Rock Solid
Hi Werb’s Kids and Werb’s Parents!
Praying you’re all doing okay today.
Feels like it’s been a long time since I saw any of you and the longing to return to church is getting stronger and stronger. But I am glad you’re all staying safe by staying inside.
It’s kind of helped this week that we’ve had the rain, hasn’t it!?
I’ve absolutely loved seeing all your creations via instagram from the sessions we’ve been doing! Keep using the hashtags ⧣werbsathome and ⧣werbskids on social media as honestly you make my day when I see how you’re doing Werb’s at Home.
There are some fun things coming your way soon so do keep an eye on our instagram (@werbskids) as well as your emails as this is the easiest way for us to contact you all. If you would like to receive our emails and those from the church in general do email me (amy.farrar@stwderby.org) and I’ll be able to take your details and connect you in.
We are also adding new songs all the time to the playlists we’ve created!
These playlists are on Spotify (Adults and Kids) and the same on Youtube (Adults and Kids) that you can access during this time. Get dancing and chase those grey skies away by bringing a little sunshine and fun inside!!
Have an amazing week.
Stay safe and stay connected,
Love Amy
BE ROCK SOLID!
At the moment it’s very easy to feel a little wobbly and worried. Don’t feel bad for feeling this way as it’s completely normal. It’s hard having things change so much. But God wants to give us his strength and help us through this and that’s why we’re looking at one of the parables Jesus told his disciples today.
A parable is a special story which has a meaning behind it. So in today’s story we hear about 2 builders. One who built on rock and one that built on sand. You might have heard it before!
But this story isn’t really about building houses. Jesus was actually talking about who you put you trust in and the importance of listening to what he said and putting it into action.
Before we begin let’s build!
Seeing as those in the parable build houses I thought we could build some too!
If you have Lego or Duplo try and build 3 houses: 1 large house, 1 tiny house and 1 colourful house!
If you don’t have Lego look at what you do have. Maybe build a house out of books? Or build a house using your fluffy cuddly toys? Or see if you can stack playing cards to look like a house!?
Get creative!
I think God wants to talk to us about our foundations and what kind of person he wants us to be.
FOUNDATIONS ARE THE BASE OF A BUILDING THAT SUPPORTS and helps hold THE REST OF THE HOUSE. IF YOU HAVE BAD FOUNDATIONS THE BUILDING WILL FALL.
The houses you built earlier were probably put on a strong flat surface like a table or on the floor.
Why did you do this?
If your surface wasn’t flat or strong what would happen to your house?
You may not have even realised but I bet some of you knew that if you put it on a bumpy or shaky surface it might not stand up as well and keep falling over. That’s why you chose a flat firm surface - you gave your building a firm foundation!
It’s been a long time since I go to go to the seaside and to be honest I miss it! I love the beach and love watching the waves come up and wash my feet!
Have you ever been to the beach?
What is your favourite thing about the seaside?
Have you ever built a sand castle on a beach?
Did you wait to see what would happen when the waves got close to your castle?
I love building sand castles but I know if they are on the beach then at some point they will get washed away by the sea. However if I was clever enough to build on the rocks nearby maybe my sand castle would be okay!
Watch our story for this week and listen to why Jesus tells the story.
In the story Jesus told a parable about 2 men: one who builds on rock and one who builds on sand. And as we said before a parable is a story that someone tells when they want to teach you something important.
Here’s a chance to get a little active!
Every time you hear the word SAND - jump up and wobbly your body around like you are jelly!!
Every time you hear the word ROCK - jump up and stand super strong showing off your muscles!!
One man built a house on the SAND.
It is easy to build on SAND but what happens when the tide comes in?
Remember what we said about SAND castles?! The house falls down because all the SAND moves. It’s the same if the wind blows hard and if there was a big storm. Is it clever to build a house on SAND? No, of course not!
BUT another man was building a house on a ROCK.
What happens when the tide comes in? Does the ROCK move? No – it stays there and the water goes around the ROCK.
