Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
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CHILDREN’S WORSHIP
Introduction:
Children’s worship can have a variety of formats, including storytelling, reading, drama, creative
movement, song, dance and object lessons. Children’s worship is included in the adult worship
time so that the children will feel that they are important and active participants in the worship
service. During children’s worship, children can be taught, entertained, given an opportunity to
express their thoughts, ideas, and emotions, pray, sing, and worship.
Regardless of the format chosen, children’s worship should be presented as a story. Eugene
Peterson says, “Story is the primary way in which the revelation of God is given to us. The Holy
Spirit’s literary genre is story. Story is not only something for children and the less educated. The
biblical story comprises other literary forms -- sermons, genealogies, etc. but story carries them
all. God reveals himself through story. Story is the gospel way. It isn’t imposed on our lives; it
invites us into its life.” (Peterson, Eugene H. Leap Over A Wall. Harper Collins Paperback. 1998.)
To quote Charlotte S. Huck, “All our constructs of reality are stories. Life is incoherent unless we
give it form. Story is all.” (Huck, Charlotte S. Children's Literature In the Elementary School.
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers. 1987.)
Things to Consider for Children’s Worship:
1. Tell the stories of Jesus!
Children need to hear stories in which Jesus is preached. They need to hear about sin,
forgiveness, God’s love, and get to know the Bible characters, so that when they become adults
they can make their own choices to follow Jesus and be baptized.
2. Know your audience.
Children under age seven are not at the symbolic level in their development. Therefore, make the
story as concrete as possible. For younger children the story should include realia, props, and
pictures that are directly from the story. If the majority of the children are 7 years and older, you
might choose not to use any objects because objects can sometimes distract people’s attention
and break the “spell” of the story.
3. Get into the story.
Everyone from age 2 to 99 will enjoy it regardless of how many times they have heard it before.
The story can include elements that only the adults in the congregation understand, and also
include realia to help the 2 year old follow the plot. If the story is well told people will hear new
things in the story.
4. Prepare & practice.
Read the scripture passage over until you have almost memorized it. Think about connecting
words you can use that will help you move from one main thought to the next. Practice telling the
story out loud in your “own words." If the story is scripturally accurate and moralizing is
minimized, there will be less chance of communicating incorrect theology.
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Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
5. Try to summarize the story in one sentence.
This is a good way to test if you are bringing in too many unnecessary details, or if the plot is too
complicated. At the same time, do not talk down to children, patronize, or oversimplify the
language.
6. Ask questions.
To get the attention of the listeners, begin with an introduction or a question. Try to anticipate
what the children will say if you are giving them an opportunity to talk.
7. Make eye contact.
Keep the children listening by using your eyes and your voice. Young children can become afraid
if the story is too loud or too intense, or if the teller is sitting too close to them. With practice you
will be able to establish a relationship with the children so that they will be engaged and share the
mood of the story with you.
8. Simply tell the story.
Stay away from moralizing or pointing out children’s weaknesses and faults. Children need to
know that they are good, safe, loved, protected, and belong to God’s kingdom. A short prayer is a
good conclusion.
9. Include everyone.
Gather the children around you, enfold them with love as Jesus did, in an atmosphere of warmth,
comfort, and security, so that they know that “theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Children’s Worship Project for Sundays 1 to 8:
The following are suggestions for the children’s worship time for each of the Sundays in the
Season of Awakening. Each children’s worship session is approximately 5 - 8 minutes long. Most
of the Bible passages are beautiful stories that can stand on their own. Easter 1 (below) includes
a fully written out story as an example of how to tell these scriptures to children. For the ones that
are not “really” stories, other suggestions are offered. A story can be carried by song,
dramatization, praise and prayer.
Preparation: Get 2 large sheets of paper. When finished, one sheet will look like a boy, the other
like a girl. Prepare the paper by drawing a curved line for the jaw, and drawing the neck with a
marker, and making small x’s in pencil to mark the location of the eyes, mouth, nose, ears, feet,
top of head and hair, hands, and body. You will also need to pre-draw and colour all the body
parts on slightly heavier paper. You will need 4 eyes, 2 mouths, 2 noses, 4 ears, 4 feet, 2 tops of
the head and hair, 4 hands, and 2 bodies. For the bodies, prepare one set of clothing for the boy
and one for the girl. All these pieces will be glued onto the larger sheets by the children. The
heading on each sheet of paper could be “Wake Up!” Before the children’s worship time, attach
the sheets to a wall or other solid surface low enough for the children to reach.
