Easter

This post takes you through some of the crafts at our Good Friday Messy Church on March 30th, 2018

Easter Story on Pebbles

There are symbols to represent different parts of the Easter story

Choose some stones and copy the symbols onto them

Have a go at telling the Easter story using the stones

Palm Leaves
Cut out a palm leaf from green paper and tape it into a stick

People waved palm leaves as Jesus approached Jerusalem to cheer him on.  They thought he would rescue them from the Romans.

Jesus came for another reason.  He came to die.  What did the crowds think about that?

Betrayal Biscuit

Break a biscuit in half and attempt to join it back together again with icing.
If you manage to do it, celebrate by decorating the whole biscuit.

Judas was Jesus’ friend, but he led Jesus enemies to him

When a friendship is broken, Jesus wants us to mend it and forgive the other person.  Do you find it easy or hard to forgive people?

Dice
Fold the card to make a cube
Then put dots onto each side to make a dice.  Be careful how you do this so that you have sides for one, two, three, four, five and six.

The soldiers guarding Jesus threw dice to decide who would get his cloak

Play a game with your dice.  See who can roll the biggest score.



Sand Cross

Take a cross
Fill it carefully with different colours of sand
Screw it onto the base

To die on a cross was painful.  It was a hard thing for Jesus to do.


Can you remember something that hurt?  Maybe you fell over or were hurt some other way.

Nailed Cross
This wood has the nails already in it.
Wrap some cord around the nails to show the cross shape.

To die on a cross was painful.  It was a hard thing for Jesus to do.


Can you remember something that hurt?  Maybe you fell over or were hurt some other way.

Sponge Painted Cross

Stick a cross on the sheet
Then paint around it with the sponge.
When you take the paper cross off you will see the cross shape left behind

Jesus loves us so much that he died  so that we can live for ever with God

As you God paint on the cross say thankyou to Jesus for dying because he loves you

Clay Cross and Tomb
Make a cross and a tomb out of clay

The cross reminds us that Jesus died, but the empty tomb reminds us that he came back to life.


When you get home find somewhere to put it during Easter, to remind you what we are celebrating.





Paper plate tomb

Stick two sides of plate together
Cut out a hole from one of them to look like the tomb
Cut another to look like the stone rolling away from the hole

Joseph of Arimathea gave his burial place to Jesus.  
Joseph  had to brave to do this.  He risked getting in trouble for it.  


Can you think of things you have to be brave to do?

Egg Rolling
Decorate a hard boiled egg and then see how far you can roll it

The stone that was put in front of Jesus tomb was rolled away.  It would have been very heavy so the people who found it were surprised

We don’t know how it was rolled away, except that God must have done it when noone was looking



Easter Garden

Make three crosses out of twigs
Make a tomb out of clay
Choose a flower to be a garden
Then make them into an Easter garden

Jesus was buried in a garden.  The cave belonged to someone wealthy who asked if he could  do this.  People had to be brave to admit to knowing Jesus.

Can you think of some things you have to be brave to do?

Badges
Draw a picture of the Easter story
Then make a badge from it using the machine (with the help of an adult)

Easter is the most important celebration for Christians

Which is the part of the story you like best?

Marble Painting

Dip the marbles in paint

Roll or shake them on the paper to make a colourful picture

There was a big, heavy stone blocking the entrance to Jesus tomb.  But an angel came and rolled it away.

What do you think Jesus friends thought when they saw the stone rolled away?

Butterfly Prayers
Cut a butterfly out of paper and decorate it.
Tie a thread through and hang it from the branch.

When Jesus friends went to his tomb they thought he was dead.  They were surprised when he spoke to them.

Have you seen a butterfly hatch?  The cocoon looks dead, but a beautiful butterfly comes out of it.


Prayer Crosses

Write a prayer or the name of someone on a cross and hang it on one of the branches of the prayer tree.

Jesus prayed before he was arrested because he was very worried about what was going to happen


God loves us to talk to him and tell him what we are concerned about.

Tattoos
Choose a tattoo and press it on

Do you know what part of the Easter story it represents?

Holy Week Scratch Art

Choose a picture and scratch it to see the colours come through

Everything seemed to be going wrong for Jesus and his followers, but then it turned to good when he came back to life again


Can you think of a time when things seemed to be going wrong, but they turned out well in the end

Easter Trail
Take one of the sheets of questions and find the answers in the pictures as you follow the trail.

