I remembered doing an edible nativity during an Advent Workshop over fifteen years ago, but when I went back into my archives, the book was both long gone and out of print. Everything that I could find on Pinterest was full of sugar/candy or had food that didn’t really taste good together, so I put on my creativity cap and came up with my own. It turned out really well, and was received with enthusiasm by the children and youth in Sunday School last Sunday, so I thought I would share it with you.
The star ornament was a large wooden star that my husband cut small holes in for hangers using the drill press. We used a yarn needle to string yellow embroidery floss through the holes beforehand. Learners colored the star with yellow marker, crayon, or colored pencil. Then, they stuck a small glitter star sticker (also made of wood) to the center of the larger star, and voila! a super easy ornament for the tree (and our nativity sets).
Print the pdf by selecting “Print both sides” and “flip on the long edge.” it makes a little leaflet with the picture on front, story inside, and instructions/ingredients on the back. May this activity bless you and your family as you seek to dwell more deeply in the story of the birth of Jesus!
You might think you know the story of Christmas from the Bible, with shepherds and angels, and Mary and Joseph, with wise men and a baby in a manger. But do you know the WHOLE story? Do you know about John the Baptist’s dad, Zechariah, and how he didn’t get to talk for the whole nine months before his son’s birth? Did you know about Mary’s questions for Gabriel, and her part in agreeing to God’s plan? Did you know that Simeon and Anna waited their whole long lives for Jesus, and were almost as excited as the shepherds to meet him? This daily devotion book introduces a deep dive into the WHOLE story of the birth of Jesus, from beginning to end. It begins on Christ the King Sunday and ends sometime toward the end of January. It is a lot longer than the typical Advent and Christmas season, but, over time, helps people of faith to really soak in the whole story and how the story we know connects the the wider story which includes people of all generations, genders, and socio-economic statuses. It is truly a story for all of us.
When our children were little, we wanted them to learn the story of the birth of Jesus in a tactile way. We had a beautiful Demdaco nativity set, but were very unwilling to let them touch it, let alone interact with it. Our Fisher Price set wasn’t exactly something we wanted to set up on the mantlepiece. How to make something that was beautiful and still touchable by our youngest? In this way, the Please-Touch Nativity project began. Made with figures that children and family members could color pasted to chunks of sanded 2 by 4, and a barn designed by my husband, Patrick, it is accessible to everyone. Here is one of the pics of our finished product:
These nativity sets have been a huge blessing to those who make and receive them. We treasure the one in the picture, which my family made when our kids were 2 and 5. Another family colored one over the Thanksgiving holiday for a new baby in the family. Parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents each took a character to color and put their name and date on the bottom of the finished blocks. This child has grown up with a Please Touch Nativity created by some of the most important people she will ever be surrounded by; what an amazing blessing! Are you ready to create your own? See what you need, along with other companion resources, below.
Print the PDF file on regular copy paper, making sure that you have the orientation as “landscape” and the “scale to fit” box unchecked.
Coloring utensils
Scissors
1- 8 ft. 2 x 4 cut into 12- 7 in. sections
(glue 2 together for donkey)
(cut one into 3- 2.25 in. sections for 2 sheep and 1 star)
Sandpaper
Wood stain (if desired)
Mod Podge
1 in. foam paint brush
A stable (contact me at pstrsipes@aol.com for the plans for this)
Once you have made the original set, you could also expand it to match the Jesus’ Birth A to Z Lectionary. This expanded set includes Zechariah, Elizabeth and baby John, Simeon, Anna, King Herod, and the Innkeeper. Find the expanded set here: Please Touch Nativity Expansion Set
May this Please Touch Nativity be a blessing to you and your family during this season of waiting in hope and celebrating in joy.
Instead of inviting a local musician to provide entertainment for your annual Mother/Daughter/Sister/Friend Banquet, how about taking this opportunity, with so many different generations together in one room, to practice Cross+Generational faith conversations through storytelling? We tried this at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in North Platte, Nebraska this spring, with great success.
