Today, we're going to explore how we all are connected in that family through something called 'Fellowship in the Spirit.'

Has anyone ever heard of that phrase before? It's okay if you haven't, we're going to learn about it today. The apostle Paul talks about it in the Bible, in a book called Philippians. He says, 'Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.'

That's a lot of words, right? Let's break it down. Paul is basically saying, if we're united with Jesus, if we feel His love, share in the Holy Spirit, and show kindness and love to others, then we should all think and love the same way, as one big, loving family.

But how does it work? How are we connected? Let's see it with our activity today.

Tell the children: "To start with, I need everyone to stand up and form a big circle. Can you all do that for me? Fantastic!

Now, I'm going to give this ball of wool to one of you. The child who gets the wool first will hold the end of the wool tightly.

That child will then throw or roll the ball of wool to another person in the circle. But remember, you must hold onto your part of the wool!

The new child will also pull the wool taut, hold onto their part, and throw or roll the ball to someone else in the circle.

We will keep doing this until everyone has a part of the wool and we have created a spider’s web of wool in the circle.

Explanation:

This web that we've made is not just any web; it represents our fellowship in Christ. Just as the wool connects us all in the circle, the Holy Spirit connects us in our big church family. This is what Paul talks about in the Bible when he says we should be 'one in spirit and of one mind.

"So, let's ponder this question: How does the Spirit connect us with each other? Think about it this week and next time we meet, I want to hear your thoughts. Remember, just like the wool connects us in our circle, the Spirit connects us in our love for God and each other.