With the coronavirus pandemic meaning families are unable to go to church or spend time in each other’s homes, keeping the Lord’s Day special may be particularly challenging.
That’s one reason why it’s still so important to focus the day around the preaching of God’s word, even if we can’t physically meet together. The Lord’s Day also provides an opportunity for extended times of family worship.
Here are some suggestions of other activities to do during the day:
Starting tomorrow (22 March), from 3pm, Rev. Robert McCollum (minister of Newtownards RPC) will be doing a children’s talk each week based around Pilgrim’s Progress. You can watch it on their facebook page.
(On weekdays, our friend Kyle Borg is reading through The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)Crossway have made a number of resources available free for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, including The Big Picture Book of Bible Crafts in pdf format.
For preschoolers, the TV Show ‘Superbook’ on Prime Video* is worth checking out (sadly some of the episodes based on the New Testament contain depictions of Jesus).
For those of primary school age, the ‘Torchlighters’ series, which tells the stories of missionaries and other famous Christians, is also an Prime Video* (17 episodes)
You could also print off bible-themed colouring sheets or check out pinterest for bible story themed crafts.
The Reformation History website, which Stephen produced alongside the RP Church of Ireland ten years ago, has worksheets for 13-18 year olds.
While very helpful for adults, the Bible Project videos may also be helpful for older kids.
Those are just some quick suggestions. It doesn’t sound like social distancing will be ending any time soon, so I’m sure we will do a follow-up post in the future. If you have any other suggestions, please let us know!
* Prime Video is included with an Amazon Prime Account. A one-month free trial is available. Amazon has also been making children’s TV shows available free for a month during the current pandemic.