Jesus goes back to heaven is the retelling of the ascension. After Easter it’s good to continue the story to explain what happened next. There are several stories that you could tell; The Road to Emmaus, Thomas and/or Breakfast on the Beach but you can also go straight on to the Ascension.
It’s important that we teach that The Lord Jesus didn’t die again. He lives forever! And he will come back again. The story is based on Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11
Jesus goes back to heaven – story idea
We have used a set of pictures from Lamp Bible Pictures to help tell the story. They are a powerpoint but we print the pictures onto card and add a lollipop stick so they can be held easily when telling the story. I put them in a story bag/basket and take them out when I need them.We have also used the set of disciple pictures (omit Judas) also from Lamp Bible Pictures. These can be used for lots of stories so worth having. If you can have someone to help hold the pictures do.
Jesus had died but was alive again! His friends saw him and spoke to him. Lots of people saw him. He wasn’t a ghost. He could eat food! He was really alive again.
He had a job for his friends to do, ‘I want you to tell other people all about me. Tell them about the things that I said and the things that I did. Tell them how I died for them and came alive again.’
Jesus told his friends to tell everyone the Good News that he was the Saviour. They were to tell everyone in all the world starting right where they were. Jesus was going to send The Holy Spirit to help them.
When Jesus had spent time with his friends they went for a walk together. Then something very special happened. As they were standing Jesus blessed them. And as he was blessing them Jesus began to go up, up, up and Jesus was taken back to heaven. He went up, up, up and into the sky and was gone. They couldn’t see him anymore.
While they were looking up into the sky two angels came and spoke to them, ‘Why are you looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has gone up to heaven will come back again. ‘
Jesus is still alive. He is the King over everything and is seated on his throne in heaven. But one day Jesus will come back to earth again. He won’t come as a baby. He will come as the King of everyone.
On the way to Easter paper plate pictures that help to tell the story of the first Easter. In the Gospels Jesus meets several people when he is on his last journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the final time. So four of our stories are about the people that met Jesus as he was going to Jerusalem. Then we have the story of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and in the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
I’ll be using different props for each story but as we go there will be a paper plate picture for each week that will build a bigger picture.. (If you don’t want to use all the stories just pick and choose)
Our stories will be… (Click on the links to go to the stories and crafts)
This is how our big picture will look when we have told all the stories..
These are paper plates covered in tissue paper with people and buildings and trees etc added.
The people are available to download – if you would like to make a contribution to the blog you are very welcome to do so but of course you don’t have to!
On the way to Easter – some thoughts about telling the story
Easter can be a difficult story to tell to young children. It isn’t necessary to go into detail about how Jesus died. It’s always good to include the positive for example you can say – that although Jesus died and his friends were sad he came back to life again and his friends were happy! Be factual with sensitivity. Easter is a good news event!
A couple of Easter story videos – Palm Sunday and Easter!
To tell the story you need – some Wise Men, toy camels and a star. You can add some actions too – stars with hands (like in twinkle, twinkle little star), running, looking, kneeling.
The story
Bible Truth for Toddlers – Jesus is King
Far away from where Jesus was born there were some Wise Men. They read books and knew a lot. They loved to look at the stars in the dark night’s sky. One night they saw a new star! They looked at the new star and they looked at each other. ‘Wow! they thought, ‘this new star means that a new king has been born in Israel. Let’s go and worship him’.
So they packed their things and set off for the important city of Jerusalem. They travelled for a long time. It took days and days to get there. When they arrived in Jerusalem they asked everyone they met, ‘Where is the new baby king?’
Now, there was a king in Jerusalem called King Herod but he wasn’t a baby; he was a grown up and he wasn’t at all happy. He didn’t want a new King! He heard that there were men from a far away place who were asking people, ‘Where is the new king?’ This upset him and it upset the people who were living in Jerusalem. He sent for the men from the temple. ‘Where is this new King to be born?’ he asked. The men from the temple knew the answer because it was written in the Bible. ‘In Bethlehem.’ they said.
Herod sent for the Wise Men and he told them to go to Bethlehem and find this new King and then come back and tell him where the new King was so he could go and worship him too.
So off the Wise Men went. It wasn’t too far to go now. As they got nearer something very special happened. The star was there again and this time it went before them and shone right over the house where Jesus was. The Wise men had found Jesus and they knelt down and worshiped him. They took their treasures out of their bags and gave them to Jesus. They gave him gold, frankincense and myrrh. These were special gifts for a King.
The Wise Men never told Herod where Jesus was. God warned them not to in a dream and they travelled home.
Herod didn’t want to worship Jesus. He wanted to get rid of him. An angel told Joseph to take Mary and Jesus and run away to a different country till it was safe to go back home.
Joseph did what the angel said and took Mary and Jesus to somewhere safe far away from Herod. When the danger was past they went to back home to Nazareth.
Some star craft ideas
For a star craft – decorate a star wreath shape and add some tissue paper for a stained glass window effect. Or use Christmas card pictures to decoarate a star.
What is God like? Story series for toddlers. This is a great way to teach young children some basic truths about God’s character.
There is a story from the Bible that teaches one truth about God each week. An alternative title would be ‘What does the Bible tell us about God?’
We answered the question by teaching that –
God is everywhere, God knows everything, God is holy, God is powerful and God is faithful. Of course the Bible tells us more about God than we have included here. We finish with the Christmas story explaining that God has made a way for us to know him.
