Maths!
Children's Liturgy and Story
Call to worship:
When the fishermen followed Jesus' instructions, their empty net was soon filled to overflowing. Let us follow Jesus' instructions for our own lives, so that our lives may be filled to overflowing by him.
Invitation to confession:
Jesus, when we doubt that you are with us,
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, when we doubt your abilities in this our own time,
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when we are empty and need to be filled by you,
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
John 21:1-9 (NRSV)
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. [2] Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. [3] Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
[4] Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. [5] Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." [6] He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. [7] That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. [8] But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
[9] When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
Story:
The disciples had been fishing all night without catching anything. But when Jesus suggested a different angle their nets were filled.
In this story, Justine has struggled with Maths to no avail. But when a new angle is suggested, she discovers that she's good at Maths after all.
Maths!
"I can't!" said Justine, with an air of finality.
"How do you know you can't until you try?" persisted her mother.
"That's just the point!" Justine exclaimed crossly. "I have tried. Again and again and again. But it's no use. The result is always the same. I shall never be any good at Maths and it's a waste of time trying to teach me. Numbers make no sense to me and I'm fed up with trying."
But her mother could be stubborn too. "Whether you like it or not, Justine, your new Maths tutor starts tomorrow." And she ended the argument by leaving the room.
Justine stuck out her tongue at her mother's retreating back and kicked the door. She hated Maths and she was sure Maths hated her, too. Even on those rare occasions when she actually understood, the numbers never added themselves up properly and her Maths books were all scrawled with red ink and "careless mistake, Justine. You must try harder."
Justine knew she'd never pass any Maths exams and she didn't see the point of even taking them. Neither could she see that she'd ever need Maths when she grew up, so why should she be bored out of her skull for hours on end just to please her parents? But she also knew that she'd be stuck here tomorrow night, struggling yet again with yet another Maths tutor who would be incapable of teaching her anything.
Justine scowled when she was introduced to Mr Weaver, who looked old and crabby. "If they haven't told you I'm a hopeless case, they've got you here under fasle pretences," she declared. "So you might as well go home again. This is a complete waste of time."
But Mr Weaver just smiled. Then he produced a pack of playing cards and showed Justine several rather good tricks. She was intrigued despite herself and asked him to tell her the secret. Soon she was able to perform the same tricks herself, simply by remembering the numbers of some of the cards, placing them in a special order, and adding up the numbers.
When she'd mastered the tricks, Mr Weaver suggested they should go for a walk. Justine was delighted. She was even more delighted when they arrived at the local snooker hall, since she'd never been there in her life. Soon she and Mr Weaver were playing snooker and Justine discovered that she could work out the score in a flash.
When they went home, she and Mr Weaver played a computer game which Justine managed to win, then they looked at patterns in a big book Mr Weaver had brought.
When the evening ended, Justine felt quite guilty. "Will we start doing Maths tomorrow?" she asked.
Mr Weaver smiled. "We've been doing Maths all evening, Justine, and you were very good! Tomorrow we'll do even more!"
And Justine couldn't wait.
Activity:
Have a fun session with fish.
You need:
A large cardboard fish for each team.
A number of small, tissue-paper fish for each team.
A net for each team. (If you have time, the children could cut out the fish themselves for this game)
A sheet of paper for each child
Coloured pens or crayons
Scissors
The aim of the game is to move all the tissue paper fish into the net. Put the nets at one end of the room and spread out the tissue paper fish at the other end. Each member of the team should drive the tissue-paper fish forward into the net by flapping the cardboard fish behind the tissue-paper fish. The winning team is the first team to get all their fish into their net.
After the game, give each child a sheet of paper. They should write the letters I C T H U S in the shape of a simple fish, then cut out the letters so that they have made a simple jigsaw.
Explain that the word "Icthus" is a Greek word meaning "fish". Then explain that it's a secret code, in which each letter stands for a whole word: 'Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter' which translates as 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour'.Explain that after Jesus died, when Christians used to meet they would draw a fish in the dusty road as a secret sign that they were Christians, because it was very dangerous to be a Christian openly.
Prayers:
Risen Lord, when we are uncertain of our own abilities, fill us with confidence. Enable us to come at our problems from a different angle, and so help us to conquer them.
Risen Lord, so many Christians pray for peace in our world, but it never seems to happen. Help our world leaders to cast their nets on the other side, so that the whole world may be filled with peace.
Risen Lord, when our church is depressed, lift our spirits by filling us with your Spirit. May our enthusiasm be renewed and our energy re-awakened, so that we may continue to shine with your love.
Risen Lord, hold and protect and comfort all who are sick, so that they may be filled with your life-giving strength. We pray especially for... and we ask your support for all who have lost someone they love, especially...
Blessing:
When you are empty
and unable to function as you wish,
may God fill you with his Spirit
and pour upon you his love.
