Moses and the Nile

Children’s Chapel

August 27, 2017

Theme: Moses and the Nile

Bible Reference: Exodus 2: 1-10

·         Welcome: Welcome all and ask if we have any new friends. Introduce new friends.

·         Church Practice and Calendar:

We continue in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is green today which is the color we use during Ordinary Time.  Who would like to move the arrow on our liturgical calendar? (Allow one child to come up to the calendar to move the arrow forward one week.) The arrow is now pointing to the twelth green square.  You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are green. (Light altar candles.) We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world. We also remember that God is always with us, that Jesus lives in our hearts and that we are inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. Before we begin our Bible lesson today, let us pray the collect or prayer of the week.

·         Children’s Collect for August 27th:

Let Us Pray: Heavenly Father, gather us all, your children,

together in unity by your Holy Spirit, and let your love shine through each one of us that all will be made whole through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

·          Introduction: We have learned in Children’s Chapel that the Bible is made up of two parts. Raise your hand if you would like to tell me what we call the two parts of the Bible (Allow answers.) You are right! The two parts of the Bible are the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New Testament begins when Jesus is born. We hear about Jesus’ life and teachings, his death and resurrection and about things that happened after Jesus ascended to heaven. In big church we listen to both the Old Testament and the New Testament as well as a Psalm and the Epistle from the apostle Paul each week. In Children’s Chapel we talk about just one of those four Bible readings read in Big Church, but whatever we listen to in here is also what your parents are listening to in Big Church. Lately we have been listening to Bible stories from the New Testament. Today, though we are going to listen to a Bible Story from the Old Testament. Some of you may have heard this story before. What is wonderful about the Bible is that we can listen to these stories over and over again and each time hear something different that God is trying to speak to our hearts. Today’s story is about a little baby named Moses. This story comes from the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament.  Let’s listen

·          Bible Story: Read Aloud: pp 32-33 of Tomie dePaula’s “Book of Bible Stories

     For Teacher Reference:

Exodus 2: 1-10

2Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. ²The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months. ³When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. ⁴His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

⁵The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. ⁶When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said. ⁷Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?” ⁸Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Yes.” So the girl went and called the child’s mother. ⁹Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed it. ¹⁰When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, “because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”

·     Response: In the Bible story we just listened to, We learn that the baby Moses is placed in a basket and put into the river in the hopes that he will be rescued by someone who finds him. Moses’ mother did this because his life was in danger because the Pharaoh or the ruler of the land of Egypt had ordered that all Hebrew baby boys be put to death. This was a horrible thing that the Pharaoh had ordered to be done. Moses’ mother was a Hebrew woman from the Levite family. She wanted to save her baby son and thought the only way for him to live was for her to place him in a basket and hope that someone would find him. Moses’ mother had great faith in God that her baby boy would be rescued. The Baby Moses was miraculously rescued by Pharaoh’s own daughter who unknowingly gave him back to his own mother who was her servant! What a miracle! In the same way, God has rescued each of us through the gift of his son Jesus. There will be both good and difficult times in all of our lives. The good news is that God is always with each of us. Just as Moses’ mother drew near to god and trusted in his power alone to rescue her baby son, we too draw near to God as we trust in him in every part of our lives.

·      Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your son Jesus. Strengthen us in hope and peace as we trust in you that we are always rescued in your holy love. Amen

Let us pray. Heavenly Father,

·        Response Activity will be provided.

The Captain of the Storm

Children’s Chapel

August 20, 2017

Theme: The Captain of the Storm

Bible Reference: Matthew 8, Jesus Storybook Bible pp 236-242

·         Welcome: Welcome all and ask if we have any new friends. Introduce new friends.

·         Church Practice and Calendar:

We continue in the liturgical season of Ordinary Time. The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is green today which is the color we use during Ordinary Time.  Who would like to move the arrow on our liturgical calendar? (Allow one child to come up to the calendar to move the arrow forward one week.) The arrow is now pointing to the eleventh green square.  You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are green. (Light altar candles.) We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world. We also remember that God is always with us, that Jesus lives in our hearts and that we are inspired by the power of the Holy Spirit. Before we begin our Bible lesson today, let us pray.

·          Children’s Collect for August 20th:

Heavenly Father, you have given your only son Jesus who showed us how to love one another.  Give us grace to receive your blessings

and to daily follow the example of Jesus’ holy life.

In your holy name we pray, Amen.

·          Introduction: Last week during the Children’s Sermon Josh talked about what we can do when we are scared or if something is bothering us. Do you remember what he told you? (Allow answers.) You are right, Josh told us that we can pray to God. We know that God is always with us, but sometimes when something is so frightening we may forget. What are some things that have scared you? (Allow answers.) There are many scary things in the world, but Jesus promises that he is always with us. In today’s Bible story in the Gospel of Matthew, we will hear about a time when the disciples were scared and what happens. Let’s listen to the story form the “Jesus Storybook Bible.” (Older children may be invited to read sections of the story aloud.)

·          Bible Story: “The Jesus Storybook Bible” pages 236-242 (read aloud)

·        Response: In the Bible story we just listened to, the disciples became scared when a big storm began tossing their boat back and forth. They feared that their boat would sink. The disciples scurried back and forth on the boat trying to save themselves, forgetting that Jesus was right with them all the while. When they finally remembered that Jesus was with them, they were shocked as his calmness in face of the storm. But Jesus knew better and calmed the storms. All was peaceful one again. The disciples were amazed!

Just as the disciples faced the storm on the boat we all face storms. They may be scary thunder storms or storms of a different kind such as being sick, or being hurt by someone’s words, or failing at something we have tried so hard to do. We will all face storms many times in our life. The good news is that just as Jesus was with the disciples to calm the storm, Jesus is also always with each of us. We are not alone. We do not have to face the storms of life by ourselves and we do not have to overcome the storm by our own power. The good news too for all of us is that Jesus brings each of us peace and calm in the middle of each and every storm we face during our lives.

·         Closing Prayer:

Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we give thanks to you for the gift of your son Jesus who is always with us. Strengthen us as we trust in you and help us to remember that we are not alone when we are facing the storms of life. Give us peace and calm as we remember that Jesus calms the storms and is with us always.

·        Response Activity will be provided.