This series would make a great run in to Christmas but I also think it would be fine to tell the Christmas story at a different time of year.
Each week you can use a story bag and a character or two. These can be Pringle people, happyland characters, a mini Moses (toilet roll!) and knitted characters. I think the children like the variety.
You could easily tell these stories to young children at home too.
Week One JONAH Story of Jonah and the big fish
Bible truth for toddlers – God is Everywhere
God is everywhere is a truth we learn from the Bible. We are using the story of Jonah to illustrate this truth in a way that is easy for toddlers.
To tell the Story you need –
Jonah (we used a figure from happyland),
a big fish (the one pictured is VERY big – made over a tent) and
a toy boat.
Jonah and the boat to NinevahThe big fish that swallowed Jonah
Jonah and the Great Big Fish story
God said to Jonah, ‘go to the big city called Ninevah (can you say that? repeat the name together) and tell everyone there about me.’
Jonah listened to God.
But Jonah didn’t like the people in the big city of Ninevah.
‘I don’t want to! I’m not going to go!’ He said (have you ever said that?)
Jonah thought to himself, ‘I will go far away – so far away that God won’t know where I am.’ He went and got on a boat and sailed away, far, far away from Ninevah.
But then the rain came and the wind blew – and out of the boat came Jonah – and splash into the sea!
Down, down, down he went. ‘Please God, help me!’ he prayed. Could God still hear Jonah from inside the great big fish? Was God too far away? No he was not far away. He was right there with Jonah.
God is everywhere. Jonah couldn’t run away from God.
God knew exactly where Jonah was, God always knows where we are; and he sent something to help. It wasn’t a boat – it was one great big fish. The one great big fish opened up it’s mouth and swallowed Jonah. He was safe!
The one great big fish took Jonah back to land. God said, ‘Jonah, go to Ninevah’. And this time Jonah did exactly what God said.
God is everywhere, all of the time. So wherever you go God is already there!
Say hello to Pharaoh! Pharaoh was a very important man. But he was upset. He had had a dream. It was a strange dream and it worried Pharaoh. He wanted to know what his dream meant. What could he do? He sent for all the magicians and wise men. ‘They will tell me what the dream means,’ he thought to himself.
But they had no idea what the dream was all about! No idea at all.
Oh no! What could Pharaoh do? One of his servants was thinking. He was remembering someone he knew. He had an idea.
‘Pharaoh I know someone who can help. He is in your prison. He is able to tell people what their dreams mean.’ Who was this man? His name was Joseph.
Pharaoh sent for him right way. Can you tell me what my dream means? he asked Joseph.
‘No! I can’t. But God can tell us what the dream means’. How can God do that? He can because God knows everything. God told Joseph what the dream meant. He told Pharaoh.
God knows everything about you and me too. He knows our names and he cares about us.
(Pharaoh and Joseph are made from pringles cartons)
God knows everything craft idea
This craft relates to the story – children can make their own Pharaoh puppet
Moses and God’s people were in a hurry. They were escaping from being slaves in a place called Egypt. They were leaving as fast as they could taking all their things with them. There were mums and dads and grandmas and grandads and babies and children just like you hurrying away from Egypt. Moses was their leader.
But Pharaoh, the king of Egypt was coming after them! He wanted his slaves back.
Moses and the people hurried. Pharaoh and his armies hurried after them!
Then something awful happened.
Moses and God’s people came to a huge sea of water. They couldn’t go round it. They couldn’t go under it. They couldn’t go through it! They were scared. They said to Moses, ‘ Why did you bring us here to die!
Moses said.’ Don’t be afraid. Stand still and see how God will work to save you today.’
What was God going to do?
God is powerful. He is more powerful than anyone. He moved the sea. The water separated and it stood up like towers. The land became completely dry. God is so powerful. He was able to rescue the people. They walked on the dry land, with the water either side of them – all of them got safely to the other side.
One day a man called Zechariah was in the temple. It was a very special place where people went to worship God. Zechariah had a special job to do there – just once in his life! He was a priest and he had been chosen to go and burn some incense that would make the temple smell beautiful. He was all by himself. All the other people had to wait outside.
Suddenly an angel was there with him. Angels are big, strong messengers from God. Zechariah was frightened!
‘Don’t be afraid’, the angel said, ‘God has heard your prayers and you and your wife Elisabeth are going to have a baby son. You will give him the name John.’
Now Zechariah should have believed the angel but he didn’t! ‘How can that happen?’ he said, ‘Elisabeth and I are far too old to have children!’
The angel said, ‘I am Gabriel. I stand in God’s presence everyday! I was sent to give you this good news. Now since you haven’t believed me you won’t be able to talk until the baby is born.’ Then Gabriel went away.
Zechariah finished what he was doing. He went outside but he couldn’t tell anyone what had happened!
He went back home. Time went by. Would God keep his promise?
God always keeps his promises. God is faithful. Zechariah and Elisabeth had a baby boy and they called him John.
God is faithful craft idea – Elizabeth and Zechariah
Make a picture of Elizabeth with her baby
To find printable PDF’s to use for Elizabeth and baby go to this post about Hannah. I’ve used the same pictures but for a different story.
Week Six Luke 2 God has made a way for us to know him
Bible truth for toddlers – God has made a way for us to know him
We have heard about how God is everywhere. God knows everything. God is powerful. God is holy. God is faithful. Today we find out that God has made a way for us to know him.
‘Mary and Joseph were in the stable. That night something amazing had happened. Jesus had been born as a baby. Jesus was not just an ordinary baby – he was God’s Son sent from heaven.
