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?
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?
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
