This year let’s make sure kids learn how God saved and then send Patrick back to love his enemies. This is a great holiday to talk about sharing the Gospel. I’ve included kids discussion questions below.
Discuss the Story of Patrick
- What bad thing happened to the boy in the story?
- What did the people in Ireland believe about God?
- What did the boy do when he was lonely?
- What’s the deal with the shamrock?
This clip originally appeared on their DVD titled “The Sumo of the Opera.” The clip is also available on the new DVD “Lessons from the Sock Drawer” from Big Idea. It does a great job of telling the story of Saint Patrick in a way that children can appreciate.
The video is about 8:32 minutes long, which may push the attention span of younger children. Most kids will really enjoy the story and love learning about Saint Patrick from this video clip. It is presented in 2D storyboard animation, but has very engaging narration. The story ends with this pronouncement, he was “a great man who loved Ireland and loved God.” This story could easily lead into a talk about missions or loving our enemies.
The people at Veggie Tales did a good job of telling the story of Patrick in a way that all Christian groups could embrace. He is recognized as several Christian traditions. The Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Anglicans, and Lutherans all esteem him officially. Other protestant groups often appreciate him as a missionary pioneer from the early church.
When is St. Patrick’s Day?
This traditional holiday comes on March 17th of each year. In 2010 that falls on a Wednesday, so it might be a good time to do something special in your children’s ministry program.
Check out the St. Patrick’s Day article on Wikipedia. You can also read the about Patrick and Ireland on the History Channel’s website.