caring for neighbor | Faith Formation Journeys

Here is the devotion page for the Time after Pentecost, Lec 15 year C. (Click on the words!)

NOTE: There has been some confusion about the dates on the Devotion pages. The dates are the range of Sundays that the pages are for. If you are using starting on a Sunday in the range, then you are using the correct one! Read below for a longer explanation.

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

Lectionary dates and time after Pentecost

We are working on developing a complete 3 year cycle of devotion pages for the Revised Common Lectionary. To make this really work the pages need to be tied to the lectionary Sunday, not the specific date. For most seasons of the church year this is pretty easy to do. The First Sunday in Advent is 4 weeks before Christmas, every year, so the date floats around, but the readings are always the same. It is similar for Epiphany, Lent and Easter. The Second Sunday after Epiphany is always the same readings, as is the Second Sunday of Lent and Easter. Pentecost and the season after are different. Unlike the other seasons where the first reading of the season is set, in the time after pentecost the last reading is set. The readings for Christ the King are always lectionary 34 and Christ the King Sunday is always on the Sunday that is between November 20 and 26, inclusive of those dates (five weeks before Christmas). This wouldn’t be a big deal if Easter was also set, but Easter moves – by as much as 5 weeks! So the Day of Pentecost can be closer or further away from Christ the King, depending on when Easter falls. So if the Easter is early, the season after Pentecost is longer, and there are more readings leading up to Christ the King. If Easter is late, there are fewer. Since the last Sunday is of the season is set, that means the early Sundays are not always the same readings. For example – in 2017 the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost used the readings for Lectionary 11 (Easter was relatively late that year). In 2018 the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost used Lectionary 9 (Easter was early). So, indicating which Sunday after Pentecost on the devotion pages is not clear from year to year – so we use lectionary numbers that are tied to a range of Sundays.

Preparation: Have some crackers, some small cups and a pitcher of water on hand.

As the children come forward have the ones that arrive at the front first sit closest to you. Then have other children who arrived after sit a little further away and the ones that are last sit down the aisle a bit. Don’t explain why, just “make” them sit that way.

Ask the children closest to you about their day, how’s it going? What did they do? Congratulate them on being first to Children’s sermon or message and offer them a snack (crackers) and a small cup of water. Ask them how they feel about being first and up close. Do they deserve it because they were first? You can affirm that perhaps by begin the fastest or the closest that they do deserve more than the other children. (Even if a child gets ahead of you and says “no,” go with it!!!) Ask what should those who are up close do about those that are far away? Should we offer them a snack and cup of water? (Hopefully, they will say yes! J) Have the children that are further away come close and have the children that were up close serve them the snack.

Say, “In today’s Bible story, Jesus tells a story about a vineyard owner who hires people in the early morning, mid-morning, noon, afternoon and evening. So there were some people who were first to the work and others that came later and didn’t work as long. When the day was done and it came time for them to get paid, they all got the same amount! But the workers, who worked all day and got the same amount of money as the people who worked only an hour didn’t think that was fair and they complained. They didn’t think that it was fair that they got the same thing as people who came after them. Maybe it wasn’t but Jesus says that God wants everyone to have what they need. Just like we wanted the kids in the back to also get snack and water because we care about them, God cares about all people the same no matter what! We are to care about all people no matter what too!”

Have a calendar for the rest of the month into October available. (See pdf) Color each day box either red, blue, orange, yellow, green, purple or leave it white. Follow the instructions on the calendar for how much money to donate to World Hunger on the calendar.

World Hunger Calendar – It will begin downloading when you click the link.

Thank you God for loving each and every one of us. Help us to love each other as you love us. We pray for everyone in the world to have enough to eat, clean water and a safe place to live. In Jesus name, amen.

+Remember that God loves you no matter what.+

Faith Formation Journeys

Tag Archives: caring for neighbor

TIME AFTER PENTECOST – LECTIONARY 15, YEAR C

Children’s sermon Matthew 20: 1-16, year A, 15th Sunday after Pentecost, Sept. 21, 2014

Let us walk with you on the journey of faith. Whether your feet are big or small, fresh or worn, running or crawling, God's love goes with you and you stand on holy ground.