Here is the devotion page for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, June 29, 2014
Just click on the picture to download the PDF file!
We have started a new format for our inserts (starting with Pentecost, June 8, 2014). To learn more about this format read this – Keeping up with what God is Doing,
Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!
Prepare: Bring a small cross – ideally one that stands up on its own. If you are doing the worship station you will also need a basket to put under the cross, small pieces of paper and some pencils or crayons. For the worship station (or even just for the children’s sermon) you can also have small crosses to give to the children.
Wow! Did you hear what Jesus just said! That didn’t sound like Jesus at all! He said that he comes to bring a sword, not peace, and that he comes to divide families so that everyone is fighting! What is he talking about! That seems really scary, and I thought Jesus was kind and loving! (ok, enough exclamation points, you get the idea, be excited.)
Let’s back up a minute and look at this again. Do you think that Jesus really means that he came to make people fight? No, I don’t think so, either. So what does this mean? Maybe we can think about it a different way. Nearly all of the things that Jesus did with his disciples, nearly all of the stories that we read about Jesus were things that made people really uncomfortable and angry when he was doing them. That doesn’t make much sense to us today because we have nearly 2,000 years of people talking and thinking about Jesus that helps to make all of this being Christian stuff seem pretty normal, but I bet I can still make you feel uncomfortable about doing what Jesus asks us to do.
Think about this – imagine that you are at the pool with a few of your best friends. You are laughing and joking around, splashing each other, and just having a good time when you see someone from school that none of you really like. All your friends decide to pick on that person, and they start splashing and yelling, which obviously hurts that persons feelings, but your friends don’t really care and they keep splashing and being mean. Now, you know that if you make your friends stop, or go help the other person that your friends are going to be mad at you, but you also know that it’s the right thing to do . . . so, what do you do? Stay with your friends where it’s safe and comfortable or defend and help someone who you don’t like?
When people choose to follow Jesus 2,000 years ago there was a risk of real violence and danger, there was a risk of swords! Thankfully most of us will never need to deal with that, but we do sometimes have to make difficult choices because of what we believe and what that means for how we behave. Sometimes doing what we should do comes with the risk of loosing a friendship.
(if you are doing the worship station, just skip to the prayer here)
I have a cross here. Let’s take a few seconds to think about what other things we risk or give up when we follow Jesus.
Worship Station: Have your cross set up (or your basket of crosses if they are going to take one with them) with the basket, paper, and pencils near it. Invite the children (or whoever else wants to join in) to take a piece of paper and think about two things: 1. What do you risk (or give up) when you follow Jesus 2. What is the reward for the risk?
Write the risk on the piece of paper (or draw), and leave the paper in the basket. Then say a prayer for courage and of praise at the cross (or over the cross that they are taking with them). You are welcome to print out the prayer below for people to use if they would like.
Loving Christ, following you is difficult. We often have to make choices between the things that make us feel safe and comfortable and the things that are right and good. Sometimes following you means that we might upset someone that we love and care about. Give us courage to do what is right and good even when it is difficult. Amen.
May God give you strength to love everyone you meet.
GB
Here is the devotion page for the Second Sunday after Pentecost, June 22, 2014
Just click on the picture to download the PDF file!
We have started a new format for our inserts (starting with Pentecost, June 8, 2014). To learn more about this format read this – Keeping up with what God is Doing,
Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!
Preparation: a kite–you can make a kite or buy one or have a picture of a kite
(if you choose to do the worship station you will want a kite and cloth for prayer ties along with markers)
Gather the children up front with you. Say, in our reading from Matthew today we heard Jesus say to Go! Do you remember where we are to go? Yes, Go and tell people about Jesus and about God’s love. And then he also said to baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Have you heard those words before? We say them a lot in worship and they are one of the ways we can try to celebrate how we have seen God in scriptures and in our world. That God created and Jesus came as God to be with people and go to the cross and rise again and that the Holy Spirit is given to us as well.
