Doubting Thomas

Children’s Chapel

April 23, 2017

Easter II

Bible Reference: John 20:19-31

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:

Today is the second Sunday of Easter. Alleluia! The mystery and joy of Easter are so great that we cannot celebrate it all in just one Sunday. It continues on for 50 days past Easter Sunday ending on Pentecost where we see the red square on our liturgical calendar. The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is white today because we are now in the season of Easter. 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 white square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are white. (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. 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 ever seen the wind? The wind is not really something that we can see, is it? Have you ever seen a tree dance? No? You’re right trees don’t dance, but sometimes they look like they are dancing. One day when I am sitting outside on a beautiful sunny day I could feel the wind blowing gently and I could see a big tree right in my front yard.  As I watched my tree, it looked like it was dancing! The branches were swaying slightly and the leaves were wiggling, moving up and down and all around. Of course I know that the tree was not dancing, the leaves were being moved by the wind. Although, we cannot see the wind, we know the wind is there by seeing and feeling what the wind does all around us.

In our Bible story today, Jesus has risen from the dead and has been visiting with his disciples.  One of the disciples, Thomas,  was not there. Let’s listen to the story to see what happens.

V.        Bible Story: John 20:19-31

Read Aloud:

¹⁹When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ²²When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ²⁴But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

²⁶A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” ²⁸Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. ³¹But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.

VI.      Response:  When Jesus visited his disciples after the resurrection, Thomas wasn’t there. We don’t know where Thomas was at the time, but we do know that when the disciples told Thomas about seeing Jesus, he had trouble believing without seeing for himself. Thomas wanted to see Jesus, too. The Bible story tells us that Thomas does get to see Jesus when Jesus returns. Jesus is not angry or disappointed that Thomas hesitated to believe the others; Jesus simply reaches out to Thomas, saying, “Do not doubt but believe.” It’s easy to understand how Thomas felt. It would be wonderful to see Jesus walk into this room in person and be right here with us so that we could hug him and talk to him face to face. But we know that Jesus is always with us and that we don’t have to actually have to see him in person to know that he is with us. Just like the the wind, we know it is there by seeing what the wind does. We can also look around for what Jesus does. All of the things around us, smiling people, flowers, the blue sky, sunshine, rain, friends, family, ways for us to help others, singing, a phone call, a good book, learning, laughing, loving; all of these things show us that that Jesus is with us. We see his world. We see his love.  Jesus simply reaches out to us through all that is around us, saying, “Believe.” Jesus is with us and lives in each of us. His love is our world. Let us continue to rejoice in the mystery and joy of Easter.

Let us pray:

VII.    Closing Prayer: Heavenly Father,

Thank You that we see Your love all around us. Help us to help others see your love all around them.

 Amen

Response Activity: An activity will be provided for the chil

Palm Sunday

Children’s Chapel

April 9, 2017

Palm Sunday

Bible Reference: Matthew 21:1-11

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 sixth 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 sixth purple square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church the altar frontal, church dressings, and clergy stoles are purple. This is also the beginning of Holy Week, or the week leading up to Easter. (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. As we begin Holy Week 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 know what these are? (Hold up the palm branches.) You are right! These are branches from a palm tree. In the country where Jesus lived, the palm tree was everywhere. The branches of the palm were a symbol of victory and joy. During the time of Jesus, people used to wave palm branches as they cheered in celebration when an important person such as a king rode through the streets of town. On the Sunday before he was crucified or nailed to the cross, Jesus rode through the streets of Jerusalem on the back of a small donkey. As he rode along, people waved Palm branches and shouted and cheered. They shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The people cheered Jesus as their King. Let’s listen to the Bible story now about Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.

V.        Bible Story: Matthew 21:1-11

21When they had come near Jerusalem and had reached Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go into the village ahead of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, just say this, ‘The Lord needs them.’ And he will send them immediately.” ⁴This took place to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, saying, ⁵“Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” ⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them; ⁷they brought the donkey and the colt, and put their cloaks on them, and he sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” ¹⁰When he entered Jerusalem, the whole city was in turmoil, asking, “Who is this?” ¹¹The crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus from Nazareth in Galilee.”

