Children and Families - Scripture Union NZ

  freebibleimages.org The season of Lent begins soon, and we travel with the disciples on the road to Jerusalem. Ahead of us lie paths covered in cloaks and palm fronds, as people herald Jesus' arrival in the city. We know that Jesus is heading to his death, and ultimately to his vindication and resurrection. Lent and Easter mark significant moments in the Christian calendar and the gospel story. The Children and Families team at Scripture Union have a range of FREE resources, programmes and intergenerational services to support you as you prepare. Check them out today!  For our full library: click here Check out this  board game to explore Mark's gospel  (easy to play and great for all ages)

This is an activity I ran with my intergenerational small group last year, and it was lovely. I have included the script here, but also as a downloadable file you can print off. Adapt and adjust to suit your group, or family and whānau best!  Preparation: You will need a wreath base. Mine is foam/oasis. Soak this in water a day before. I chose to place one medium sized candle in the middle of my wreath. You might like to use the traditional four candles, (three are purple and one is red).  I invited each member, ranging in ages from 3years old up, to bring along some greenery from their garden, as well as purple and red flowers. I also provided some. I added a base of greenery to the wreath to make a start, as it can take time to fill it in from scratch, and small children will lose interest quick! Bring matches and secateurs.  Set up: Place the wreath in the centre of your group, where everyone can reach it. We put it on a coffee table and sat around it.  Script: Th...

  Join the Crowd Step into the account of Jesus' visit to the town of Capernaum. See the dusty streets, smell the drying fish and donkey poo, hear the sounds of the sea... This intergenerational service explores Mark 2:1-12 and invites everyone to join the crowd as they seek Jesus. Watch as four friends dig a hole in a roof, and consider together how we help carry each other in faith.  You will need:  Service outline  Map of Capernaum Photo of modern day Capernaum   Picture of a reconstruction of the village 'Everyone is talking about it' cards  Character cards Max7.org video clip 'Crippled man' Silver Statues instructions

  In Their Shoes Step into the shoes of six people in the Easter story and look at what happened through their eyes. This resource brings to life some of the lesser known or briefly mentioned people in the story and aims to bring them to life. This resource contains six character descriptions, scripts and suggestions for how to include them in your Easter services. You choose which characters to introduce, and which approach will best suit your church. Hannah, Samuel and Isaiah: noisy children in the temple: Matt 21 Benjamin and his jar of water: Luke 22 Sarah sits by the fire: Luke 22 Claudia's Dream: Matt 27 Marcus and his surprising discovery: Matt 27 Crispus spreads rumours Matt 27-28 You will need:  'In Their Shoes' - the resource  Story Scripts Optional: Easter images from Max7.org Good Friday Easter Sunday

  We have some BRAND NEW Christmas resources to share with you! As we prepare for the joy of Christmas, we want to offer you these resources that are free to download and easy to use with families in your church and community.  Tiny House Advent Calendar 2022: This is a unique Advent calendar with a New Zealand twist. This resource includes a beautiful black and white template of 24 houses. Simply print the template, cut and colour each one, and then place a Christmas surprise inside before folding them up and gluing them securely. Put them on a table to create a Christmas village! A sample page showing one of the 24 houses Nativity in a Tin:  When life is so busy it is important to find simple ways to connect family and whānau and provide ways to engage intergenerationally. This is a simple activity to take on the road with you this Christmas season and share the story as you travel. Download the booklet and the nativity figures to create your very own ‘Nativit...

  The account of Moses on the Mountain in Exodus 33, is full of drama and suspense. It is a great story to tell with all the generations together. This intergenerational activity includes banners, thunder rolls and flashes of lightning! It really brings the story to life in a way that will involve everyone in your congregation. It also works well for community events, allowing the story to speak for itself. This intergenerational activity takes a bit of preparation, but it is well worth the effort. You will need to download the script from the link below. You will need:  Script Music: The Steward of Gondor ( Youtube clip ) A4 Cards: enough for 1 per 4 people 'I have carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself' 6 grey banners: one suggestion is to sew a length of grey fabric 2metres long by 50cm wide, with a sleeve to hold a length of dowel approx 80cm long. A quick alternative is to wave scarves. Choose blue or grey or black scarves if possible.  6 yellow stre...

