Lent IV

March 26, 2017

Lent IV

Bible Reference: Ephesians 5: 8-14  

I.         Welcome: Good Morning girls and boys! I am so happy to see you all this morning! Do we have any new friends with us? (Welcome new friends.)

II.       Church Practice:

The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is purple because we are in the fourth week of the season of Lent. 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 fourth purple square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church we the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are purple. (light altar candles) We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world. We 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.

III.     Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are here to worship and praise you. Open our hearts and minds so that we may hear your words spoken to us through the Bible story today. During this season of Lent draw us near to you and give us strength that we may serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

IV.       Introduction: Today in our Bible story we are going to hear a letter from Paul to the Ephesians. The Ephesians were people who lived in the city of Ephesus near Rome. In those days, there were no cell phones or computers or televisions. In order to communicate with others, you either had to go to them in person or you had to write letters. Paul who was an educated man wanted to spread the good news about Jesus’ death and resurrection to as many people as he could as quickly as he could, so he wrote many letters and sent them to the people in all of the cities surrounding Rome. Paul wanted to encourage followers of Jesus as well as those who were just hearing of the good news of Jesus. Paul’s letters are still a source of encouragement and hope for all in the world today. Let’s listen to part of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians now.

V.         Bible Story: Ephesians 5:8-14

⁸For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light— ⁹for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true. ¹⁰Try to find out what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to mention what such people do secretly; ¹³but everything exposed by the light becomes visible, ¹⁴for everything that becomes visible is light. Therefore, it says, “Sleeper, awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

VI.       Response: In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he says, “Live as children of light for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true.” In Children’s Chapel we have talked about someone who is the “Light of the World.” That someone is _________ (allow answers.) Yes, the “Light of the World” is Jesus. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians to “live as children of light. . .” he was encouraging them and us to live as children of Jesus or God. We know that we are not capable on our own to be light in the world, but when we trust in Jesus, his light shines through us and we are able to produce good fruit such as love and compassion for others. In the world, there are many people who need help, who need hope, who need love. We may look away from those who are in need and keep to ourselves, but Paul says, “Sleeper awake! Rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” What Paul means is, trust in God and he will be the strength in you so that Jesus’ light can shine through you and you will be able to love others through Jesus love in you. Let us pray:

VII.     Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your son Jesus who lived among us and who died upon the cross so that we may be able to love others through him. Help us to turn our eyes towards you so that we may remember that you are always with us and that you strengthen us through the light of Jesus shining in each one of us. Amen.

VIII.   Response Activity (Crafts, Singing, or another activity will

Lent III

Children’s Chapel

March 19, 2017

Lent III

Bible Reference: John 4  

I.         Welcome: Good Morning girls and boys! I am so happy to see you all this morning! Do we have any new friends with us? (Welcome new friends.)

II.       Church Practice:

The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is purple because we are in the third week of the season of Lent. 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 third purple square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church we the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are purple. (light altar candles) We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world. We 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.

III.     Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are here to worship and praise you. Open our hearts and minds so that we may hear your words spoken to us through the Bible story today. During this season of Lent draw us near to you and give us strength that we may serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

IV.       Introduction: During the season of Lent we remember the time Jesus spent in the desert for 40 days and nights. We remember too that Jesus was tempted in the desert, but that he turned away from temptation trusting in God alone. During this special time in the church year, we practice turning away from the temptations of the world and looking towards God knowing that we alone can not help ourselves. We know that even though Lent is only 40 days long, turning towards God instead of relying on our own selves or giving in to the ways of the world is something that we practice all year long for as long as we live. The season of Lent reminds us that we always need God and that he help comes from him alone. We are reminded too that it is through Jesus and his death on the cross that we were given everlasting life with God.

Today in our Bible story, we will hear a story about a Samaritan woman who met Jesus when she was going to get water at a well. In the time that Jesus lived, a Samaritan person and a Jewish person, like Jesus, would not have talked or been even seen in the same place together. In the story the Samaritan woman is surprised by Jesus. Let’s listen and find out why.

V.         Bible Story: John 4 (The Woman at the Well)

Jesus and his disciples were traveling together. They came to a well in Samaria. Jesus was tired. He sat by the well while his disciples went to buy food. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” The woman was surprised because Jews often refused to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?” Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who I am; you would ask me and I would give you living water.” The women said, “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket. This is a very deep well. Where would you get this living water?” Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water. But the water I give them takes away their thirst. It gives them eternal life.” Jesus told her the poor choices she had made in her past. The woman said to Jesus, “You must be a prophet. How else would you know these things about me? I know the Messiah will come – the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I am the Messiah.” The woman became so excited she left her water jar beside the well. Then she understood and believed Jesus. She rushed into the village to tell others. So the people went to see Jesus the Messiah, the Giver of Living Water.

