Godly Play on the Sixth Sunday in Easter

Welcome to our Godly Play circle on the sixth Sunday in Easter! This week we are telling the story “Jesus Appears to Thomas.”

If you'd like to revisit today's wondering questions, along with a few additional ones, they are as follows:

• I wonder why Thomas doesn’t believe the disciples when they say, “Jesus is alive”?

• I wonder how the disciples feel when Thomas will not believe them?

• I wonder how Thomas feels seeing Jesus alive?

• I wonder why Thomas calls Jesus “My Lord and my God”?

• I wonder how people who have not seen Jesus believe that God raised Jesus from the dead?

• I wonder how the disciples feel as Jesus breathes on them and says “Receive the Holy Spirit”?

• I wonder how they feel when they receive the Holy Spirit?

• I wonder how the disciples feel when Jesus says: “As God has sent me into the world, so I send you to do what I have said and done”?

How can we help the children creatively respond to this story? Here are a few options:

1. Children might enjoy acting out the story or role-playing with you.

2. Children could draw one or several scenes of the story. Any art supplies you have in your home can be put to good use with this important work: markers, colored pencils, crayons, paint or clay for a three-dimensional take (Clay is a Godly Play favorite!).

3. Children could be invited to make a special book mark to hold the place of this story in a family Bible.

4. Older children could be invited to journal about what faith really is. Perhaps they might like to write about the relationship between belief and doubt. How do we handle our doubts? Do we pray? Read the Bible? Discuss with a parent or trusted adult?

If you would like to re-visit the prayers from the beginning of the video, you can find them here:

For more lovely prayers like the ones above, please consider buying the full booklet by clicking on the image below, which will take you to Christine Hide’s etsy store: