20/11/11 Sunday before Advent

Theme: How are people different from each other?

Bible Reading

Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-46 (Parable of the Sheep and Goats)

Preparation

You will need some items that you can sort in different ways e.g. a tray of coloured blocks which you could sort by colour or by size.

You will also need to make up twelve cards - six headed "Sheep" and six headed "Goat". On each card you need one of the statements from Matthew e.g. "Sheep: I gave a hungry person something to eat" or "Goat: I refused to help someone who was sick".

The parable story talks about Jesus sorting people like a shepherd sorts sheep out from goats. In England this is an extremely easy thing to do, as it is easy to distinguish a sheep from a goat, but in Palestine sheep and goats are virtually identical - they both look like goats! (You tell by looking at the tail - goats' tails go up, sheep's tails hang down!) You may need to explain this as you tell the story. (You will certainly find photographs of Palestinian sheep on Google to illustrate this.)

Introduction

Begin by showing the tray of bricks, or whatever you have chosen. Ask some of the younger children to suggest different ways these could be sorted into groups. How many different methods can you find together?

Now call up twelve children and talk together about different ways you could try sorting people into groups e.g. gender, height, age, hair colour etc. Demonstrate some of the possibilities together.

The Message

Give the twelve cards out to the children at random. Ask them to sort themselves out so that the sheep stand on your right hand side and the goats on your left (without showing what was written on their cards).

Ask the children again if they can decide how the two groups have been made up this time. (They will have heard you issue instructions to "sheep" and "goats", but (hopefully!) there should be nothing else to show how the groups came together.)

Explain that you are acting out a story told about Jesus and how he is going to sort people out at the end of the world. Jesus is not going to make his decision based on how tall people are, or how rich they are, or even on who has been to church the most times. So let's hear how the Bible says Jesus will sort people out, by hearing what is on the cards.

Get the children to read out the messages on the cards by alternating between the sheep and goats. Ask the children what is the difference between the sheep and goats now.

It is how they have behaved towards other people in need.

Jesus said that when you help someone it is like you were really helping him. So when you turn someone away, or are horrible to them, then you are being horrible to Jesus too.

Think about it - do you want to be a sheep or a goat?

Prayer

A Hymn based on a prayer for others from Mother Teresa. This can be used as a responsorial prayer with the worship leader reading lines 1 and the school lines 2:

(1) Give them through our hands,
(2) Give them through our hands,
(1) This day, their daily bread,
(2) This day, their daily bread,
(1) Give them, through our hands,
(2) Give them through our hands,
(1) This day, their daily bread,
(2) This day, their daily bread.
(1) And by our understanding love,
(2) And by our understanding love
(1) Give peace and joy,
(2) Give peace and joy,
(1) Give peace and joy,
(2) Give peace and joy.

Also this week you can look at other times Jesus talked about how actions counted e.g: the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chps 5-7; the poor widow of Luke chp 21 vss 1-4. You may even like to tell something of the story of Mother Teresa whose prayer you are using http://www.request.org.uk/main/history/teresa/teresa02.htm will help you with this.