Our Jam session started with some dingbat puzzles
The session was about the fact that some things are not always clear to start with… and then, like a dingbat puzzle, suddenly you see!
Our story was “The Road to Emmaus”; Jesus joins Cleophas and his friend as they walk along the road, but they don’t recognise him at first.
We recapped the events of Easter Sunday and how the disciples had gone into hiding through fear but also, they were in shock, Jesus was their leader, they thought he was the new Messiah; he wasn’t supposed to die, or so they thought.
The events that happened next began to make things clearer, as Jesus explains to Cleophas and his friend all about the Old Testament prophesies. They don’t recognise who it is that is helping them to understand, until he blesses the bread and breaks it!
We watched an excerpt from The Miracle Maker film, you can watch it on youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFe2uAhxfR4
Jesus had appeared to the two followers on the road at a time when they needed to understand all that had happened and why he had been crucified. It was at their lowest moment, they were sad and upset, nothing seemed clear they didn’t understand what was going on- it was then that Jesus came to them. He then spent time with them as they were walking, explaining everything.
Our story today of the two friends, reminds us that, as we walk on and carry on with our lives after the sadness and celebration of Easter, Jesus goes with us. Jesus is always there alongside us, willing to hear our prayers and talk with us; wanting to comfort us and help us.
We then listened to the song “Every step” to remind us that, although we know that God is with us all the time, it is easy to forget. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZBhKp5_HwE
God is with us, whether we’re working, playing, at school, home or going shopping. We made a bead keyring or bracelet and chose a different bead for all the different things we do, as a reminder that God is with us in all those different situations.
We chose the beads carefully, picking a colour or letter or shape to remind us of the place, people or activity. We thought about those situations as we collected our beads and prayed for each place/activity we do, the friends we have there, and any difficulties.
We had wooden heart beads to remind us of God’s presence, forgiveness and love being with us always.
Just as the friends recognised Jesus in the prayer over the breaking of the bread, we too can come close to God in prayer and all we need to do is just be still.
We listened to “Be still” from Scripture lullabies as we did this activity.
You can watch and listen on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKWGSzxtcZA
We had a snack -Rocky Roads (to Emmaus).
We made Old Testament bible links, just like Jesus had done on the road for the 2 friends – Old Testament prophecies about Jesus coming and we linked them to images of Jesus’s life, on a worksheet.