Out in the fields there were some shepherds looking after their sheep. It was dark. There were stars up in the sky. Suddenly an angel was there! This angel had a message from God.
The shepherds were scared!
‘Don’t be afraid,’ the angel said, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that is for everyone. Today in the Town of David a Saviour has been born to you!’
Who is this Saviour? It is Jesus
The angel told the shepherds ‘ You will find the baby wrapped in cloths and in a manger’.
Then there were lots and lots of angels in the sky singing. It was such a special night – the Saviour had been born.
Then the angels were gone. The shepherds looked at each other. ‘let’s go and find this special baby’, they said to each other.
They dashed into the town and they looked. And they found him – the Saviour sent from God was there. God had sent Jesus to be our Saviour so that we can know God. The shepherds found Jesus. You can find Jesus too.
(The characters are from Early Learning Centre. The ‘straw’ is shredded tissue paper.)
God has made a way for us to know him – craft Ideas
As this is the Christmas story there are so many craft ideas to choose from! Here’s a link to several ideas.
Jesus had almost arrived at Jerusalem! He had travelled a long way. How lovely that he was able to go to his friends house. Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha were good friends of Jesus. They wanted to do something special for him so they had a dinner for him. Martha served the food and everyone enjoyed what she had made and they ate everything! Lazarus sat at the table with Jesus. But where was Mary?
Mary wanted to show everyone how special Jesus was. In those days when you went to someone’s house they always gave you some water to wash your feet. The roads were very dusty and people got their feet dirty.
But Mary wanted to do more than just give Jesus water to wash his feet. She had some very expensive ointment that she poured onto the feet of Jesus. The Bible tells us that the perfume from the anointment filled the whole house.
Mary was right to do this special thing for Jesus because he is God’s Son who would soon die to save us.
Paper plate picture to add to the others
Craft Idea – a perfume bottle made from a paper plate. Spray the bottle shape with perfume and allow to saok in and dry. Then decorate!
On the Way to Easter Bartimaeus. We are beginning to get ready for Easter at toddler group. This year we are going on the last journey that Jesus made into Jerusalem, meeting some of the people that Jesus met. Last week we met the Rich Young Man. This time on the Way to Easter we meet Bartimaeus. The Story is from Mark 10:46-52.
On the Way to Easter .. Bartimaeus Story Idea
Jesus and his friends were in a big crowd of people going to the city of Jerusalem. By now lots of people had heard about Jesus and the amazing things he said and did. (Do you remember the rich man from last time? – if you are using the paper plate visuals have this already displayed so you can refer to it briefly)
This time we are going to find out about another person that Jesus met as he travelled to Jerusalem for the last time. Say hello to Bartimaeus! (Take Bartimaeus doll or puppet from the Story Bag)
Bartimaeus wasn’t able to see and couldn’t work so each day he sat with his bowl and begged for money. He had heard about Jesus. He started to call out as loud as he could, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’
There were other people there too who wanted to see Jesus and they didn’t want to hear Bartimaeus. They said ‘Shush.’ Can we all say ‘Shush’?
But Jesus listened. He stopped. He asked to meet Bartimaeus.
‘Get up quick!’ the people said
Bartimaeus threw off his coat and jumped up and came to Jesus.
‘What do you want me to do for you?’ Jesus asked.
What would Bartimaeus say? Did he want money? No! Did he want a chat? No!
‘I want to be able to see!’ he said.
Could Jesus do that? Yes! Jesus was able to make Bartimaeus see. Bartimaeus believed in Jesus. He believed that Jesus had the power to make him see. We also need to believe in Jesus.
Our paper plate visual aid is Bartimaeus by the road that Jesus was travelling on. We will add this to the paper plate of the Rich Young Man.This is all the stories put together – next time it’s all about a short man and a tree. Any guesses?!
We are beginning to get ready for Easter at toddler group. This year we are going on the last journey that Jesus made into Jerusalem, meeting some of the people that Jesus met. Our first story is from Luke 18:18-23 and Mark 10:17-22. A rich young man comes to find Jesus as he is travelling to Jerusalem and asks him a question…
One day a young man came to speak to Jesus. He didn’t walk up to Jesus. He ran to Jesus. (Run on the spot) He wanted to ask a question. He thought that Jesus was important so he knelt down in front of him and asked ‘Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?’ (kneel down)
It was a good question and the young man really wanted to know the answer.
Jesus said to him, ‘ You know what the Commandments are that God gave us, to tell us how to live to please him.’
‘I’ve kept them all since I was a young boy.’
Jesus looked at the young man. Jesus cared about him. Jesus wanted to help him. ‘Go, and sell all you have and give your money to the poor and then you will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.’
But, oh dear, the young man had a lot of money.(Show money bag) He loved all his money very much. (Hug money bag to yourself) What a choice! Sell everything and give all his money away and follow Jesus or keep all his things and his money and go back home. What would he do?
The young man walked away from Jesus. (Walk on the spot, looking sad and dejected) He felt sad. He chose to keep his money.
On the way to Easter paper plate pictures that help to tell the story of the first Easter. Next half term at Thursday toddler group we will be travelling along the road to Easter. In the Gospels Jesus meets several people when he is on this last journey to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover for the final time. So four of our stories will be about these people that met Jesus as he was going to Jerusalem. Then we will have the story of the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem and in the final week the Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
I’ll be using different props for each story but as we go there will be a paper plate picture for each week that will build a bigger picture.. (If you don’t want to use all the stories just pick and choose)
Our stories will be… (Click on the links to go to the stories and crafts)
This is how our big picture will look when we have told all the stories..
