Here is the Weekly devotion for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost – August 11, 2013
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Prepare: Bring a tent. It does not need to be set up, it can just be a tent in a bag.
Talk a little about your tent as the children gather, when you got it, why you got it, how often you use it (this is the important one). Ask them if they have tents at home.
Today we hear about Abraham and Sarah in two different readings. Abraham and Sarah lived in a tent! It wasn’t just a fun thing to do on the weekend, it was their house. Actually, they probably had several tents, because they had a big household. There were two of them, then they had many servants to help them, because Abraham and Sarah had a whole bunch of animals. It was kind of like a moving farm.
So, they had tents, they had servants, they even had animals, but do you know what they didn’t have? They didn’t have any children! This was a problem because Abraham had all these things, he was really kind of rich for when and where he lived, but there would be no one to take over his herds and tents when he died. What made Abraham even more upset was that God had promised that he would have a son to take over the herds, but now Abraham was old, much too old to have children, and so was his wife Sarah. So, he complained to God about it. Do any of you do that sometimes? I know that I do. I usually don’t get very far when I complain to God, but for Abraham God showed up and said, “Don’t you remember what I promised?” God promised Abraham again that he would have a son, and that his descendants would be as many as the stars in heaven!
Abraham and Sarah kept their faith in God’s promise and God gave them a son! Abraham had to wait a long time for God’s promise. We, too, should keep our faith in God, and hold on to God’s promise of love and grace and mercy for us in our lives.
Gracious God, we rejoice in your promise of love, mercy and grace. Help us to stay faithful to you like Abraham and Sarah did, and keep your faith in us like you kept your faith in Abraham. Amen.
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are loved by God. (have children repeat this)
~GB
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Here is the Weekly devotion for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – August 4, 2013
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!
Scripture: Mark 10:1-16; Psalm 8; and Genesis 2:18-24
Faith + Gather: Invite the children forward to where you gather for children’s sermon. Ask the children about who lives in their house with them. Notice how no two families are the same?
Faith + Share: Say, “Well, all of today’s Bible stories are about God creating the world and families! We read about God creating people, the heavens and the earth and how great God’s creation is and about Jesus being very concerned that people have safe families to live in and how important children are to God. Jesus wants to make sure that everyone is cared for and loved because God loves us so much! It hurts God’s heart when people aren’t nice to each other or don’t take care of one another. We know that sometimes a mommy and daddy no longer live in the same house but we also know that mommy’s and daddy’s love their children very much and take care of them. God takes care of us like a mommy or a daddy and even if we sometimes are sad, or scared or lonely, we can remember that God loves us and puts people in our lives that love us. That can be people in your actual family or it can be people here at church, at school, or in your neighborhood. We have our family members who live in our house, but family can also be anyone who loves and care for us and we love and care for them. Who are some friends that you love and care for?”
Faith + Blessing: Have the children sit or stand in a circle and place a hand on each other’s shoulders. Have them repeat after you to each other: “God cares for you and so do I!”
Faith + Prayer: Dear Jesus, you love all of your children. Thank you for being with us always. Thank you for all the people in my life who love me. Amen
~BW
Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.
Scripture Focus: Genesis 12: 1-9
Background: In this travel narrative Abraham faithfully listens to God and leaves his home and goes where God leads him. When God tells Abraham that God will give his offspring the land, Abraham builds and altar and praises God. So too, does Abraham build an altar and praised God as he traveled through the land.
Children’s Sermon #1 (Within Worship/shorter version)
Faith+Open–Welcome children to gather with you.
Ask: Have you ever played a game where you had to follow someone else or copy what they did? Follow the leader and Simon says are good games for that! Let’s try it out now.
Play “Simon Says” and walk them around the sanctuary (or around whatever part of the church makes sense in your context). At a natural place to pause, stop and say, “Abraham and Sarah were called by God to follow God away from their home. They did not really know where they would end but they traveled and did their best to follow God.” Keep going.
Faith+Share: After “traveling” a bit, lead them by the altar area where you have already placed a set of building blocks.
Explain that each time Abraham and Sarah found a place to stay for awhile, they built and altar to the Lord. This way they remembered who they worshiped and that they were trusting in God. It’s kind of like how we come together to worship God. We can also worship God at our homes. We can built altars or simply pray around the table together.
Have them build an altar and then sing a praise song such as “Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelujah-Praise-ye the Lord.” Talk about how no matter where we are or what we are doing we can praise God every day in our lives and God will hear us! God travels with us in our life and is always present! That is reason to sing indeed! Blessings on your week!
Faith+Prayer: God, sometimes it is hard to know how to follow you. Help us to remember that no matter where we are or where we go we are called to your children and you are will us. Amen.
Children’s Sermon #2 (Children’s worship time/longer version)
Faith+Open–Welcome children to gather with you.
Read the Genesis verses from a children’s Bible. Talk about who Abraham and Sarah are and why they are important to us as Christians.
Ask: Have you ever played a game where you had to follow someone else or copy what they did? Follow the leader and Simon says are good games for that! Let’s try it out now.
Play “Simon Says” and walk them around the sanctuary (or around whatever part of the church makes sense in your context). At a natural place to pause, stop and say, “Abraham and Sarah were called by God to follow God away from their home. They did not really know where they would end but they traveled and did their best to follow God.” Keep going.
Faith+Share: After “traveling” a bit, lead them by the altar area where you have already placed a set of building blocks.
Explain that each time Abraham and Sarah found a place to stay for awhile, they built and altar to the Lord. This way they remembered who they worshiped and that they were trusting in God. It’s kind of like how we come together to worship God. We can also worship God at our homes. We can built altars or simply pray around the table together.
Have them build an altar and then sing a praise song such as “Hallelu-Hallelu-Hallelujah-Praise-ye the Lord.” Talk about how no matter where we are or what we are doing we can praise God every day in our lives and God will hear us! God travels with us in our life and is always present! That is reason to sing indeed! Blessings on your week.
Faith+Prayer: God, sometimes it is hard to know how to follow you. Help us to remember that no matter where we are or where we go we are called to your children and you are will us. Amen.
Written by Brigette Weier
Edited by Leta Behrens, M.Div
