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Ideas to use

You will find on these pages a wealth of ideas for children's and all-age work. You can either use the search box above, or you can add some of the keywords on the left to find the right ideas for you.

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Jesus calms the storm

A way-in to the story of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee with possible links to stories that made people think Jesus was special, stories where Jesus showed his power over nature or discussion about fear, disasters and prayer

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Psalm 139 - our specialness to God

A way in to talking about how special each one of us is to God with links to Psalm 139.

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David and Samuel

A way-in to talking about how the inside part of our lives (our character) is more important to God than what we look like on the outside eith links to the story of Samuel choosing David as King - 1 Samuel 16 verses 1-13

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Prayer activity on talking to God

An introduction to prayer and into understanding the different ways in which we can approach God with links to Jesus' teaching on prayer in Matthew chapter 6

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Pentecost - All-age worship

Pentecost celebrates the birthday of the church. The day when Jesus fulfilled His promise of sending to his followers the Spirit of God to be with them and in them. This activity helps a church to celebrate Pentecost together and would work as part of an All-age service or an All-age part of a service.

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Lent - Story of Jesus' temptations - a reflective story

The story of the temptations (Matthew 4:1-11), and the idea of fasting for a long period, are both parts of the Lenten tradition. Here is an idea for a session for your group linked to this story.

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Prayer stations

It is important in all-age worship that every part of what goes on is accessible and meaningful to everyone there. Often however the prayers for others are left in their usual adult format, with someone speaking the words from upfront while everyone else just listens and adds the occasional amen. Why not make your time of prayer together more interactive?

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Ascension day - A presentation

Ascension Day used to be celebrated much more than it is today. Being a weekday festival, it could prove useful material for a midweek group. The following idea could also form part of a school assembly or the all-age section of a service in church on the Sunday following Ascension Day.

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Pentecost - A story and a poem

Pentecost is such an important new beginning in the story of God's rescue of planet earth. Here are a simple story and a poem that try to prepare the ground for talking about Jesus returning in the person of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

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Miracles

A game to introduce the idea of miracles

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Elijah and King Ahab

Ups and Downs: A session on the question: does God only care for me when I’m doing great things for him?

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Ruth 1

Getting Going with Ruth

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Rich young ruler 2

Getting going with sharing the good news

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Being a child of God - Ephesians 1

A reflective story based on Ephesians 1:3-10 in the style of Godly Play

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The burning bush - a reflective story

A reflective story about the call of Moses in the style of Godly Play

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The Lord's Prayer

A reflective approach to the Lord's Prayer in the style of Godly Play

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The Prodigal

A reflective story based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son in the style of Godly Play

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Barnabas the encourager

A reflective story about Barnabas in the style of Godly Play

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Feeding the five thousand

A reflective story about the feeding of the 5,000 in the style of Godly Play

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Revelation - John's final work

A reflective story about the life of the apostle John in the style of Godly Play

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Daniel - a reflective story

A reflective story about Daniel in the style of Godly Play

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Advent - Annunciation 2

A session on the annunciation for 7-11 year olds

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Talents and pounds

The Parable of the Talents and the Parable of the Pounds

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Lent - Cross (7) The Palm Cross

The following outline for children's work, a special event or Lenten display provides a link to further work during Lent on crosses that are found in the Barnabas book A-cross the World.

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Pentecost - Seven Signs of the Spirit - a reflective story

A story about the Spirit in a reflective style

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Mirror, Mirror in the circle

An activity leading to prayer, using a mirror to explore what God is like and how we might love God best

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The Last Supper

An activity to accompany the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet, for a children's group on a Sunday or midweek

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The True Vine

An outline idea for a children’s group exploring Jesus as the True Vine

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The Pearl of Great Price

An outline for an activity with a children's group or for all-age worship that explores Jesus' teaching on gifts and giving

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Christmas 2: Mary and Joseph's journey

This is the second of a series of ideas that you could use in sessions in the four weeks before Christmas.

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Praying with Hands

A short prayer and reflection time based on hands

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Salvation Unwrapped from Romans 8

A way of sharing the story of Romans 8 with a children's group or in a service with children present

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Just a drop of water

An idea for refection and prayer with your children’s group

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The Throw of the Dice

An idea for refection and prayer with your children's group

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Breakfast on the Beach

The account of Jesus giving his friends breakfast on the beach after his resurrection is a great one to look at with children - there's so much in it: lots of feelings, lots of drama, lots of Jesus showing how much he cares, and of course, lots of food.

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