These are paper plates covered in tissue paper with people and buildings and trees etc added.
The people are available to download – if you would like to make a contribution to the blog you are very welcome to do so but of course you don’t have to!
On the way to Easter – some thoughts about telling the story
Easter can be a difficult story to tell to young children. It isn’t necessary to go into detail about how Jesus died. It’s always good to include the positive for example you can say – that although Jesus died and his friends were sad he came back to life again and his friends were happy! Be factual with sensitivity. Easter is a good news event!
A couple of Easter story videos – Palm Sunday and Easter!
‘Jesus stops the Storm’ was another of our weather themed stories at toddler group. It’s from Luke 8. It’s a great story to tell – lots of drama with the wind blowing and waves crashing, frightened disciples, dark skies and Jesus sleeping!
Craft Idea
This craft is in two parts; the lake made from a paper plate – square paper plates with two shades of blue tissue paper – and mini boats. Round plates would be just as good but they need to be a bit sturdy. The boat is cut from card (done beforehand) and has a tab so it can be glued in place but still stand up. The label says ‘Jesus stopped the storm’.
It’s a very effective craft that’s quite easy to make.
Make the boat first and attach to the paper plate. Then add the waves and the label.
Jesus stopped the Storm Bible Story Idea
Introduce actions for the children to do during the story. It’s helpful to explain these actions before you start. Include them as you tell the story.
1. Move arms to represent waves (vary the size of the waves in the story)
2 Blow into closed hands for the wind
3 Pretend to be sleeping
4 Say, ‘shush’ – ‘be still’
You could play some sound effects during the story – thunder and rain recordings are available on MP3 downloads (usually used for relaxation). Make sure you listen to anything you plan to use beforehand.
‘ One day Jesus asked his friends to get in a boat and go to the other side of the lake. It was very calm and the water was gently moving the boat. Jesus was very tired. He laid down in the boat and rested his head on a pillow and went fast asleep. The boat moved slowly out across the lake. Some of Jesus’ friends were fishermen and they knew all about rowing boats.
Suddenly a the wind began to blow. the waves got bigger and bigger and bigger! Water was starting to come inside the boat! It was so scary. But Jesus was fast asleep.
Jesus’ friends felt the wind blowing, saw the waves getting bigger and bigger and they were frightened. ‘We are going to die!,’ they said.
Jesus was still fast asleep. So his friends woke him up. ‘Don’t you care about us? they said.
Jesus cares very much.
He got up and stood up in the boat. And then he did something that no one else could ever do. He told the wind and the waves to ‘STOP! Shush – be still.’
It was suddenly all quiet and still. No more wind blowing and waves crashing.
Jesus’ friends were afraid and shocked. ‘Who is this?’ they said to each other, ‘that even the wind and waves obey him!’
Jesus is God. He is the only one who can stop the storm’.
“Hello friends, hello friends. How are you, how are you? It’s time for a story, time for a story. Come and listen, come and listen.”
We sing this song to the tune of ‘Frere Jacques’ every week at toddler group. We gather round the story chair in a semi – circle; some sit on the rugs and others on chairs and then we share a story together.
By saying ‘share a story together’ I mean that I don’t just read a story from a book or recite a story script. It is story telling – a much more interactive group activity. We are ‘in it together’, taking part, joining in.
There are different ways of creating a joining in experience when telling a story. Here are a few ideas
Sounds to make – the sound of the storm on the lake
Actions to do – climbing the tree with Zacchaeus
Saying hello to the characters in the story as they come out of the story bag
Singing a song – include ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’ part way through the story of the shepherds and angels.
So how do you choose which stories to tell?
As a church-based group (although we meet in a community hall) we tell stories from the Bible. It can help if each story is connected to a theme for half a term. Animal Bible stories, Homes Jesus Visited, Stories Jesus Told, Creation. Choose stories that you feel comfortable with and will enjoy telling.
When to have Story Time?
Pick a time in your session when there are less distractions. If you want the children to join in, then serve snacks before or after. Try to time things so that hands are free to take part in the story actions. If possible, have a space where there are no toys or do Story Time at the beginning or towards the end of the session.
Create a space
The storyteller needs to be seen and to be on the children’s level. Choose a low seat and create a semi – circle. Clean rugs encourage parents/carers and children to sit on the floor, but chairs are good for adults who need a higher seat.
The idea is to know the story well and encourage interaction with the group. The Bible is full of the most wonderful stories. Enjoy sharing them!
(This is an article I wrote for CEF Britain’s Newsletter)
Here are some of the items I use when telling stories…
The content narrates the ascension of Jesus after Easter, emphasizing that He lives forever and will return. It explains Jesus’ instructions for His followers to spread the Good News and includes details about visual aids used in storytelling. The narrative concludes with a promise of His eventual return as King.
Jesus goes back to heaven is the retelling of the ascension. After Easter it’s good to continue the story to explain what happened next. There are several stories that you could tell; The Road to Emmaus, Thomas and/or Breakfast on the Beach but you can also go straight on to the Ascension.
