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17th May 2020View past Sundays

This term in the Nest we are learning about the world around us to help us remember to be thankful for all the wonderful places God has created. This week we are looking at the Jungle!

Verse ‘I will give thanks to You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonderful deeds.’ Psalm 9v1

Book Five Minute Bible Stories by Fiona Boon & Hayley Down (pages 71-91) (see link here).

Tamsin, one of our fantastic Nest team, has recorded a video of this term’s book including a Makaton signed story and song (see link here).

Songs Who’s the king of the jungle - Creator God - If I were a butterfly - Praise the Lord - When I look (see the videos here) - Father God (to the tune of Old MacDonald, lyrics below, have a go at making up more verses with your child about other things you can find in the Jungle)

Activity Make your own Jungle ‘swamp’ (see example and full instructions here) by mixing washing up liquid and a little bit of water with a whisk/blender/electric mixer. You can then add food colouring if you’d like to. The foam is fun to play with at this point but if you’d like to make it more ‘swamp’ like then add some baking powder to the mix. You can then let your child add some squirts of vinegar to the ‘swamp’ to make it bubble. If you have any swamp creatures such as alligators, snakes etc then you can add these too. As your child plays remind them that God made the swamps in the Jungle and we can thank God for the wonderful Jungle.

This week we’re going to be learning about how Jesus healed Peter’s Mother in law of a fever

First things first though let's pack your bags for the adventure into the story and some things needed for the crafts later. 

This week you’ll need : 

The bible

A notepad

A pen 

Toilet rolls

Pipe cleaners or elastic bands

Felt-tip pens or paints

Post-it notes or small pieces of paper

Once your explorers have got their bags packed, do a lap of your house and/or garden and end up ready to learn together.

STORY

Our story today takes us to the book of Mark, chapter 1, verses 30-31.

This story follows straight on from our session last week, Jesus has just healed a man and was now going to stay with Simon and Andrew, two of his disciples.

I think Simon and Andrew would have been proud and excited that Jesus was going to stay at their house. How disappointed do you think they would have been when they got home to discover that Simon’s Mother in law was sick? 

Jesus miraculously healed Simon’s Mother in law straight away!

WORSHIP

Check out our Family resources page or follow these links to our explorer worship songs. 

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

NOTHING’S TOO BIG

CRAFTS

Get as big a piece of paper as you can find and draw or write down all the things in your life that you are thankful for. 

Can you use toilet roll tubes to make characters from today’s story (example here), as you make them can you talk about how each character would have been feeling.

Or you could remake today’s story with lego or duplo.

QUESTIONS TO ASK 

How would you feel if your teacher was coming to visit your house? 

Have you ever had to cancel something because you or someone in your family was poorly? How did this make you feel?

Why do you think Jesus healed Peter’s Mother in law?

Do you think God still heals people today?

How old do you think you need to be to ask God for healing?

WRAP IT UP

Think about people you know who are sick or who need God’s protection from sickness, write their names down on post-it notes and then spend some time praying with a grown up for all the people you have written down.

You can write down groups of people if you can’t think of anybody, how about praying for everyone who is sick with Coronavirus and the NHS staff and other key workers who are supporting them.

This week, try to remember that nothing is impossible for God, you can ask him for anything. 

Last week you learnt about the story of Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus really wanted to see Jesus so even though he probably looked very silly, he climbed a tree to get a better view. Climbing the tree meant that he got to see, speak to and accept Jesus in his home.

Story
To get a different perspective from the story, click here to watch the story of Zacchaeus again. You can also read it in your bible or bible app in Luke 19.

Did you notice the crowd in the story? Did you notice what they thought of Zacchaeus? It turns out that Zacchaeus wasn’t just short but he was a tax collector and a nasty one at that. He was a schemer and a thief who stole innocent people's money. The crowd was angry and thought he would be the last person Jesus would spend time with let alone have dinner with.

Do you ever feel like Jesus wouldn’t want to have dinner with you because of all the nasty in you?

Jesus is love and he can’t stop loving you. He will always want to have tea with you, He’s just waiting for an invitation! There is nothing you have done that will stop His desire to love you and spend time with you. It’s time to get a kingdom perspective. Whatever you have done to hurt others or to stand in judgment over those who have hurt you, forgive them and yourself and welcome Jesus into your heart. Let Him make His home in you and as you walk with Him, he will begin to heal you filling you with peace and love that you can share with those around you.

Prayer
Jesus, thank you that your way is different than the crowds. Thank you that your kingdom is love and accepts me completely as I am, including all the bad stuff.
Thank you that you don’t point the finger but you have invited me to dinner with you. Please make your home in me more each day. Transform me so I look more like you and your kingdom so I can share it with others.

God bless you guys, you’re awesome.

Keep seeking Jesus.
Becks and the Oak youth team