Note: This could be done as a non-sung praise activity or during the prayer stations, with opportunity to read them out when everyone comes together again.
Resources Needed:
- Pens
- Paper
- A Bible/Psalm 136:1-9 on PowerPoint. (or any other example passage from the Psalms)
Overview:
Explain that the book of Psalms shows how people praised God in the Old Testament. Some Psalms were written when people sometimes the people were happy with life and ready to thanks God for it. At other times the writers are fed up, angry and feel like God is far away but choose to praise God anyway.
Read Psalm 136:1-9 and explain that it gives one example of what a psalm can be like.
Encourage everyone to have a go at writing a psalm of their own. Make it clear that no one will be forced to read out their psalm and that it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t rhyme! Remind people that the psalms were written as songs of praise to God no matter what circumstances the writer was in and that the writers were always honest about what they were feeling and encourage them to be honest in their own psalms. Also give the option to draw instead if they are more comfortable with that.
Give people some time to write and leave a pile of bibles or some printed psalms for inspiration. At the end give anyone who wants to the opportunity to read out some of their work.