A very long time ago lived a man named Jonah; God had a special job for Jonah, God wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh and to tell the people that their evil ways had broken God’s heart. Jonah didn’t like this special job and so Jonah decided to run away. Jonah got onto a boat that was going in the opposite direction of Nineveh!

While Jonah was on the boat a storm rose up around him and it shook and blew the boat so much that the sailors thought the boat was going to break! Oh no, how scary! Jonah knew that God had sent the storm and so Jonah told the sailors to throw him into the water.

God loved Jonah and so God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Can you imagine being inside of a big fish? It must have been dark, and squishy, and smelled like the ocean! While Jonah was inside of the fish he prayed, and after he was done praying God commanded the fish to spit him up onto shore.

God still wanted Jonah to go to the land of Nineveh, and so Jonah obeyed God. Jonah told the people of Nineveh that their evil ways had broken God’s heart and that God was going to destroy them, and guess what, the people were sorry and the cried for God to forgive them. God loved his people so much that He decided to forgive them, God loved his people so much that he decided he was not going to destroy them.

The Bible says:

10 God saw what the people did. He saw that they stopped doing evil things. So God changed his mind and did not do what he had warned. He did not punish them. (Jonah 3:10, ICB)

God always knows what kind of help we need.

Tell God you are sorry and he will give you a second chance.

Here are some ideas for your children based on the story.

Draw a fish or print out the one below. – Colour in or rip up pieces of tissue paper, scrunch them up and glue them on! The belly of the fish was probably a scary place to be, but god was with Jonah even there!

Have children press their fingers onto a stamp pad & stamp fingers onto paper. Add features such as fins.

Blow bubbles, just like fish do – invite your child to run around and pop them as fast as they can.

Prayer

Dear Jesus, we love you SO much!  We pray that we can learn about how much you love us today.  Come into our hearts and fill us with joy.  Thank you for taking care of us.  Amen

The story of Noah presents the flood as God’s spring clean of a world spoiled by people’s unkindness.

God was feeling sad. Everywhere he looked people were spoiling his world by arguing  and fighting. No one loved God anymore 😢 💔 except for one man, Noah. He was a kind man who always listened to God and tried to please him.
“Noah” said God one day, “My world looks very dirty. It needs a good spring clean. I am going to send a BIG flood to wash all the unkindness away”.
“Oh dear” said Noah, “I am going to get very wet”.
God smiled, ” Don’t worry Noah, you are a good man. I will keep you dry. You must build a big boat called an ark. Give it a door and a roof to keep out the rain”.
So Noah built the ark. (Shall we help him? Mime  hammering the wood🔨 )
“Now” said God “Fetch animals and birds of every kind and take them to the boat”. (Shall we help him?)
“All aboard” said Noah. Noah and his family got on the boat and shut the door.
Soon the blue sky turned grey and it became very dark. It began to rain and rain and rain.
The water rose higher and lifted the boat up. It floated! Noah and his family stayed safe inside the ark for forty days and nights. Until one day the rain stopped. The water went down and the ark landed on a mountainside.
“Now” said Noah “Let’s send a dove to see if there is anything green”.
The dove came back with a twig.
So Noah opened the door and saw a rainbow in the sky.
“Noah” said God “My rainbow is to say that never again will everything be washed away. I promise”.

Here are some ideas for your child based on the story:

Cut out some big raindrop shapes and decorate with rainbow colours and glitter.

Make some animal shaped biscuits.

Sing the song ” I hear thunder”
I hear thunder, I hear thunder,
Hark don’t you, hark don’t you?
Pitter patter raindrops, pitter patter raindrops,
I’m wet through, so are you.

Dress teddy in some boots, an anorak, a rainhat and give him an umbrella.

Pretend putting on boots, a raincoat, a hat and putting up an umbrella.

Pretend to go for a walk and jump over puddles.

Go outside and help to wash the garden furniture so that it is sparkling clean.

Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you for all the colours of the rainbow red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. Whenever we see a rainbow help us to remember that you keep your promises and are always taking care of us.
Amen

Can you find one thing inside or outside your home that is small but precious and beautiful to you? It may be a pebble, a flower, a favourite toy or something that you have made yourself. We are all precious in God’s Eyes, however small we may be.

This week many of us will have seen and felt the gentle rainfall of Spring after many days of beautiful dry sunny weather.

Some families in far away places right now, don’t have the joy of the rain. Rainfall is precious to them. Their world is dry, meaning that they may face many different challenges to us.

In Peru, Gloria, age 9 said ” If I could change the world, I would collect water and grow plants, they help give us life, they protect us so that we can breathe fresh air

Thank you God that we can breathe fresh air and enjoy both the sunshine AND the rain.

Here are two activities which you may like to do together in your family, you could each even spend some quiet time on your own and then later share your thoughts about the small things.

1. Collect some rainwater and make a little rain pond, (you can use tap water if you don’t have any rain)

Use any small or large container.

Fill your little pond with anything you find, stones, shells, grass, petals, anything at all… Say thank you to God for the joy of His life giving water.

Share a piece of bread and take a drink of water with your family.

One cup, one bread, one family.

2. Make a Nature Box thanking God for all his Creation.

Any carton will do. You can use an egg box if you have one.

Collect small things from around your home or on your daily walk.

