God’s armour!

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 8 March 2014. Have a look and try a few!

Belts

Cut a belt to the size you need and attach a buckle.  Write the word truth on it or copy some of the phrases about God on to it.

Put the belt of truth round your waist

Why would you wear a belt?  Why could it be important?

Truth beads

Take five wooden beads and thread them on elastic. Write the letters TRUTH one on each of the beads

The truth about God will protect you

Tell someone something strange that you know and get them to guess whether it is true or false.

Wax resist

Write the five letters of TRUTH in white wax.  Then paint over them and see the letters appear

Put on the belt of truth

Do you find it easy to tell the truth?  When might it be hard?

Truth/lies

For each person there are three facts.  Two are true and one a lie.  Tick the one that you think is a lie.

The truth about God protects us

Try this yourself.  Write your name on a piece of paper with two things that are true about yourself and one a lie.  Then stick them up for other people to guess

Tin foil breastplates

Take a piece of card and put foil around it to make a breastplate.

Put on the breastplate of righteousness

God protects us by putting things right

What part of your body does a breastplate protect?  Why would this be important?

Aprons

Cut your piece of cloth at two corners to shape the top of the apron

Attach ties with velcro to the neck and waist

 Put on the breastplate of righteousness

 God protects us by putting things right

What is the messiest thing you have ever done?  Did you wear an apron?  Did you need one?

Tabards

Draw on the cloth with fabric pens.  You could draw a soldier or write on some of the ways in which God protects us

 Put on the breastplate of righteousness

 God protects us by putting things right

Have you ever done something messy and got marks on your clothes?  Was it easy or difficult to get them off afterwards?

Shoes

Take two bases for your shoes.  Punch holes round the edge and thread the ribbon through to make Roman shoes.

For shoes on your feet take the good news of peace

Which are your favourite shoes?  What do you like about them?

Clay shields

Roll some clay and cut out a shield shape.  Decorate the shield using a cocktail stock and write on the word FAITH.  Then take two arrows and attach them to the shield.

Take the shield of faith.  If you take that you’ll be able to stop all the flaming arrows of the evil one

Helmets

Make a helmet by sticking modroc to a balloon

Take the helmet of salvation

What kinds of helmets can you think of that protect people’s heads?  Think of a sport that uses helmets, or you may have one

Swords

Wrap the silver foil ribbon around the sword to cover it.  Then stick jewels on the handle to decorate it

Take the sword of the spirit which is God’s word

Can you think of some words that God says?

Book covers

This time of year is called Lent. It is traditionally a time when people spend more time reading the stories in the Bible. Make your own mini Bible here!

Take the sword of the spirit which is God’s word

Which is your favourite Bible story?

Dress the soldier

Colour in the different parts of the armour and stick them on the man with velcro dots.  Then write what they are next to them.  There is a story sheet on your table to help you.

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on God’s complete armour.  Then you’ll be able to stand firm.

Soldier’s today don’t wear armour like this?  Do you know what they do wear to protect them?

Gingerbread soldier

Take a gingerbread man and put its armour on.  The belt is liquorice, the shield and breastplate icing

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on God’s complete armour.  Then you’ll be able to stand firm.

Your gingerbread man may not stay strong for long (you might eat him!), but God stays strong for ever

Protect the egg

Can you protect the egg from breaking?

If you put on God’s armour you will be able to stand up to the bad things that you struggle with

Was it easy or difficult to protect the egg?  It can be hard to stand up to bad things but God stays with us in the struggle.

Arrows

Make an arrow and then see if you can hit the target with it

Arrows attack us but God protects us

Have you ever played darts or archery?  Are you any good at hitting the target?

Dodge ball

Can you protect yourself from the balls?

Bad things attack us but God protects us

How did you get on?  Were the lids any good for defending yourself?

one body, many parts!

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 8 February 2014. Have a look and try a few!

