Crumbs from the Table
Group Activities

Sermon Title: "Crumbs from the Table"

Scripture Reading:Matthew 15:21-28

HEART HANGING:

Let children cut out several hearts from big hearts to smaller hearts. Have children decorate their hearts with glitter, stickers, and words from our lesson (such as FAITH, LOVE, JESUS, child's name,etc). Then make a heart hanging, using yarn in punched holes to hang each heart from each other. The top heart could be made with yarn for hanging, or with a magnet on the back to place the "heart hanging" on their refrigerator!

FOIL QUARTERS:

BEFORE class, the teacher can wad up and wrinkle some tin foil and then place a quarter inside each small piece of the foil and wad up and leave around the room or under the classroom table. As children come in or during class, have children take one of the foil "wads" and keep at their place until the teacher chooses a time to ask the children what they think of that foil wad? Some may say to throw it away and some may want to see if there's anything IN that foil wad? The teacher can have discussion after opening their "wads" about things not being what they SEEM to be on the outside and that it's what's on the INSIDE that counts.

CROSS ART:

Give children two long rectangle pieces of construction paper to decorate, glitter, etc and then glue to form a CROSS, while teaching today's lesson and God's LOVE for us and His dying on the cross for ALL of us! A magnet could be stuck to the back or a string from the top, in order to display at home! GREAT IS YOUR FAITH could be drawn on the cross, as in our story today.

PACKAGE RELAY

: For this relay, the teacher can wrap UGLY PRESENTS, with wrinkled paper, foil, etc. As children form teams, they can take turns running to the UGLY PRESENT LINE and choosing one of the presents and opening it to see something GOOD inside and then run back to tap the next team member, etc. All the "presents" will have something good inside, such as a piece of candy, a quarter, a new pencil, toy car, etc. After the relay is completed, the children will discuss that "it's what's on the INSIDE that really counts", as in our story today!

HEART WREATH:

Cut the inside of a paper plate out. Let children glue small colorful hearts around the edges and write FAITH and glue a loop of paper or a magnet, etc on the plate to hang in the classroom or at home.

HEART BALLOONS:

Some Dollar stores will have a package of the small balloons and a balloon PUMP. Children can pump up their long balloons and shape them into a heart (just twisting where it comes together and squeezing it where the heart bends in the middle).

COOKIE SNACKS:

Give each child two cookies to frost and to use gel or a toothpick to make a "heart" on one cookie and a "cross" on the other, to discuss about God's love and dying on the cross for ALL of us!

HEART HUNT:

Let children HUNT for hearts and crosses in a designated area. The hearts and crosses can be brought back to the room and taped onto a large poster board in the "shape" for the word FAITH! This could be challenging for the children to make the letters look the right shape with their hearts and crosses.

Song: "Never Give Up" by Cindy Jordan

Words and Music (pdf)

MP3 Accompaniment Track

Song courtesy of Cindy Jordan. Our thanks to Miss Cindy for allowing Sermons4Kids to use her music. To download more free music by Cindy click here.