VI.       Response: When the Samaritan woman went to the well to get water she was surprised when Jesus spoke to her. It was very unusual for a Jewish person to speak to a Samaritan. Jesus not only spoke to her but was kind and told her of things that she had done in her past that no one else knew of because she was ashamed. At first the Samaritan woman was scared, but she asked Jesus, “Why are you asking me for a drink? How do you know of what I have done in the past?” Jesus gently told the woman that God loved her and had that Jesus was there to give her living water from the Father. Jesus further told the woman that the water that came from the well was only a temporary relief from thirst but that the water he knew of would take away thirst forever. The Samaritan woman immediately thought that Jesus must be a wise person or a prophet. She told him that she knew that the Messiah or savior would come. Jesus told the woman that he indeed was the Messiah who had come to give living water.

I wonder what exactly Jesus meant by “living water?” When we are thirsty we drink water to take away our thirst. Water is essential to keeping us alive. When Jesus told the woman at the well that he came to give water that would give eternal life, he meant that he had come so that we could all have life everlasting with God. Thirst is not only something that comes from needing water. We also thirst for love, for hope, for peace. These things that we thirst for will never be satisfied by things of this world. During the season of Lent we remember that Jesus came and lived among us and died upon the cross so that we may have our thirst for love and hope and peace, always satisfied through him as we turn our eyes towards God and trust in him. Let us pray:

VII.     Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your son Jesus who lived among us and who died upon the cross so that we may have living water through him. We look to things of the world and ourselves to satisfy our needs. Help us to turn our eyes towards you so that we may remember that you are always with us and that is only through you that our thirst for love, hope and peace is satisfied. Amen.

Lent II

Children’s Chapel

March 12, 2017

Lent II

Bible Reference: Psalm 121  

I.         Welcome: Good Morning girls and boys! I am so happy to see you all this morning! Do we have any new friends with us? (Welcome new friends.)

II.       Church Practice: (light altar candles)

We light these candles to remind us that Christ is the light of the world. We 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. The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is purple because we are in the second week of the season of Lent. 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 second purple square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church we the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are purple. Before we begin our Bible lesson today, let us pray.

III.     Opening Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are here to worship and praise you. Open our hearts and minds so that we may hear your words spoken to us through the Bible story today. During this season of Lent draw us near to you and give us strength that we may serve you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives, and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen

IV.       Introduction: How many of you have every needed help doing something. Let’s think of some things in our lives that we may have needed help with. (allow answers.) We may need help for lots of things. We may not be able to tie our own shoes and we need help from mom or dad or a big brother or sister to help us tie our shoes. We may need help reaching something that is too high for us in the closet. We may need help when we are learning to ride a bicycle. We all have needed help doing things. Even adults need help. Long ago, a man who was named David wrote songs called Psalms. This man eventually became a king and was known as a great ruler. It is from King David that Jesus’s family comes from. David wrote many songs talking about God. Today we will listen to one of his songs in the book of Psalms in the Old Testament.

V.         Bible Story: Psalm 121 (Read Aloud)

¹I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come?

²My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

⁴He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

⁶The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.

⁸The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

VI.       Response: The season of Lent is a special time in the church calendar because it is a time in which we remember that God is always with us and that God is always there to help us. In the Psalm that David wrote, he said, “from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” David further says that God will not only help us but that he will care for us and protect us day and night, not just for one day and not just during the season of Lent, but forever! That is an amazing gift that God gives to us every single day!  Sometimes we may forget that God is there to help us. We may try to do things all by ourselves. Adults are especially known for trying to do things all by themselves without help. But what would happen if you tried to do something really hard all by yourself without asking for help? You may get hurt, or you may accidentally hurt someone else, or you may get frustrated and feel sad and angry because you could not do the thing you were trying to do without help. The good news is that even though we may try to do things by ourselves without help, God sent Jesus to be with us who is always there to be our help. Jesus lived among us and showed us each how to turn towards God for help. We have hope because we know that through Jesus, we are never alone and that God is always with us. During the season of Lent we practice turning our eyes towards God as Jesus taught us to look for our help. Even though this church season is only for 40 days, we can use the Lenten practice of turning towards God and looking to him for our help every single day of the year. Let us pray.

VII.     Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of your son Jesus who lived among us and taught us each how to look to you for help. We try to do things by ourselves and forget that you are always with us. Help us to turn our eyes towards you so that we may remember that you are always with us looking out for us and caring for all of our needs. Strengthen us in our weakness as we trust in you. Amen.

VIII.   Response Activity (Crafts, Singing, or another activity will be provided.)