2/5/10 Easter 5 

The Church grows up

BIBLE READING 1

Acts chapter 11 verses 1-18

PREPARATION

You require a small sized garment e.g. a school sweatshirt for a reception child,  also a set of PE bands or similar.

INTRODUCTION

Ask for a volunteer to demonstrate your clothing item (do not show it yet), select the largest of your volunteers and let them attempt to struggle into the sweatshirt.  Why didn’t the garment fit?  Think together about growing up, what are the other things that your Y6 child can now do that a Reception child cannot?

THE MESSAGE

Select about eight children and give five of them the PE bands – these should then form a circle facing inwards, excluding the others who are without bands.  Use them as your props for the story.

Who has learnt about Jews in RE?  Did you know that Jesus and all his friends and disciples were Jews?  After Jesus’ death and resurrection, his friends came together and became the very first members of the Church.  To start with they believed that the only people who could become Christians and join the Church were Jews like themselves.  They were like this group with their bands, looking inwards and keeping others out.

Then one day God sent one of the Christians, their leader Peter, a very important message in a dream.  In his dream Peter saw a huge sheet coming down out of the sky – the sheet was full of different animals and Peter heard God’s voice telling him to kill one of the animals and cook it for dinner.  But when Peter looked at the animals there was nothing there he could eat.  There is a long list in the Bible of all the animals you are not supposed to eat, and those were the kind of animals that were in the sheet.  So in his dream Peter complained to God.  He complained that all the animals were “unclean” so he could not eat them.  What do you think God replied?  He made it clear to Peter that if He, God, said the animals were clean and could be eaten, then Peter shouldn’t argue with him!

What a puzzle!  What do you think the message from God might mean?  What was he telling Peter to do?  Look again at this group of children who are showing what the Church was like, and see if you can work it out……….

Peter realised that the message meant that the Christians shouldn’t be keeping people out of the Church because they were not Jews.  Anyone could believe in Jesus and become a Christian!

Open up the circle, so that the outsiders can be welcomed into the ring.

When Peter shared his special dream with the other Christians they knew that they must share the message of Jesus with everyone, not just Jewish people.  So after that day the message has been taken all over the world – to Africa, India, Europe, the States, everywhere – even to this village!  The Church was growing up, and it is still growing!

PRAYER

Give thanks for all those Christians over the centuries who have shared the message of Jesus, and pray for those who live in your own village(s) or community.