What do you think of when you think of God? How would you describe God? (take a couple of answers) Well there are many ways to describe God and try to celebrate God and it is all kind of a mystery, but sometimes our words and images can help us to connect with God in new ways. Today I have with me a kite because it is a way that I think about God connects us and also how God sends out–tells us to go into the world. See the frame of the kite–the part holds it together is in the shape of the cross which reminds me of Jesus and how Jesus love is big and wide and holds us all. And the string here–it is a part of Jesus too and connects us to the word of God in the bible and it also is the part we hold onto so that the kite can fly. The colorful part here that makes up the fabric of the kite reminds me of God because it is colorful and creative and it is how God made us all and all of creation unique. And then what does the kite need to fly? yes wind! So as the wind moves the kite around I think of the Holy Spirit moving us to be in the world. We are still connected to Jesus and God even as we go and in many different ways through life, up and and down and all around and as we are caught in the Holy Spirit we can tell of God’s love and presence all the time.
Worship Station: Have colored cloth and markers. Explain that we are connected to God in another way too–our prayers. Invite the whole congregation to write a prayer on a colored piece of cloth and then tie it to the kite string. Another way would be to collect the cloth in a basket at your station time or at offering and the have the prayers on the altar during the prayers of the people–then have some volunteers tie the prayers on after worship.
Addition to worship station–have three kites and ask people to draw or write their images of God, Son, Holy Spirit (you could also do this on one kite) Then add the prayers to all the kites and hang them up from the ceiling in a hallway or worship space!
God father, Son, and Holy Spirit–we know you are mysterious in many ways. Connect us to you and help our spirits soar as we share your love. Amen
Go! and know that you are held in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Here is the devotion page for Holy Trinity Sunday, June 15, 2014
Just click on the picture to download the PDF file!
We have started a new format for our inserts (starting with Pentecost, June 8, 2014). To learn more about this format read this – Keeping up with what God is Doing,
Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!
Preparation: Have a piece of red, orange or yellow ribbon (15” by 1” or so) for each member of the congregation. Have a tall dowel about four feet long for the ribbons to be tied on. You will also need an oscillating fan. (A static fan could work too.)
Have some ribbons attached to a fan (clear tape for easy removal). Turn the fan on and let the ribbons blow for a minute. Then remove the ribbons and let them blow wherever the fan takes them. Say, “Wow, those ribbons just took off one they weren’t taped down anymore didn’t they? Look at all of the places that the fan blew the ribbons! Can you all help me collect them? Thank you!” The children can hold on to the ribbons that they collect but make sure that each child has one. Say, “You go to many different places in your week don’t you. Where are some places you go during the week?” (Accept all answers.) Do you remember where you were on Wednesday afternoon? Where were you or where to you think you might have been? We go to all kinds of different places in our daily lives and do you want to know something? God is at all of those places with us! Everywhere you go, God is already there! Today at church we are celebrating that God is with us and that everywhere we go God is there at work. God’s Holy Spirit is what we think of as God being at work in the world and in our Bible story this morning we see that the Holy Spirit is experienced in many different ways! Wind, fire, people talking in different languages, all of these ways remind us that the Holy Spirit can be experienced in lots of ways and places! No one way is the only way and there is not just one place to feel God’s love and power in our lives. Just like these ribbons didn’t all blow to the exact same location so we aren’t all at the same place at the same time. God is at work wherever we are!
Worship station: Everyone will get a ribbon. On the ribbon write/draw where you were on Wednesday afternoon at 2 p.m. (Or pick another date and time if you want!) Have everyone tie their ribbon to the dowel. During the last part of worship have someone place the dowel at the exit to the parking lot (hopefully it will just stick in the ground or you might need to attach it to something) to remind us all that as we go to our daily lives the Holy Spirit is blowing us there and is with us at work!
Dear God, thank you for sending your Holy Spirit to be with us always. May we be a part of what you are doing in the world no matter where we are or what time of day it is. May everyone feel your work and love in their lives. Amen.
“God pours the Holy Spirit into you.” (Make the sign of the cross on each other.)
Here is the devotion page for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, June 1, 2014
Just click on the picture to download the PDF file!
We have started a new format for our inserts (starting with Pentecost, June 8, 2014). To learn more about this format read this – Keeping up with what God is Doing,
Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!