This man built a house on ROCK and it was a very good idea!. He used a drill to make a hole in the ROCK and poured in cement so that the house was stuck into the ROCK. What happened when the tide came in? Was it the same as the man who built on the SAND? No! His house was safe. And what happened when the wind blew? Nothing! He was on a very secure and strong foundation on the ROCK so he was okay!
Why do you think Jesus tells the disciples this story?
Remember parables have special meanings.
Jesus wanted to tell us this: The houses are pictures of us and what we believe. The storm is a picture of what happens to us when difficult times come.
So there are two types of people – people who listen to Jesus and believe him, and people that don’t bother to listen to him.
Which are the people who believe in Jesus?
We are like the ones who build their houses on the rock!!
We have foundations in our life too. Things that are at the centre of why we do the things we do. If we have bad foundations then the rest of us will be wobbly and might go wrong.
But if we have good foundations by staying close to God we will be strong and he will help us no matter what we face.
Sometimes we go through difficult times in life like right now things are a bit hard.
But people who believe in Jesus and what he says can hold on to him and say, “Yes, I am a little sad but God loves me. Yes, this is hard but God knows what is happening and is with me. Yes, I am struggling but I will trust God to help me. It’s tough right now but God will help.” And when the difficult time is over, they can get on with life, feeling a bit stronger and a bit braver. You can feel weak and still be strong. Sounds weird but it’s possible because God gives you his strength to help you through.
People who don’t listen to Jesus are like, “NO! Everything’s going wrong! I don’t know what to do! Arghhhh! I give up! It’s hopeless! There’s no point!” And when the hard time is over, they feel weak – they don’t know what to do or where to go. They are lost and confused.
What sort of person do you want to be?
For those aged 0-7:
If we believe what Jesus says it makes us strong. Even when things go wrong, we can read the Bible and trust that God will look after us. But if we don’t trust God, when things go wrong, we can get confused and angry, and not be sure what to do or what to believe any more.
This parable of the wise and foolish builders has a point: We need to follow Jesus’ teaching in our everyday lives. If we do, when problems come we will have solid foundations. If we don’t we will find ourselves in trouble and feel shaky and unsure.
Can you remember any of Jesus’ teaching or things you’ve learnt before in church about the bible?
What stories have you learnt recently and what did it teach you?
What stories or characters do you know from the Bible?
Make a list or draw these things!
PARENTS: Some our kids will come up totally blank at this point! Don’t worry here are some of the topics they have learnt before so you may want to give them hints to stories or things to spark their memories!
Remind them of the stories and then ask them what they think Jesus wanted them to learn from this story?
- Werb’s At Home (Easter, Road to Emmaus, Peter restored, Daniel and the Lion’s Den, Joseph the dreamer, Matthew 7: Don’t Worry!)
- Fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness etc)
- Encounters with Jesus (Zacchaeus, Mary + Martha, Samaritan Woman, John the Baptist, Saul/Paul)
For those aged 8 and above:
Reread the story in Matthew 7v24-27. You can also read it HERE.
As you read it think about the sound effects they might want to use in the story – building noises, noises of people relaxing, noises for the storm – wind and rain, noises for the house on the sand collapsing and a peaceful sound for after the storm.
Now see if you can retell the story using ONLY noises!
Why do you think Jesus tells the disciples this story?
What is he trying to tell them? Remember parables have special meanings and teaching in them.
There are lots of places in the bible where God is described as our Rock.
Psalm 18v1-3 “I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Psalm 62v2 – “God alone is the mighty rock that keeps me safe”
Think of ways that God keeps you safe. Think about how following Jesus’ teaching keeps you safe and would help them to live a happy life.
Draw a picture that shows these ideas – for instance, they might draw somebody sitting on a rock praying, or somebody sitting on a rock giving things away while someone else (not sitting on a rock!) is counting piles of gold. If they are short on idea they could just draw a house on a rock!
If they need some inspiration they can look at the drawing I did this week on Psalm 18. I drew a fortress or a tower and a person worshipping at the top. You can see it HERE.