It’s important that we teach that The Lord Jesus didn’t die again. He lives forever! And he will come back again. The story is based on Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11
Jesus goes back to heaven – story idea
We have used a set of pictures from Lamp Bible Pictures to help tell the story. They are a powerpoint but we print the pictures onto card and add a lollipop stick so they can be held easily when telling the story. I put them in a story bag/basket and take them out when I need them.We have also used the set of disciple pictures (omit Judas) also from Lamp Bible Pictures. These can be used for lots of stories so worth having. If you can have someone to help hold the pictures do.
Jesus had died but was alive again! His friends saw him and spoke to him. Lots of people saw him. He wasn’t a ghost. He could eat food! He was really alive again.
He had a job for his friends to do, ‘I want you to tell other people all about me. Tell them about the things that I said and the things that I did. Tell them how I died for them and came alive again.’
Jesus told his friends to tell everyone the Good News that he was the Saviour. They were to tell everyone in all the world starting right where they were. Jesus was going to send The Holy Spirit to help them.
When Jesus had spent time with his friends they went for a walk together. Then something very special happened. As they were standing Jesus blessed them. And as he was blessing them Jesus began to go up, up, up and Jesus was taken back to heaven. He went up, up, up and into the sky and was gone. They couldn’t see him anymore.
While they were looking up into the sky two angels came and spoke to them, ‘Why are you looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has gone up to heaven will come back again. ‘
Jesus is still alive. He is the King over everything and is seated on his throne in heaven. But one day Jesus will come back to earth again. He won’t come as a baby. He will come as the King of everyone.
The Last Supper. As part of the bigger Easter Story we’ve told the story of Jesus’ last meal with his disciples from Luke 22:7-20. The props are very simple -see the pictures below. The craft is straight forward too and there is a free printable.
The Last Supper story idea
The big city of Jerusalem was full of people! They had come to the big city to celebrate Passover. Passover is a special meal – it reminds God’s people of how God saved them from being slaves in Egypt.
Jesus wanted to eat the special Passover meal with his friends. But there were so many people and there were people who wanted to hurt Jesus that the meal needed to be kept a secret! (Everyone say ‘shush’)
Jesus sent Peter and John into the city. ‘When you see a man carrying a water jar on his head follow him! He will go to the house where you can get the meal ready.’
Peter and John did what Jesus said and soon the meal was ready.
The Passover Meal is very special. Part of the meal would have been bread and wine (Show these).
Jesus said to his friends, ‘This is the last time I will be able to eat this special Passover meal with you. When you eat it in the future I want you to remember me.’
Jesus was going to rescue many people. He wanted his friends to remember that he was the rescuer.
Today Christians remember Jesus with a special meal – with bread and wine. (If possible have the items that your church uses for Communion to show the children)
Mary and Martha are two grown up sisters that we meet in Luke 10:38-42 . They live in Bethany. They are mentioned three times in the Life of Jesus. You can also read about them in John 11 – when their brother Lazarus is bought back to life – and in John 12 – when Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume.
You could tell all three of these stories over three sessions or pick a couple. It’s good to include stories about women in our groups as so many of the listeners are women and a lot of Bible stories are about men! I always try to be mindful of this when I’m planning which stories to include.
Mary and Martha story idea
In the story bag I had the three main characters – Martha, Mary and Jesus and some pots and pans, a wooden spoon and a cloth. You could have an apron or a duster. As you introduce the characters take them from the story bag and say ‘hello’
‘Mary and Martha were two grown-up sisters. One day Martha invited Jesus to come to their home for a meal.
Jesus was very happy to go to Mary and Martha’s house.
When he got there Jesus sat down and began to talk about God. Mary so wanted to listen to everything that he had to say. She sat down and listened.
But Martha had a lot to do! There was tidying to be done. There was the cooking to be done. Pans needed stirring!(Use the props from the story bag – encourage the children to mime the actions too) Food needed chopping! Plates needed wiping! Water needed pouring! She was busy, busy, busy! (Can you say that with me? She was busy, busy, busy!)
Mary sat still and listened to Jesus.
Martha was not happy!
She said to Jesus, ‘ Lord, don’t you care that I’ve been left to do all the work by myself?! Tell my sister to help me!’
But Jesus didn’t do what Martha said. Instead he said to Martha, ‘You don’t need to worry so much about all the things that need to be done. You need to listen to my words too.’
Today we can listen to the words of Jesus by listening to stories about him and reading the Bible.’
Craft Idea
Make people collages – you could add the words, ‘We use our ears to listen’
I thought I’d put all the animal bible stories and crafts that we’ve done at toddler group in one place! These are all suitable for under fives. We have ravens, bees, big fish, lions, fox and sheep. Of course you could add Creation and Noah to the list for even more animals!
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Ravens
This Animal Bible Story is from 1Kings 17.
To put the story in context we had King Ahab and Queen Jezebel in the story bag and explained that they were a bad king and a bad queen who were horrible to people.
Elijah was also in the story bag.
At the beginning of the story these three people are introduced to the children.
Telling the Story
Elijah went to see King Ahab. He had a message for him from God. ‘King Ahab, God has said that there isn’t going to be any more rain for the next few years’.
There was going to be no more rain for King Ahab or Queen Jezebel. There was going to be no more rain for Elijah.
But, God told Elijah what to do. Go and hide in the valley. I will send ravens to give you food. You can drink water from the stream.
Elijah did what God said. He went to the valley where the stream was.
When he woke up in the mornings the ravens came and bought him bread and meat for breakfast. (Take ravens from story bag)
When it was getting near to going to bed at night the ravens came with bread and meat for tea.
God took care of Elijah. God is able to look after you too.