Preparation: Have a 2×8 (or so) strip of paper for each person in the congregation. You will be making a paper chain of prayers. Have a large enough cross available to place the chain of prayers on the cross. You will also need clear tape.
For this children’s time have the children stay with their families instead of bringing them forward. Ask all the people gathered to shout out what time of day they pray. Before a meal, bed or other times? Do they use formulaic prayers such as the common table prayer? Or their own words?
Ask everyone gathered for worship, “Turn to the person next to you and tell about a time when you were so excited or worried about something that you couldn’t wait to tell someone. GO!” (Give them a couple of minutes.) We love to share with someone when we are excited or worried don’t we? Well, Jesus is showing us today in this story from John, that prayer can be like that: something that we are excited, nervous or worried about God wants us to talk to her about! We don’t have to use fancy words and it doesn’t have to be a special time. We can talk to God anytime, anywhere about anything!
God hears and understands our prayers no matter what all of the time. What’s important to us is what is important for God to hear. Talking to God about everything helps to connect us to God and to know that God is with us always. Prayer also connects us to each other as the people of God. We can pray for each other as Jesus prays for his disciples and we can pray for all people to love each other.
Faith+ Prayer: Depending on the size of your congregation or how you choose to do children’s message today, have either a group of about 8 children volunteer to help pray at the end or go around your worship space. Do the “one word prayer” where someone starts off with saying one word and then as you work around the group each person adds one word. Example: Dear. Jesus. Thank. You. For. Today. This might take a little while but its fun to build off of each other in prayer!
Make the sign of the cross and say: In God you have eternal life.
*Faith + Worship: Prayers don’t even have to be words, they can be thoughts or songs or pictures! Today during Open Space (sacred reflection time) you can draw, write, or doodle a prayer to God on this strip of paper. (About 2 x8) When you are done writing/drawing connect your strip of paper to the pray of your neighbors like a paper chain on the cross. (Have a cross of some decent size with a paper circle already started for the chain. Have this station where it is accessible from all sides for ease. Tape them together on the inside where nothing is written or drawn if you can.) All of our prayers connect us to God and to each other. After worship, find another person’s prayer to take home for the week to pray.
Change is good! Or at least we hope that you will think so. Beginning June 8th, (Pentecost Sunday) Faith Formation Journeys weekly devotional will have a new look and focus. We will also be making some small changes to the Children’s Sermons. Why you ask? We don’t know about you, but in our congregations (Colorado, USA) the gathering for worship that happens primarily on Sunday mornings is shifting, faith formation opportunities and experiences are shifting and how faith communities are engaging their neighborhoods in which they are located is shifting. God is up to something and we feel that it’s very exciting and we want to walk with you and your faith community on this journey! We recognize that faith practices that are accessible to households of all configurations is vital and necessary, so some of those pieces in our weekly devotional will be enhanced. How is it that we can live the message from the biblical scripture in our daily lives? How do we practice thinking deeply about how God meets all of us in our lives, whether we are 8 years old and in the third grade or 80 years old and in an assisted living facility?
We want to equip our readers to really wrestle with what it means to live a life of faith in the love and mercy of Jesus Christ. We hope to help congregations connect what happens on Sunday morning with what happens in people’s lives Monday-Saturday and to what God is doing in their neighborhood. In our “Faith + Connect” section, ideas for doing just that will be offered.
We also recognize that part of this shift is also about what happens when the community gathers for Sunday (or whenever) worship. The insight that active engagement with the biblical text enhances learning for all ages as well as retention of the message. Opportunities for all ages gathered to interact with one another during worship is a part of this engagement. In our Children’s Sermons, we will be adding a worship station idea or two each week to help you spark ideas for your context for cross generational worship opportunities.
As always, we are grateful for the support and the feedback from those of you who frequent this resource. Please give us your honest thoughts on these changes. We would love to start a dialogue on this site for idea swapping, support and affirmation as we try and keep up with what the Holy Spirit is doing among us all! God is at work in the world and we are blessed in our call to participate. It’s an exciting time to be the Church and we are blessed to be the Church with all of you! In Christ, Brigette, Gus and Leta
Here is the devotion page for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, June 1, 2014
Note – Clicking on the picture will download the insert to your computer or device in PDF format.
Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!
