When I See God Mural

Supplies:
Wall (to hang butcher paper on)
Butcher paper (or lots of poster board)
Paints and brushes
Pens/Pencils/Markers
Candles (optional)

Set Up:
This idea doesn’t require a whole lot of intricate set up. Just clear off one wall in your meeting space that is large enough to tack/tape/attach a mural-sized amount of butcher paper to it. (Note: you can also use poster board, but it is more expensive.) What you are shooting for is a huge “blank” wall that students can draw on, paint on, write on, etc. It is crucial that this be done PRIOR to the students’ arrival.

On several tables along the chosen wall, have pens and markers and paint brushes (with paint) and crayons for students to use on the wall.

Of course, how many writing/drawing utensils you have and paper you hang depends on how many students you will have. It is wise to prepare for a few more students than normal, just to be safe.

Finally, using candles to light the area can add some cool moods and ambiance to the room. It is not necessary though.

When you have the paper hung on the wall, with enough writing utensils spread out around it, you are ready to go.

When you are ready to begin, say, “Many of us cannot look in the mirror right now and see what God originally created. When we look at ourselves, we see the effects of sin, heartbreak, grief, evil, loss, shame, guilt, etc. God didn’t plan on any of these things being a part of our lives, but when we chose to sin, all of these conditions scarred us.

“But, for those who have their hope and trust in Jesus as Savior, there is coming a day when all of that will change. On the day when we see God, our lives will be totally changed forever! Let me describe it to you a little bit by reading 1 John 3:1-3.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

“Stop and imagine for a moment what it will be like to “be like Him.” What does that mean to you? What does that look like for you? How will you be different? What about you will be changed the most so that you are “like Him”?

“When you know what you will look like when you see God…when you will “be like Him”…I want you to walk over to the mural hanging on the wall and draw it out, paint it out, write it out: whatever! Just depict on that mural – in your own way – what you will be like and/or what you will feel like on the day you see God.

“Whatever you do, don’t let somebody else’s picture or wording affect yours. This is not an art competition; this is just a way of putting on paper what we think we will be like when we see God. Got it?

“Ready? Go.

NOTE: If you have multi-media capability, you may want to keep 1 John 1:1-3 posted on the video screens so the students can refer back to it as they write.

You may also want to invite the students to spend some time in prayer thanking God for what they believe He will do for them.

Idea by Harvest Ministries