April 11, 2004 - Easter 1
Awakening to Jesus!
Bring prepared sheets of paper, three stick puppets, 4 pre-drawn eyes, and a glue stick.
Summary: Jesus can wake up our eyes to see him and the things he does, so that we can
believe.
Suggestion: This scripture portion can be told as a story, or it can be dramatized with three actors
and a narrator. Following is a sample of a way to tell it as a story. If told as a story, it would be
helpful for the younger children to see pictures of the three men, in order to follow the plot. The
three men could be cut-out drawings glued onto sticks, and used like puppets. Use facial
expressions to emphasize the drama in the story.
Introduction: “Starting today we will have 8 Sundays in which we will talk about certain of our
body parts that Jesus can wake up like our eyes, ears, hands (point to your body parts). Today I
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Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
am going to tell you a story and we will learn a body part that Jesus can wake up. Listen to know
which part it is. I will ask you at the end of the story.”
Sample story from Luke 24: 13-49: “This is a picture of Cleopas and his friend, and this is a
picture of Jesus. (Hold the pictures up and move them as appropriate for the story.) One day
Cleopas and his friend were going to a village called Emmaus. Emmaus was about 7 miles from
Jerusalem. The men were talking to each other about Jesus, and all the things that had
happened recently. As they were walking along and talking, Jesus came and he began to walk
right beside them. But even though they looked at him with their eyes, they could not recognize
him. They were right beside him, but they did not know it was Jesus.”
Then Jesus asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” The two men
stood still and their faces were downcast. Cleopas asked Jesus, “Why don’t you know what we
are talking about? Why don’t you know the things that have happened in Jerusalem these last
days?” Then Jesus said to them, “What things happened?”
Then the two men told him about all the things that happened to Jesus. They said, “Jesus was a
prophet, he was powerful in word and deed, and then the chief priests and rulers crucified him.
But now some women are saying that they went to the tomb but didn’t find Jesus’ body. Then the
women said they saw a vision of angels and the angels said Jesus was alive.” And here was
Jesus walking right beside them and their eyes still had not woken up. So Jesus answered them
and said, “You are foolish in not believing what the prophets have said.”
And Jesus explained everything to the men. He told them about Moses and all the prophets and
that Jesus had to suffer. The two men and Jesus kept walking until they got to the village. Jesus
acted as if he would be walking further but the 2 men asked him, “Stay with us, for it is nearly
evening; the day is almost over.” So Jesus went to stay with them. At the house of the two men
Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke the bread and then Jesus began to give them the
bread. Then their eyes woke up! They recognized him. They knew it was Jesus! And then Jesus
disappeared. Then they got up and went to Jerusalem and told everyone that it was true. Jesus
had really risen from the dead. They knew it was really true because their eyes had woken up
and they had seen Jesus.”
Follow up: “Does anyone know which body part was awakened?“ Give 2 of the pre-drawn eyes
for each poster to two children and direct them to glue them on the 2 x’s.
Conclusion: A short prayer could be: “Thank you Jesus that you can wake up our eyes so we can
see the things that you do, and so that we can believe in you even more. Amen."
April 18, 2004 - Easter 2
Awakening to Faith!
Bring 2 pre-drawn mouths and a glue stick.
Summary: Our mouths can wake up and we can use our mouths to teach, sing, and talk about
Jesus.
Introduction: (Direct the children’s attention to the pieces of paper.) “Last Sunday we had the
story of Jesus awakening 2 men’s eyes and we glued eyes onto the paper. Today we will talk
about another body part that we can use for Jesus, and that is our mouths. What can we do for
Jesus with our mouths?” Elicit responses (sing, pray, praise, teach, preach, tell others, etc.). Elicit
as many as possible and give hints if required.
Sing a song: “Today we are going to use our mouths to sing a song for Jesus.” (Using
instrumental accompaniment, sing a familiar song about praise, shouts, mouths, etc. or teach the
children a simple song.)
Follow up: “Now here is an easy question. Which body part did we learn about today? Yes, Jesus
can wake up our mouths to be used for him”. Choose different children than the ones chosen last
week to glue the mouths onto the large sheets of paper.
