AGE:
Infants and Juniors |
THEME:
Ascension: Jesus returns to Heaven |
PREPARATION: |
You will need:
- A photo (as large as possible) of Prince William
- A crown made of gold card
- 2 x 1.5 kg bags of flour
- Tape of the 'Hallelujah Chorus' from Handel's Messiah. You could use a CD but this makes it more difficult to select the 'King of Kings' section of the Chorus
- Flashcards displaying the title of the piece: 'Hallelujah Chorus' from The Messiah
- Two good readers and two more readers for the angels (in the Biblical account the angels are described as men, but there is no other reason to be gender specific here unless you want to be!)
- Good News Bible for the readings
- Flip chart and fat felt tip pens, BluTak.
During the Bible readings (Acts 1:3-11) you could draw simple symbols to illustrate key points, e.g. 40; a hill; Jerusalem; 11 simple human shapes to represent the disciples drawn from the back; a cut-out silhouette of Jesus, a cut-out cloud; 2 cut-out 'men in white'. |
INTRODUCTION: |
Play the 'Hallelujah Chorus' as the children enter. Check the counter setting for where the words 'King of Kings' start in the chorus and select it to start there for later.
Show the picture of Prince William. Ask if anyone knows who it is. Say that when Prince William's Granny became Queen of our country a long time ago, she was a young mum with two very small children. Then she had to become the Queen because her father, who had been the King, had just died. She had a Coronation. She wore a purple velvet cloak edged with white fur and rode in a Golden Coach pulled by white horses. It was in June because June is usually hot and lots of people would be outside to see the Queen ride past. But guess what? It rained - all day!
The Queen drove to an enormous church called Westminster Abbey and sat on an ancient throne. And she had a crown put on her head. (Crown a volunteer). It was a heavy crown and weighed as much as two bags of flour! (Let a volunteer come and feel their weight). She had to spend about 4 hours wearing that crown. She had to make lots of promises too. Because she was Queen, people bowed and curtsied to her - even her husband and her sister!
On the way to her palace afterwards the crowds cheered, there were parties in the streets and all the children had a day off school! 'Granny, please tell me the story again', Prince William must have said when he was little. He knows that one day when he is much older, he too will wear the same crown when he becomes the King. |
DEVELOPMENT: |
| LEADER: |
Let's listen to our music again. Let's listen carefully to the words. (Start playing the tape at 'King of Kings'.) The words say 'King of kings...' and 'he shall reign for ever and ever'. That sounds even greater than any King or Queen. Who do you think it means? (Use the flashcard of the music title. Link 'Messiah' to Jesus.)
Explain that Jesus became a king when he went back to his kingdom in heaven. But his coronation was very different from the Queen's. There were no cheering crowds; no royal robes; no heavy crown; no big church; no throne. Ask the readers to tell everyone what happened. (Diagrams can be drawn on the flipchart during the reading).
|
| READER 1: |
Reads Acts 1:3-5 |
| READER 2: |
Reads Acts 1:6-8 |
| READER 1: |
Reads Acts 1:9-10 (Use two 'angel' readers for verse 11) |
| LEADER |
Jesus went home to heaven to be with God his Father. His disciples would see him no more. He told them not to be sad. He promised to send them a Comforter. What was this comforter's name? (The Holy Spirit). He promised they'd have a new power to be brave. And the two angels promised something too. What was it? (That Jesus would one day come again).
Because Jesus seemed to go up into the sky, we say that he ascended. So this special day is called Ascension Day. The Church always keeps a Thursday as a celebration day for remembering this story. The day is always 40 days after Easter Sunday.
Jesus went home. The Bible says he is now 'seated on a throne in heaven', and just as the music told us, millions of angels once again sang God's praises because Jesus' work was finished.
|
|
PRAYER AND REFLECTION: |
Thank you Jesus
that you finished the work God sent you to do,
that you are in heaven to be with Him for ever,
that you kept your promise to send the Holy Spirit,
that you promised to come again one day.
Amen
The Bible tells us that these are the words that the angels of heaven sing about Jesus
'Hallelujah, salvation and power and glory
belong to our God!
Hallelujah, for the Lord our God the Almighty Reigns.
King of Kings and Lord of Lords!
Amen, Hallelujah'
Play music again, if possible at the part '...and He shall reign for ever and ever'. |
SONG: |
| 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords' (Mission Praise, 398) |
|