Each year we sing, ‘While shepherds watched their flocks by night’, but what do we really know about these early witnesses to the birth of Jesus? What did it mean for them to experience a sky filled with angels and be the ones chosen to hear the good news? This year, our Christmas resource will focus on the shepherds and their rags to riches story. From the rags of the field to the riches of heaven, let us follow their journey and discover it anew for ourselves. How does God visit us in our rags and bring riches beyond our imagination? An intergenerational church service

  Easter weekend is done and dusted, all the chocolate eggs and hot cross buns eaten. But if you thought the festivals of the church calendar were over until Advent or maybe Christmas... just wait, there’s more… The Three Great Feasts or Festivals traditionally conclude the season of Easter and usher in the season of Pentecost. Three Sundays worth of interesting sounding titles and theological concepts that continue to challenge and stretch us today. Ascension Day (13 May) is 40 days after Easter Sunday and so is on a Thursday, but can be observed on the following Sunday. Pentecost Sunday (23 May) follows Ascension 10 days later. Trinity Sunday (30 May) deals with one of the biggest theological concepts of all time, but provides an opportunity to simply acknowledge that we don’t know or understand everything and never will, and that’s okay. These three family devotions require nothing but yourselves, but include additional resource ideas, and it is my hope and prayer that the th...

  This Lent/Easter season, we have a series of intergenerational services for your church to download and use. These services have been written by our Children and Families Team and used in churches. This season in the church calendar is a very important one to share together as an intergenerational community and we want to support you in this.  Download one of our services, or get in touch with us if you would like us to run a service for you. We love getting out and about and supporting your ministry.  Intergenerational Services:  The rocks will cry out: Palm Sunday The Mercy Tree: Good Friday The Colours of Easter: Easter Sunday Breakfast on the Beach: Jesus appears to the disciples  More Easter resources

Easter Grab it! A simple way to explore the Easter story together as a family, using things you can grab from around the house!  You will need: Your family/household all in one place A Bible or access to a Bible online  Click here for a PDF of this content .  To begin: To tell the story of Easter, send each member of the family on a mission to grab an item. Bring this item back to the kitchen table, ready to be used in the telling of the story.  Grab It! 1. A leaf, small branch or twig 2. A rope, string or dressing gown tie 3. A bowl with water in it and a hand towel 4. A piece of fabric that you don’t mind being torn up (or a piece of black clothing) 5. A jar with a lid 6. Egg timer (or the stopwatch on your phone) 7. A flower from the garden (or click here for a virtual one ) When everyone is back from their ‘Grab it! mission’ begin the story. **You could choose a different member of the family to read each section **You could spread th...

Greetings from my bubble to yours!  Easter is fast approaching, and it will be a year like no other. And because it's been an intense and worrying time for many of us, I suggest that we don't get overwhelmed by trying to accomplish too much. I have put together five tips for preparing for this season - so that we can worship God, find joy in each other's company and not collapse with stress.  1. Lower your expectations: While we might want Easter to be a super-spiritual amazing time, the chances are our housemates (young and old) may have other ideas. God made families, God understands the craziness. Celebrate the small wins.   2. Raise your expectations:  I shall now contradict myself! Now is the time to be surprised by what God can do in and through our families. God is creative, and works in unexpected ways. I am all too often taken by surprise by children and their ability to cut right to the heart of the things of God. I shouldn't be surprised, Jes...