Talk about the things you have put in your box and say “We thank you God”

“I can pray a rainbow…” Genesis 9 v 13

God placed a rainbow in the sky as a symbol of his promise never again to send a flood like the one Noah survived in the ark. Today, the rainbow is a symbol of hope for us all.

Here are two rainbow inspired activities for you and your family to explore together.

A RAINBOW PRAYER HUNT

Go on a search round your house and try to find something of each of the colours below.
Here is a prayer you can say for each colour as you find them.

RAINBOW LEAF PRINTS

Use washable coloured markers to colour a rainbow pattern on the back of a big leaf. Keep changing colours. Now you are ready to print. Grab some paper and a damp paper towel. Wipe across your paper with the paper towel so that it is just damp, not soggy. Turn the coloured part of the leaf on to the paper and press down gently. Press all over and then carefully remove the leaf. Try a fresh leaf and a different rainbow pattern – spirals, stripes, classic rainbow arches. They all turn out differently but they are all bright and beautiful.

CLICK HERE to download January’s “Together at Home” activities.

And now an activity from Rachael, Reuben and Myah who read the Story of the good Samaritan together.

One day Jesus told a story to a man who asked him how to be a good neighbour.  “There once was a Jewish man walking along a road.  He was coming from Jerusalem and was heading to Jericho, which was a full day or two of walking.The road was rocky and there were small hills all around. The man was just humming to himself and enjoying the nice day when suddenly a group of men jumped out from behind a hill. They took all his belongings and tore off most of his clothes. They didn’t want him to follow them so they beat him up very badly, and left him lying and bleeding on the side of the road. A few minutes later, a priest was walking down the same path and noticed the man lying on the side of the road. But he crossed the road and walked on the other side and acted like he didn’t see the man. About an hour or so later, another man, called a Levite, was walking down the road.  Levites were people who assisted priests with their work. He slowed down and walked a little closer to the man, but then kept walking without helping him at all. Just a few minutes later, another man came walking. He was a Samaritan.  But as soon as he saw the man, he went over to him and felt compassion for him.  He put bandages on his sores and poured oil and wine (which were quite expensive) on the sores to prevent them from getting worse.  Then he lifted the man on his own donkey and took him to a hotel to take care of him. After Jesus finished the story, he asked, “Which of the three men do you think was a neighbour to the man who was left beaten on the side of the road?” The man who asked him the question at the beginning replied, “The one who had compassion and helped him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do the same.”

The story of the good Samaritan demonstrates that friendship is defined by love and compassion, not race. This handprint craft will encourage us to think of ways we can lend a helping hand to our neighbours.

Messy Science – Water Making Music

Equipment needed

Jars (at least three or four of the same or a similar size); water; spoons; food colouring in a few different colours if you have it
Fill each jar with a different amount of cold water and make each a different colour with the food colouring. Gently tap each jar with a metal or wooden spoon and listen to the different sounds.

Big thinking

Why do the different jars make different sounds? The sounds you hear are caused by sound waves, which are themselves caused by the glass vibrating as you hit it. The frequency of sound depends on how fast the glass is vibrating. When a glass contains more water, the vibration is slower and the pitch is lower. Conversely, when the glass contains less water, the vibration is faster and the pitch is higher. If you’re feeling particularly musical, try to work out how to fill the jars to create a musical scale or even a tune. The more jars you use, the more possibilities there are!

You could do this experiment a slightly different way with some plastic water bottles with different amounts of water in. Rather than hitting the bottles, blow over the top of them. Now what do you hear? Which has the highest and lowest pitch? It should be the opposite of what you found when you hit the jars. This is because in this case, it is the vibration of the air in the bottle and not the actual bottle that causes the sound you hear. In the bottle with only a little water in, there is a longer air column and the sound waves in the air vibrate slower so that the pitch of the note is slower. With a lot of water and little air, the sound waves in the air vibrate faster and the pitch is higher.

Big questions

The person who wrote one of the Psalms said, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!’ (Psalm 150:6). Sometimes we can praise God through words, but what do you think it means to praise God without words? Do non-humans praise God, do you think? Do trees and rivers? Do animals? How would you praise God silently? Is it possible?

The other caterpillars were dismayed and begged him not to go, but the caterpillar said that he must go, but promised that they would see him again. The caterpillar shuffled away until he found a comfy tree trunk, where he wrapped himself in a silky sleeping bag and went to sleep.

And whilst he was wrapped tightly in his cocoon, he began to change. He grew wonderful wings and long legs and his green coat changed into bright multi-colours and then one sunny day, he burst out of the cocoon as a beautiful butterfly like this one Leana has made.

Wow! The other caterpillars wriggled over to the empty cocoon and began to cry because their friend had gone. They thought he must be dead. Then suddenly they heard a familiar voice and saw a beautiful butterfly hovering above them.

“Don’t cry said the butterfly, I’m here, I’m alive”. The caterpillars could not believe their eyes. “Didn’t I promise you’d see me again?” said the butterfly. “I’ll always be with you and one day you’ll be beautiful butterflies too and we’ll always be together!” Then the beautiful butterfly fluttered away out of sight.
That story reminds us, that like the beautiful butterfly, Jesus is alive, and he is always with us and although we can’t see him, we know he is with us when we see the beautiful things in our lives, like butterflies.

And we know he is with us when we are touched by the kindness of other people and feel the love of Jesus in our hearts. Rev Sue