The Folk From The Street Help Out
Children's Liturgy and Story
Call to Worship:
Jesus told us that we should always pray and not lose heart, for God is on our side. In our worship today let us pray to the Lord for the needs of others and for all our own needs.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes you don't seem to be there when I pray and I feel like I'm talking to myself.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes my prayers seem so dry and boring that I give up.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when my prayer is poor I usually blame you.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)
Story:
In the ancient Middle East, a woman had the right to harangue a judge and the judge was forced to listen to her. Men did not have this right and would probably have been killed had they attempted to approach a judge in the way the women could approach him. Women used this right to gain justice both for themselves and for their menfolk, but it could be very irritating for a judge!
The point of the Bible story is that even unjust judges respond to persistence. How much more ready God is to respond to our slightest hint of prayer.
In today's story those strange folk from The Street respond to a whispered plea for help.
The Folk From The Street Help Out
Dr Black glided silently through the night like a shadow. He was completely black from head to foot. His teeth were black and even his eyes had no white at all. But they were very sharp eyes so that Dr Black was able to see things that other folk were unable to spot.
Since he was a doctor, Dr Black was always concerned to help people. Unfortunately some folk were a little afraid of him especially at night when they couldn't see him at all, but he was greatly loved by his good friends in The Street. There was Mr Skillett who was as tall as a bus and as thin as two pieces of paper stuck together, Mrs Round who was just like a little, round, bouncy ball, Hopalong the lad on crutches, Timid Tilly the schoolteacher and Professor Wings the entomologist who knew everything there was to know about insects. Professor Wings had extremely large ears which flapped so much that everybody believed he could fly, just like the insects he loved so much. Of course he couldn't fly, but he did hear all sorts of things that other folk were unable to hear.
Because they were all so odd, the friends would often go out together. Then they didn't mind when people made unkind remarks about them, because they had each other.
On this particular night Dr Black had rounded up all the friends from The Street. "I know I saw something far away in the distance," he muttered as he hurried along. Because of his very long legs, Mr Skillett easily kept up with Dr Black, but it was difficult for the other folk from The Street because they couldn't see anything in the darkness and they had no idea which way Dr Black was heading.
Just then Professor Wings heard a tiny cry for help. He stopped. "Did you hear that?" he asked the others, cocking his head onto one side.
Nobody else had heard anything. But the Professor had pinpointed the cry. "Come on," he cried. "Follow me down to the river."
They all ran down to the river bank. Well, Mrs Round didn't run because her legs were too short and her body was too fat, and Hopalong didn't run because of his bad ankle and his crutches, and Timid Tilly stayed to help them both, but they all hurried along as fast as they could. When they reached the river bank Professor Wings was already squinting into the reed bed.
"I can hear the cries," he grumbled, "but I can't see , because it's too dark. What shall we do? We can't see how deep the river is just here because the night is so black, but we must try to rescue the poor creature which is in such distress."
Just then Dr Black and Mr Skillett arrived at the river bank. "Down here," urged Dr Black. "I know I saw something."
With Dr Black's brilliant eyesight and Professor Wings' wonderful ears, the friends soon located the source of the cries, even though only Professor Wings could hear them. The river was quite deep and the reeds were quite thick, but Mr Skillett was so tall that he was able to wade out with Dr Black held firmly in his arms.
Dr Black soon spotted a tiny form entangled in the reeds, and was able to gently free the water boatman.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," cried the water boatman, as he skittered away across the surface of the river. But nobody heard him except Professor Wings and nobody saw him except Dr Black.
"Isn't it good that we can work together to help anyone in need," exclaimed Timid Tilly.
"But it would have been nice if we could all have seen and heard the water boatman," said Hopalong, a trifle wistfully. "Still," he added, brightening up, "at least between us we hear everyone no matter how small and see everyone, no matter how slight. And we can reach everywhere, no matter how high or how far away. No-one is ever beyond our care."
