A prayer of thanksgiving for children

Creator God,
thank you that you have planted us here.
Thank you for roots of friendship,
and the fruit of the Spirit.
Amen.

Read the story and pause at the  to share these points with the children 

Stop and share

• It’s worth noting here that while we are involved in sowing, tending and nurturing growth, it is ultimately God who makes it happen.
• Explain what is meant by harvest: to gather in ripe crops ready to eat or use.
• Jesus was a great storyteller who used parables – stories to help people learn more about God, explaining things that are sometimes hard to understand using things we see around us.

Paint ‘God’s kingdom’ rocks! 

Share God’s values in your community

You will need: large stones, acrylic paint, brushes, varnish.

• Invite the children to think about what some of God’s values are and what values might be needed in the local community.
• Ask them to paint messages and pictures on stones, e.g. ‘Care for others’, ‘Be generous’. If you have a church social media presence, paint the name on the back of the rocks for people to post and/or include the phrase ‘God’s kingdom rocks’.
• Varnish the rocks after your session and leave them to dry.
• Give the children their rocks to take away and hide somewhere in the local community.

Talk to God: Plant nature labels

Pray about different stages of faith

You will need: large wooden lolly sticks, a tray of soil, pens.

• Discuss how everyone is at different stages of growth in life and faith. Show the lolly sticks and explain that growers write the names of plants and vegetables on sticks like these and push them into the soil to remember what is planted.
• Ask the children to write on a lolly stick a kingdom value they would like to show, e.g. gentleness, thoughtfulness, or write a prayer asking God to help them grow in faith, then push their stick into the tray of soil.

Activity sheet 

A sending out prayer for children

Creator God, send us out to be
ready to learn from your words,
ready to grow in faith and
ready to sow the seeds of your love.
Amen.