Conclusion: Prayer.
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Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
April 25, 2004- Easter 3
Awakening to the Feast!
Bring 2 pre-drawn noses and a glue stick.
Summary: Jesus can awaken our noses so we can smell a great feast that we will have with him,
and this will give us hope and faith.
Introduction: (Wait until the children settle so as to have a calm atmosphere.) “I want all of us to
close our eyes. Imagine that you are in your bedroom at home. Can you see your bed? You are
playing with some toys or reading a book. Can you imagine your toys? Your Mom or Dad are in
the kitchen baking and cooking. Pretend you smell something good. You can smell it from your
bedroom. Inhale deeply. It smells delicious. Imagine what it is that they are cooking. Okay open
your eyes. What did you smell? (Elicit a response from every child if possible.) In the story today I
want you to think about what the disciples could smell. Something good was cooking.”
Story: Tell the story from John 21: 1 - 14.
Follow up: “Who knows what the disciples smelled? Did they get to eat it? They had a feast with
Jesus. Can we have a feast with Jesus? (Elicit or tell them that there will be a big feast in heaven,
or Jesus is in our presence now when we eat, or communion, etc.) Jesus can awaken our noses
so we can smell the great feast we are having with him and that we will be able to have a greater
feast in heaven.” Choose two children to glue on the noses. Choose children that you have not
chosen before.
Conclusion: Prayer.
May 2, 2004 - Easter 4
Awakening to the Voice of God!
Bring pictures or a model of a sheep fold with a toy shepherd and sheep, and 4 pre-drawn ears
and a glue stick.
Summary: Jesus calls each of us by name like a shepherd calls his sheep, and if our ears are
awake we can hear him and respond.
Introduction: Briefly describe a fold (the purpose, the gate), the shepherd’s responsibilities (out all
day with the sheep with no fences), the custom of naming the sheep, using a rod and staff, the
sheep attending to only the shepherd’s voice, the dangers for sheep (lions, getting lost, falling,
breaking a leg, being small and needing to be carried) etc.
Story: Create a story about a shepherd using pictures, a model fold, or a toy shepherd with a
sheep. Tell the story: “Once upon a time a long time ago there was a shepherd who had 100
sheep. . . One day the shepherd was out in the pasture with the sheep . . . one tiny sheep named
Tiny. . . something terrible happened . . . counting the sheep . . . went back to look for the sheep .
. . calling the sheep’s name. . . sheep cried, “baa, baa”. . carrying Tiny home in his arms close to
his heart,” etc.
Follow up: “When the shepherd called the sheep by name, what body part did the sheep use to
hear the shepherd? It’s the same with people. If our ears wake up then we can hear Jesus calling
our name like this: (use some of the children’s names) ‘Becky, Ann, Matthew, I love you.’”
Choose 2 children to glue on the 4 ears. Choose children you have not chosen before.
Conclusion: Prayer.
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Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
May 9, 2004 - Easter 5
Awakening to a New Vision!
Bring a small sheet with toy reptiles on it and place it in the centre front of the church. Bring 2
large pairs of shoes, 4 pre-drawn feet and a glue stick.
Summary: Jesus can awaken our feet so that we will go where he sends us.
Introduction: Jesus can wake up our feet so that we can go where he sends us.
Story: Acts 11: 1 - 18
Tell the story emphasizing the following points and directing the children’s attention to the sheet
at the appropriate points of the story:
- God tried to awaken Peter’s feet.
- God wanted Peter to go preach to some people who ate foods that Peter found detestable.
- God showed Peter a vision of the sheet three times.
- Peter’s feet were awakened and he went where God sent him.
Follow up: What body part of Peter did God wake up? Who would like to demonstrate walking to
the detestable food by putting on these shoes and walking over to the sheet? Then you can come
back and glue the feet on the paper. Choose 2 children whom you have not chosen before.
Conclusion: Prayer.
May 16, 2004 - Easter 6
Awakening to God’s Imagination!
Bring pictures of the following: candy/fruits and vegetables, toy gun/bicycle, watching TV/playing
outside, and bring a large hand drawn map of Paul’s second missionary journey. The water and
the land on the map should be coloured, and practice saying all the names of the cities. Also
bring the 2 pre-drawn tops of heads, one with girl’s hair and one with boy’s hair, and a glue stick.
