Explore and respond
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Under 5s
Planting bulbs
Work together to plant some spring bulbs. Take a plant pot or tub and fill it with soil. Show the children how to poke holes in the soil for the bulbs to sit in. Place a selection of spring bulbs in and cover them with soil. Take the pot and place it outside of the building (with permission). Tell the children that as the bulbs grow and the flowers appear they will bring light and hope to the people passing by.
Hope and light
Provide sheets of black paper and chalk in a variety of colours. Help everyone write HOPE in chalk on the paper. Show the children how to gently rub the chalk to make a burst of light and hope.
CHILDREN
Talk about worries W E A
Think about who to turn to when we feel hopeless
You will need: (optional) Ruby’s Worry video.
- Explain to the children that sometimes we have worries and that it usually helps to talk about them. You may like to show the ‘Ruby Worry’ video.
- Ask the children: ‘Who can you trust?’ Discuss with them who they can talk to about small worries and about big worries. At this point try to keep the conversation general so that worries are not suggested. Explain that we can talk to God about any worries, big or small, when we pray. Remind them that there are people in church that they can talk to about worries. Make sure they know who the safeguarding people are.
Finish off by singing a worship song about God being with you in difficult times, e.g. My Lighthouse, Rend Collective.
Meditative colouring E S
Focus reflectively on the word ‘hope’
You will need: photocopied sheet (template), felt tips.
- Ask the children what they think of when we talk about hope.
- Give them time to colour the word and pictures on their sheet and add words and pictures around it that remind them of hope. Talk together about the hope that Jesus brings.
Talk together and talk to God
Discuss the theme, then bring your thoughts together in prayer
- What things make you feel worried, sad or hopeless?
- The passage says that God is able to help you. How can he do that?
- What can you do, when you are worried or hopeless, to remind yourself that God is here for you?
Memory verse race W
Link Jesus with hope
You will need: dice, A4 paper.
- Before the session, write Isaiah 42:6-7 on six numbered pieces of paper and create enough sets for the number of teams you’re likely to have.
- ‘I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness;
- I will take hold of your hand.
- I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people
- and a light for the Gentiles, to open eyes that are blind,
- to free captives from prison
- and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.
- Divide the children into teams, each with a dice and place the numbered papers at the other end of the room.
- The children throw the die, run to the papers and collect the correct number. If they have already collected that number, they must throw again. Make sure all the children are included. They will then need to put the papers in order.
- While they play, talk about how they ‘hope’ to get certain numbers!
- When everyone has completed the verse, read it together and talk about the meaning – bringing hope to all. Mention that this verse is nearly the same as Luke 4:18. Older children might look this up. Who was the hope? – Jesus!
Epiphany Challenge: Week 2 W E S A
Pray for hope and light for others
You will need: candle to light, pre-loved items, equipment to make prayer cards (these could be in the shape of candles, flames or hands), donations box.
- Seat the children in a circle around the candle. If using a real candle remind the group of safety rules – no touching, adults to light, no moving near it, stay away, have water nearby.
- Read Isaiah 42:6-7. Talk together about what it means that God is holding our hand and keeping us safe. Think about the people in verse 7 who are feeling hopeless – we are called to share God’s light with people like them.
- Ask the children to look at the flame and the light it brings and pray for the people mentioned in the passage, remembering that there are people in these situations today, as you read the verses again slowly.
- If children have brought in a pre-loved soft toy, or a pair of gloves to gift, ask them to share a little about why they chose it and how
they hope it might help someone else. And/or ask children to devise prayer cards, based on Isaiah 42:6-7, to share with your chosen charity.
- As they place their gifts and prayer cards in the donation box, you may like to say the Epiphany Challenge Prayer together:
Epiphany Challenge Prayer
Use this prayer each week as a focus:
What can I bring to the King of Kings?
I offer my heart, I offer myself, I offer what I can to you.
Take my gift, Jesus my King, and use it to help others as you help me.
Amen.
- Explain about the filled container to bring in for Week 3.
Click on the graphic to view this week's sheets.
YOUNG PEOPLE
Bruised but not broken S A
Find a material that has the strength of Isaiah’s servant
You will need: spring scale gauge, fishing line, rubber band, wool, hair, etc.
- Attach the gauge to a solid base and invite the young people to tie the material to the other end. Then pull on it until the material snaps or the gauge reaches its limit.
- Ask: What sort of person has strength under duress? Does it give us hope to think that God’s servant is strong in this way?
A spiritual vision board W E S A
Think about the year ahead and your spiritual hopes for 2026
You will need: large poster paper, magazines to cut up, pens, glue.
- Challenge the young people to think about how they would like to engage with God in 2026, and where they would like to see God working. Using words, pictures, or both, create a vision board showing what they would like to see happen.
- Play ‘I speak Jesus’, Charity Gayle (feat. Steven Mussi) on Endless Praise, during this activity.
or
Rebranding W S
Think about what it means to refresh or renew your vision
You will need: Image of redesigned brand logos.
- Have a look at the redesigned brand logos. What has remained the same and what has changed? Do you think the products themselves have undergone similar changes?
- Talk about the vision in Isaiah 42. How does the passage suggest refreshment or renewal for Israel?
Epiphany Challenge: Week 2 W E S A
Pray for people who feel imprisoned and without hope
You will need: donations box, marbles, paper, scissors and pens.
- Take turns to put a marble into the box, each one representing a situation lacking hope (think about prisoners, victims of trauma, people living in war zones).
- One by one, take the marbles out again, praying with hope that they will be released, like ‘prisoners from the dungeon’.
- If the young people have brought in items that can be tied or loosened, talk about the freedom and release that people can discover through the light and love of Christ. And/or ask the young people to write prayers about hope for freedom and release (based on Isaiah 42:6-7) onto paper chains, to share with your chosen charity.
- As they place their gifts and prayer chains in the donation box, you may like to say the Epiphany Challenge Prayer together:
Epiphany Challenge Prayer
Use this prayer each week as a focus:
What can I bring to the King of Kings?
I offer my heart, I offer myself, I offer what I can to you.
Take my gift, Jesus my King, and use it to help others as you help me.
Amen.
- Explain about the filled container that they can bring in for Week 3.
Check-in: Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues
Available by 10 am on Thursday 8 January 2025.