Faith Formation Journeys

Walking Together in Grace

Author: bw

  • September Faith + Home Connection

    20130822-223454.jpg Ask each person in the household to share: “Where did you see God today? Where did you need God today?”

    20130822-223633.jpg Read Matthew 18: 21-35

    FaithCross Forgiveness is the theme of this story from Matthew. Peter asks Jesus how many times he should forgive and Jesus answers with a really big number 77 times. Too big a number to keep track of! Forgiveness is an important theme in our daily lives too. From sayings such as “forgive and forget” to “better to ask for forgiveness than permission,” it seems to be part of our language and lives together to think about forgiveness. But it’s not the “get out of jail free” card that we tend to think of forgiveness as in our relationships. It’s more than wiping the slate clean and moving on. In the story of the Unforgiving Servant, it’s not just that the king was merciful and removed a debt that the servant could not have possibly repaid that is important. If forgiveness was just about ourselves and feeling better, Jesus would have stopped the story there. But Jesus goes on to tell that the forgiven servant then turns around and does not share that mercy with another person who actually owed him very little in comparison to the amount that the king had removed from him. He has the other person thrown in jail. Jesus wants us to go beyond ourselves and to see everyone around us as God sees them-beloved, imperfect and in need of radical mercy and forgiveness, not just once but over and over. Forgiveness is not a one-time act or just an action at all; it’s a way of living together as the people of God. When we live with each other rooted in this forgiveness that God shares with us over and over, each and every day without end, we are revealing the love and mercy of God for the whole world.

    Youth/adults: How is forgiveness a way of life for you? How do you share God’s forgiveness with words or your actions? When was a time that you received forgiveness? When was a time that you offered forgiveness? What can make saying “I’m sorry” or “I forgive you” difficult?

    Children: When did you have to tell someone that you were sorry? What did they say back to you? Have you told someone “I forgive you”? Is that easy or hard? Did you know that God loves you so much that God will ALWAYS tell you “I forgive you” no matter what you say or do? Yes! God wants to treat our friends and family the way that God loves us!

    20130822-224425.jpg God of forgiveness, thank you for loving us so much that your words to us are always “I forgive you.” We are grateful that through your son Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection we shown forgiveness and love beyond measure. May we live our daily lives rooted in that forgiveness and love. Amen.

    20130822-223908.jpg +Live in God’s mercy+

     

  • Children’s Sermon, Matthew 16: 21-28, August 31st, 2014, Year A, Pentecost 12

    Children’s Sermon, Matthew 16: 21-28, August 31st, 2014, Year A, Pentecost 12

    20130822-222604.jpg Have a musical instrument that you don’t know how to play or a hand held game of some sort. As you invite the children forward be attempting to play the instrument or game. Talk about how hard it is to learn and maybe you should just give up. Maybe it’s not worth it or important if it’s hard. It would be easier to put a song on and just pretend to play or to only do what you know. What would be the easy way out?

    Ask the children about something at school, or learning something that is hard. What is it that makes it hard? When was a time that you did something hard but then found out that you learned, or it became important in some way? (Accept all answers). Say, “yes, we all have hard things that we have to do sometimes.”

    20130822-223633.jpg Today Peter and Jesus are talking about hard things. Jesus says that he is going to die but be raised again. Death is a VERY hard thing isn’t it? If your friend told you that they were going to die, you would say what Peter said, “No that can’t be true!” But Jesus told Peter that this very hard thing that Jesus was going to do is the exact thing that needed to happen for something better-God raising Jesus from the dead would proclaim to the whole world that nothing separates us from God-not even death! Jesus would take this hard and sad thing and point to the promises of God to be with us always and to love us always. The cross is a very hard thing, in Jesus’ time it was about death. We have crosses all around us here in church, we wear necklaces or bracelets with crosses to remind us that Jesus is with us in the very hard things and will never leave us. God’s love is there when things are easy and when things are hard like: (school, fighting with friends or siblings, death, etc.) That is that is the promise from God and so the cross tells us of that promise. Jesus doesn’t want us to keep that promise to ourselves, even when it might be hard or scary to share God’s love. How can we share God’s love in the midst of hard times with our family or friends?

    20130822-224425.jpg God, you promise to be with us always. When things are hard or easy, you are there. When we feel alone or happy, you are there. Thank you for sending Jesus to show us your love and mercy. Amen.

    FaithCross_Worship For a worship station around this fairly difficult text you can have some cross necklaces (kits are at craft stores) for the children (of all ages!) to make. Have some cardstock with cross foam stickers and cross templates for tracing to make cards to hand out to people who need to be reminded that God is with them in hard times. Take them to a rehab facility or a hospital.

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