28 April 2022

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Bible readings for today

• Acts 5:27-32
• Psalms 118:14-29
• Psalms 150:1-6
• Revelation 1:4-8
• John 20:19-31​

Collect

Alleluia, King Eternal; 
locked doors or closed minds cannot bar you; 
let our questions and our doubts lead us to you: 
let us seek your truth; discern your will; and
trust your love; 
through Jesus Christ our Lord; 
who lives and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. 
​Amen.

"The theme for the day and the season is clear, the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each passage speaks to and about this theme. If last Sunday was 'the day' of resurrection, a day to reflect on the momentous discovery of the empty tomb and the initial reactions to that, then this Sunday is a day to reflect further (or deeper) on the resurrection. We might, as one instance, reflect on what the resurrection means for individual believers (what inspires us, what challenges us). For another instance we might reflect on where the resurrected Jesus is today (e.g. the body of Christ on earth, the church).But John's Gospel passage opens a wide open door to several possible sub-themes under the general theme of the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ." - Bishop Peter Carrell

Seeing is believing (John 20:19-31)

This story looks at Jesus appearing to his disciples, and how Thomas doubted that he was really the resurrected Jesus. 

Activities

• Hole in Hand Illusion (Instructables)
• Game Idea (Creative Youth Ideas)
• Recognising Jesus Game (Flame Creative Kids)
• Hands Craft (Godly Play Blog)
• Hand Prints
• Bookmark Idea (God's Grace)
• Printable Thomas Craft (Jesus Without Language)

Telescope Craft

One of the key messages in today's passage is in John 20:29b -- Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed
We may never see Jesus face to face on earth, like his disciples, but we are reassured that we will be blessed by believing in what we have not seen.
What you need

• Print out of this template
• Cardboard tubes if printing template out on on A4 paper. You can print on thicker card if available. 
• Pens, felts
• Glue
• Decorations, googly eyes

What to do

• Print out the template for the telescope
• Today we're going to make a telescope to remind us that we don't need to see Jesus face-to-face to believe that he is real. 
• Give one sheet to each child and talk through the memory verse on the paper. Talk about how Jesus says we are blessed by believing in him, even though we have not seen him face-to-face. 
• Decorate sheet with felts, pens, glitter, googly eyes. Be creative and add your own decorating ideas! 
• Glue one edge of the paper and roll into a cylinder. 
• Get the children to look through their telescope and tell you what they can see.

Interviewing Thomas

Write a script for a 'Resurrection Interview', where a journalist can interview Thomas. Thomas can describe the impact the resurrection had on the disciples and then on himself. You can do this sketch live, or prerecord it using a camera or phone. It is a great way to get young people involved in your all age services.

Questions can include:

• Thomas, we hear you weren't in the room with the disciples, when Jesus visited... where were you? 
• What did you think when you heard their stories? 
• Why didn't you believe them? 
• What happened next? 
• What did you think when Jesus appeared again? 
• What did you say to Jesus? 
• What do you think of the other disciples calling you 'Doubting Thomas'? Do you think it will stick? 

You can adapt and change this interview to suit your congregation and needs. Let us know how you get on. 

For a script of something similar, see the All-Age Lectionary Services: Year C from Scripture Union

Preschool brainstorm

Young children can have difficulty distinguishing between fact and fantasy, so do not worry too much about explaining things that are not real to them in today's session. 
Brainstorm a list of things that we know are real, including things we can touch, taste or see, e.g.

• I know flowers are real
• I know my food is real
• I know my pet is real
• I know the sun is real
• I know the wind is real
• I know my family is real
• I know that Jesus is real

Doubting Thomas game

A game with paddles and true/false questions, from the Easy Breezy Sunday School website. See the website for instructions on how to make the paddles. Each child gets an "I Doubt It" sign, which they use to respond to a list of unusual facts about the bible/life etc. If they doubt the fact, they show the 'I doubt it' side, but if they believe the statement, they do nothing. Give the correct answer and award a point 
Possible statements could include: 

• The disciples were hiding in the room because they were afraid of dinosaurs (false)
• Jesus appeared and all the disciples were in the room (false)
• Thomas wasn't there when Jesus appeared, but he believed everything that his friends said (false)
• Thomas wanted to see Jesus for himself before he believed his friends (true)
• Jesus showed Thomas his ears and fingers (false)
• Jesus showed Thomas his hands and his side (true)
• When Thomas saw Jesus' wounds, he replied, “You are my Lord and my God!” (true)
• Even if we haven't seen Jesus, we can still believe in him (true)