Summary: God can awaken our minds so that we can make good decisions.
Introduction: “Can you make a good decision? This is a picture of candy and this is a picture of
fruits and vegetables. Which would be the healthiest for your teeth and your body? I’m not asking
you which one you like the most. (Show next set of pictures.) This is a picture of a toy gun and
this is a picture of a bicycle. Can you make a good decision? Which would be the best toy to have
so that you don’t play violently? Which would be a good toy to play with? (Continue with
“watching TV all day/playing outside” or any other picture pairs you can find.) If you can’t make a
good decision or don’t know what to do is there someone who can help you? (Elicit parents,
teachers, God.) I’m going to tell you a story of God awakening someone’s mind so that he could
make good decisions.“
Story: Acts 16: 9 - 15: (Use a large map of Paul’s second missionary journey showing Troas,
Samothrace, Neapolis, and Philippi.) A long time ago there was a man named Paul. He told
people about Jesus. Paul traveled all around to preach to the people. In those days there were no
cars, buses, airplanes, etc. so Paul had to walk or travel by boat. When Paul was in Troas (hold
up large map and point to Troas), he set sail and traveled to Samothrace. He had to cross the
water because Samothrace was on an island. Paul could make good decisions about which cities
he should travel to because God awakened Paul’s mind to think well. (Continue telling story
adding details to Lydia’s story, pointing to the map, and drawing attention to Paul using his mind.)
Follow up: “God can wake up our minds to make good decisions.” Choose 2 children that you
have not chosen before to glue the tops of the heads onto the sheets of paper.
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Easter to Pentecost 2004 – Supplemental Website Material
May 23, 2004 - Easter 7
Awakening to the New Community!
Borrow percussion instruments from a school teacher, enough for one per child. Bring 4 predrawn hands, and a glue stick.
Summary: Our hands can wake up to do things for Jesus, such as playing instruments to praise
him.
Introduction: Do you know what some of these people in this congregation do in their jobs, or in
their responsibilities here at church? (Have the people up at the front with you.) What does
______ (name of pianist) do at our church? What does _______ (name of choir conductor) do at
our church? What does ______ (name of a child’s Dad) do in his job? What does _______ (name
of a child’s Mom) do in her job? What part of their body do all these people use? (Elicit hands.) All
these people are using their hands for God. Today we are going to use our hands to play
instruments. God can wake up everyone’s hands to work for him. (Quickly hand out the
instruments asking the adults at the front to help you. Don’t give long sticks to the youngest
children.)
Song: We’re going to sing a song (choose a familiar praise song) and you may play on your
instruments.
Follow up: (Quickly collect the instruments.) What part of our bodies did we use for Jesus today?
(Elicit hands.) Choose 2 children to glue the hands on the paper. Choose children you have not
chosen before.
Conclusion: Prayer.
May 30, 2004 - Pentecost
Awakening to the Power!
Bring 2 pre-drawn bodies, one for a boy and one for a girl, and a glue stick.
Summary: God awakens our whole body by filling us with his Holy Spirit.
Introduction: Who knows what special day it is today? (Elicit Pentecost.) Today I am going to tell
you the story of Pentecost. On Pentecost God awakened people’s whole bodies by filling them
with the Holy Spirit. Listen to the story and try to figure out which parts of their bodies were
awakened. Did God awaken their eyes, ears, and mouth?
Story: Acts 2: 1 - 28
Tell the story dramatically, emphasizing some of the following points of God awakening every part
of the people:
- eyes They saw tongues, wonders in the heaven, miracles, signs, and fire.
- mouth They could speak languages, preach, prophesy, tell the wonders of God, and explain.
- ears They could hear wind, their own language and other languages.
- feet They all came to one place.
- mind They could see visions, dream dreams, and use reasoning.
- body They were filled with the Spirit, and could live in hope.
Follow up: From the story, who can tell me what their ears heard? Their eyes saw? Their mouth
did? etc. Did God awaken their whole body? Choose 2 that have not yet been chosen to glue the
2 bodies onto the sheets of paper.
Conclusion: The whole body is complete now. Our whole selves can be awakened to Jesus!
Prayer.
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