This is where you’ll find an extra resources that may have made it into the shop products but not onto the main site.
May 2022
The first file for this month is some colouring pages.
They comes from the Beach Breakfast pack which you can find in the shop.
Click on the image to load the big version!
The second offering this month is a game.
Here are two game blank game boards for your kids to design their own church journey game upon.
This is a great time filler activity especially if you find your material hits a bit too old or young for your group.
Remember to include some dice and counters so they can play!
(ps. The game templates are free to use for commercial stuff too!)
Finishing out May with a double Ascension and Pentecost offering.
Firstly I have a game for Ascension, this travels the last 43 days of Jesus’s time on Earth and is a great way to put in context the events that link Easter and Ascension.
Second is a bonus craft from the Pentecost pack, these little finger puppets are a quick way to act out the story!
Click on the board game for the image or the buttons to open the PDF craft template!
Finger puppets in A4 Sized: Finger puppets in US Letter Sized:
You can find both of these full lesson packs in the shop.
The story of Lydia, a woman who sold purple cloth and was the first European convert, is a small passage signifying great meaning and a huge step forward for the church. These games play with ideas in the passage, Lydia’s actions and character traits.
Grab a parachute. The aim is to get all the boats through the hole in the parachute, apart from the one Paul is on. For boats, use table tennis balls or tennis balls. Make sure one ball is a different colour or mark it with tape. Link: Paul sailed to get to Macedonia and Lydia.
Purple
All Ages
Big group
Requires setup time
No Setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
This is a simple hide and seek game using dot stickers or coloured tape. Hide a large number of dot stickers in your space and have the kids search for them. You can either have kids remove the stickers to stick to their t-shirts or count how many there are of each colour. At the end, tally up how many kids find and remember the purple counts double. Link: Lydia was a dealer in purple cloth, like many from her home town.
Back Rhythm
All Ages
Any size group
Requires setup time
Noisy game
Space needed
Sit in a circle and pass a rhythm around by tapping it on the back of the person in front of you. Link: God’s church grew by passing the word from person to person.
Baptism role play
Under 7’s
Small group
Requires setup time
Quiet game
Can be seated
Use dolls of teddies and blue shredded paper for water to act out how your church baptises. This is a great activity for the very young and a good conversation starter. Link: Lydia showed she was a new believer by being baptised.
Lydia opened up her house to welcome others, in the same way we can use our spaces to welcome those who come our way. This is a simple craft that is suitable for younger groups.
For each passage, there is a collectable card alongside high-quality character images and a colouring page. All other graphics are extra’s!
Click on the images below to see a larger version. Save the images by right click + ‘save image as’ (computers) OR long press + ‘save image’ (mobile).
These images are NOT copyright free.
These resources are provided for personal/classroom use only. Use can use them for teaching, games, publicity, decor, big screen presentations, flannelgraphs, stickers, or any other non-commercial activity in your church, school, home, or organised group. You may not use them in products you are going to sell – both printed and digital, or to upload the original images online, on websites, social media or in YouTube videos. Any questions, please reach out to me using the contact page link at the end of the page.
We can forget our influence as established members of a community. Too often we glorify the those who travel to ‘spread the faith’ and loudly proclaim the special relationship God has with the poor and suffering. All that doesn’t mean God does not also have a special role for the established and secure. To be like Lydia and change a community. To be like Lydia and host. But, perhaps, not to be quite as bossy as Lydia was!
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 : Acts 16 Additional passages : Acts 9
I wonder if you know someone who is a little bit bossy? Someone who knows exactly what they want? That’s a bit like the woman Paul meets in today’s passage, but first let’s chat about Paul!
Paul was once called Saul, and he spent his time chasing all those who followed the way of Jesus the Messiah so he could put them in prison. But then his life changed dramatically when Jesus appeared to him on a road and told him to change his ways and his name! Soon Paul was the church’s early missionary, travelling around from town to town telling people about Jesus.
One night, Paul had a dream of a man begging him to come visit them next. The man was dressed like a Macedonian (southern Europeans), and so Paul got in a boat and sailed North. He travelled many days until he reached the trading city of Philippi. When the Sabbath came, he went outside the city walls, near the river, where the Jewish community used to pray because they did not have a synagogue. Paul sat down with a group of women and told them all about Jesus.
One of the women was called Lydia. Lydia had grown up in a town called Thyatira where purple cloth was made. But Lydia didn’t want to make cloth; so she moved to Philippi to trade the expensive purple cloth there. She was very good at trading and had become wealthy. She had a big house in Philippi with many rooms and many servants. However, the most important thing about Lydia was that she knew God.
While the other women were unsure about what Paul told them, God had opened Lydia’s heart and she believed the message Paul was sharing. She believed Jesus was the Messiah! Lydia believed so fully she asked Paul to baptise her and her whole household, even the servants. They all went into the river and did just that! Paul was delighted. Lydia was the first European believer in Jesus.
Lydia told Paul that he and his friends should come and stay at her house. Paul wasn’t so sure. He didn’t want people to say he had targeted the rich women of the city so he would get free accommodation. But Lydia was not going to take no for an answer. Paul had told her the believers cared for each other; saying no would be saying she wasn’t a real believer! Paul threw up his hands and laughed; Lydia was not someone to be argued with. Plus, she really did have room for them all to stay.
Lydia helped to grow not only the Church in Philippi but also in her home town of Thyatira. The teachings of Jesus spread through Europe and out to the rest of the world.
Finger puppets in US Letter Sized: 