Jigsaws

Draw a picture on the jigsaw – it could be of yourself, or of your family, or maybe the Messy Church symbol 

The parts of the body fit together like a jigsaw

Undo the jigsaw and see if you can put it back together

Split pin people

Cut out the different parts of the person and put them together using paper fasteners.  Colour in the face and the clothes

It takes many parts to make a single body

How many parts of the body can you see in the person you have made?

Pasta skeleton

Take the different shapes of pasta to make a pasta skeleton.  Dip them in the glue and stick them to the card.

It takes many parts to make a single body

Do you know the names of any of the bones in the body?  Why do we need bones?

Polystyrene ball people

Take a ball for the head and one for the body.  Stick them together and decorate it to look like a person.

The head cannot say it doesn’t the feet

What parts of the body does your ball person have?  Are any parts of the body missing?

Junk model people

Find some boxes of the right size and stick them together to make a person

A body isn’t really a body unless there is more than one part

How many parts of the body does your junk person have?

Polystyrene cup people

Stick two cups together and draw on a face.  Then add arms and legs using pegs

A body isn’t really a body unless there is more than one part

How many parts of the body does your cup person have?

How many parts of the body do you think you have?

Sponge body painting

There are different shapes of sponge for different parts of the body.  Put paint on them and print them onto a piece of paper to make a body.

God put the body together so that every part is valuable

You are a valued part of Messy Church

Mini marshmallow people

Stick marsh mallows together to make a person

It takes many parts to make a single body

How many marshmallows have you used to make your body?

What parts of the body does it have?

Eyeball bouquet

Put a ball on a cocktail stick and paint it.  Then stick on an eye.  Take off the cocktail stick and attach a pipecleaner.  Twist it round and stick it in a cardboard vase.  Then make two more in different colours.

If our bodies were only an eye we couldn’t hear a thing

What colour eyes do you have?  What colour eyes does the helper have?

Photo collage

If you have brought a photo add it to the collage.  If not draw a picture of yourself or get someone else to draw a picture of you and then stick it on.  You might like to put your name on as well.

Messy Church has many different parts just as any other body does.  Each one of us is part of it.

Can you see anyone you know in the pictures?

Prayer hands

Cut out two hands and colour them in.  Stick them together like praying hands with a prayer in between them.

The eye can’t say to the hands ‘I don’t need you’

What good things can you use hands for?

Finger puppets

Make puppets to fit your fingers

All parts of the body work together smoothly

Move the puppets with your fingers and see if you can tell a story

Guess the helper

These pictures are of different Messy Church helpers.  They will all be wearing badges with their names on.  Can you find out who they are?

Everyone is different but each one is part of Messy Church

If you are brave enough say thank you to them for being part of Messy Church

Paper clip bracelet

Hook two paper clips together then wrap tape around them.  Hook the next one and wrap tape around it.  Keep going until you have the length you want then join the two ends with the last paperclip

All the parts of the body fit together like the paper clips fit together.  They care for each other.

How can the people at Messy Church show that they fit together, that they care for each other?

Which part of the body are you?

Would you like to be

An eye    someone who has vision for the future

An ear    someone who is good at listening

A mouth  someone who has helpful things to say

A hand    someone who helps when things need doing

An arm    someone who encourages and gives people a hug

A foot     someone who will go to help someone in need  

We are all different and we are all valuable.

Draw a picture of the part of the body you’ve chosen and write your name on it, then tape it to the body in the right place

Fruit of the spirit!

This page takes you through the various activities we had at Messy Church on 11 January 2014. Have a look and try a few!

Lolly stick wall hanging

Take 9 lolly sticks and write one of the fruit of the Spirit on each one (there is a list on the table).  Decorate it as well.  Then stick them carefully to the tape

These fruit of the Spirit are nine good qualities that grow in us when God lives in us

Do you know what these words mean?  Look at the sheet on the table to help you work it out.

Stress apples

Take a red or green balloon and fill it with flour.  Then tie the end firmly.