And 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.
When the fishermen followed Jesus' instructions, their empty net was soon filled to overflowing. Let us follow Jesus' instructions for our own lives, so that our lives may be filled to overflowing by him.
Invitation to confession:
Jesus, when we doubt that you are with us,
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, when we doubt your abilities in this our own time,
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, when we are empty and need to be filled by you,
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
John 21:1-9 (NRSV)
After these things Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. [2] Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. [3] Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.
[4] Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. [5] Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." [6] He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. [7] That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. [8] But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off.
[9] When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread.
Story:
The disciples had been fishing all night without catching anything. But when Jesus suggested a different angle their nets were filled.
In this story, Justine has struggled with Maths to no avail. But when a new angle is suggested, she discovers that she's good at Maths after all.
Maths!
"I can't!" said Justine, with an air of finality.
"How do you know you can't until you try?" persisted her mother.
"That's just the point!" Justine exclaimed crossly. "I have tried. Again and again and again. But it's no use. The result is always the same. I shall never be any good at Maths and it's a waste of time trying to teach me. Numbers make no sense to me and I'm fed up with trying."
But her mother could be stubborn too. "Whether you like it or not, Justine, your new Maths tutor starts tomorrow." And she ended the argument by leaving the room.
Justine stuck out her tongue at her mother's retreating back and kicked the door. She hated Maths and she was sure Maths hated her, too. Even on those rare occasions when she actually understood, the numbers never added themselves up properly and her Maths books were all scrawled with red ink and "careless mistake, Justine. You must try harder."
Justine knew she'd never pass any Maths exams and she didn't see the point of even taking them. Neither could she see that she'd ever need Maths when she grew up, so why should she be bored out of her skull for hours on end just to please her parents? But she also knew that she'd be stuck here tomorrow night, struggling yet again with yet another Maths tutor who would be incapable of teaching her anything.
Justine scowled when she was introduced to Mr Weaver, who looked old and crabby. "If they haven't told you I'm a hopeless case, they've got you here under fasle pretences," she declared. "So you might as well go home again. This is a complete waste of time."
But Mr Weaver just smiled. Then he produced a pack of playing cards and showed Justine several rather good tricks. She was intrigued despite herself and asked him to tell her the secret. Soon she was able to perform the same tricks herself, simply by remembering the numbers of some of the cards, placing them in a special order, and adding up the numbers.
When she'd mastered the tricks, Mr Weaver suggested they should go for a walk. Justine was delighted. She was even more delighted when they arrived at the local snooker hall, since she'd never been there in her life. Soon she and Mr Weaver were playing snooker and Justine discovered that she could work out the score in a flash.
When they went home, she and Mr Weaver played a computer game which Justine managed to win, then they looked at patterns in a big book Mr Weaver had brought.
When the evening ended, Justine felt quite guilty. "Will we start doing Maths tomorrow?" she asked.
Mr Weaver smiled. "We've been doing Maths all evening, Justine, and you were very good! Tomorrow we'll do even more!"
And Justine couldn't wait.
Activity:
Have a fun session with fish.
You need:
A large cardboard fish for each team.
A number of small, tissue-paper fish for each team.
A net for each team. (If you have time, the children could cut out the fish themselves for this game)
A sheet of paper for each child
Coloured pens or crayons
Scissors
The aim of the game is to move all the tissue paper fish into the net. Put the nets at one end of the room and spread out the tissue paper fish at the other end. Each member of the team should drive the tissue-paper fish forward into the net by flapping the cardboard fish behind the tissue-paper fish. The winning team is the first team to get all their fish into their net.
After the game, give each child a sheet of paper. They should write the letters I C T H U S in the shape of a simple fish, then cut out the letters so that they have made a simple jigsaw.
Explain that the word "Icthus" is a Greek word meaning "fish". Then explain that it's a secret code, in which each letter stands for a whole word: 'Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter' which translates as 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour'.Explain that after Jesus died, when Christians used to meet they would draw a fish in the dusty road as a secret sign that they were Christians, because it was very dangerous to be a Christian openly.
Prayers:
Risen Lord, when we are uncertain of our own abilities, fill us with confidence. Enable us to come at our problems from a different angle, and so help us to conquer them.
Risen Lord, so many Christians pray for peace in our world, but it never seems to happen. Help our world leaders to cast their nets on the other side, so that the whole world may be filled with peace.
Risen Lord, when our church is depressed, lift our spirits by filling us with your Spirit. May our enthusiasm be renewed and our energy re-awakened, so that we may continue to shine with your love.
Risen Lord, hold and protect and comfort all who are sick, so that they may be filled with your life-giving strength. We pray especially for... and we ask your support for all who have lost someone they love, especially...
Blessing:
When you are empty
and unable to function as you wish,
may God fill you with his Spirit
and pour upon you his love.
And 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.