VI.      Response: Just a few days after he rode into Jerusalem and was hailed a king, Jesus was arrested, tried, and led to a hill called Calvary to be crucified. The cheers that he had heard on Sunday now turned to jeers. Many of the people who just a few days before shouted "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord" had now turned against him. They were now shouting "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! He is not our king. We have no king but Caesar." They were even offered the choice of whether to free a criminal named Barabbas or to free Jesus. They chose to free Barabbas and crucify Jesus. Many of His once-faithful followers had forsaken him.  

Today on Palm Sunday we enter Holy week. (Show Palm Sunday and Holy week cards as you explain each.) We remember Jesus’ last days with us on earth and we give thanks for his gift of his life for us upon the cross so that we may have everlasting life with 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 be able to have everlasting life with you through him. Amen.

Response Activity: Holy Week Book. Pass out palm folding sheets as children leave to go back to the sanctuary

Lent V

Children’s Chapel

April 2, 2017

Lent V

Bible Reference: John 11:1-45 

1. 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.) 

1. II. Church Practice: 

The cloth on our Children’s Chapel altar is purple because we are in the fifth 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 fifth purple square which is the same color as the cloth that we have on our altar.  You will also notice that in big church 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.

1. 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

1. IV. Introduction: Raise your hand if you have a friend. Oh, I see that everyone here has a friend. Friends are very special people in our lives, aren’t they? Let’s think of some reasons why friends are special (allow answers.) Our friends may be special to us for all of the wonderful reasons that you all just told me. They share in fun activities with us, they are there for us when we may need someone to help us, they make us laugh . . . Our friends are a blessing or a gift to us in our lives and they make life more enjoyable and they also help us when life isn’t always easy. During Jesus’ life he had many friends too. Today in our Bible story we will hear about Jesus’ friend Lazarus and what happened when Lazarus became sick. Let’s listen to the story now.

1. V. Bible Story: Read Aloud story from “The Miracles of Jesus” by Tomie dePaola

For Teacher Reference: John 11:1-45

11Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. ²Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. ³So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” ⁴But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” ⁵Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, ⁶after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. ⁷Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” ⁸The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” ⁹Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. ¹⁰But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” ¹¹After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” ¹²The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” ¹³Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. ¹⁴Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. ¹⁵For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” ¹⁶Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

¹⁷When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, ¹⁹and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. ²⁰When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. ²¹Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. ²²But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” ²³Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” ²⁴Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, ²⁶and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” ²⁷She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world.” ²⁸When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” ²⁹And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. ³⁰Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. ³¹The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. ³²When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

³³When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. ³⁴He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus began to weep. ³⁶So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” ³⁷But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?” ³⁸Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.

1. VI. Response: In the story of Lazarus, Jesus is told that his good friend is very sick and that he is close to death. When Jesus finally arrives at Lazarus’ home, he is told by Mary and Martha that their brother has died and has been in the tomb for four days. Mary says to Jesus in great faith, “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus is very sad too because Lazarus has died and he is moved by Mary’s faith in him. Because Jesus loved Lazarus so much he asks to go to Lazarus’ tomb and he calls for him to come out. A miracle or an act of God occurred and Lazarus was alive again! This miracle could have only come form God and the people who saw Lazarus resurrected from the dead believed that Jesus was the Son of God.

   In the same way, Jesus loves all of us as he loved Lazarus. He loved us all so much that he died on the cross so that we too would be raised from the dead and have everlasting life with him in heaven. We will soon be celebration Easter on the day that Jesus himself was raised form the dead by God after his death on the cross. Let us rejoice that we have such a good friend in Jesus who lived and died for us and was raised from death on the third day so that we all could have everlasting life through him. 

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 have everlasting life with you through him. Amen.