Sunday School Resource Produced by Jane Tibbs Children s Adviser 12 March 2017, the second Sunday of Lent

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1 SundayMAXleaders Sunday School Resource Produced by Jane Tibbs Children s Adviser 12 March 2017, the second Sunday of Lent Introduction Anyone who believes in Jesus can know his power to save and set us free. Game Readings Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 121 Romans 4:1-5, John 3:1-17 Where is it? Hide a packet of sweets (with enough in it to share with everyone!) somewhere in the room. The children can only find it by asking questions, in turn, about where it might be. For example is it on the floor? Is it under a chair? Discussion Nicodemus asked questions to help him understand what Jesus was saying. Have you ever asked a question and got a surprising answer? Have you ever asked a question and got a strange answer? What questions would you like to discuss with Jesus? How might you find out what Jesus would say? Nicodemus was a well respected Pharisee and teacher. Telling Jesus that he didn t understand needed a huge amount of bravery and honesty. It s OK not to know it all! What questions would you like to ask Christian leaders perhaps from your own church or different churches.

2 Songs Shining with God s Love Sung to the tune of Jesus Loves Me Look at me, you ll see God s light shining in my eyes so bright. Look at me, you ll see God live in all the love that I can give. God s light is in me. God s light is in me. God s light is in me, For all the world to see. Father hear the prayer we offer Hymns Old and New 120 For God so loved the world Kidsource 464 Give thanks with a grateful heart Kidsource 68 God forgave my sin in Jesus name Mission Praise 181 God s love is deeper Kidsource 84 He came down that we may have love Sing Glory 116 What a friend we have in Jesus Junior Praise 273 Will you come and follow me? Hymns Old and New 560 Craft Activity Night art Make a picture of Nicodemus creeping through the streets at night You will need Black backing paper for each child Paper for drawing on Pencils and dark coloured crayons Sticky stars Glue Scissors Gold or silver pens Encourage the children to draw Nicodemus and some houses (you could use templates), colour them in dark colours and cut them out. One window in a house could be yellow to show a light inside. Stick these onto the bottom of the black paper and stick stars in the sky at the top. Write in gold or silver pen, Nicodemus came to ask Jesus questions at night. The Education Department, The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG Tel: jane.tibbs@bathwells.anglican.org

3 Prayers Always Jesus promised to be with us always, by his Spirit. This prayer is about that. It s an old Celtic prayer attributed to St Patrick whose saint s day is 17 March, last Thursday. Christ be with me Christ be beside me Christ be before me Christ be behind me Christ at my right hand Christ at my left hand Christ be with me, everywhere I go. Christ be my friend for ever and ever. Amen Bubble prayers You will need pots of bubble mixture and wands Read John 3:8. We can t see the wind, but we can see what it does, and it s the same with the Spirit. Spend some time playing with the bubbles, outside if possible. Watch where the wind carries the bubble. When you blow a bubble you have no way of knowing where it will end up. Pray some simple prayers as you blow bubbles, that God will bless people and help them to understand more. As you watch the bubbles float away, think about God s blessing being carried to others. The Education Department, The Old Deanery, Wells BA5 2UG Tel: jane.tibbs@bathwells.anglican.org

4 An acrostic poem is a series of lines where the first letter in each lines forms a name or message SundayMAXkids Sunday 12 March 2017 Today is the second Sunday of Lent Nicodemus visited Jesus at night. Can you count the stars in the sky? Unscramble these anagrams to find out some ways we can find answers to our questions about God. Draw a picture to show yourself doing each of these things. yrpa ot dgo dare eth Bbeli ksa na dtlua _ Use the name Nicodemus to make an acrostic poem about the story N I C O D E M Questions! Questions! Lots to think about. Lots to talk about. Lord, I am ready to find out more about you And to help others discover you, too. Amen U S

5 SundayMAXstory Sunday 12 March 2017 Nicodemus Before you start the story, practise the actions with the children. Every time you say confused they make a face, crept they pretend to creep, and wind they blow like the wind. Nicodemus was a religious teacher. He had heard what Jesus had been saying and wanted to know more, but he didn t want anyone to see him talking to Jesus. So he waited until it was dark, and crept off to find Jesus. Nicodemus was confused and had lots of questions for Jesus. He wanted to know if Jesus came from God. Jesus said something strange he said the only way to see God s kingdom was to be born again. Nicodemus was very confused. What did Jesus mean? Jesus said if you want to be in God s kingdom you have to start a new life, with the Holy Spirit to help you. Then he said something else strange. The wind blows wherever it wants, you can hear it but you don t know where it comes from or where it is going. Nicodemus was confused again. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is like that too, you can t see him or understand him, but you can see the difference he makes. Nicodemus was still confused. He was a clever man, a teacher, but there was so much Jesus said that he didn t understand. Jesus said that there were lots of things that are hard to understand, but that he had come to help. God didn t send Jesus into the world to tell people off for doing wrong things. Jesus came to save the whole world and help everyone to be part of God s kingdom. When Nicodemus crept back to his house, he was still very confused. But every time he heard the wind blow he remembered what Jesus said we don t always understand but the Holy Spirit can help us.