"That's right," said Mrs Round happily, her round face creased in a broad smile. "Isn't it nice to help people! And I've baked a lovely cake. Come back to mine for some tea."
And so they did.
Activity:
You need:
A tray of sand
A bag of nightlights
Matches
Tapers
Some small cards with individual words printed on them to suggest topics for prayer, such as "hunger", "poverty", "sadness", "thanks" etc. You also need some spare cards.
Paper and pens.
Today, concentrate on helping the children to pray. Discuss with the children anything they'd like to pray about. If they come up with anything general which you haven't written on the cards, write that topic on a spare card. But leave the personal topics to the individuals. Talk about the importance of persisting with prayer, even when it seems difficult. And talk about the importance of praying regularly, so that we become steeped in prayer. Point out that not all prayer is "asking" prayer. Sometimes we might want to say thank you or to share our delights with God.
After your discussion, give out the paper and pens and invite the children to write a prayer of their own. They could use one of the personal topics they mentioned earlier, or if they run out of ideas, hold up the cards one at a time as "flash" cards and invite them to choose a topic which appeals to them and write a prayer about that.
Finally, place the nightlights into the tray of sand and invite the children to light a nightlight as a prayer. They could say, "I light this candle for..." When all the candles are lit, have a time of silence just gazing at the candles in God's presence.
Prayers:
God who always hears, may we in the church become so used to prayer that we find ourselves constantly praying. Teach us to expect more from our prayers and help us to discern your answers.
God who always hears, may we choose world leaders who are prayerful people. Help all those who are very busy to find time to pray and enable us to see the answers to prayer in an improved quality of life for all people.
God who always hears, when other things threaten to crowd out prayer, remind us that you are always with us and are always ready to hear us. Nudge us into prayer when we are tired or reluctant.
God who always hears, we pray today for people who need our prayers because they are sad or because their quality of life is poor. We name before you those we know who are suffering at the moment.....
Blessing:
May you become people of prayer
recognised for the deep quality,
love and happiness of your lives.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always. Amen.
Jesus told us that we should always pray and not lose heart, for God is on our side. In our worship today let us pray to the Lord for the needs of others and for all our own needs.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes you don't seem to be there when I pray and I feel like I'm talking to myself.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes my prayers seem so dry and boring that I give up.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when my prayer is poor I usually blame you.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
Luke 18:1-8 (NRSV)
Story:
In the ancient Middle East, a woman had the right to harangue a judge and the judge was forced to listen to her. Men did not have this right and would probably have been killed had they attempted to approach a judge in the way the women could approach him. Women used this right to gain justice both for themselves and for their menfolk, but it could be very irritating for a judge!
The point of the Bible story is that even unjust judges respond to persistence. How much more ready God is to respond to our slightest hint of prayer.
In today's story those strange folk from The Street respond to a whispered plea for help.
The Folk From The Street Help Out
Dr Black glided silently through the night like a shadow. He was completely black from head to foot. His teeth were black and even his eyes had no white at all. But they were very sharp eyes so that Dr Black was able to see things that other folk were unable to spot.
Since he was a doctor, Dr Black was always concerned to help people. Unfortunately some folk were a little afraid of him especially at night when they couldn't see him at all, but he was greatly loved by his good friends in The Street. There was Mr Skillett who was as tall as a bus and as thin as two pieces of paper stuck together, Mrs Round who was just like a little, round, bouncy ball, Hopalong the lad on crutches, Timid Tilly the schoolteacher and Professor Wings the entomologist who knew everything there was to know about insects. Professor Wings had extremely large ears which flapped so much that everybody believed he could fly, just like the insects he loved so much. Of course he couldn't fly, but he did hear all sorts of things that other folk were unable to hear.
Because they were all so odd, the friends would often go out together. Then they didn't mind when people made unkind remarks about them, because they had each other.