Raven made from a paper plate.
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Bees
Telling the Story
The story can be very simple – this was the basic outline (Judges 14:1-20)
1.God’s people were in trouble because they had ignored God
2. God still loved them so he sent someone to help them
3. God sent Samson. (At this point Samson is taken out of the story bag and we all say ‘hello Samson!’)
4. Samson wasn’t very tall, or very small, or very young or very old – he was very strong. (and we all flex our muscles)
5. One day Samson was walking along (make walking noises by patting hands on knees) when he heard a buzz, buzz, buzz. (everyone make a buzz sound)
6. He had found some bees (take paper plate bee from story bag) inside a dead lion – and they were making honey. ( I did mention that we should leave bees alone and then they won’t bother us)
7. God was going to help Samson use what he saw to rescue his people from trouble.
At the end of the story I told the children that they could find this story in Tesco, Asda etc and showed them the Lyles Golden Syrup tin.
The craft was a simple paper plate cut in half. I painted them yellow at home and the children added the stripes, head and wings. I found the idea on Pinterest – it’s from Happy Home Fairy. My bee is slightly different – I tend to steer clear of googly eyes as they are quite easy for an under three to choke on. I didn’t bother with feet either as I like to keep crafts as simple as possible.
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Pigs
This Story is The Prodigal Son from Luke 15.
To tell the story – use some props including money, party streamers/hats, pretend pigs, new robe/coat/ring/shoes.
Telling the story
Jesus told the people a story
‘There was a man who had two sons (count to two). The younger son wanted his father’s money. So the father decided to share all his things between his two sons. Now they had a lot of money. (jingle the money).
A few days later the younger son got his money and packed his bag and went far away. He loved spending is money! he had lots and lots of parties (show party streamers/hats). One day he looked in his pocket for more money but it had all gone! He had spent every last penny! He was in trouble.
He needed a job. He went to work looking after pigs. What noise do pigs make? oink,oink! He was so hungry that he could have eaten the food that the pigs ate. No one helped him. He was sad.
‘I will go back to my father’ he said. ‘He will give me a better job than sitting here with these pigs.’
So he walked and walked and walked till he could see his old home far away in the distance.
Someone saw him coming. Someone had been looking and hoping that he would come back home. It was his father. His father was so pleased to see his son that he ran down the road to meet him and hugged him.
‘I’m sorry’ said the son
‘I forgive you’ said the father. ‘Now let’s celebrate that you have come back home!’
The father gave his son new clothes to wear, new shoes and a ring.(show these items) He was so happy that he had a party.
‘My son was lost,’ he said,’but now he is found.’
When we come back to God it is like we were lost but are now found.
Craft Idea – paper plate pink pigs.
All you need
Paper plate
Pink tissue paper and crepe paper cut into square (roughly)
Glue
Circles from pink sugar paper for snout (I use a paper punch from hobbycraft.)
Ear shapes cut from sugar paper
Stickers for nostrils and eyes
Pink crayons (optional)
We allow plenty of self expression!
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Fox
Nehemiah was given the job of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem. His enemies made fun of him, ‘if a fox climbs on your wall it will fall down!’ (Nehemiah 4:3) they said. But Nehemiah kept building and with God’s help the wall was finished!
In the story bag – wooden bricks for the wall (not in the photo – I used our toddler group bricks), two men – Nehemiah and Sanballat and a fox.
Craft Idea – fox collage – crayons and crepe paper. Free fox PDF to print – fox
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Lion
Daniel in the Lion’s Den from Daniel 6.
In the story basket there were Daniel, the King, an angel and some lions.
Craft idea – Paper plate lion
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Big Fish/Whale
For the telling of the Story of Jonah I’ve used a large prop. I saw a tent made into the big fish on Handsonbibleteacher.blogspot.co.uk so thought I would have a go at making one – my attempt doesn’t look as neat – I think my pop up tent was a little too square – but you have to use what you have! Jonah is made from a Pringles carton – I saw that idea on Pinterest. It’s originally from this blog Preachmanswife.blogspot.co.uk
Telling the Story
Say hello to Jonah! Jonah was given a job to do. God told him to go and tell the people living in Ninevah that God loved them.
‘No, I won’t’, said Jonah. ‘I don’t like the people who live in Ninevah’
So Jonah packed his bag and went the other way. He walked to the boat (make walking sounds by tapping hands on knees) and he bought a ticket and off he went.
Jonah was tired (yawn) so he went inside the boat and settled down for a sleep. (put hands on side of head as if sleeping)
Do you think God knew where Jonah was? God knows everything. He knew that Jonah was on the boat.
God sent a storm. The waves got bigger, the wind blew, the rain came down. The sailors were worried. ‘Someone has done something wrong’, they said, ‘and God is angry.’
They went to wake Jonah up. ‘Wake up Jonah!’ (ask children to repeat this)
Jonah opened his eyes. ‘Oh dear’, he said, ‘this is my fault. You must throw me into the sea.’
‘No!’ the sailors said.
But the storm got worse and in the end they had to throw Jonah into the sea. Splash!
The storm stopped.
Jonah sank down,down, down into the water. But God loved Jonah and he had somthing there to save him. A great big fish swam up and swallowed Jonah. He was safe. (Place Jonah inside the big fish)
Jonah knew he had done the wrong thing and he talked to God. ‘I am sorry’ he said.
Could God hear Jonah? Yes, God hears when we say sorry to him.
