Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3:1-21)
Trinity Sunday activitiesBRF have some great ideas of how you can talk to the children about the trinity, including games, ice-breakers and activities. You can see their resource here.
Activities
Story craftCreate a three-sided stage showing scenes from the meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus.
This craft looks at the life of Nicodemus, as displayed in John’s Gospel. The composition is really simple for this craft, with the hardest element being cutting the shapes – if you have younger children you may want to pre-cut in part. There are two options for making the scenes -- either printing in colour (much quicker), or printing in black and white and having the children colour in. Detailed instructions are found here The template for making the scenes in colour is found here The black and white template is here Older Kids Group DiscussionTalk about : Read the passage from the bible and talk about the story. Talk about being born again. It is a phrase we hear a lot in Christian circles but what does it mean? Jesus says you have to be born again in order to ‘see the Kingdom of God’. It’s a bit like later on he says you cannot enter the kingdom of God unless you receive it like a child. Jesus really rated children, he is on your side! He loves so many things about you, he tells the grown ups to try and be more like you....
So another way to think about being born again is to think of the caterpillar/butterfly cycle. It is truly amazing how a green stripey caterpillar transforms into a Monarch butterfly. But it really happens. You know what? God’s love inside someone can transform them in the same way - a huge transformation. It is also amazing to look at say your Dad or teacher and know that they were once a tiny baby inside their mother’s tummy! They have been transformed by time, as they have grown up. God offers everyone the chance to be transformed. If we accept his offer, his gift of love into our lives and accept that He should lead the way in our lives, then we can be changed into so much better people! Follow with the caterpillar craft (see other activity on this day) Quick Questions
Gospel ConversationsTrinity Sunday, and one of the most beloved passages in the New Testament. Who is this fascinating person, Nicodemus, and how does Jesus guide him towards an understanding of something of the mystery of God - three-in-one? Gillian Townsley, Mannie Marara, and Richard Johnson join Michael this week to puzzle this most wonderful mystery together.
GC from 2023: Chris Holmes returns, and is joined by both John and Trish Franklin to talk about John 3:1-17. The focus was on the gospel passage rather than delving directly into the mysteries of the Trinity!
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Wristbands
Butterfly Talk and ActivityYou will need: Tiny pompoms, glue, pegs, googly eyes, pipecleaners, ziplock bags, lollies (milk bottles, raspberries/blackberries, marshmallows), cheerio cereal. Print outs of the caterpillar template, or your own version
. Instructions: Get them to choose 5 pompoms and hold them while you talk about....butterflies. Who has seen any Monarch butterflies this summer? Watched them lay eggs, watch the caterpillars grow, seen the beautiful chrysalis and the amazing butterfly come out? Well.... Lay your pompoms out on the table as you listen to this story: Our bible reading today is when Jesus talks to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a very important and clever Jewish teacher and he came to ask Jesus some questions (at night!). He could see that the things Jesus was doing were more amazing than an ordinary man could do. He was very surprised when Jesus said to him that everyone, including him, would need to be ‘born again’ to be able to be with God. Nicodemus was confused! How can you be born again? Well you can’t! Unless you think about a change that happens in your heart. Your heart can be transformed just like a caterpillar is completely changed into a butterfly. Because to be ‘born again’ is talking about the change that happens inside you. That change can happen when you want God in your life and want to try and put Him first. So let’s build our caterpillar and then transform him/her into a butterfly! Butterfly craftSo, you have 5 pieces of a caterpillar: caterpillar body x 2, pompoms, antenna, ziplock bags for wings. Stick the caterpillar card to the peg, the side with writing on goes on the bottom. Then glue the pompoms to the peg. The head will be the end that opens. Add a pipe cleaner if liked for an antennae. God’s love and learning more about Jesus from the bible is like a gift to us that transforms us. So I have a gift for you, to help you remember God’s love is like a gift, you only have to accept it! Who is going to accept my gift?! (lollies) The lollies are going to be your butterfly wings, so you will want an even number. You can choose 2 milk bottles, 2 blackberry/raspberries and 4 marshmallows and few cheerios. Put them in the ziplock bag, half on each side. Then close the bag and hold it in the middle with the peg. 
Holy Spirit WindmillsAn activity based around the verse 'God's spirit gives new'
What you need: A copy of the template, a pencil for each child, thumb tacks, crepe paper in red, orange, yellow and blue, stuff to decorate with.What to do: Cut out the template. Get the children to decorate it. Cut down the dotted lines on the template.Pull the four corners with a * into the middle. Take a thumbtack, and carefully push through the centre of the template and all four corners. (note: leaders will have to help do this for the younger children) Take a pencil and push the thumbtack into the pencil. Make sure that you don’t push it all the way. Attach crepe paper streamers to the windmill. You may like to wrap them around the pencil. Or have them attached to the wind mill. Test that it works by blowing it. Balloon BallA game for older children
You will need: A balloon, a two goals (two chairs a metre apart) at each end of the room. What to do: Divide the children into two teams. Give each team a goal. The object of the game is to get the balloon into your team’s goal. You can make this interesting by calling out which part of their body they can use to move the balloon e.g. ‘head’ or ‘left hands’, or ‘tummies’. The winning team is the team with the most goals after 10mins. Balloon ChallengeA game for younger children.
You will need: Balloons, chairs or cones What to do: Give everyone a blown up balloon. Get them to line up at one end of the room. When you say go, they have to get to the other end of the room as fast as they can by touching the balloon with only their heads.Once they get to the other end do it again. This time, change the body part. E.g. Only touching the balloon with your left ear etc. The game ends when ever you like! |
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God so loved the world (John 3:14-21)
The gospel reading contains one of the most famous scriptures in verse 16: "God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die"
Leaders Input |
Gospel Conversations 2024: This passage contains one of the most familiar passages in all Scripture - but our conversationalists may not react to it the way you expect! Whether or not you agree with them, we invite you to enter the conversation, listening, weighing up, accepting or rejecting their suggestions, and being part of the ongoing journey to know God and God's will better.
Together we pray
The Anglican Diocese of Wellington have weekly prayers for church services here |
Kids talkHave you ever been around a campfire at night? What was it like? (pause for answers) There is something special about gathering around a campfire with friends when everywhere else is really dark. You can only see things that are lit up by the fire, and people who are sitting further away are harder to see.
In today’s story, we hear Jesus described as the light that has come into the world. Why do you think that is? (pause) As Christians, we are taught to use Jesus as an example for how we should live our lives. If you were trying to find your way in the dark, it would be easier if you had a torch or a candle, right? Today's story from the Bible reminds us that, just as a torch helps us see where to go, Jesus helps us find our way through life. If we follow Jesus’ example, then we will find our way through a lot easier than if we stumble around by ourselves. Memory Verse"For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not die but have eternal life." - John 3:16
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Activities
Game: Where's the light?What you need: three matching plastic cups (not transparent!) and a tea light candle and a table.
Preparation: You might like to practice this beforehand so that you get the hang of it! What to do: Turn the three plastic cups upside-down on the table in a row. If you only have a small group, ask them to gather around the table so they can see better. Hold up the tea light candle and ask the children to tell you what it is. Then place it underneath one of the plastic cups on the table. Ask for a volunteer and ask them to point to the cup that has the light hidden under it. Then, swap the cups around with your hands, being careful not to lift them off the table. Do this a few times, as the idea is to try and confuse the children as to where the light is. When you have swapped them around enough, ask the volunteer to guess which cup the light is under. Then lift up the cup and see if they were right. You can repeat this game a few times to give everyone a chance to have a go. |
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