Finishing the Race

Children’s Chapel

October 15, 2017

Bible Reference: 2 Timothy: 4: 6-8, 16-18

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

·             Church Traditions and Liturgical Calendar:

Who can tell me what liturgical season we are in right now. If you take a look at our liturgical calendar you will see that we are right in the middle of Ordinary Time. The color we use for this time is green so you will see that the cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is green. You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are green.  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 nineteenth green square.

·             Lighting of candles

(As one adult lights the altar candles, say.) 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 October 15th:

Let Us Pray:

Heavenly Father, please go before us and after us always, and strengthen us in your love that we may do your work and love others as you love each of us, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and

for ever. Amen.

·             Introduction: Today I want to ask you all to raise your hand if you have ever run in a race or played any kind of game. I think all of us  have either ran in some sort of a race or played a game be it a sports game or a board game or any other type of game. Let me ask you another question. How many of you have ever won a race or a game? (Allow answers.) Wow! Lots of you have won a game! Winning a game or race feels really awesome doesn’t it? But what happens when you lose a game? It may feel a little bad. You may be disappointed or you may feel like quitting the race or game all together. If you really enjoy playing that game or running in a race, though, it doesn’t matter whether you win or lose. It only matters that you participated in the race or game. Today in our Bible reading we are going to listen to another letter from Jesus’ follower, Paul. When Paul wrote this letter to Timothy he had been but in prison by the Roman government for spreading the good news of Jesus. Can you imagine how Paul may have felt? He may have felt sad and discouraged and maybe he felt like he wanted to give up. Let’s listen to Paul’s letter to Timothy and see what he says.

·             Bible Story: (Read Aloud)

With Children in grades 1-5, have several children volunteers read aloud to the others.

2 Timothy: 4: 6-8, 16-18

⁶As for me, I am already being poured out as a libation, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

¹⁶At my first defense no one came to my support, but all deserted me. May it not be counted against them! ¹⁷But the Lord stood by me and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. ¹⁸The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

·             Response: In Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Even though Paul has been abandoned by many of his friends and has been placed in prison for following Jesus, Paul does not give up because he believes in the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. He says, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom.” Paul did not lose his faith in God even though he went through very difficult times and even went to prison for following Jesus. Paul continued to pray to God and continued to trust in God to answer his prayers. Just as Paul experienced the good news and promise of new life in Jesus, we too are also given new life through Jesus. There may be times in our lives where we face things that are very hard or sad or difficult, but just as Paul continued to keep the faith, we too can have faith that God is always with us, loving us, listening to our prayers, and preparing the way for our lives to be in his heavenly kingdom.

·             Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of your son Jesus who died on the cross and rose again to new life so that we too may have life with you through him. Strengthen us through your Holy Spirit as we continue to trust and follow you in everything that we do in our lives. Amen

·             Response Activity will be provided.

Through Jesus, We are Made Righteous

Children’s Chapel

October 8, 2017

Bible Reference: Philippians 3:7-14

Theme: Righteousness because of Jesus

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

·         Church Traditions and Liturgical Calendar:

Who can tell me what liturgical season we are in right now. If you take a look at our liturgical calendar you will see that we are right in the middle of Ordinary Time. The color we use for this time is green so you will see that the cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is green. You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are green.  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 eighteenth green square.

·         Lighting of candles

(As one adult lights the altar candles, say.) 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 October 8th:

Let Us Pray:

Heavenly Father, you are always more ready to hear our prayers than we are to pray, and to give us more than we either desire or deserve.

Forgive us and give us those good things for which we are not worthy

to ask but through Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

·      Introduction: For the last couple of months we have been learning about the life of Moses in our Bible story readings from the book of Exodus. Last week we talked about the Ten Commandments or God’s Law that was given to Moses on top of Mount Sinai. There were ten rules that God gave to Moses and we remember that these rules are very important because God not only gave them to Moses and the Israelites, but also to all of us. We also remember that neither the Israelites nor us are able to follow God’s law perfectly. But the good news is that God sent his son Jesus, many years after Moses who was the only one who could ever perfectly follow all of God’s laws and who taught us how to love God and one another. Today we are going to read from a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the people who lived in the city of Philippi. Paul lived around the time of Jesus. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Paul became a follower of Jesus and wrote many letters to the people in different cities around the city of Rome telling them of the good news of Jesus love for all. Let’s listen to Paul now.

·        Bible Story: (Read Aloud)

With Children in grades 1-5, have several children volunteers read aloud to the others.

·       Bible Reference: Philippians 3:7-14

7-9 The very rewards that I was waving around as something special, I’m now tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Jesus. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is not important. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could totally hold on to Jesus and be embraced by him. I don’t want some small, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I can get the greatest kind that comes from trusting Jesus Christ—God’s righteousness.

10-11 I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Jesus personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself. If there is any way to get in on the resurrection from the dead, I want to do it.

12-14 I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is calling us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

·     Response: In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he tells them about his own earned accomplishments of having followed all of God’s laws, of having earned lots of money and prestige in his community, and of having served in the military. But Paul says that none of his own efforts and good standing in the world could ever earn him God’s favor and that really none of it even mattered. What Paul tells the Philippians and us too is that none of us can ever earn God’s love through our own efforts of trying to follow God’s law or through trying to be someone really important in the world. We are imperfect and our own efforts fall short each time. The good news is that God sent us his son Jesus who was both fully human and fully God, and was therefore the only one who could ever perfectly follow all of God’s laws. Through Jesus’ death upon the cross for all of us who are unable to follow God’s law perfectly we were made righteous so that we can always live with God forever. Let us pray.

·        Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father, we give thanks for your son Jesus who came into the world to show us how to love you and each other. We give thanks that you love each of us so much that Jesus was sacrificed upon the cross so that we who can not perfectly follow your commands may live with you forever. Strengthen us daily in your love, that we may be able to love one another as you love each of us. In your holy name, Amen.

·       Response Activity will be provided.