When we are stressed or angry we may not be very kind to other people.  God doesn't want us to be like this.

When you are feeling angry or stressed you can squeeze the stress apple to help you relax.  Pray to God to help you.

Smartie jars

Decorate the jar and put one of each colour smartie in it.  Take a sheet that tells you what each colour stands for.

Nine different qualities are listed as fruit of the Spirit

When you eat a smartie ask God to help you with the behaviour that it represents

Fruit Basket

Fold the paper to make a basket.  Then choose some of the fruit pieces.  Write on them the name of a fruit of the Spirit and decorate them

These fruit of the Spirit are nine good qualities that grow in us when God lives in us

What is your favourite fruit to eat?

What fruit of the Spirit would you most like more of?

Feely Bags

Put your hand in each bag and see if you can guess what kind of fruit is in it.  The helper will tell you if you have got it right.

There are lots of kinds of fruit.  We like some but not others.

God living in us always produces good things.

How could you tell which fruit was which?

Paint a tree

Paint the trunk of the tree brown and add some leaves.  Add all kinds of fruit to the picture.

Fruit grow on trees.  They show us what kind of fruit  the tree is.

If we let God work in us people will see it from the way we are

What kind of person do you think God helps us to be?

Peace Dove

Fold the paper to make a dove and add a ribbon to hang it up

 Doves represent peace.  God loves to give us peace

Can you think of a time when you felt peaceful?  What was it like?

Move the marbles

How long does it take you to move the marbles from one dish to the other, only using the tweezers (NO HANDS!)

Patience is needed when things take a long time

How patient are you?  What are you like if you have to wait in a queue, or go on a long journey?

Buzzer

Can you get the rod around the wire without touching it?

Patience means that you keep calm when you have to wait for something

Can you think of a time when you have been patient?

Heart collage

Take a heart or cut out one for your self.  You could write your name on it or decorate it.  Stick it on to the sheet with the other hearts.

God loves us very much.  He wants us to love him with all that we are.  He wants us to love the people we meet too.

Think about some people that you love and some people who love you

Heart decoration

Take 2 strips of each length of card and a piece of ribbon.  Thread a bead on the folded ribbon and tape it to a long piece of card.  Put the pieces of card in order short, medium, long, ribbon, long, medium, short and staple them together.  Then bend them over to meet on the other side and staple them again.

God loves us very much.  He wants us to love him with all that we are.  He wants us to love the people we meet too.

You could give your heart to someone and tell them that you love them

The Biggest Smile

Measure your smile and write how long it is on the sheet.  We can see who has the biggest smile at the end of the afternoon

Joy is more than being happy.  We can be joyful even when things are difficult.

Does that sound strange?  How do you think that can happen?

Tasty fruit

Taste a piece of each of the fruit.  Write something on the sheet by it to describe its taste.

Fruit has goodness in it.  You may enjoy its taste and if you eat it, it helps your body to be healthy.

If we have goodness in us people will see it when they meet us and will be better for it.

House of Cards

Can you build a house of cards?

You have to be very careful and gentle with the cards so that they don’t fall over.  

God helps us to be gentle with each other.  One way is to listen to other people and not want our own way all the time.

How can you be gentle with people?

Glue

Make some glue from flour and water.  Add some colouring.  Then put it into a plastic bag.  Cut off a very small piece from corner and squeeze the glue out to make a picture of a person on some paper.

God is faithful to us.  He sticks with us whatever happens.

He helps us to be faithful to him and to other people.

What is the most sticky thing you can think of?

Bubble Bath

Use a straw to blow bubbles in the mixture

When air gets into the mixture it makes bubbles which look completely different.  This is a bit like the way the Holy Spirit gets inside us and changes us

What do you like most about the bubbles?

Pick up sticks and jenga

Find people to play with and see who wins.

To win at these games you need to be controlled.

God wants us to control ourselves in the way we live, so that we choose to be the best we can be for him

Do you find it easy to be self controlled or difficult?