Sunday 30th August
Matthew 16:21-28 | Why did Jesus have to die?
Just for fun
You’ll need cones (or items to mark out a line), football, stopwatch. (goal optional)
Lay out the equipment - have the goal at one end of your room/garden with the cones spaced out in a straight line leading to the other end.
Explain to your children that they have to dribble the ball up to each cone and then run a complete circle around the cone before going on to the next one. After doing this at each cone, they have to try and score a goal.
Time them to see how long it takes each child to complete the circuit – deducting seconds for missed goals!
Activity for the whole family
You’ll need a big piece of paper, scissors, glue, a selection of newspaper and magazines, pens, pencils.
Make a collage entitled ‘What's Wrong With The World'. They can write, draw or use cuttings on their work. Encourage them to think not only of the problems, but also about the root causes behind those issues.
After about 10 minutes, stop your child/ren and have a look at what they have produced. Ask them what they have included and why.
End by explaining to your child/ren that the Bible has an answer to the question of what is wrong with the world – sin! This is where humans choose to go their own way rather than God's way. Sin holds our world in turmoil and separates us from God. And not one of us is an exception to this – who can honestly say they've never sinned?!
God hates sin and, because He is Just, He knows that sin has to be paid for. However, He also loves us and can't bear for us to be separated from him.
Drama
Say that sometimes people make huge sacrifices for people that they love. Ask the children to think of an example of someone making a huge sacrifice for someone that they love – for instance, giving a kidney to save a close friend or relative, taking the blame for something someone else has done wrong, risking their own life to save a friend who a fallen into deep water. Get your family to make up a short role play showing this act of love.
Allow a maximum of 5 minutes to prepare the role plays and insist on a maximum length of 2 minutes per play.
Say that Jesus loved us, too – because he loved us so much he chose to die for our sins.
Questions to talk through together
Where do you see images of the cross around you?
What does the Cross mean to you?
Do you think the Cross is an important symbol today?
Who in your life, do you love?
What does Jesus dying on the cross mean to you?
Prayer time
You’ll need a cross/drawing of a cross, post it notes and pens.
Say that when Jesus died he took the punishment for everything we do wrong – God punished Jesus for all the sin that anyone from Adam onwards has ever committed!
Make sure the children know what “sin” is and ask them to think of examples of sin. They should write these on post it notes.
Ask the children to come and stick their post it notes on the cross.
Say that Jesus died to take the punishment for all these sins… and more!
A short prayer
Dear God, we’re sorry for the times we don’t follow you and try to live without you. We’re sorry for the times we sin and hurt other people as well as you. Thank you that you love us no matter what and love us so much you sent your son, Jesus, to earth to die for our sins. Please help us to remember how loved we are and to live in ways that show your love to everyone we meet. Amen.