In this event, I was able to pair the gifts of the ELCA’s Book of Faith Initiative, and its goal of helping us to see ourselves in God’s story through the life stories of our great-great-great-grandparents in faith, with my geeky obsession with all things NPR (National Public Radio) and storytelling. Several years back, StoryCorps got its start with storytelling booths all around New York City as a way to preserve the stories of our older generations that we were in danger of losing. As it has evolved, my favorite stories have become the Cross+Generational conversations between children and parents, children and grandparents, where there is as much story-sharing as there is storytelling. I wanted to foster those types of conversations between women who might already know each other well, adding both a bit of Biblical storytelling and intentionality across generations, as well as in story sharing.
Are you interested in creating this kind of experience in your own context? Find a leader’s script for the Biblical storytelling/story sharing, a pdf of the PowerPoint slides (images from the Spark Story Bible), and a pdf of the take-home booklet to encourage more conversation here:
Welcome to the season of Lent! In the post below, we would like to share some great videos which help us to understand the Sunday Gospel readings for this season. We hope they help your family during this season of growth in faith!
This year during Holy Week, I am in the odd position of being a full time parent while my husband is serving as a full-time transitional minister in a congregation. Our roles are reversed! This gives me the opportunity to spend a lot more time with my children, and we thought that we would take advantage of this with some special plans for Holy Week. I am totally aware that most families will not want to take part in all of these activities, but I am hoping that our celebrations will inspire your own.
Wednesday of Holy Week: Passover
Holy Week is a great time to review the story of the Passover, since that is the holiday which Jesus was celebrating with his disciples on Maundy Thursday. Over the years, we have celebrated Passover in many ways, from a whole congregational celebration to a simple meal at home. This year, we are planning a modified Passover meal and activities.
Story: We will read the story of the Passover from the DK Children’s Illustrated Bible. They are the stories titled “The Tenth Plague” and “The Crossing of the Red Sea.” Our family knows the story of the Exodus quite well; if yours is less familiar, you might want to start earlier in the story with “Moses is Called by God,” “Moses Warns Pharaoh,” and “The Plagues of Egypt.”
Meal: There are specific elements to the Passover meal which we will have on a plate in the center of the table, on good dishes, with candles. We will also eat them as our main meal for the evening. Our menu includes roasted chicken (zaroah), veggie tray (karpas), Romaine lettuce salad with Honey Mustard Dressing (maror), hard-boiled eggs (beitzah), Apple Crisp (haroset), pita bread (matzah), and sparkling grape juice. I learned more about what goes on a seder plate and why here: http://haaretz.com/israel-news/what-is-a-seder-plate-1.5244183
Song: Our family knows the song “Pharoah, Pharoah” from camp, and it works great for telling the story of the Exodus, so I am sure we will sing a few verses. You can find it here: https://youtu.be/Oh_YlkgowHQ
Movie: Our favorite movie about the Exodus is the 1998 animated film “The Prince of Egypt.” We own it on DVD, but you can also rent it on various streaming platforms. It will be a great way to end our evening.
We will also plan to wash one another’s feet, which is a custom we have had for many years. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples, and asks us to show our love to one another in this same way. Depending on how the evening goes, there might also be time for pre-Easter pedicures!
Mary Dean Draws has a ton of free coloring pages for Good Friday, but this is my favorite one.
Our church does a Tenebrae service for Good Friday. One of the main actions is to extinguish each of 7 candles during the course of the service. I plan to round up 7 candles for our children to take turns extinguishing as we participate in the service from home.
I don’t usually pay for coloring pages; I am used to making them for myself. These are totally worth it, and give you a whole season in one file.
To make this service a bit more interactive for our children, I plan to dig out some noisemakers for the occasion. We are at home, so there is no one to disturb, right? Every time we hear the word “Alleluia!” we are going to make some noise! We will round out the celebration with Easter baskets and a holiday feast! Dessert will definitely be the empty tomb rolls that we always make for Easter. You can find the recipe here: http://pleasegivepeasachance.blogspot.com/2010/04/empty-tombsresurrection-buns.html
A blessed Holy Week to you and yours. I pray that our plans spark some ideas for your own celebrations.
