Hello everyone. We hope you have had a great week at school and have got room in your head for a little more learning!
Over the last few weeks we have been learning about quite a few of the prophets. For example, Elijah was a prophet, and so was Jonah…..Can you think of anymore?
Prophets were God’s messengers before Jesus came. Now we can all talk directly to God and we can all be used as prophets. Before Jesus came God chose people to be his messengers, to speak to his people. These people were normal people, just like me and you, and almost all of them thought they weren’t good enough to be God’s messengers but God had chosen each of them for a reason. If you want to have a quick refresher there is a brilliant video below which talks a bit about the prophets in the old testament. The name of today’s prophet, Jeremiah, is second in the video. How many other names do you recognise?
So who was Jeremiah?
Jeremiah was just a boy, very young to be a prophet. He was the son of a priest and would have known that being a prophet often meant telling God’s people messages from God that would upset them as many prophets told of God’s anger at thing the people were doing wrong. How would you feel if someone told you that God was sad with you because of something you had done? I think Jeremiah was scared when God asked him to take a message to his people, don’t you? Lets see what Jeremiah decides to do. See if you can spot God’s promises to Jeremiah ( and you!).
Wow! Jeremiah was certainly brave! He relied on God’s promises of protection and strength to help him deliver messages to God’s people. He also got to tell them of God’s mercy as well! A lot of people didn’t like Jeremiah, including the kings of Judah. There were 5 different kings over the time Jeremiah was a prophet. They didn’t like him because he told them about bad things that would happen to the kingdom if the people didn’t stop worshipping idols and turn back to God. In fact, after King Josiah ( a Godly king) died Jeremiah ended up in jail for a long time but he never stopped being God’s messenger and still trusted God to keep him safe and protect him. Jeremiah is sort of like a super hero isn’t he! It is hard to stand up for the truth even if you know it is right when other people don’t agree, isn’t it?
Jeremiah’s amazing strength to declare the messages of God even though it meant he was often disliked and treated badly is the amazing message of today. You can go on to the Prayer/activity sections now but if you would like to see just one of the messages Jonah was given by God you can watch the ‘extra story’ section below.
Extra Story (KS2 focused)
God gave Jeremiah many messages and sometimes images to help explain the messages to the people. I wonder if you know the one about the potter?
So, are we they clay or the potter? Who is God in the story? What does the story mean for your life? When you think about what you want to be or do when you are older do you ask God what plans he has for you? God had moulded Jeremiah to be a prophet for him from the day he was born, he had picked him to be a prophet before he was even born! What has God been moulding you for? He has chosen you. All the experiences you have in your life are moulding you to be the special, loved person you are! I wonder what plans God has in store for you?
Activities
Below is a video of me reading a poem about Jeremiah. I want you to read the words in bold (in the worksheet – click the link below). In the video Martin is reading your part so read along with him or if you don’t have an adult to help you read the words you can listen to Martin and pretend he is you!
JEREMIAH_WAS_A_YOUNG_MAN-WORKSHEET (1)
Are there sometimes things parents have asked you to do that seemed hard? Was it easier when/if you had help? If God helped would it matter how young or old you are?
Crafty activities:
2 worksheets have been sent to your parents by email. One is a a colouring page of our memory verse. The other is an opportunity for you to fill the sheet with lots of details all bout the special person God has made you. Including what you look like, what you like to do and (think carefully about this one) what you might like to do when you are older. What plans do you have? are they the same as what God has been preparing you for?
If you have modelling clay you could also try to make a pot to demonstrate how God moulds us like clay to become the special people he made us, or you could make a statue of yourself or a friend or sibling! Have fun!
Pray
Dear God,
Thank you that you have plans for me. Help me to choose to follow your plans for my life and not ignore you and go my own way, even if you ask me to do something difficult. Help me to be as brave as Jeremiah by talking to my friends about you. Please also help me to remember that you listen when I pray and help me when I need it.
Amen
Memory Verse
The memory verse for today is a very important verse that you will need to come back to many times in your life – even when you are an adult. It helps make sure we are living our lives the way God wants.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11.
This is your chance to get up on your feet and dance. See if you can copy the actions to this super easy song, have a dance and learn Gods message for you at the same time! We would love to see videos of you doing the actions and praising God.