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THIS WEEK’S PASSAGE 1 PETER 2:2-10
PREPARATION
You will need some stones of various shapes and sizes, pens and paint to decorate them, a way to play ‘I could sing of your love forever’ by Delirious? and ideas for the people sculpture shapes.
PEOPLE SCULPTURE
10 mins
The aim of this game is to make shapes or sculptures using bodies as props. This will link to the idea of living stones in the Bible passage later. Make sure there is plenty of space. Think of some ideas for shapes, for example a boat, tree, table, house, wheel or cart. Ask the young people to work in small groups to create the shapes. Explain that they can lie on the floor or stand to create the 3D effect. You can vary the game by giving different ideas to the different groups and then asking the young people to guess the shapes that the other teams are doing.
THE SMALL PRINT
10 mins
Ask someone to read 1 Peter 2:2-10 aloud. Introduce the theme by saying that we may wonder what God wants our churches and communities to be like, but in this passage Peter give us some clues. Where there are difficult words, such as ‘slander’ and ‘malice’, you may need to define them.
Explain that we are not talking literally about stones; we are not called to physically build a building (draw their attention back to session one when we talked about the Church not just being a building). Say that this description of us as ‘living stones’ who can build the Church is an image used to help us understand. Lots of people Jesus and his disciples spoke to were familiar with how buildings were built. Peter describes the Church as a living, spiritual house which is made up of living, breathing people – the stones. Explain that the key idea here is community because all the living stones, the people, make up the Church with Jesus as their cornerstone, the key stone who all the others are based on. Jesus is the foundation who holds the building, the community, together.
KEY POINT 1
We are not a pile of stones in a building but living stones, building a community together on Jesus’ firm foundations.
A COMMUNITY OF LIVING STONES
20 mins
Gather the young people in a group with tables or a surface where they can paint or draw. Bring out a box of stones of different shapes and sizes and invite each person to choose a stone that they like from the box. Look at the stone carefully, hold it in your hand and think about the following questions:
• What does your stone look and feel like?
• Where might the stone have come from originally: the sea, a beach, a mountain, a riverbed?
• How old might it be?
• Who has walked on it?
• Who might have held it?
Say that the stones may at first look dull and boring but they can have a great story to tell. We don’t know where they may have come from or where they are going.
Decorate each stone with paint or pens. They can write their name on to the stone and also words like ‘chosen’, ‘precious’, ‘trust’ or ‘loved’. While the group are painting or drawing, play, ‘I could sing of your love forever’ by Delirious?. When everyone has finished, place the stones on the table in front of them and look at them carefully.
Say that God knows each of us by name and we are important to him. Each one of us has unique gifts and talents. Say that God has chosen them to build his Church. Ask everyone to take their stone and pile them up together carefully. Say again that God has chosen them to build his Church and that each one of them makes up the church community. Leave the stones in the pile but at the end of the meeting invite the young people to take the stones home with them.
KEY POINT 2
Like stones we can be brought together to make something much more than what we are on our own. Through faith we can be linked together in community with each other and with Jesus, our cornerstone.
DISCUSSION
10 mins
Ask the young people to discuss these questions:
• Have you ever been chosen for anything at school, sport, or other activities?
• How did you feel? (Be sensitive: you may also ask how it feels not to be chosen, or missed out.)
In the Bible reading, God says we are precious and important to him. We also know from this reading that we can’t do everything on our own. To build a church we work better in community with all our gifts and talents combined. Ask:
• How might God use you to build the Church?
• What gifts and talents do you have that can be used to build community?
PRAYER
10 mins
Gather around the stones as a central point for focus. Encourage the group to choose one other person to pray for: they are going to focus on this person as a ‘living stone’ and part of the community; it doesn’t matter if they know them well or not.
Pray for that person to be like a living stone in the church. Pray for them to be a faithful servant of God. Ask for them to know the firm foundations of God’s love and care. Ask that they will work together in community with others using their gifts and talents to God’s glory. Close by praying that each of us become the firm foundations, building community and God’s Church where we are and for those near us.