This year, our family is worshipping from home on Sunday mornings with our home congregation. Each Sunday, we prepare Communion, light a candle, grab our coloring sheets and colors, and make our favorite hot beverages before worship. I thought that during Lent, it would be good to dig out a practice from a few years ago, Lent in a Dish, and begin our worship preparation each week by adding something to our dish until we reach the joy of Easter. We will keep it in the living room, where we worship, and it will help us to remember our Lenten journey each time we gather there, no matter the purpose.
Gathering Prayer: (Do this prayer repeat-after-me style) Dear Jesus, we thank you for time to feed our faith as a family, and time to learn about Jesus in the wilderness. Help our time to be a holy time. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Discuss as a family: Have you ever been tempted to do something you shouldn’t? Tell the story. Have you ever been able to resist temptation? How hungry do you think Jesus was?
Song: I Want Jesus to Walk with Me This is my favorite Lent song for kids. It gets the somber mood, but has a way to get the wiggles out. We held hands and walked in place while singing. Enjoy!
This week, we need the dish and sand (and a pencil or stick).
We are using glass pie plates for our dishes, because they can be used for other things once Lent has concluded. Pour sand into each dish and allow your kids to make pictures in the sand with the eraser end of a pencil. Some suggestions include hearts, crosses, spirals, or hand prints. You could also ask your kids to tell the story of Jesus in the wilderness using the sand. We did this in the kitchen, because sand did kind of go everywhere. After they have had some time to play, remind them that this dish is going to have something added to it each week to tell the story of Lent. Place the dishes in a place where your family can see them over the course of the week. Ours will be in the living room on a shelf, which is where we gather to worship from home. You might choose to add your Jesus figure as well, either a wooden figure or one made from a brown pipe cleaner, to remind you that Jesus was in the wilderness.
Thanks for your commitment to faithfully feed your family’s faith! I hope that this time was holy time for you.
Closing Prayer: (Do this prayer repeat-after-me style) Dear Jesus, we thank you for this time to learn about Jesus in the wilderness. Lead and guide us in the times when we are tempted to always follow you. In your name we pray, Amen.
Join us as we explore the ENTIRE story of Jesus’ birth from A to Z. This 8 week daily devotion resource helps you to put the story of Jesus’ birth, which we all know and love, into the context of the whole story. It includes all of the amazing humans who anticipated, celebrated, and even threatened, Jesus’ birth.
Play the video of the song with motions and ask the learners to sing and move along. It is a short song, so you might want to try it two or three times.
4. Explain how the day will work and divide students: Jesus talks about love all the time, and February is the perfect month to celebrate the Love of God! We are going to split into small groups and explore God’s love at 5 learning stations today.
(Divide the group into small groups of three or four, depending on how many you have. I usually have all of the students line up from youngest to oldest. Then, I find the center of the line and break it in half, leading the second line parallel to the first line so that they youngest is paired with someone in the middle grades, and the middle grades are paired with confirmation students. After making sure that all of the pairs can get along, I put two pairs together, forming a foursome. Send each foursome to a different station; they will get to visit all of them by the end.)
LEARNING STATIONS
1. Love Your Enemies: Matthew 5:38-48
Read: Read this story in the Spark Story Bible, page 242.
Answer: Answer these questions as a small group:
When is it easy to love someone?
When is it hard to love some?
Tell a story about a time when you found it hard to love someone.
Do: Use the large heart punch and strips of paper to make 3 hearts for each person in your group. (Please help those who are not able to read/write well)
On one heart, write the name of someone who you love.
On the second heart, write the name of someone who loves you.
On the third heart, write the name of someone who you find hard to love.
Pray: Have each person hold their three hearts in their hands. Pray this pray repeat-after me prayer (choose one member of your group to lead):
Dear Jesus,
We thank you
for the people we love
the people who love us
and even for the people we find hard to love.
Open our hearts to love you
one another,
and ourselves.
In your name we pray, Amen.
Use the push pins to attach your hearts to the bulletin board before you move on to the next station.
(Bonus Activity: Work on your coloring sheets from the beginning.)
