Skip to main content

Backpacking with the Apostles


Introduction

​Today we are going to find out about ‘The Great Commission’ Jesus gave to his disciples and the journeys they took to tell people from all nations about the Good News of Jesus’ love.
https://youtu.be/aeSnuYd-KDA

Story

Kate is in charge of our storytelling today. (If you would prefer to read it, it is from a few different places in the Bible: ​Matthew 28:16-20 (The Eleven). Also suggested: Acts 8:1-8 (Philip), Acts 9 (Saul/Paul), Acts 12:25-13:5 (Paul and Barnabas). https://youtu.be/UpXn6og1A-A
And the disciples took the Commission very seriously. News travelled quickly! You may find this video by 'What's in the Bible?' helpful to realise quite how far. This is just Paul's big journeys...and remember he didn't have a car or plane!
https://youtu.be/Hy4K1pP408Y
I wonder how the Apostles were feeling when Jesus told them to go and tell the whole world about Him?
​I wonder if you can think of a way that you might be able to tell people about Jesus this week?

Jesus gave his disciples what is known as ‘The Great Commission’, telling them to go and make disciples of all nations. The apostles took this seriously and made many travels, meeting people from different countries and telling them about Jesus. We can follow in their footsteps and tell people about Jesus too. There are some important messages we must put in our backpack to share with other people.  

Activity

Jesus was telling all of us to go and spread the word of God's love. So let's see how far you can travel on a rocket! Jen will show us how to do it.
https://youtu.be/4b7s2Zvy4Ls
How to make your rocket:
  1. Cut your paper in half width ways.
  2. Roll the paper around the straw. Roll it all the way up and then stick the edge down with sellotape.
  3. You can take it off the straw and flatten one end and cover that end with sellotape. Then decorate the rocket.
  4. Draw a little version of you on a small piece of paper. Cut it out and stick it onto the top of your rocket.
  5. Pop the open side of the rocket back onto the straw and blow through it to see how far you can travel. Have a competition with everyone who's with you to see hwo can get theirs the furthest.
You will need:
  • Piece of Paper
  • A pen
  • Colouring pens
  • Sellotape
  • Scissors
  • A drinking straw

Prayer

Today there are two choices for prayers. You may use them both at once or at different times or pick the one that best suits you.

Prayer 1
https://youtu.be/pybYtgZDVFo
Abby is helping us to pray for ourselves using the story of the Great Commission and simple actions.
Prayer 2

Put on your music and think about everything that you have heard and thought about today. What do you think about the Apostles journeys? What about how brave they were? Our journeys of spreading the word of Jesus won’t necessarily look the same as the Apostles, what might yours look like? Take some time to talk to God and start to pray about this.
  1. Grab your pen and write a key word or phrase in the middle of your paper. We’ve written ‘Spread the word’ here but you could write anything to do with this! 
  2. Start adding other words, pictures and doodles to your Doodle Prayer. Keep talking to God and listening for him. Remember, this is a lifelong task, not something just for now. God will always be there to help us along in this, you can always pray and ask for him to guide you! 
  3.  Take five or ten minutes completing your doodle prayer. When you feel you are finished, say this simple prayer ‘Dear God, please help me to always be brave, to spread your message and to live out your lessons wherever I go, Amen.’
Picture

Worship song

St Giles, Exhall are singing 'This little light of mine'. Join in the actions, sing at the top of your voice or find somewhere cosy to listen to the words. 
https://youtu.be/jAqt2jMcrGE

Passport reflection

Colour in the backpack. Think about why the message of Jesus is called the ‘Good News’.

​You have now completed your ‘Holiday at Home’. What was your favourite day and why?

Meal chatter

Later on take time to sit together and ask and answer these questions together. Make sure everyone in the family has the opportunity to share:
  • Why is the message of Jesus ‘good news’?
  • Is there anyone we should be giving this good news to?
  • How can we do that as a family?

Venture out

On their travels the Apostles will have seen all kinds of things and met all kinds of people.

Find a local park, woods or field where you can go and explore with an adult. As you explore and travel together keep an eye out for the things on this list...tick them off as you find them. Thank God for the beautiful and unusual things in his world.
Picture

Downloads for the session

Click to download:​

Safeguarding

Children and adults deserve the best care that the Church can provide. Please call 999 if a child or adult is in immediate danger of significant or serious harm. To report any safeguarding concerns or allegations, please contact the Coventry Diocese Safeguarding Team on 024 7652 1345.  Out of office hours, calls to this number will be diverted to our 24-hour helpline.  For all other safeguarding matters, please contact our Diocesan Safeguarding Team.

Contributors

This site and the resources on it have been developed by practitioners from across the diocese of Coventry. We are grateful for their support and encouragement. If you have any comments or suggestions then please use the contact us page to get in touch.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

 

Popular posts from this blog

Children and Family Activities for Mothering Sunday March 14th

  Song: Feels Good! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJxVHzARMmE&list=PLvED08kYJV-9cocZFGCjPThohvoFbvF7X&index=7&ab_channel=RendCo.Kids A great song about being together… Story: Hannah and Samuel from 1 Samuel 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiYumdP4C6k&ab_channel=TeachingKidsaboutJesus Hannah longed for a baby so she prayed to God- and he heard her prayer. Because Hannah had a baby, when he was old enough she dedicated him to God. God gave her the family she longed for. Families come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with happy and sad times too. When Jesus was on the cross, he asked his best friend John, to take care of his mother, Mary. God takes care of us when families are sad. Let’s take care of each other in every sort of time! Last week, we had some knitted hearts to give to someone else to say thank you or I’m thinking of you. If you’d like to make some yourself- here are the instructions. Knitted Hearts: https://youtu.be/mEaRrn0yoPw Croch...
Read more

Children’s Group Ideas: Sunday 26th April. Story: The Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-35

Two people were walking away from Jerusalem after Jesus’ death. They had heard the rumours that Jesus had come back to life- but they didn’t know what to make of it all. Suddenly a stranger comes and walks alongside them… That’s the start of the story for this week- it’s written in Luke’s gospel chapter 24 from verse 13. So we’re thinking about telling stories and learning from them. Song for our under 5s.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fe6U7ihHgM And don’t blame me for this one – it’s from our friends in Willenhall… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnJvOJ_rkSU Play a game together: Tell a story Tell a story together- Someone starts with 3 words, next person continues the story with another 3 words.. A man was… climbing up a… banana tree when… See how far you can get! The Emmaus Road Story: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndtnZV-5QTo&feature=youtu.be Who was the mysterious man on the road to Emmaus? That’s what Cleopas wanted ...
Read more

Sunday May 3rd - Children's Activity - The Good Shepherd

Our Bible reading today concerns sheep, a sheepfold and the shepherd. It echoes in many ways the words of the famous 23 rd Psalm found in the Old Testament. One of the great signs of spring is seeing the new-born lambs in the fields but quite often their journey into this world has to be helped by the shepherd- the lambing season is a very busy one. Care of sheep and lambs obviously doesn’t stop there- there is always fresh pastures to find and in the times of Jesus, the shepherds would stay in the fields with their sheep, to chase off any predators, like wolves, who slink quietly in at night to try and steal one. If they were not out in the fields with the sheep, the shepherd would drive them down into the fold to keep them safe at night-time, with the shepherd lying across the entrance and acting like a closed gate. Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. He loves and cares for us and like a good shepherd he knows each and every one of us by name. So,...
Read more