Tag Archives: Jesus comes to us

Children’s Sermon 3B April 19, 2015 Luke 24: 36b-48 and Acts 3: 12-19

20130822-223520.jpgTwo week ago we heard a pretty good story in church about Jesus. Do you remember what that story was about on Easter? (Have the children “tell” the story. Have prompts available such as a rock, or something to resemble the empty tomb, etc. You may have to help them “wrap it up.”) Yes, we heard this great story about God raising Jesus from the dead! Do you know or remember why that is important? (Accept all answers.) It’s good news that we can be with God forever and loves us forever no matter what! Being told that you are loved is really important isn’t it? Who do you tell and show that you love them? (Accept all answers.) Ideally, we should with our words and actions tell people that we love them.
20130822-223633.jpgWe have two stories today about telling the whole world that God loves them. Jesus appears to the disciples and tells them that he is alive, God’s forgiveness and love is for everyone and the disciples need to tell everyone they meet that story. Everything that Jesus does points to God’s love for us. In Acts, we see the disciple Peter doing that too. A man with hurt legs couldn’t walk and when Peter told him to walk in name of Jesus the man did! Peter then tells the people gathered that God does amazing things and the most amazing thing that God does is love us all the time! Peter is pointing to God’s presence in everything! This is too good a story to not tell! All of you just told me the story of God’s love through Jesus and you did a really great job! Who else can you tell or have you told someone this story before? As people who know the story, Jesus invites us to tell it to everyone we meet!
20130822-224425.jpg Jesus, you come to us in our everyday lives. We are witnesses to your story of love, forgiveness and hope. May your story be heard, seen and experienced by all people and creation. Amen

FaithCross_WorshipApril 20th is Earth Day and one way to tie this good news of new life, hope and forgiveness for all of creation is through this worship station. New life springs up and God invites and calls us to nurture all life around us. Google clip art images of caterpillars, butterflies, birds, nests and eggs and have a couple of different images to choose from. Have a cross with tape available and invite people to place an image (decorated or not) on the cross. Invite people to write on the image how they can nurture new life around themselves or how “new life” has been nurtured in them by a person or an animal. You can add to this cross for the rest of the Easter season with images and words/prayers of new life.
20130822-223908.jpg+You bear the good news to the world+

Faith + Home Connection February 2015 Mark 1: 29-39

20130822-223520.jpg Gather your household and share these questions together: What troubles you today? What brings you joy today? Pray together for all of your troubles and joys. God is with us in every part of our day!

20130822-223633.jpg Read Mark 1: 29-39 or read from a children’s Bible. In the Spark Storybook Bible read pages 256-257.

For adults and young children alike, it’s easy to think that all we have to do is pray and Jesus will heal us of everything that ails us: the flu, a cold, cancer, heart disease, mental illness, loneliness, etc. Reality is that we live in a world where bodies still get sick and die but that doesn’t mean that God doesn’t hear our prayers and isn’t with us! The good news is that God’s promise is for life for us forever with God and God is with us in the pain and sorrow of the reality of disease and broken bodies in this life. As a community we also support, love and pray for each other as well as point out where God is at work when we can’t recognize it ourselves. Be sure with young children to emphasize God’s presence with them.

For children: What do you pray or talk to God about? Do you ever pray by yourself? God wants us to talk to God always! There is not anything that God isn’t ready to hear! How can you show God’s love to others? Do you think when we help someone, give a hug, offer nice words or draw a picture for them that we can make someone feel better if they are sad, sick or hurt?

For youth/adults: Where/when do you most often pray? Do you have a standard prayer, do you simply speak to God or do you sit in silence with God? People in our world are searching for something. We are all searching for happiness, joy, love, security, belonging, self-worth and the list goes on and on. In the Mark 1 story the disciples tell Jesus when he goes to a deserted place to pray that people are searching for him. The good news is that Jesus comes to us and searches for us. Jesus is always there. How can we reveal Jesus’ presence of love, hope, forgiveness and mercy in the world that is so desperately searching for those things? How do we use shopping, food, alcohol and other ways to fill our searching with what only God can offer us?

20130822-223749.jpg Pray for one another’s troubles and joys today. Offer prayers for all people to know that Jesus is with them and loves them. Pray to be filled with the love and compassion of Jesus for those who do not have enough to eat, adequate shelter, are lonely or are in need of healing in any way today.

FaithCross_ServeALT In our Growing In Faith Together-Sunday School for All on February 15th we will be putting together Blessing Bags to keep in your car to hand out to those in need that you may come across in your day. We are collecting the following items: gallon size zip lock bags, juice pouches, band-aids, antiseptic wipes, non-perishable snacks, feminine hygiene products, tissues. We will also be making note cards with an encouraging message to go into the bags. As a household collect those items and make a few notes for the bags.

20130822-223908.jpg +Jesus is with you always+