The Psalm lessons each have two colouring pages in place of the usual Hero Resources.
These will print on either A4 or US letter sized paper as they are made slightly bigger than both.
The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(These images are not copyright free, they are for personal/classroom use only.)
This week we look at Psalm 119. I’ve only used part of the ‘bet’ refrain from this psalm, as it’s the longest in the bible. If you have an older group or older group members, you may wish to give them another refrain from this psalm to explore too. This part of the song that references youth and so directly speaks to those who are still journeying towards adulthood. It also gives a really practical answer, in that we should dive in to the word of God, swim in the messages he gives us and not just dip our toes in the water!
These psalm lessons follow the Lectionary passages for the six weeks of year B Lent.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Main passage: Psalm 119:9-16
Additional Passages: Psalm 119
We are going to read a song, a song Jesus may have sung with his friends, a song from the book of songs to be sung – the book called Psalms. This Psalm is a little bit special – it’s an acrostic, it gives us a little poem or verse for each of the the twenty two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Have you ever made up an acrostic? You take each letter and use it to say something. Perhaps you know an acrostic for the colours of the rainbow or the points on a compass?
Twenty two poems would take a very, very, long time to read. Psalm 119 is the longest psalm and it’s also the longest chapter in the whole bible! But just because we can’t look at all the poems doesn’t mean we can’t look at just one. Lets choose the second one, the letter ‘b’ or ‘Bet’ in Hebrew. Listen carefully and every time the writer mentions scripture (messages from God) clap your hands in the air.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping your word.
10 I have sought you with all my heart; don’t let me wander from your commands.
11 I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.
12 Lord, may you be blessed; teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim all the judgments from your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way revealed by your decrees as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts and think about your ways.
16 I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.
Wow – the writer must really love the word of God to mention it so much in his poem. Sometimes when we read the bible we just read the popular stories but there is so much more to discover. When we see the big picture of the whole bible it helps us to understand all the small bits too. When we read the psalms as we have done for the last few weeks it helps us understand the way people have always worshipped God. When we read the Old Testament it helps us to understand Jesus. To understand why Jesus came and why he had to die at Easter time. We should treasure the bible just like the psalm writer did.
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Psalm 107 is long, but for this lesson we’ve focused on a tiny part of it — what is usually written as the first and fourth paragraph (or pericope for the theology scholars among us). These look at gathering and rescuing God’s people, and these games echo those ideas.
Under 7’s
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
A naming exercise where you take it in turns naming something you are thankful for, assign it a mime or action and then as a group make the action accompanied by a whoop of joy!
Link: verse 22
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
A classic game where getting tagged freezes you until another player can rescue you. (Also called freeze tag.)
Link: being rescued.
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Using a small section of words from the Psalm as lyrics, have the youngsters make up a tune or a beat to sing the words. Add percussion instruments and work in pairs.
Link: Psalms were songs sung, not read.
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Each child has a piece of ice they must pass between their hands, never stopping. They lose when they drop the ice. The winner is the last one holding their ice.
Link: Even with all life’s moving parts God never lets us go.
| This is a small moving papercraft based on Psalm 107 verse 22 “Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy.” This is a little mechanism papercraft that opens to reveal the end of the verse and see the people lift up in their ‘shouts of joy’. |  |
The Psalm lessons each have two colouring pages in place of the usual Hero Resources.
These will print on either A4 or US letter sized paper as they are made slightly bigger than both.
The images are displayed small here, click on the image you wish to have, then save the image that loads.
(These images are not copyright free, they are for personal/classroom use only.)
| Kids love puppet crafts and nestled in the reading for Psalm 107 is verse 22 is probably my favourite “Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices and announce his works with shouts of joy.” It just begs a response, not just of Joy but of a shout. That’s where this craft comes from. It’s probably the simplest form of puppet there is. |  |
This week we look at Psalm 107. I’ve only used part of the Psalm, but older groups may want to read the whole thing. It’s a song that turns suffering into praise. Accepting there will be suffering, there will be bad things, but that God can save us from them is part of the trials of discovering life. Teaching children that God does not promise us a life of ease is an important part of developing their faith into something that is lasting.
These psalm lessons follow the Lectionary passages for the six weeks of year B Lent.
This retold version of the Bible passage is supplied for inspiration, feel free to omit or embellish to give it your personal voice.
Main Passage : Psalm 107
We are going to read a song, a song Jesus may have sung with his friends, a song from the book of songs to be sung – the book called Psalms. Have you ever been rescued? How did you feel afterwards? Did you thank the person who saved you? God’s people were always getting into trouble, and God kept saving them, again and again. This is a song of joy to thank God for being the one who always saves his people.
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord proclaim
that he has redeemed them from the power of the foe
3 and has gathered them from the lands—
from the east and the west,
from the north and the south
Pause – Wow!
In those few lines God tells us three things:
God’s love never ever runs out,
there is nothing so big that God can’t save us from it,
and we can never get too far from God to be saved.
19 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble;
he saved them from their distress.
20 He sent his word and healed them;
he rescued them from their traps.
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord
for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all humanity.
22 Let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices
and announce his works with shouts of joy.
Do you think when they sung that song they shouted the last bit? There is so much to celebrate about God’s faithful love. It never leaves us, it never gives up or fades away; it never stops working. God wanted to save us so much he came down from heaven. Jesus came to save us, to show us a bigger picture of the love of God, to win the war over darkness. How can we join the celebration and thank God today?
Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
Psalm 19 starts with the heavens, the sun, and it’s ‘tent’, the creation crying out the glory of God. Then it switches suddenly and looks not out the window but down to the written word, the messages of God wrapped up in feeble letters and wobbly grammar. All these games take their inspiration directly from those ideas and specific verses in the text.
All Ages
Any size group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
There can be multiple winners and losers, everyone has until the count of 10 after each rule is announced before the winner is announced. Read 1 rule and say go! Judge the winner on all 5 rules. Reveal another rule and repeat.
Rules:
1. Look at the leaders.
2. Touch something red.
3. Stand on one leg.
4. Smile.
5. Be silent.
Link: We have the best life when we know all the instructions, seeing the sun was not enough.
Under 7’s
Small group
No Setup time
Quiet game
Space needed
Dim the room and use a large flashlight on the walls. Have the youngsters stretch their body towards the light.
Link: verse 1 “The heavens declare the glory of God.”
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
Using a small section of words from the Psalm as lyrics, have the youngsters make up a tune or a beat to sing the words. Add percussion instruments and work in pairs.
Link: Psalms were songs sung not read.
Ages 7+
Any size group
No Setup time
Noisy game
Can be seated
A classic game of no words and lots of mime
Link: Verse 3 “There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard.”
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