2. Four Friends: Luke 5:17-26
Read: Read this story in the Spark Story Bible, page 288.
Answer: Answer these questions as a small group:
In what ways do you help your friends?
In what ways do your friends help you?
Tell a story about a time when you helped a friend.
Do: The four friends worked together to make sure that their friend got all of the help that they needed. That’s love! Work together to complete the following task:
Lay a beach blanket flat on the floor. Have everyone in the group stand with both feet on the blanket. Now, the group must work together to flip the blanket without anyone touching any of the surrounding floor with any part of their body. Make sure to communicate kindly and to act safely.
Pray: Pray this pray repeat-after me prayer (choose one member of your group to lead):
Dear Jesus,
We thank you for our friends.
Open our hearts
that we may learn to be
loving friends.
In your name we pray, Amen.
(Bonus Activity: Make a Valentine for a friend using the materials provided.)
3. Lost Sheep & Lost Coin: Luke 15:1-10
Read: Read this story in the Spark Story Bible, page 312.
Answer: Answer these questions as a small group:
If it was lost, what would you search for until it was found, no matter what?
What does it feel like to know that God will always search for you?
Tell a story about a time when you lost something, or found something that you had lost.
Do: (Activity suggested by Spark Story Bible Devotions for Kids, page 153.)
Take turns playing “Hide and Sheep.” Let one person hide the small sheep. The other learners get to ask the person who hid the sheep 10 yes or no questions to try to find it. When you find the sheep, celebrate! and then let someone else take a turn.
Pray: Pray this pray repeat-after me prayer (choose one member of your group to lead):
Dear Jesus,
We thank you
that you never give up
when we are lost.
Help us to call on you
when we are in need.
In your name we pray, Amen.
(Bonus Activity: Use the rice bottles to pray and find the hidden coin.)
4. Love Is… 1st Corinthians 13:4-7
Read: Read this story in the Spark Story Bible, page 432.
(I paid $2 for her template, and then printed it out at 70% to fit small popsicle sticks)
Materials per learner: 9 popsicle sticks 8 strips of tape 1 glue stick 1 copy of the “Love is Patient” resource 1 pair of scissors
Instructions:
1. Using the strips of tape lengthwise, tape the popsicle sticks together in pairs, with one left over.
2. Flip the pairs of sticks over so that the tape side is facing down. Use the other four strips to tape the pairs of sticks together, starting with taping the single stick to a pair. Make sure that you taped them in the right order by trying to accordion fold them.
3. Cut the “Love is Patient” resource apart, as indicated by the example.
4. Use the glue stick to glue the strips to the sticks in the order indicated. Flip and do the other side.
5. Decorate with colored pencils, and make sure to write your name on it! Accordion fold the sticks and tie with a piece of ribbon.
Pray: Pray this pray repeat-after me prayer (choose one member of your group to lead):
Dear Jesus,
Your love is patient and kind,
Your love rejoices in the truth,
Your love protects and trusts,
Your love hopes and perseveres.
Help our love be more like your love.
In your name we pray, Amen.
5. God’s Love: Psalm 108
Read: Read this Psalm in the Spark Psalm Book, page 22.
Answer: Answer these questions as a small group:
What is the biggest thing you can think of? God’s love is bigger!
What is the longest thing you can think of? God’s love stretches longer!
What is the deepest thing you can think of? God’s love goes deeper!
Pray: Pray this pray repeat-after me prayer before you eat (choose one member of your group to lead):
Come, Lord Jesus,
be our guest,
and let these gifts to us be blessed.
Give us this day our daily bread,
use us, so that your love will spread.
Amen.
Do: Decorate frosted cupcakes or cookies with sprinkles. Eat them!
Before you leave this station, take a small heart-shaped marble. Put it in a pocket of your clothes, bookbag, or coat so that you can remember that you take God’s love with you, wherever you go!
Play the video of the song with motions and ask the learners to sing and move along. It is a short song, so you might want to try it two or three times.
This week for our Sabbath Sunday celebration, we are going to be telling the Parable of the Dishonest Manager from Luke 16:1-8. Here is a video of the story using simple characters:
Family God Time 