On this particular night Dr Black had rounded up all the friends from The Street. "I know I saw something far away in the distance," he muttered as he hurried along. Because of his very long legs, Mr Skillett easily kept up with Dr Black, but it was difficult for the other folk from The Street because they couldn't see anything in the darkness and they had no idea which way Dr Black was heading.
Just then Professor Wings heard a tiny cry for help. He stopped. "Did you hear that?" he asked the others, cocking his head onto one side.
Nobody else had heard anything. But the Professor had pinpointed the cry. "Come on," he cried. "Follow me down to the river."
They all ran down to the river bank. Well, Mrs Round didn't run because her legs were too short and her body was too fat, and Hopalong didn't run because of his bad ankle and his crutches, and Timid Tilly stayed to help them both, but they all hurried along as fast as they could. When they reached the river bank Professor Wings was already squinting into the reed bed.
"I can hear the cries," he grumbled, "but I can't see , because it's too dark. What shall we do? We can't see how deep the river is just here because the night is so black, but we must try to rescue the poor creature which is in such distress."
Just then Dr Black and Mr Skillett arrived at the river bank. "Down here," urged Dr Black. "I know I saw something."
With Dr Black's brilliant eyesight and Professor Wings' wonderful ears, the friends soon located the source of the cries, even though only Professor Wings could hear them. The river was quite deep and the reeds were quite thick, but Mr Skillett was so tall that he was able to wade out with Dr Black held firmly in his arms.
Dr Black soon spotted a tiny form entangled in the reeds, and was able to gently free the water boatman.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," cried the water boatman, as he skittered away across the surface of the river. But nobody heard him except Professor Wings and nobody saw him except Dr Black.
"Isn't it good that we can work together to help anyone in need," exclaimed Timid Tilly.
"But it would have been nice if we could all have seen and heard the water boatman," said Hopalong, a trifle wistfully. "Still," he added, brightening up, "at least between us we hear everyone no matter how small and see everyone, no matter how slight. And we can reach everywhere, no matter how high or how far away. No-one is ever beyond our care."
"That's right," said Mrs Round happily, her round face creased in a broad smile. "Isn't it nice to help people! And I've baked a lovely cake. Come back to mine for some tea."
And so they did.
Activity:
You need:
A tray of sand
A bag of nightlights
Matches
Tapers
Some small cards with individual words printed on them to suggest topics for prayer, such as "hunger", "poverty", "sadness", "thanks" etc. You also need some spare cards.
Paper and pens.
Today, concentrate on helping the children to pray. Discuss with the children anything they'd like to pray about. If they come up with anything general which you haven't written on the cards, write that topic on a spare card. But leave the personal topics to the individuals. Talk about the importance of persisting with prayer, even when it seems difficult. And talk about the importance of praying regularly, so that we become steeped in prayer. Point out that not all prayer is "asking" prayer. Sometimes we might want to say thank you or to share our delights with God.
After your discussion, give out the paper and pens and invite the children to write a prayer of their own. They could use one of the personal topics they mentioned earlier, or if they run out of ideas, hold up the cards one at a time as "flash" cards and invite them to choose a topic which appeals to them and write a prayer about that.
Finally, place the nightlights into the tray of sand and invite the children to light a nightlight as a prayer. They could say, "I light this candle for..." When all the candles are lit, have a time of silence just gazing at the candles in God's presence.
Prayers:
God who always hears, may we in the church become so used to prayer that we find ourselves constantly praying. Teach us to expect more from our prayers and help us to discern your answers.
God who always hears, may we choose world leaders who are prayerful people. Help all those who are very busy to find time to pray and enable us to see the answers to prayer in an improved quality of life for all people.
God who always hears, when other things threaten to crowd out prayer, remind us that you are always with us and are always ready to hear us. Nudge us into prayer when we are tired or reluctant.
God who always hears, we pray today for people who need our prayers because they are sad or because their quality of life is poor. We name before you those we know who are suffering at the moment.....
Blessing:
May you become people of prayer
recognised for the deep quality,
love and happiness of your lives.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always. Amen.