God sent the great big fish to the beach and it gave a big hiccup and out came Jonah. (take Jonah out of the big fish)
God said, ’Jonah go and tell the people of Ninevah that I love them.’ This time Jonah did what God said.
Craft Idea
Animal Bible Stories and crafts – Sheep
Luke 15:1-7. Jesus told the parable of the lost sheep.
To tell the story
Very young children will probably benefit from using smaller numbers – maybe just up to ten with the number ten sheep missing. Before you begin hide a sheep but unless you have a small group give the task of looking for it to a helper (who knows where to look!).
You could dress as a shepherd or take have a picture of a shepherd to show (we had a shepherd’s crook to show too). Ask the children what sort of animal a shepherd looks after and if they don’t know after one or two tries tell them – a shepherd looks after sheep. Ask them to make the sound a sheep makes. Explain that Jesus told a story about a shepherd who had 10 (100) sheep. He looked after them. At the end of the day he counted them. Have some sheep to count and count them altogether 1,2,,3,4,5,6,7,8,9…..Oh no one is missing! Where can he be? At this point pretend to look for the sheep and find him.
Explain that Jesus told the story to tell everyone that he has come to look for people – to help them to know and love God.
Craft Ideas
Pegs for legs sheep – print on to card and cut out for young children. They can decorate their sheep. make sure an adult adds the legs.
Sheep collage – print on to paper and decorate with cotton wool and wax crayons.
This week the story is all about how things went from being ‘very good’ (thumbs up) to very bad (thumbs down). The creation plates will be part of the large picture board and the next story will be added.
Bible truth for toddlers – Adam and Eve broke God’s one rule
‘God gave Adam and Eve one rule. ‘Don’t eat the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden’. They could eat from every other tree but not that one.
Then one day a serpent began to talk to Eve! ‘ Just look at the fruit on that lovely tree in the middle of the garden! It looks so deliciousssss. I’m sure God won’t mind if you take a bite. Nothing bad will happen!’
Eve looked at the tree. It did look lovely. Eve looked at the fruit. It did look yummy. She reached out her hand…. and she took the fruit. She could smell how delicious it was and then…… she took a bite. Then Adam took a bite too!
They had broken God’s one rule and everything changed. They weren’t friends with God anymore and they tried to hide.
But God found them. He still loved them and he promised to send a Saviour so that people could be friends with God again.’
In the storybag
Journey to Bethlehem – Adam and Eve disobey craft
Use a paper plate to make a spiral. Make sure the spiral is fairly wide. Decorate with squares of tissue paper. Add some string to the snakes head, an eye and a tongue.
Learning the Books of the Bible is really useful – just having an idea of whereabouts a book is and what kind of book it is can be helpful when we are finding our way around God’s Book. For a brief description of the Old Testament books take a look here.
For the New Testament the pegs work really well as a reference and by playing games with the pegs – mixing them up and putting them back in the right order – children can begin to get a feel for the order.
The pegs are wooden attached to a wire coat hanger – the names of the books are written on with biro and then a colour to represent the NT is added at one end and then different colours for categories at the other end.
Categories
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John – the gospels or life story of Jesus.
Acts – history of the early church
Romans through to Jude – letters. Explain that some of the names of the letters refer to where they were sent (e.g Philippians). Others refer to the name of the person who received the letter, (e.g I and 2 Timothy) while others refer to the person who wrote the letter (e.g 1,2.and 3 John).
Revelation – prophecy relating to end time events.
Learning the books of the Bible can be fun! The peg idea is out there on pinterest and various sites so I thought I would have a go and make my own. I have added some colours to make it easier to work out where the books belong and what type of books they all are. I’ve given a very brief snapshot of each book. It helps children to know a few things about the names – are they names of people or places or descriptions. We often assume that they will automatically know but why should someone realise that Obadiah was a person rather than a place!
Genesis – all about beginnings
Exodus – all about leaving – who, when and where
Leviticus – laws
Numbers – God’s people in the wilderness
Deuteronomy – The law for a second time
These five books are grouped together under the heading – law
Then the history books are grouped together – Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Esther, Nehemiah and Ezra.
Joshua – taking possession of the Promised Land
Judges – Israel’s faithlessness; God’s faithfulness in sending judges to rescue them
Ruth – a story about ordinary people during the time of the Judges (people who are in the family tree of David and Jesus)
1 and 2 Samuel – Israel gets a monarchy
1 and 2 kings – the good kings and bad kings of Israel
1 and 2 Chronicles – a history book written for those who had experienced the exile. the future of God’s people is secure in the dynasty of David.
Ezra – God works to fulfil his purposes. Ezra was a scribe. The exiles return from captivity and rebuild the temple. Ezra teaches the people about God.
Nehemiah – the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem.
Esther – God’s people are rescued. God is at work even when his presence isn’t obvious of acknowledged. The Purim festival celebrates this true story.
Then we have the poetry books –
Job – the righteous do suffer even when they are living in a way to please God. Part of Wisdom literature.
Psalms – songs written by various authors and different times.
Proverbs – wise sayings. Part of wisdom literature. A general principle of how to live in a God-ordered world is followed throughout the book. If you live like this – then this will happen and things will go well. (Job is a contrast to this as he suffered even when doing good)
Ecclesiastes – wisdom literature. Compares life without God and life knowing God.
