have you seen corn growing in a field?  Did it have thin ears or fat ones?

Barns

You need three pieces of card – two sides and a roof.  One of the sides should have a door in.  Fold them along the dotted lines.  Then stick them together to make a barn.

Joseph told Pharaoh to store up grain during the years of plenty ready to use in the years of famine

Can you think of other things that we store up to use in the future?

 

Gold chains

Cut the gold ribbon into pieces.  Tie one piece into a circle.  Loop the next piece through the circle and tie it.  Keep going ‘til it is long enough to put round your neck

Pharaoh made Joseph the governor over the whole of Egypt.  He gave him a special ring, a linen robe and a gold chain around his neck

What clothes do people wear now so that they look important?

Headdress

Cut blue and yellow strips to the right size and stick them on to the silver headdress in stripes.  Stick on a diamond.  Thread a piece of elastic through the holes so that it can go round your head.

Joseph was second in importance in Egypt only to Pharaoh

Do you have any hats?  What do you use them for?

Grain collage

Stick on different grains to fill in the picture

During the famine people came from all around to buy corn from Joseph.  Joseph’s brothers came too.

Where do you go to buy food?

Bread

Knead the bread dough and shape it into a roll.  Put it into a plastic bag and take it home to cook it.  Make sure you take some cooking instructions with you.

The brothers took corn back to their father to make flour and bake bread from it

What sort of bread do you like best?

 

Where have you come from?

Can you find on the map where you came to Messy Church from today?  Mark it on with a felt tip.  If it is not on these maps write it on a post it note and put it round the edge of the map.

Joseph’s brothers went on a long journey to find food

Have a look at where other people have come from.  Have other people come from somewhere near to you?  Who has come the furthest?

Journey

You can make a footprint without taking your socks off.  Make a fist with your hand. Use a finger from your other hand to coat the outside edge of your fist (the side with your pinky) with paint.  Then press it against the paper.  Add a big toe and 4 smaller toes with your finger tips.

Joseph’s brothers travelled from Hebron to Egypt which is about 400 km or 250 miles

What is the longest journey you have been on?  How did you travel – by foot or some other way?

Harvest gifts

If you have brought some food for harvest please leave it in this shopping trolley.  It will be given by the Stapleford Foodbank to people who need food

Egypt provided food to other people around them who did not have any

How can we help other people who have less than we do?

Clay cup

Mould a cup out of clay

Joseph’s brothers were invited to have a meal with him, but they still didn’t know who he was

What do you think they would have eaten and drunk at this special meal?

Friendship bands

Thread the ribbon through the ring pulls to make a wrist band.  You have to be careful how you do this so that the ring pulls stay firmly together

Or make a bracelet by plaiting the threads

Joseph’s brothers treated him badly when he was young.  But when he told his brothers who he was they became friends.  He hugged and kissed them.

Is there anyone you have been upset with who you need to make friends with again?

Jigsaws

Draw a picture on the jigsaw.  It could be of your family, or anything you like.  It can be a pattern but use plenty of colours

Joseph’s father, brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces all moved to Egypt.  There were 70 of them.

If you take the jigsaw apart can you put it back together again?  Joseph’s family had been taken apart but it came back together again.

Tea Light

Draw stick people holding hands around the tealight holder

Joseph’s family were very happy to be friends again after being apart for a long time

Are there any people you have not seen for a while that you would like to meet?

Big painting

Paint this picture showing friends enjoying being together

Joseph and his family were very happy to be back together again

What do you enjoy doing with your friends?

Thanking God

At harvest time we thank God for the food he gives us

Draw a picture of something you want to thank God for on a leaf, or write a prayer to thank god for the good things he gives us

Attach the leaf to the tree.  You can do as many as you would like.  Can you cover the tree with thanks?

Joseph thanked God for turning the bad that had happened to him into good

Joseph and his brothers

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on  13th September 2015. Have a look and try a few!

Family Tree

Hold 6 pipe cleaners in a bunch and wrap the outside one half way up.  Push them into plasticine.  Fan out the branches and twist on a pencil.  Write the names of your family on the leaves and thread them on the branches

Joseph had a big family.  He had 11 brothers, and some sisters too.

How many people can you think of in your family?

Family Photo

Have your photo taken with your family and friends.  You can put the photo in the frame that you make.

Joseph had a big family.  He had 11 brothers, and some sisters too.  Only one brother was younger than him.

Are all your family here today?

Photo frame

Decorate the frame with coloured tissue paper.  Put in the photo you had taken.

Joseph had a big family.  He had 11 brothers, and some sisters too. 

Is your family big or small?

Thumbprint family

Make thumb prints onto your paper and then draw arms, legs and faces to make them into people.  They can be your family or Joseph and his 11 brothers.

Joseph had a big family.  He had 11 brothers, and some sisters too.  Only one brother was younger than him.

Do you have any brothers and sisters?

Multicoloured spinners

Colour in two circle with as many colours as you can.  Stick them to each side of a cork circle.  Thread the string through and make it spin

Joseph was given a special coat which was long and decorated

Can you make it spin so much that you can’t see the pattern anymore?  What colours can you see?

Multicoloured coat

Put coloured ribbon onto the cloth to make a multi coloured coat

Joseph’s dad loved Joseph so he gave him a long, decorated coat

Do you have a favourite coat?  What is it like?

Multicoloured coat

Decorate the gingerbread man with coloured sweets to give him a multi coloured coat

Joseph’s dad loved Joseph so he gave him a long, decorated coat

What do you think Joseph’s coat looked like?

Prayer coat

Choose a colour of paper you like.  Draw a picture of your family on it or write some names or a thankyou prayer. 

Joseph’s dad loved Joseph so he gave him a long, decorated coat

As you stick paper on the coat, thank God for the things that are special about your family.

Dream painting

Blow into the paint mixture with a straw til it is full of bubbles.  Then place your paper onto the top to make a bubble pattern. Write some of your dreams in the bubbles.

Joseph had some very clear dreams that he remembered.  He told his brothers about them.

Do you remember your dreams?

Moon and stars mobile

Stick stars onto the card spiral.  Colour in Joseph and tie him to a piece of wool.  Then thread the wool through the card so that Joseph is in the middle of the stars.

Joseph had a dream in which the sun, moon and stars bowed down to him

What do you think his family thought when he told them about the dream?

Wheatsheaf bookmark

Sew 8 or 9 stitches of yellow thread onto the felt to make a sheaf of wheat.

Joseph had a dream .  He and his brothers were tying up sheaves of wheat in a field when Joseph’s sheaf got up and stood up straight.  His brother’s sheaves formed a circle round his and bowed down to it.

Do you like this dream?  Why do you think that?

Snakes and ladders

Play a game of snakes and ladders.  Read what is in each card as you go up the ladders and down the snakes.  The blue cards are about Joseph’s life.  The green ones are questions about your life.

Joseph had ups and downs in his life.  It was up when his father gave him a special coat and down when his brothers sold him as a slave.

Have any of the ups or downs happened to you?

Down the well

Make a well out of clay and use lolly sticks to make a roof.  Make a clay Joseph in the bottom of the well.

Joseph’s brothers tore his long robe off him and threw him into a dry well.  They were angry with him.

What do you do when you are angry?

False beards

Stick fur onto the card to make a false beard

A group of Ishmaelites came by on camels on their way to Egypt.  His brothers sold Joseph to them.

How different do you look with your false beard?  Can your family recognise you?