John the Baptist
This post takes you through the activities at Messy Church on January 13th 2018.
Peg Locusts
A peg makes the body of the locust
Use pipe cleaners to make the legs and glue them on
Take a look at the real locusts here.
John the Baptist lived on locusts
What do you think locusts taste like? Would you like to try one? Is there anything you don’t like to eat?
Put paint on the bubblewrap, then press a piece of paper on to print a honeycomb
Take a piece of eggbox, add black stripes, googly eyes and wings to make a bee. Stick your bee to the honeycomb
Take a taste of honey with a breadstick. Do you like the taste of honey?
John lived on wild honey and locusts
Camel hair clothes
John ‘s clothes were made from coarse camel hair, tied with a leather belt
What would it be like to wear coarse camel hair clothes?
Cross Prayers
Cut a cross out of paper. Write on it something you want to pray about. Then fold it up.
When you place it on the water it will open up
John taught people to turn away from wrong and turn towards God
Fruit Mobile
Cut fruit out of card and hang them from the coat hanger
If you want to make them 3D cut two shapes the same and slot them together
Write on each fruit a way in which God likes us to be, like being kind, sharing, be fair, tell the truth
John taught people to be like a tree with good fruit, by being kind to other people and telling the truth
John’s job was to show people the way to Jesus. Who shows us the way?
John said ‘If you have two shirts, give one to the poor’
What things can we share with other people? What is easy to share? What is difficult?
Fire BiscuitsIce two biscuits to look like fire
John said that bad things will be burnt up with a never ending fire
He also said ‘If you have food to eat, share it with the hungry’
Who will you share a biscuit with?
Take an axe head and cover it in foil. Fix it to the handle
John said that ‘Trees that don’t produce good fruit will be chopped down’, meaning that bad things would be destroyed.
How long would it take to chop a tree down with an axe do you think?
Winnowing
Can you separate the different sorts of things by using your fork to throw them up into the breeze from the fan?
John said that God will separate the chaff from the wheat with his winnowing fork. He meant that people who followed God would be separated from people who were against God.
Which things does the fan blow the furthest? Which drop first?
Crowds of people came to hear John talk, and to be baptised by him
Why do you think the crowds wanted to hear John?
Dove
Stick feathers on your dove. Then hang it up using wool.
When John baptised Jesus the Holy Spirit descended on him, like a dove
Normally we can’t see the Holy Spirit, but at Jesus baptism he appeared. He showed how pleased God was with Jesus.
Water Play
You can baptise one of the dolls by washing them in the water
Or play with the beakers and funnels, scooping and pouring
John baptised his followers in the river Jordan. It showed they had changed from doing unkind things to doing what God wants
Have you ever been to a baptism? What would it be like to be baptised in a river?
Shoes to Untie
John said Jesus was so important that he wasn’t even important enough to help him undo the straps of his sandals
Why wasn’t John as important as Jesus? How would John have felt when Jesus came to be baptised?
Let a marble go down the crooked tubes and another down the straight tubes. Which gets to the end first?
John was to prepare the way for Jesus, making a straight way for him. He told people about Jesus coming, and about the right way to live.
How can we tell people about Jesus?
