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PRAYER / WORSHIP ACTIVITY  

OPTION 1  

10 mins 

You could set up several stations with the same activity, depending on the number of people attending your service. On a large piece of paper, draw the outline of a house with simple divisions for rooms. Make home magazines and catalogues as well as scissors and glue sticks available so that people can make a collage of the contents of the house into the template. Ask the groups to spend some time talking about their collaged houses and what kinds of things are important for them to have in their homes. They can also thank God for all that they have.  

OPTION 2  

5 mins 

Read Psalm 148 antiphonally as a congregation (this means that one half of the church reads the first verse and then the other half reads the second verse). Continue alternating until the end of the psalm. Either print the psalm out, project it onto a screen or use the pew Bibles (if you have such a thing!). Ideally, use a straightforward version such as the CEV for the sake of younger children.  

STORY: JOHN 10:1-18  

10 mins 

You’ll need to have several people ‘planted’ in the congregation who each have a wad of fake (eg Monopoly) money. You’ll also need a fake pearl. You can either get a large piece of pearl costume jewellery (try places like Primark) or paint a plastic tennis-sized ball with white    pearlescent paint (which you can get from a craft shop).  

Ask for a volunteer (they can be primed beforehand) to come out to the front and be a rich man. This rich man is a merchant – someone who buys and sells things. This man buys and sells pearls. Give this rich man a good number of things to show his wealth – these might include a fur coat, a toy sports car (to represent a real one), an ostentatious piece of jewellery, a photo of a mansion, a yacht etc. Use your imagination – you just need to have a picture or an object to represent each thing. Talk through the items and how valuable or pricey they are as you give them to him. Say that the man has everything he could possibly want.  

Say: One day the man sees something he wants more than anything he’s ever seen or had before. It is the most enormous, most perfect pearl! Show your pearl to the rich man and ask them to react accordingly. The man discovers how much the pearl costs – it is a lot of money! But he really wants it, so he decides to sell some of his things.  

Ask the rich man to sell all his stuff to the people you have planted in the congregation who have the wads of money. Start with the highest value objects. As he brings the money back each time, take it from him but say that it is not enough for the pearl. When he has one item left, say that he has nearly given you enough money for the pearl, but not quite. Say that he can have the pearl if he gives you his last item. Make the exchange.  

Have someone read Matthew 13:45-46 to the congregation: ‘Jesus said, “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.”’  

REFLECTIVE RESPONSE TO THE STORY  

OPTION 1  

5 mins 

Give everyone a small piece of paper and a pen and ask them to write or draw as many of the most important things, people and activities in their life as they can. Have a box of fake pearls at the front (simply buy a cheap string of plastic pearls and cut them off the string) and let people exchange their pieces of paper for a pearl to symbolise giving God everything they have, and to remind them of this passage of scripture.    

OPTION 2  

10 mins 

Gather everyone into multi-age groups of around eight people. Give each group a large piece of paper and felt tips and ask them to make a visual image of the Kingdom of Heaven. They can draw pictures and incorporate words that might help describe the kingdom. Create some space to put up or lay out the pictures so everyone can see all the ideas.  

GROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONS  

10 mins

 Why is the kingdom of heaven worth more than everything we have?  

Can you draw any parallels between these verses and the way that God gives Jesus up for us? Is it a good comparison?  

What are the hardest things for you to think about letting go of?  

What does this story look like practically for us tomorrow? Do we really have to sell all our stuff and give up everything that we have?