Handling our Worries

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 16th April 2016. Have a look and try a few!

Junk fashion

Use the junk to make an outfit or a hat.  Look at the pictures to help you or use your own imagination.

Jesus asked the disciples ‘Why do you worry about clothes?’

Does what we wear matter?  How much does it matter?  Does God care about what we wear?

Cup cake flowers

Choose some cupcake cases.  Cut around them so that they are different shapes and sizes. Make a hole in the middle with a pipe cleaner and push it through. Twist the end of the pipe cleaner into a bead for the centre of the flower

Jesus said ‘Why do you worry about clothes? Look at how the lilies in the field grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. ‘

What is your favourite flower in the vase?  Does it have a scent?  What do you like about it?

Handprint lily

Draw round your hand on a piece of white card and cut it out.  Roll up the wrist end and tape it.  Curl the fingers over.

Roll up a piece of yellow tissue paper and stick it in the straw.  Then thread the straw through the centre of the flower.  Tape it on.

Thread two leaves on the straw and put tape below them to stop them sliding off.

Jesus said ‘The wild lilies are more beautiful than the clothes of a wealthy person, like a King.  You can be even more sure than God will take care of you.’

Do you enjoy gardening and taking care of flowers?

Painting with Vegetables

Choose some vegetables.  Cover them with paint and stamp them onto your paper.  Can you make a picture of flowers with them?

God cares for the flowers which only last a few days.  He cares much more for us.

Who can make the most beautiful flower?  Which colours do you like best?

Grass head

Roll tights down and sprinkle in a spoonful of grass seed.  Add some soil, squash it into a round shape and tie the open end into a knot.  In the middle of the head pinch a small bit of the soil and tie an elastic band around it to make a nose.  You could make ears as well.  Stick on eyes and draw on a mouth.

At home put water in the plastic cup so that the knotted end dangles in.  The grass will begin to grow after a few days.

Jesus said ‘ Look at the flowers, they don’t make clothes for themselves’

What is needed for plants to grow?  How doe God provide those things?

Bird cake

Decorate the outside of your container.  Make a small hole in the bottom with a pipe cleaner. Thread some string through and tie a knot on the inside.  Mix lard, seed, raisins and cheese together.  Squash them to stick them together.  Fill the container with the mixture.

When you get home put it in the fridge to set for an hour.  Then hang it from a tree to feed the birds.

Jesus said ‘Birds don’t grow their own food but God feeds them’

What sorts of food do you think birds like?

Birds of the air

Colour in the bird, fold it in half and snip along the dotted lines. Push the middle part down and fold in half again.  Thread a long piece of string through the middle.

Pull the string tight and watch the bird fly forwards and backwards along the string.

Jesus said ‘Birds don’t grow their own food but God feeds them’

How many species of bird can you name?  What makes birds special?  What makes you so much more special?

Bubble worries

Use the different rings to make bubbles.  Which make the best bubbles?

Jesus said ‘Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants. Then all your other needs will be met as well.’

Just as the bubbles fly away, when we give our worries to God, they can go away too

Rice cake clock

Smear cheese on a rice cake.  Place 12 vegetable pieces round the edge to make a clock face.  Place longer vegetable pieces to make clock hands.

Jesus said ‘you cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it’

What would you do with an extra hour if you could add to your life?

Magnifying glass

Look through the magnifying glass and see what detail you can see.  Can you read the small writing?

Jesus said ‘Seek first God’s kingdom and what God wants’

When we look for it we can see God working.  What ways have you seen him work?

 Newspaper bridge

Roll, fold and tape together the newspaper in whatever way you like to make a bridge strong enough to hold a tin of food.

Whose bridge can hold the most tins?

Jesus said ‘Don’t worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the clothes you need for your body.’

Worrying can feel like carrying a weight.  What are the things you worry about?  Which worries weigh the most?

Dissolving worries

Pick up a tablet and think of something you are worried about.  Ask God to take the worry away and drop the tablet into the water.  Watch the tablet disappear and let your worries dissolve with the tablet.  Give them to God one by one.  Ask God to help you trust that he is in control.

Do not worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks.  And God’s peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Clay candle holder

Shape the clay into a candle holder

Your Father in heaven knows what you need

Some people find it helps them to pray if they light a candle.

So take this home and when you light it say a prayer to God.  You could thank him for all the good things in your life.

Mug decorating

Decorate a mug with the verse ‘Cast your cares on the Lord’.  These words come from Psalm 55 and were said by someone who was very worried about people who were attacking him.

The Psalm says ‘God will take care of you’

When you drink from this mug it can remind you to tell God about all your worries and trust him to care for you.