Circle time
5 minutes
As the children arrive, sit everyone down. Ask the children, what they were doing this time yesterday, what they are doing later today and what they will be doing this time next week.
Guess who?
10 minutes
You will need: list of questions; paper plates; felt-tip pens
Prepare a list of questions that reveal a character step by step. These could be people you know, celebrities or even animals. Ask the children questions, revealing one clue at time for example: “I have brown hair, I am a boy, I wear glasses, I have a scar on my forehead, my best friend is Ron. Who am I?” (The answer in this instance would be Harry Potter.)
Ask the children to write or draw on a paper plate as many things about themselves as possible. Encourage them to write “I am” in the middle of the paper plate and then fill the rest of the plate with things that describe them, for example: “I am funny”, “I have brown eyes”, “I like sport”, “I am 9”. Show the plates one by one and see if you can guess whose plate each one is!
Bible story
20 minutes
You will need: plant; candle; register or name labels; shoes; Bible; baby monitor; first-aid kit; ‘Go’ sign; teddy; stick; glove; IAMS cat food; mirror
During this part of the session you will be taking the children on an interactive journey through Exodus 3 and 4. Read through the passage beforehand and familiarise yourself with the key elements. Set the eleven stations out around your space. They don’t have to be in order; you can zig-zag across your space to keep the children guessing as to where they are going!
As a group, you will be journeying together physically and gathering at various different points to explain part of the story using a visual aid, learning something about what God is like. Print out the list of characteristics and key verses below and set them down at the right stations to collect along the way. You may wish to print a list for your own reference too.
- A God who is amazing: Exodus 3:2 (plant and candle)
- A God who knows us by name: Exodus 3:4 (register or name labels to give out)
- A holy God: Exodus 3:5 (children’s shoes to be taken off)
- A God who keeps his promises: Exodus 3:6 (Bible)
- A God who cares: Exodus 3:7 (baby monitor)
- A God who rescues: Exodus 3:8 (first-aid kit)
- A God who includes us in his plans: Exodus 3:10 (‘go’ sign)
- A God who is with us: Exodus 3:12 (teddy)
- I am who I am: Exodus 3:14 (IAMS cat food)
- A God who equips us: Exodus 4:1-5, 6-7, 13-17 (stick / snake / glove)
- A God who uses normal people: Exodus 4:10 (mirror)
Tell the story from the Bible as you go around (use a child-friendly translation, such as the Contemporary English Version), making sure you get to the right point at the right station! Encourage the children to handle each item and wonder what it means, before explaining the next step of the story.
When you finish, wonder what might happen next in the story.
Chatting together
5 minutes
Ask the children these questions. Encourage them to join in as much as they would like to.
- What is your favourite part of this story?
- Have you learnt anything new?
- What does this story tell us about God?
- Do you think God is still all of those things today?
Creative response
10 minutes
You will need: a roll of paper (lining paper is ideal); paint on paper plates; pens, clean-up and cover-up equipment
Get the children to take off their shoes (and socks) like Moses did in the story and make paint-covered footprints all over the banner. Under their own footprints ask the children to write their own name. As you wash your feet, look at all the patterns you have made. Chat about what the children think about the story.
Comment that God promised to be with Moses wherever he went, making sure that he had everything he needed to do God’s work. God called Moses to help him. Even though Moses was scared and thought he wasn’t up to the job! Allow the children some time to think about whether God is calling them. You might want to tell them a story about a time when God asked you to do something and made sure you had everything you needed. If you don’t have a story, you could invite a visitor to speak with the children (check their story beforehand so that you know it’s suitable for the children).
Prayer
5 minutes
You will need: the footprint banner from
Creative Response; pens; reflective music and the means to play it
On the banner, ask the children to write or draw prayers of thanks to God for the characteristics they’ve learnt about, or situations they feel they need God’s help with. As the children write or draw, play the reflective music and be available for any children who would like to talk.