Each picture has a clue to tell you where you will find the next one

When you get to the end hand your sheet in to the activity helper to get a small prize

Bead Cross
Your elastic will need to be folded in half with the ends tied together.  Thread the beads on to make a cross.

Christians use the symbol of the cross to remind us how important Jesus death is

As you look at your bead cross can you think of a different bit of the story for each bead?

Suncatcher decorations
Choose a suncatcher
Decorate it with paint

When Jesus friends knew he was alive they were very excited and happy.  They always remembered it.


When have you felt excited?  How does it feel?





Easter Story Display

Colour in one of the people and wrap it round a tube to make a character from the Easter story
Or stick tissue paper to the sunrise sheet to go behind the empty tomb
Or make a pipe cleaner tree with tissue paper leaves to go in the garden where Jesus prayed.

We know what happened to Jesus because it was written down by people who remembered it.

Why not try reading the story for yourself.  You can find it in a Children’s Bible

Nailed Cross
This cross has the nails already in it.  Add some wool to the cross, wrapping it around the nails to hold it.
Some wool is red like Jesus blood
Some wool is black because the sky went dark
Some wool is white because Jesus rose again

To die on a cross was painful.  It was a hard thing for Jesus to do.

Can you remember something that hurt?  Maybe you fell over or were hurt some other way.

Cardboard tomb
Can you make a tomb out of all this cardboard?

Jesus was buried in a cave that had a stone rolled in front of the door.

How would his friends have felt?

Easter Garden

Make crosses and a tomb and add them to the Easter garden.

Adult colouring
Colour in one of these pictures or doodle your own design on a blank sheet of paper

God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him would not die but have eternal life.

This post takes you through some of the activities at Messy Church on Saturday March 10th.

The Great Banquet

This post takes you through some of the activities at Messy Church on Saturday March 10th.

Invitations and Excuses

Make an invitation card to a great feast

Are you going to go to the feast?  What excuses can you think of for not going to the feast?  Write your reply.

An important man invited his family and friends to a party.  But they made up excuses not to go.

Have you invited friends to a party?  Did they say yes, or did they say they couldn’t come.

Invitations to Messy Church

Make an invitation to Messy Church

A rich man invited his friends and family to a feast and they didn’t want to go.  So he invited everyone he could, people he didn’t know, people he found walking down the road.  He wanted everyone to be there.

Who could you invite?

Make Bread Rolls

Shape the bread dough and decorate it.

Take it home with some instructions to cook it.

The rich man served special food at his party

What is your favourite party food?

Party Bags

Overlap the edges of the paper and sellotape it.  Fold the bottom over to make a bag and sellotape it down.  Punch holes in the top and thread ribbon through.  Stuff with tissue and put a small gift in.

Many people came to the rich man’s house and enjoyed his party, people who weren’t important, people who no-one else would have invited

Could you give your bag to someone who is feeling sad to cheer them up?

Party Hats

Choose a hat or visor and decorate it

The people came to the rich man’s house and enjoyed his party

What would you wear to a party?

Jesus enjoyed parties.  What sort of hat do you think he would wear?

Playdoh Food

Shape the playdoh into a meal

The man and his servants spent time preparing the feast

What sort of food do you enjoy eating at a party?

Mocktails

Mix the different juices to make a mocktail.

The man prepared a great feast?

Does it taste nice or a bit strange?  What name would you give your drink?

What drinks do you think the man in the story would have served?

Place Mat

Draw a picture of a meal with lots of guests on a piece of paper.

Get an adult to put it through the laminator to make it into a place mat.

The man wanted his house to be full, so he kept inviting more people to his feast

If you have had a party, how many people did you invite? 

Fill the House

Make some pipe cleaner people

Will they fit into the house?

The man wanted his house to be full, so he kept inviting more people to his feast

What is the biggest meal you have ever been to?  How many people were there?

People at the meal

Take one of the faces or people and make it to be yourself or a friend of yours.

Put it somewhere around the table, as you are invited to this party

Jesus wanted people to know they would be happy if they joined him in the feast in the kingdom of God

Who would you like to be at this party?

Thankful Place Card

Make a place card to mark your place at the table

Decorate it with things that show how happy you are to be there

Jesus wanted people to know they would be happy if they joined him in the feast in the kingdom of God

Who would you like to be at this party?

