True Story: Why bother with God? (Jesus heals a paralysed man)

24 January 2020 This month at Messy Church we were answering the question, ‘Why bother with God?’. We looked at the account of Jesus forgiving the sins of a paralysed man (Mark 2:1–12). The incident shows that we must bother with God because our greatest need is to have our sins forgiven. Here are some … Read more …

True Story: Is Jesus God? (Jesus Walks on Water)

18 November 2019 This month at Messy Church we continues our series based on ‘True Story’ by Pete Brown. We were answering the question ‘Is Jesus God?’ by looking at the account of Jesus walking on water in Mark 6:45–52. Jesus not only does something that God alone does (see Job 9:8), Jesus claims to … Read more …

True Story: What is God Like? (Prodigal Son)

5 November 2019 This year at Messy Church we’re basing our sessions on the book ‘True Story’ by Pete Brown. The second session teaches what God is like by looking at Jesus’ story of The Prodigal Son. Welcome Plaques The father in the story welcomes his son home, despite the son’s terrible treatment of his … Read more …

True Story: Is there a God? (Nativity/Christmas)

5 November 2019 This year at Messy Church we’re basing our sessions on the book ‘True Story’ by Pete Brown. The first session aims to answer the question ‘Is there a God?’ by looking at the historical events of Jesus’ birth. Here are the activities we did. Leaf Scenes As it’s autumn we used leaves … Read more …

The Rich Young Man

16 July 2019 This month Messy Church we looked at the time that a rich young man met Jesus (Matthew 19:16–30). It’s a great incident with a surprising message: Even being super-good can’t make you good enough to get into heaven. But God can do what’s impossible for people – he can save us. (Matthew … Read more …

Easter

16 July 2019 Easter Messy Church is great as we get to teach the heart of the Christian message – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here are some of the Easter-related activities we did to reinforce the message. Resurrection Rolls We wrapped a marshmallow in some pre-made croissant dough. The roll is baked … Read more …

The Unmerciful Servant

29 March 2019 We learnt about Jesus’ Parable of the Unmerciful Servant (or the Unforgiving Servant) in Matthew 18:21–35. It shows us how much God forgives us in Jesus, and how that gives us the motivation and power to forgive others. It’s also a warning; if we won’t forgive, we don’t know God and will … Read more …

The Treasure and the Pearl

29 March 2019 This month at Messy Church we were learning about Jesus’ parables of the treasure and the pearl of great price (Matthew 13:44–46). They teach that God’s kingdom is so good, it’s worth giving anything to get. Pearl Pool The children loved playing with these water beads. And so did the adults! Treasure … Read more …

The Mustard Seed and the Yeast

29 March 2019 This month at Messy Church we learnt all about Jesus’ parables of the mustard seed and the yeast (Matthew 13:31–34). They teach that God’s kingdom starts small but grows and spreads. Big Tree Painting We drew the outline of a tree on several sheets of paper. The children painted on leaves with … Read more …

The Wheat and the Weeds

29 March 2019 This month Messy Church was all about Jesus’ parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (sometimes called the Wheat and the Tares) from Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43. It’s a parable that teaches that Jesus is going to deal with all the evil in the world – but not yet. we still have a … Read more …