I would love to see your drawings so please tag @werbskids on instagram and don’t forget the hashtag #werbsathome.
CRAFT IDEAS!
Something to do during the talk
- Colouring Sheet ONE and TWO
- Crossword
- Dot to Dot (This one is a little tricky! The arrow shows where you begin)
- Draw your dream house! What would you put in it? Draw what your favourite room inside would look like too!Below are 2 house net outlines that you could print out to make little houses.
Simply fold each to make into a cube shape and then glue on the sides to keep it together.
You may want to do both and recreate the story!Using salt dough or play dough make your own building blocks/bricks. From these bricks try and build a house. Think about it’s foundation - where will it stand strongest once you’ve finished it?
Make your own sand to put one of your houses on! You could even create a little beach, you may want to add some fun extras like a mini deck chair or towel or umbrella!
Homemade Moon Sand4 cups of white flour (approximately 540 g)
½ cup of vegetable oil.
That's it! Of course, you can play around with it’s consistency and you don’t have to make that much! Also apparently chalk can help add colour and if you want you can add a few drops of an essential oil if you want your sand scented!
WERB’S KIDS DO NOT GET THIS ALL OVER THE FLOOR AND FURNITURE!
Be kind to your parents and keep it in one place preferably a bowl or tray. And if you do accidentally spill it - TIDY IT UP!!
NEW SONG!
You may have heard us sing this song before at church. It’s all about Jesus being our rock.
As you listen to this song listen out for these words below. Each word has a special meaning. Let’s unpack them a little.
CHRIST: This is a special name for Jesus. It means that he is the chosen one who will save us. It points to what he did at Easter. And when we call God’s son, Jesus Christ it shows that we believe that he came to save us.
CORNERSTONE: When someone builds a house the corner stone is the MOST IMPORTANT stone! This is why we use this phrase to describe Jesus as we want Jesus to be the most important part of our lives.
WEAK MADE STRONG: Just as we’ve read above with God as our rock he can make us strong when we feel weak or not strong enough or just not up to it all we have to do is ask.
THROUGH THE STORM: When things seem hard we think about it like a storm. But God is always with us through everything we face. We believe that God helps us through every storm.
LORD OF ALL: Lord is a word we use to describe Jesus, it means that he is important. When we sing Lord of all this means that he is above everything and in charge of everything. But also helps us remember that he is in control and so we don’t need to worry.
Can you make actions for these words? Then when you listen to the song every time you hear the chorus you could o your actions!
LET’S PRAY!
Jesus will help us to trust him and to follow his teachings. The Holy Spirit helps us to do what God thinks is best. Get some cardboard and cut it into a circle. Write JESUS over the top.
Jesus is our Rock and we can trust him through anything we face. If you’re worried or scared he wants to know and wants to give you his strength and love to help you stand strong.
Take it in turns to stand on the rock.
You may want to name something that makes you wobble or worry then pray this simple prayer:
“Dear God, please help me to stand strong. Amen.”
PUT SOMETHING INTO ACTION: DRAW A BEAUTIFUL PICTURE FOR THE FOOD BANK!
As a church we support Derby City Mission’s Food Bank. For those unsure, a food bank collects food for others and gives it to those who need it the most. They give it to people who don’t have enough food of their own or can’t afford to buy the food they need. You can find out more information HERE should you want to donate.
We have been given a very important very special job!
We have been asked to draw/paint some pictures to cheer up their building!
They want to display them in their windows and in their glass area for everyone to see when people arrive and to cheer up all who work there.
So, Werb’s Kids are you up to the challenge?
Please draw or paint something bright and beautiful to make the food bank look amazing. I know you are all amazing artists and love to help others so I know I can count on you! Once you’ve made it send it in the post to them.
You won’t be able to come and see your picture displayed BUT they have said they will be sending us photos which we’ll post on instagram so you can see the difference your pictures are making.
Off you go! Create a masterpiece and then post it to: 25 Charnwood Street, Derby, DE1 2GU
Edited and adapted by Amy Farrar from several sources including energize.com
