Week A: Seeking God’s Kingdom
Some notes for Grown-ups…
Envelope 1
On Monday 24th August, you should receive an envelope containing:
- An instruction card
- An A3 picture
- A piece of red see-through plastic
- An example clue
Follow the instructions on the card, which is to find specific things on the A3 picture. Hold on to the piece of see-through plastic as you’ll need that for the next envelope. You can create some mystery around it – “Oooh! What do you think this is for?”
Envelope 2
On Thursday 27th August, you should receive a second envelope containing:
- A clue (you’ll need the see-through red plastic from Envelope 1 to see it)
- A paper crown
- A desert island picture
- An instruction card
Use the see-through plastic to see the clue; the Bible verse Matthew 6:33. Read it as a family either from a Bible or online (the NLT is quite child friendly). Explain that we’ll need the Bible verse for Sunday/the weekend. You can look at the crown and the picture – “What do you think these are these for?” – but put them somewhere ready for a family time over the weekend.
Funday Sunday
What’s it about?
This expands on the Bible verse Matthew 6:33 discovered on Thursday. The aim is to introduce the idea of the ‘Kingdom of God’.
- The Kingdom of God is where God is boss and what He says goes (where people choose to follow Him and live under His authority).
- The Kingdom of God is something we are told to pursue.
- All we have to do with our lives is go after what God wants us to do in His Kingdom, then everything else will be taken care of.
- This is exciting because we don’t have to spend our time and energy thinking about the unimportant stuff (food, clothes, stuff, etc), we can follow God’s plan and His plans usually involve big adventures.
- Are you ready to go on an adventure with God in His Kingdom?
Over the weekend, there are a couple of activities that start to explain the idea of the ‘Kingdom of God’.
Activity 1: What is the ‘Kingdom of God’?
What is a kingdom? A kingdom is an area where someone (a king or queen) is in charge, and the people who live there follow their instructions or laws.
Take the crown from the envelope on Thursday. As a family, take it in turns to wear the crown; whoever wears the crown is the king or queen.
Simple option: They can give an instruction and everyone has to do what the crown wearer says. It could be a simple thing like, everyone gets a biscuit or everyone has to jump up and down.
Step-it-up option: Allow a family member to wear the crown and make a decision about the family over the weekend, for example, what the whole family will eat for lunch, or where you will go out to or what you will do together – giving the crown wearer the power to make the sorts of decisions that the grown-ups usually make.
Explain that: The Kingdom of God, or God’s Kingdom, is where God is in charge. But it isn’t a physical place like Britain. One day when God brings heaven to earth, it might be physical, but now God’s kingdom is anywhere that people choose to follow His instructions as their King.
We can choose to live in God’s kingdom by living the life He wants us to now.
Write ‘God’ on the crown.
Activity 2: The Promise – God knows what we need
As a family, look at the picture of the man stood on the desert island. Ask the question, ‘what do people need to survive?’ For example, food, water, clothes, shelter. Let the children come up with answers. Draw these things for the man on his island.
Explain that: Here’s the exciting promise of Matthew 6:33:
If we make following God the most important thing we do, He will make sure we have everything we need.
We’re told we don’t have to worry about those things. Jesus says we just have to focus on following God, and He’ll take care of those things (you could read Matthew 6:25-34 together).
Step-it-up option (you will need toilet paper and pens): After reading Matthew 6:25-34, ask the question, are there things you are worried about? God cares about our worries and concerns. Write them on a piece of toilet paper. Ask God to help you with the things that are worrying you. Instead of saying, “Amen”, flush your worries down the toilet.
Going deeper
Have a time of worship as a family – maybe singing or music making, painting pictures, writing prayers or going for a walk in God’s creation.