www.bibleproject.com This is a two part service outline, exploring the book of Proverbs with all generations,  and this question:  What is wisdom and what does a wise person look like?  We look at wisdom as seen in action, through the whole range of gifts that God has given us, and examine what it means to ‘fear the Lord’. As Lady Wisdom says, “listen up!” Here is what you need: Week One: - Service Outline  - PowerPoint  - Proverbs overview sheet (like image above) - 3 signs  Week Two: - Service Outline - PowerPoint - 7 Proverbs for Acting or Water Leak Proverb - La Luna Pixar Film  Additional links for more info: The Bible Project: This service is based on the wonderful content at The Bible Project. You can check out their YouTube channel and their website: YouTube Website Lost Sheep: Check out Lost Sheep for some great illustrations of the Proverbs: LostSheep

This service explores the event of Easter Friday using coloured ribbons and branches to create 'Mercy Trees'. This service is a guided meditation on Jesus’ journey to the cross, woven together with music and scripture readings. This service is one hour long and suitable for all ages. Click here to download the script. Powerpoint for the service  Media clips used during this service: The Story of the Three Trees Good Friday: The Story Chpt 26 **Please note that some of the scenes in this clip may be  too intense for young children. You may need to plan carefully to show only certain parts of it.  The Mercy Tree - Lacey Sturm 

'The Colours of Sunday' is an intergenerational service that uses colour to describe the events of Easter Sunday. Colours convey emotions, and help us to engage emotionally with the events of Easter, in ways that stay with us long after the service: · Purple:  darkness – a dark purple or blue for the dark sky at the time of Jesus’ death · White:   the linen that Jesus’ body was wrapped in · Gold:  the colour of dawn and the colour of the angels · Grey:   the colour of the road to Emmaus · Orange:  the colour of fire - Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us? Luke 24 Here are all the resources you need to run your own service. If you use this material, we would love to hear how it goes. What worked well for your church? Any tweaks or suggestions?  Click on these links to download everything you need: - The service outline - A colouring page: ( opt...

Do you have young leaders in your children's ministry team? These six strategies are gold! They come from a book called, 'Growing Young'. Have a look at this list. Which do you see operating in your church? Which could become a focus in the second half of this year? How might these six strategies change or strengthen the way you work alongside young leaders? 1. Unlock keychain leadership: Instead of centralizing authority, empower others—especially young people. 2. Empathize with today’s young people: Instead of judging or criticizing, step into the shoes of this generation. 3. Take Jesus’ message seriously: Instead of asserting formulaic gospel claims, welcome young people into a Jesus-centered way of life. 4. Fuel a warm community: Instead of focusing on cool worship or programs, aim for warm peer and intergenerational friendships. 5. Prioritize young people (and families) everywhere: Instead of giving lip service to how much young people matter, l...

By Nigel Winder, Scripture Union NZ Max and Liz are both ten years old and are good friends at school. They both come from Christian homes where they are encouraged in their relationship with God and church attendance. When Max goes to church with his family on Sunday morning, his parents are greeted at the door and given that week’s bulletin. Max is ignored but heads off into the kid’s church hall where the music is pumping and 50 other kids are already chasing a large ball around the room. After 10 minutes, a biscuit and drink, the music team crank up the decibels and the kids shout and dance and praise God with all their might. The children take a well-earned seat as the lights are dimed and a professional and biblically sound DVD is shown with that week’s animated Bible Story. Afterwards they are directed to a variety of amazing art and craft activities to choose from at stations around the hall. Max loves the construction stuff and spends the next half hour there until ...

I am not a trekkie. They are a rare and special tribe of people. Maybe you are one, or you live in the same house as one. A trekkie? Someone who is more than a little obsessed with the TV series, Star Trek.  Star Trek has one famous line that is known even by us trekkie ignorants:  'Resistance is Futile'   The question is: I s it true?   Resistance is the word given to that which slows you down, to opposition or disagreement or pressure . Resistance can be frustrating, demoralising and depressing... but is it futile?   I would like to suggest that while it is unco mfor table, resistance is necessary. Resistance tells us that change i s in the air.  Where change is , there we will find resistance. So, if we want our ministry with children to gr ow and develop than resist ance is to be expected. It's how we know we are moving. If there is no resistance it may well mean we are at a stand still .   So, if you are fac ing res istance...