Potato Print Meal

Put paint on the potato and print it onto a paper plate

What food have you put on your plate?

The man had prepared a great feast

What is your favourite meal?

What food would you serve at a big party?

Paper Chain Prayers

Write a prayer on a piece of paper and add it to the paper chain.  Some suggestions are

thank God that he invites you to be his friend

thank God that you enjoy Messy Church

ask God someone you know who is sad

Jesus wanted people to know they would be happy if they joined him in the feast in the kingdom of God.

How many prayers can you think of to make a long paper chain?

Excuses Dial

Put a split pin through the centre of each circle – you should have 4. They need to go in the right order, so look at the example.

As you move the circles round you can make up some excuses for not going to a party

There are some gaps on the circles.  Can you fill those in?

The people invited to the party didn’t want to go so they made excuses.  So the man sent his servants to find whoever they could to come and enjoy the party.

Which excuse do you like best?

Mothering Sunday Plant

Plant some flowers to give to someone who cares for you on Sunday

The Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin

This post takes you through some of the activities at Messy Church on Saturday February 10th.

Headdress

Take a piece of ribbon long enough to tie around your head
Cover the cardboard discs in tin foil and punch a hole in them  
Fasten the coins onto the headdress using cotton 


Some people think that the lost coin might have come off a headdress belonging to the woman 

Brass Rubbing Coins
Take a piece of paper and place over one of the coins stuck to the table 

Now rub over the coin with the crayons and see how the pattern from the coin shows on your piece of paper.

These coins don’t look like any you know, do you think they are worth a lot of money?

The lost coin was very valuable worth a whole day's wages 




Find the coins

Can you find any coins hidden in the messy trays?

Was it easy?

Have you every lost anything and had to search hard to find it ?

The woman searched hard for the lost coin 

Tealight holder

Decorate the tea light holder using the glass pens

Take a tea light and when you get home switch it on in a dark room.

Do you think you would be able to find much with this small light ?

The woman in the story lit a lamp to help her find the coin?

Angels

Cut out one of the angel templates or use one already cut

Colour or decorate, then fold and stick together

In the bible story the angels are rejoicing over people returning to their beliefs 

Sheep prayers
Take  a numbered sheep, and write something you want to pray about 

Place it on the green grass

Do you think 99 paper sheep will fit on this piece of grass?


There were 99 sheep left behind while the shepherd went to search for the lost one. 






Marbles

Can you count the marbles in the tray?

If the marbles move would you need to start counting again?

Is it easy to keep you eye on all the marbles at the same time?

Would you notice if one was missing?
The shepherd knew one of his sheep was missing

Binoculars
Take 2 pieces of the round tubes 
Choose some cellophane and fix it on one end with a rubber band.  Stick some tape on top at the end of the tube
Stick them together like binoculars by wrapping tape around them.
Punch a hole in each tube and tie some elastic so you can hang it round your neck.
What can you see through the binoculars 


Binoculars help people to see things a long way away, they would have helped the shepherd search for his sheep. 



Hunt the Sheep

Take a sheet and find the sheep with the numbers on

 Stick the part of the story you find by the correct numbered sheep

When you have found all the sheep you should be able to read the story 


Hand your completed form in for a small sweet reward 

Painting Sheep
Use the mixture of paint, glue and porridge to paint sheep 

How many can you paint?


The shepherd in today’s story cared about his sheep

Balloon sheep

Take a newspaper and waft it behind the group of sheep
Can you get them all home, into the sheep pen?

Was it easy ? Did some go astray ?

Were you happy to get them all home?


The shepherd rejoiced when he found his lost sheep.

Streamers
Take a stick and some coloured crepe paper strips

Stick the paper strips to the stick with sellotape

 People often wave streamers when celebrating 

What do you do when you celebrate?


The shepherd called his friends and neighbours together and said,  “rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”





Sheep cake

Take a cake and put some icing on it 

Now add marshmallows to look like sheep 

Use the sweets to make the face 

Will you be happy to eat this cake?


The shepherd was very happy to find his lost sheep,   he joyfully  put the sheep on his shoulders to carry  it home 

Wool Sheep 
Take one of the pieces of card shaped like a sheep 

Attach two pegs for the sheep's legs and wind wool around the body 

Stick on the eyes and ears 


Jesus is often referred to as our shepherd and us, his lost sheep.