40 — What's in Your Pocket?

40 — What's in Your Pocket?

 A weekly blog of Creative Ideas for Leading Worship

What's in Your Pocket?
Everyday Faith Objects

 

A creative way to connect faith with daily life by reflecting on ordinary items from our pockets or bags as symbols of spiritual meaning.


Click for audio narration


Introduction – Discovering the Sacred in the Ordinary

Worship doesn’t always require special objects or elaborate rituals.

Meaningful insights can also come from the items we carry with us every day – keys, receipts, coins, tissues, lip balm.

This interactive worship idea encourages your congregation to explore how these seemingly mundane objects can symbolize deeper truths about faith and life.

 

The Setup – An Invitation to Reflect

Partway through the service, invite everyone to reach into their pockets, purses, or bags and pull out a single item – anything they happen to be carrying. Then ask:

“What might this object say about your faith journey, or your relationship with God? What could it symbolize?”

Give people a moment to reflect quietly on their item.

Then offer the chance for a few to share with the group, either by speaking aloud or writing down a short reflection to be read anonymously.

 

Examples to Get People Started

Some members of your congregation may need help thinking symbolically. Share a few examples to inspire them:

  • A bunch of keys might symbolize security, trust, or unlocking possibilities.
  • A handkerchief could signify compassion, healing, or the presence of tears and comfort.
  • A credit card may point to responsibility, provision, or the way we spend and steward our resources.
  • A pen might reflect the importance of communication or how God is still writing our story.
  • A coin could suggest value, generosity, or life's choices.
  • A mobile phone may represent connection, distraction, or a means of spiritual community.
  • A receipt might highlight our habits, gratitude, or the small daily blessings we often overlook.

Encourage people to be playful and imaginative, as well as thoughtful.

 

Scriptural Connection – Everyday Parables

You might link this activity with passages where Jesus used everyday objects to teach profound truths:

  • A mustard seed (Matthew 13:31-32)
  • A coin (Luke 15:8-10)
  • A fig tree (Mark 11:12-14)
  • A lamp (Matthew 5:14-16)

These remind us that nothing is too small or ordinary to hold spiritual significance.

 

Expanding the Idea – A Pocket Display

To create a visual and symbolic centrepiece, invite people to place their item – such as a phone, receipt, keyring, or coin – on a central table or communion table as a temporary offering.

These are not left behind but simply placed there for the duration of the service as a shared expression of faith through everyday life.

Let the table quietly speak of how faith and ordinary life are deeply intertwined.

Before the final blessing, invite people to come forward and collect their objects.

As they do so, say something like:

"As we return these everyday items to our pockets and purses, we carry more than objects – we carry renewed awareness of God in all things. May these small symbols remind us to live out our faith in the everyday world."

This simple ritual connects worship with life outside the church walls.

 

Conclusion – Faith That Travels with Us

This worship activity helps people see that faith isn’t confined to Sunday morning.

It’s present in every pocket and purse, woven into the fabric of daily life.

The objects we carry reveal where we’ve been, what we need, and what we value.

They remind us that God is with us, not just in sacred spaces, but everywhere we go.


Ngā mihi
Philip

 

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