We Purify in Hope

In week 2, we encourage children to see God’s love for them in the natural world, in the relationships they have with important people in their lives, and in the church. Again, living in harmony with other people and all Creation is one way that we can tune our senses to be able to perceive God’s love all around us.

Before worship:

• Have the puppet ready.
• Bring a big mirror or several small mirrors
• Gather some small fruits that you can give away to children, one per child.
• Bring a copy of Psalm 139 to read.
• Place examples of fruits or flowers in a bag.

Prompts for the puppet:

Leader/Puppet: Good morning, children! It’s good to see you again. Do you remember my name?

Children: Star! (or remind them)

Leader/Puppet: Look what I brought today. (Show the mirror.)

Children: It’s a mirror.

Leader/Puppet: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

Children: Myself, my friend, my eyes, hair, different colors, clothes, and so on.

Leader/Puppet: We all have some of the same parts to our bodies, but we don’t all look alike- that might be boring. We have some ways that we are each different. When I look in the mirror at all of us together here, I see some of the amazing things that God has created in each of us with lots of variety and beauty. There’s an ancient psalm that says that God has wonderfully made each of us in God’s image because God loves us. Can you see God’s love in the mirror? (Depending on the time you have and the ages of the children, consider reading all or part of Psalm 139.)

Children: Answers may vary…

Leader/Puppet: What about other ways that you can see beauty and variety that tell us of God’s love beyond what we can see in our mirror?

Children: Answers may vary…

Leader/Puppet: I brought some examples of a variety of beautiful things from God’s Creation. (Show fruits and/or flowers from the bag.) How can you see beauty in these items?

Children: May name colors or textures or …

Leader/Puppet: Just as God loves us, God also loves all of Creation, and God created it all to be together, working together. Each part is important to the whole world. I brought some fruits for you to take with you so you could remember the beauty of all Creation. (Pass out fruits: cups of grapes, apple slices, cuties, etc.)

Repeat-After-Me Prayer:

God of Love,
God of Beauty,
God of Hope,
Thank you for the beauty of Creation.
Teach us to value every good part, big or small, that works together for you.
Amen.

Ideas to expand the theme:

• Tour the churchyard looking for all the colors of the rainbow. Find something that is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. Pray a prayer of thanks for the beauty of each item.
• Use the words of Psalm 139:14 (“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”) to create a photo frame that children can decorate. Take photos of each child for the inside of the frame so they can use it as a gift or a decoration at home.
• Bring sliced fruit, vegetables, and spreads that children can use to create fun fruit kabobs or creatures before eating them. Some ideas can be found at: https://delishably.com/fruits/Fruit-for-Kids-5-Fun-Creative-Fruit-Ideas-for-Kids; https://www.scrumdiddlyumptious.com/24-fruit-arrangements/.