Song of Solomon – a song/poem about love
After the poetry which includes the Wisdom literature we arrive at the Major Prophets
Isaiah – a prophet for more that 40 years (kings at the time were – Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah)
Jeremiah – a prophet and a priest. He prophesied the exile of the Southern Kingdom of Judah and lived to see it. A very sad prophet living at a very sad time for God’s people. (Kings at the time – Josiah, Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiakin and Zedekiah.
Lamentations – a coming to terms with the loss of Judah. Loss and also hope.
Ezekiel – warnings to God’s people, exile and hope for the future
Daniel – a book of two parts. Stories about Daniel in Babylon followed by visions of the future.
Then the twelve Minor Prophets.
Hosea – prophecy and warnings to the northern kingdom (Israel)
Joel – prophecy often written as poetry
Amos – prophet during reign of Jeroboam 2 (Israel) and Uzziah (Judah). Prophecy mainly against the northern kingdom (Israel). Poetic style.
Obadiah – a prophecy against Edom. (Descendants of Esau)
Jonah – short story about Jonah and God’s sovereignty and mercy
Micah – prophet during reign of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezikiah. Mainly aimed at Judah where the gap between the rich and poor was growing.
Nahum – about the fall of Ninevah (a follow up to Jonah’s story)
Habakkuk – the prophet’s struggles and prayers
Zephaniah – prophet during Josiah’s reign in the southern kingdom of Judah
Haggai – call to repent and rebuild the temple given to the people who had returned from exile.
Zechariah – very similar message to Haggai. They were prophets at the same time.
Malachi – telling God’s people that the story isn’t over yet; there is more to come…someone is coming ‘I will send you Elijah the prophet..’ Malachi 4:5
Then we wait for the New Testament. (That’s another post!)
To make the pegs you need wooden pegs! ball point pen (felt tip will just soak in and not look clear), some stickers or permanent markers to colour code (doesn’t matter that a blob of colour soaks in) Attach the pegs to a wire coat hanger. (You’ll need more than one). I had two types of colour coding – a colour for OT and one for NT at one end of the peg and then different colours for the types of books at the other end of each peg. I make a key too.
To use – play a few games with re ordering the pegs. the idea is for children to get an idea of where things are in the bible. It’s meant to be fun. You could mix up a few of the pegs and get the children to put them back in the right order. play find me a book beginning with (choose a letter). Find me a book about (poems, history or law) The colours will make it easy. If you want to make it more challenging then don’t colour code.
Journey To Bethlehem is a series of Bible Stories that take us from the very beginning of the Bible up to the first Christmas. There are six stories in the series with ideas for visual aids and crafts. We have used these stories several times in the half term leading up to Christmas in our Toddler Group.
We start with creation and everything being made good. Next week the fall and things no longer being good and then onwards to Jesus being born. God’s Saviour sent for us.
The Creation story is going to be told using an idea that I found here – It Happens in a Blink.
Creation paper plates
Here’s some of the paper plates in close up. I had a lot of fun making them. You need sturdy paper plates! I decided not to have a blank plate for day seven. I did see an idea that included lots of zzzz for resting but God didn’t go to sleep, he just stopped making because everything was complete and perfect. He doesn’t need to rest in the way that we do. He never slumbers or sleeps 🙂
Week 1 story
We are going on a journey – all the way to Bethlehem!
Let’s begin. Everything was very quiet and then God began to make things form nothing! He just spoke and things began to happen..
As I tell the story we will count the days together and name what we can see on the plates. After each day we will say ‘it was all very good’ and do a thumbs up. This will be our action for this weeks story.
We have started our journey to Bethlehem!
How to tell the series over 6 weeks
You can find all the stories in this series here on the blog with a different paper plate for each story. (You will see that the snake is not a paper plate – but if you don’t have a pre-cut spiral a paper plate would be fine. Just decorate and then cut into a spiral shape) The links to each story are with each picture.
As you go through the weeks display the paper plates until in week 6 they are all displayed 🙂
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To tell the story I used some simple pictures. I introduced ‘Jairus’ first and asked the children to repeat his name and say hello.
The pictures I used were a selection of symbols and a photo of a house that I made from a shoe box, and one phrase. I realise that the children weren’t necessarily going to be able to read this but the adult listeners are there too! Plus is a useful prompt for the storyteller 🙂 They are all held together with string and so make one large visual aid by the end of the story.
Jairus’s daughter story idea
In our story today something very sad happens but it has a happy ending!
Jesus was very famous and lots and lots of people crowded round him to see him. But one man in the crowd really needed Jesus’ help. He needed Jesus to come to his house straightaway.
This man’s name was Jairus (can you say that?). He was very sad.
He knelt down in front of Jesus and pleaded with him, ‘please come to my house and help! Mt daughter is dying and I need you to come and see her, lay your hands on her and make her better.’
What would Jesus do? He went with Jairus to go the house.
But on the way there Jesus stopped to help someone else and things were taking too long. Jairus knew they needed to hurry but Jesus had stopped walking!
Some one came from Jairus’ house, ‘Don’t bring Jesus back with you. It’s too late. Your daughter has died.’ It was such sad news.
Jesus heard what they had said. He looked at Jairus and told him, ‘Don’t be afraid. Just believe.’
They carried on to Jairus’ home and they went inside.
Jesus held the hand of the little girl and he said to her, ‘ Little girl, arise’
What do you think happened? The little girl got up! She began to walk around.
‘Get her something to eat’, Jesus said to her family. Can you imagine how happy they felt! They were amazed at what Jesus had done.
Jesus was able to bring the little girl back to life because Jesus is God the Son.
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