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Object: See the notes.

NOTE: You have options for how you do the activity to let the children look at their fingerprints. You can use whichever approach works best for you. The overall goal is to help the children get a good look at their fingerprints.

1) The first option is the simplest, and cleanest. You give each child a piece of clay or putty and have them press their finger into it to leave an image of their print. However, you may have a problem finding clay or putty that will catch and hold the small details of fingerprints well enough for the children to see clearly. If you do use clay or putty for the activity, all you will need is a small piece of it for each child.

2) A second option requires a small bowl of baby powder, scotch tape, and pieces of black paper. Have each child dip the tips of their fingers into the powder, then press a piece of tape on their finger to catch the print, and then put the tape on the black paper or card to make it easier to see the print. You will also want to have something for the children to clean their fingers after this activity.

3) A third option requires a piece of white paper, a pencil or a piece of graphite, scotch tape, and pieces of white paper or cards. Before the activity, you use a pencil or graphite to scribble a dark, thick, patch of graphite on the paper. For the activity, you have each child rub their fingertips on the graphite to cover the finger, then press a piece of tape on their finger to catch the print, and then put the tape on the white paper or card to make it easier to see the print. You will also want to have something for the children to clean their fingers after this activity.

Whichever option you choose, the goal is for the children to see their fingerprints and be able to do a quick comparison with other children to see how they are all different.

Most of all, have fun helping the children catch those prints!

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) There is something I would like for us to do before we hear our story today, okay? (Let them respond.) To start, hold your hands up in front of you like this. (Hold your hands up in front of you with your palms facing you.) Have you ever looked really closely at the tips of your fingers? (Let them respond.) Have you looked really closely at those little lines all over them? (Let them respond.) Can anyone tell us what is so special about those lines you see on your fingers? (Let them respond.) We call them our fingerprints, don’t we? And the amazing thing is that every one of us has different lines on our fingers. We don’t think anyone else in the entire world has fingerprints like yours. That is pretty cool, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)

Let’s see if we can get a better look at some of your fingerprints so we can see what they look like and how different they are.

(Guide the children through the fingerprinting activity you want to use with them, helping those who will need help. Continue with the story when you have all of the prints you want to gather.)

When we look at our fingerprints, and we compare them to everyone else’s, we can see they are all different, aren’t they? (Let them respond.) And did you know that when you touch something you leave some of your fingerprints on it? (Let them respond.) We all have a little bit of oil on our fingers, and when we touch something, that oil leaves a little picture of our fingerprints on it just like the fingerprint we got here today. That means, if we went around looking for fingerprints, we could see every place you went and touched something, couldn’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when there is a crime, the police look for fingerprints to see if they can find out who did it, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Our fingerprints are one way that we all leave a trail that shows where we have been. But there is another way to leave our trail.

Our story today is about what happened when Jesus started traveling around talking to people about God. It says that he went to live in a place called Galilee, and while he was there, he traveled around talking with people about God and healing those people who were sick. The people were excited to hear what he said and see what he did. One day, when Jesus was talking with people by the sea, two fishermen named Simon and Andrew got so excited they decided to stop fishing and follow Jesus to help him. And a little later, two more fishermen called James and John left their boats and started following Jesus, too. Every place Jesus went, people got excited because of things Jesus said, or things Jesus did for them. When Jesus was with them, he showed them how much God loved them and how God wanted them to live their lives.

That was the trail that Jesus left behind him as he traveled around. I’m sure he left fingerprints, too. But he also left a trail of people who knew how much God loved them. And that makes me wonder how we might be able to leave a trail like that, too. Does anyone have any ideas of how we might be able to help people know how much God loves every one of us? (Let them respond.) We could talk to them and just be nice to them, couldn’t we? (Let them respond.) Or if they need help, maybe there is a way we could try to help them, couldn’t we? (Let them respond.) Or if they feel scared or alone, we could just be with them for a while so they don’t feel so scared or alone, couldn’t we? (Let them respond.)

(Show the fingerprints.) We all leave a trail of our fingerprints on things we touch, but wouldn’t it be cool if we also left a trail of people we had helped feel better and helped know how much God loves them?

Let’s pray together and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us, and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created, and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.