Jesus and his friends, they walked up on a hill,
they heard God’s voice, they saw his light,
and then they knew God’s will.
And when they were up Jesus shone.
And when they were down he healed.
And then they knew God’s glory
through every act revealed.

End with a simple prayer.

Jesus, whether we are up or down, we will travel with you.
Amen.

Play

Torch chase (C+YP 10 mins)

A fun way to introduce the torch

You will need: a torch.

• Make the room as dark as possible and appoint someone to be ‘it’.
• The group runs around the space, while the person who is ‘it’ tries to catch everyone in turn. They do this by standing in the middle of the circle and shining the torch on the floor, trying to ‘catch’ people’s feet in the light.
• If they ‘catch’ someone in the torchbeam, they start counting out loud one, two, three. If the person has not managed to get out of the light by the end of counting, they’ve been caught. You can either swap them straight over to be ‘it’, or continue until everyone is caught.
• Alternatively, for a quieter and less rowdy game, the group moves round the space, but this time the ‘it’ player is blindfolded. At a given signal, all the players stop and the person moves the torch round the floor from where they are standing until they ‘catch’ someone.

Listen and discuss

Glory torch (C+YP 10 mins)

An introduction to a Lenten activity, and a way of exploring the passage

You will need: a torch (or one for each member of the group).

• Ask the group why a torch is useful, and explain to them that you are going to use a torch/es to reveal something about this, and the other weeks, of Lent’s passages. When they think that there is a moment of glory in the passage, they should shine the torch. Talk about what glory is (dictionary definition – worshipful praise, honour and thanksgiving, or something that secures this praise and renown).
• Read the passage, and afterwards talk about the moments of glory – both on the mountaintop, but also at the bottom of the mountain, in the healing of the boy.
• Ask whether there have been moments in the youngsters’ own lives this week when they could have shone the torch.

Make

Glory revealed (C 10 mins)

Experiencing the wonder of glory being revealed (in writing!)

You will need: white paper; a white candle; coloured highlighter pens (not yellow).

• Before the session, write the word GLORY in large letters using a white candle on a white piece of paper (so that it can’t be seen!). For very young children, you might prefer the word LOVE.
• Put the paper in the middle of your group, and invite them to colour it in with the highlighter pens. Encourage them to work together so they have a section or pattern to do each. Then enjoy their reaction as the word GLORY is revealed.
• Talk about how God’s glory sometimes needs searching for in our everyday lives, but if we look for those things being changed by the love and the power of God, his glory will be revealed.
• Let the children write encouraging messages to each other (or to other people) using the candles and paper. Make sure there are no matches or lighters around.

Pray

Glory revealed (C+YP 5 mins)

A hands-on prayer about revealing glory

You will need: credit-card sized pieces of white card, one per person; a white candle; coloured highlighters.

• Before the session, prepare some small, credit-card-sized cards, by writing the word GLORY on them with a white candle.
• Invite the group to go over their own cards with a highlighter to reveal this word as you lead them in prayer.

  God of glory, as we learn more about you and about ourselves, help us to see your glory reflected around us in our everyday lives. May we, too, be so changed by knowing you that we reveal a glimpse of your glory to those around us.
  Amen.