Bible Base:
Isaiah 2:1–5, 9:2–7; Revelation 21:1–4
For:
KEY STAGE 2
Equipment:
Large red poppy displayed at the front of the space, one chenille wire per child, one red tear-drop shaped piece of paper per child (plus a large one for yourself), picture of a poppy field (printed out or on PowerPoint presentation), pictures of local war memorials (printed out or on a PowerPoint presentation), reflective music and the means to play it (optional), Blu-tack. You could also use a cross covered in chicken wire, depending on how open the school is to the Christian message. Always make sure staff are happy with the approach you’re taking before you start.
Opening activity:
Show the children the large poppy you have placed at the front of the meeting space. Ask everyone what they think this flower means. Some children may have studied Remembrance in school and know that a poppy signifies remembering those who have died in war. Show your picture of a poppy field and explain that poppies grow in places where the soil has been disturbed, like the places where World War I was fought. It has been used as a symbol of remembering since 1921. Point out any adults present who are wearing poppies.
Explain that wars are sad times, but sometimes there is nothing we can do to avoid them. Ask who has seen any local war memorials. Show your pictures of some of those near to the school. Say that the names on these memorials are people from the local area who died during a war – usually WWI or WWII. Thankfully we haven’t had a major war in the UK for a long time. Give out the teardrop shaped pieces of paper and ask the children to hold it with the point upwards so that it looks like a tear drop (demonstrate with your own large tear drop).
Tell the children that, on Remembrance Day, people often spend a moment in silence to remember those who have died in a war – sometimes this is a sad time for people. Explain that you’re going to spend a minute in quiet now. Ask the children to look at their teardrops and think about what they know of war time. If you are using some reflective music, play it now while the children are quiet.
Bible story
Give out the chenille wires and ask the children to make a sword or a spear out of their wire. Some of the younger children may need a little help. Get out your Bible and explain to the children that you’re going to tell them about a time when God’s people, the Israelites, had to fight in many wars, using their swords and spears. Enemies surrounded them and they turned their back on God. They were about to be defeated. It was a sad time for them (show your large tear drop once more). But, even though they had forgotten God, he hadn’t forgotten them. He told his friend, Isaiah, to make them a promise. Read Isaiah 2:1–5. God was promising peace! They would turn their weapons into farming tools! Ask the children to reshape their chenille wires into a spade. Eventually their lives would be so peaceful that they wouldn’t need weapons any more!
But that’s not all. God told his friend Isaiah to promise his people something else. Read Isaiah 9:2–7 to the children. Soon he would send a new ruler – a Prince of Peace! Ask the children to reshape their chenille wire into a crown. Ask the children who Isaiah was talking about. Explain that the ruler is Jesus. Explain that soon, we’ll start thinking about Christmas, when Christians remember how Jesus first came to live amongst his people.
God promised peace to his people and Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Christians believe that Jesus is going to come back and live in peace with his followers. If you have time, read Revelation 21:1–4. God promises to wipe away every tear. Turn your tear-drop shape upside-down, with the point facing down.
Response
Ask the children to turn their tear-drops upside-down – now they look like poppy petals. Allow them (if it’s practical), to come and stick their petal onto the large poppy at the front. If you’re using the cross, explain what it is and why it sometimes appears on war memorials.
As they bring up their petals, ask them to think about some of the things that they have heard about today – remembering those people who died in wars, feeling sad as they remember them and hearing about God’s promise of peace and the promise of Jesus. If appropriate, pray a prayer thanking God for the people who gave their lives in war, and for his promise of peace.
