All posts by gb

Children’s Sermon 2nd Sunday after Epiphany, John 2:1-11

ffjChildrenSermonPrepare:  Bring your purse or wallet with some ideas about what you have in there that tells about who you are.

Faith+Open:  As the children gather, ask them to look around at your worship space and look for things that tell them they are in a worship space (crosses, candles, baptism font, etc.)  Take a few comments about what they see.

Faith+Share:  Good job!  Other buildings have things that tell about them, too.  Schools have classrooms and desks; libraries have books.  Did you know that people often carry things that tell about them, too?

Let me show you, here is my wallet (or purse).  I keep some important things in here, some of them tell a whole bunch about me.  (Here are some examples from my wallet for you, please feel free to come up with your own!) My driver’s license has my picture, my address, this little heart in the corner means that I’m an organ donor, this “m” means that I ride a motorcycle.  That a pretty important thing that I carry, isn’t it!  What else is in here?  Oh, look at this!  It’s my Starbucks Coffee Gold Card!  This means that I drink way too much coffee.  I have credit cards, too, and business cards.  All of these things can tell you a little bit about who I am and what I think is important.

In our Gospel story today, we hear about something that Jesus did that started to make people wonder who he was.  Does anyone know what he did?  Let me give you a hint, he was at a big party and they ran out of wine to drink.  (Give a minute for answers.  You can give a few more hints if you have time, or just continue if they don’t get it)  He turned a bunch of water into wine!  This was the first time that Jesus did something that we call a miracle that we know about.  That is a sign that tells us Jesus is special.  This wasn’t a magic trick, it was a miracle!  Do you know the difference?  A magic trick can be explained.  If this was a trick he would have hidden the water somewhere and replaced is with wine, but Jesus didn’t do that.  Jesus changed the water into wine, and not just any wine, it was the best wine!  And no one can explain how he did it.

Jesus performs many miracles in the Bible.  He heals people, he feeds people, he even brings some one back from the dead!  Listen for the miracles of Jesus as we read through the Bible in church this year.

Faith+Prayer:   God of Wonders and Miracles, WOW!  We love you for the amazing stories about miracles and for all the gifts that you have given us.  We love you for our family and friends, for beautiful planet that we live on and the endless universe that we live in.  Thank you for all you love and care for us.  Amen.

Faith+Blessing:  Shine with God’s light so that all may see God’s Glory.

Adapted from SPARK Sunday School curriculum.

~GB

Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.

Blessing of the Bibles

bible_wcandleMany of you may be giving Bibles soon or sometime this year to children or youth or adults! Here is a resource to help you out with Blessings the Bibles in worship

Blessing of the Bibles

This blessing was used at Bethel Lutheran Church in Aurora, CO. The congregation gave each family in their school a Spark Story Bible (Augsburg Fortress) as a beginning of the year gift. We had the church council and the school board present the Bibles at offering time and place them by the large cross that was present. An alternate idea is to place them on or by the altar. The pastor and the preschool director lead the congregation in the blessing that occurred after the offering time. A hand written card from families in the church highlighting their favorite Bible passage/story was placed in each Bible that the families received. Please feel free to use and modify to fit your context!

Invite Congregation to read the following blessing of the Bibles:

L: God from the beginning your Word spoke light into darkness and order into chaos. Your Word was on the hearts and doorposts of the Israelite people. You spoke through the prophets so that the Israelite people would remain faithful. You spoke loudest in the coming of your Son Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke words of healing, mercy and love. In his death on a cross he spoke without words but with actions. Then Paul, Peter and all of the apostles preached, wrote and acted on this Word of God for the sake of the entire world.

 C: Called through our baptism to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we now send these Bibles, the Word of God in scripture, out to the homes of the families of Bethel Christian School. We pray that the Word of God will bless their homes, families and communities. May these Bibles sow the seeds of God’s love and grace for all of God’s people and grow the kingdom of God.  Amen

Christmas Week Devotions – 2010

colortreeFresh and HOT off the presses we have ready for you to print, copy and handout to whomever you so desire is a Christmas Devotion written for the final 5 days before Christmas (December 20-24). This is a devotion that homes and families of all shapes and sizes will find to be worth their time in spending a few minutes together each day of this week of Christmas. The link will take you to our googlesite where you can download the full document. Or use it online starting December 15th by looking at each day. Here is an overview:

Faith+Open–a ritual of lighting a candle, picking an ornament off your tree for your time together, and singing or listening to a Christmas song that fits the scripture for the day
Faith+Share–scripture and discussion prompts plus optional activities
Faith+Prayer–a prayer together
Faith+Blessing–a time to bless one another as the devotional time ends.

We encourage you to use this in your home and share with others. For all you wonderful youth directors, children’s ministers and pastors we encourage you to have this available for your congregations and visitors throughout Advent.

We love feedback so let us know if you used it and what you thought!
Link  supplemental pages

+Blessings to you all this Advent and Christmas,
Leta & Brigette

Weekly Devotions – December 30, 2012 – 1st Sunday of Christmas

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 1st Sunday of Christmas – December 30, 2012

Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!

Notice something different about on the back page? Dinner Devotions are now called “Faith on the Go!” It’s the same great household Bible study, but formatted to work with “Faith Five” from Faith Inkubators.

Weekly Devotions – December 24/25, 2012 – Christmas Eve/Day

Here is a special Weekly Devotion page for December 24/25, 2012

Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!

Notice something different about on the back page? Dinner Devotions are now called “Faith on the Go!” It’s the same great household Bible study, but formatted to work with “Faith Five” from Faith Inkubators.

Weekly Devotions – December 23, 2012 – 4th Sunday of Advent

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 4th Sunday in Advent – December 23, 2012

Did you miss a week? Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!

Notice something different about on the back page? Dinner Devotions are now called “Faith on the Go!” It’s the same great household Bible study, but formatted to work with “Faith Five” from Faith Inkubators.

Welcome!

Welcome to the new Faith Formation Journeys website!  We have already moved most of our information, but we still have a few things to set up.  Take a look around – search for old Children’s Sermons, check out the Weekly Devotions, or look up a Faith+Home Connection.  Then check back soon as we continue to set up and decorate our new home.

God’s Love,
Leta, Brigette and Gus