Tag Archives: school year

End of school year – the holiday starts here!

Aim:

To help the children to grasp that God, who is greater than we can ever imagine, knows all about us and watches over us wherever we go.

Bible base:

Psalm 139:9-10

You will need:

  • An outline of Britain – on an acetate, or drawn large if an OHP is not available
  • A globe
  • Marker pens
  • A road map of Britain (with index!) in case you need to look up any destinations
  • A suitcase containing some of the things you would take on holiday
  • A large sign, which will fit in the case, saying ‘God’

Preparation

Know your geography!

Presentation

Introduction

  1. Who is excited about finishing school for the summer? (Be sure to let the staff say so too!) Who is going away on holiday? What will they take with them? Show the things you’ve packed.
  2. Ask for the names of some of the places people are going to and mark them on the map with that person’s name. Be sure also to mark on those who are having their holiday at home. Point out foreign destinations on the globe. How will they get to where they are going?

Story

  1. Talk about some of the people in the Bible who went on long journeys – Abraham going to a new country; Joseph going as a slave into Egypt; Moses leading the people to God’s special land; Joseph and Mary taking Jesus to safety in Egypt when he was a baby; Paul going on long journeys to tell people about Jesus. Each one knew that wherever they went, God was with them.
  2. Read the verses from Psalm 139. ‘If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west, you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me’. (Psalm 139:9-10, Good News Bible)

Application

Show the ‘God’ sign from your suitcase. We can’t see God with our eyes or hear him with our ears or feel him with our hands – but he will be with us always if we ask him to be, just as he was with these people.

It doesn’t matter where we go in the world: God is so great that he can be everywhere with anyone.

When we come back to school next year from summer holidays, when we go to new classes – or even new schools – God will still watch over and care for each one.

Prayer

Say a short prayer thanking God for holidays at home and away, and, if appropriate, asking him to be close to children who are going to a new school.

Song suggestions