God Steps Down
This page takes you through the activities we had at Messy Church on 10th December 2016. Have a look and try a few.
Bottle angel
Put some glitter in the bottle. Three-quarters fill the bottle with water and
screw the top on tight.
Wrap silver curling ribbon around the bottle
Create wings with a paper plate and doily and stick them to
the back of the bottle
Make a halo with a silver pipe cleaner and put around the
bottle neck
Shake the bottle and watch the glitter move and settle
When the angel Gabriel
first spoke to Mary she was confused and disturbed, so he told her not to be
afraid
Angels often tell people not to be afraid. Why do you think that is?
Gingerbread Mary
Place a marshmallow in the centre of the gingerbread figure
Put blue fondant over it to make Mary’s clothes
When the angel spoke
to Mary she said ‘Yes, I am the Lord’s servant’. So she became pregnant and had the baby Jesus
How do you think Mary felt when the angel told her she would
have a very special baby?
Jesus in a glass
Wrap wool around the baby and draw on a face
Put the baby in a cup cake case to be the manger
Cover the card circle with glitter and then stick on some
brown paper. This will be the floor.
Put the card saying ‘The Greatest Gift of All’ on the floor
Then cover it over with a clear cup and decorate with a pipe
cleaner bow
God loved the world so
much that He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will live for ever with him
What gifts are you hoping to get this Christmas?
Mosaic Jesus
Make a clay plinth and stick on scrabble letters to make the
name JESUS
Then decorate it with gems.
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?
Mucky tray
Can you find any nativity figures in the different bowls? See if you can work out which character it is with out taking them out. There is a prize if you get it right
Jesus was put in a
manger when he was born because there was no room for them to stay anywhere
else
Have you visited a farm?
Would you have liked to stay with the animals?
Paper plate angel
Cut out two wings from a paper plate. Roll the rest of the plate into a cone and
attach the wings.
Decorate the angel
Many, many angels
spoke to the shepherds, praising God, saying ‘Glory to God in the highest and
peace on earth to those with whom he is pleased’
What words can you think of to describe the angels that the
shepherds saw?
Cotton bud sheep
Make a clay body and head for the sheep
Stick on cotton buds for the sheep’s wool
Add the sheep’s face
On the night Jesus was
born, shepherds were guarding their sheep in the fields nearby. They were ordinary people, but God chose to
tell them that his son was born.
What do you think it was like to be a shepherd?
Cotton wool sheep
Wrap wool around to make the sheep’s fleece
On the night Jesus was
born, shepherds were guarding their sheep in the fields nearby. They were
ordinary people, but God chose to tell them that his son was born.
What do you think it was like to be a shepherd?
Handprint camel
Paint your hand and make a handprint on the paper for the
camel’s body. Your thumb sticks out to
make the head. Then paint on the wise
man riding it.
Wise men
travelled a long way from the East to
see Jesus. They probably came with
camels to carry all the things they brought with them. They were important people come to see a king
Have you ever ridden on an animal like a donkey or a
horse? What would it be like to ride on
a camel?
Prayer notebook
Decorate a notebook and stick on the printed verse
Jesus is God’s own
son, born on earth for us, because he loves us
What do you do at Christmas that reminds you that you are
celebrating Jesus birth?
Tealight holders
Decorate the tea light holder with felt tips and sprinkle it
with glitter
The world seems dark
when people do not know God, so Jesus was like a light coming into the darkness
When you light your candle at home you can remember how
special Jesus being born is
Nativity figures
Colour in the characters in the nativity story then cut them
out
Wrap the card around your finger and stick it down to make a
finger puppet
Or you can make a nativity scene
Or make a hole and add a ribbon for a tree decoration
Some of the people in
the story of Jesus birth were very ordinary people, some of them were important
people. But God wanted them all to be
there.
Can you tell the story of Jesus birth with your figures?
Lollystick nativity
Glue the lolly sticks together with glue dots to make a
stable shape. 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.
Mary and Joseph had to
stay with the animals because there wasn’t any room for them to stay anywhere
else
Where will you hang your nativity scene?
Nativity painting
Paint the nativity scene using the stencils
Jesus was God’s son,
and was going to change the world. But
he was born in a very ordinary place, to ordinary people
What is your favourite part of the story of Jesus being
born?
Scratch nativity
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?
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 because he was God who had come
to this ordinary place
Take one of the strips of paper which is like a piece of
straw. Write or draw on it what you would like to say to Jesus and place it in
the manger. You could tell him how
amazing you think he is, or you can ask him to help you or someone else
Adult colouring
Colour in one of these pictures or draw your own
Jesus, who is God, who
is more powerful and important than we can imagine, was born to an ordinary
family in an ordinary place
Think about one of the characters in this story. What did Jesus being born mean for them?
