Faith Formation Journeys

Walking Together in Grace

Tag: Prayer

  • Children’s Sermon/Worship Station – 6th Sunday After Pentecost, Mark 6:1-13 – July 5, 2015

    Children’s Sermon/Worship Station – 6th Sunday After Pentecost, Mark 6:1-13 – July 5, 2015

    Prepare: You don’t need to prepare anything specific, but be ready to lead the children’s sermon from a new place, or at a different time, or  . . .

    The idea is to do something different so people cannot just be on “autopilot” during the children’s sermon and worship station.

    20130822-223520.jpg Invite the children to join you in you new location or time, etc. Ask them how they feel about it. Is it good to be doing something new? Does it make them feel uncomfortable?

    20130822-223633.jpg Jesus is changing things around in the story today, too. He goes into his hometown and tries to change how they understand the Bible. He tries to show the people who have known him his whole life a new way to understand the healing power of God. He tries to show them something new and they just don’t like it!

    This happens to us, too. Maybe we show up at work or at school and our schedule is not what we thought it was going to be. Or maybe you get served your favorite food but it has a spice or flavor that you are not used to and you don’t like it. It can be really hard to try something different, especially when we like it just fine the old way, and sometimes even more if the NEW way is somehow better!

    We like things the way they are often because it is comfortable and safe. We don’t like to take risks and change things. Jesus calls on us to look at the world a different way. Jesus wants us to see the good news and share God’s hope and healing, even when it is difficult to do, and even when people might reject the news we have.  Jesus has advice for that, too! He tells his disciples to spread the good news and offer healing wherever the go. If the people there don’t want to hear what they have to say, then they should just shake it off and move on.

    FaithCross_Worship A little church camp mixer! Encourage people (demand?) to get up and move around the sanctuary and find someone that they don’t know very well. Sit down with them and find out something new about them.

    Then have those groups of two people join into a group of four people and introduce their new friends to each other.

    The last piece is to create a small prayer group from those four people. Invite them to share a prayer request with the group of four and ask them to commit to praying for each other throughout the week.

    Ideally, you have these groups of four check in the next week!

    20130822-223908.jpg God goes with you!

    20130822-223749.jpg God of healing and hope, give us the wisdom to welcome your presence. Give us the patience to listen to your good news. Give us glad and grateful heats for your abundance in our lives. Amen.

     

  • Children’s Sermon Easter 7B John 17:6-19 2015

    Children’s Sermon Easter 7B John 17:6-19 2015

    Preparation: create a photo or picture collage of things that we do with our friends, different activities, etc. Put either a cross or praying hands in the center. OR draw a big scribble and put the name of a friend in one of the sections and then different things about him/her around it–for more details go to the blog Worshipping with With at this link. You will need to scroll down to the ideas for this text. This is to have a visual. The message can be done all orally if you choose.

    20130822-223520.jpgGather the children. Ask them to name some things they do with friends. Show them your poster and talk about those things (add to it if you can) or Show them your name scribble and talk about your friend in particular.

    20130822-223633.jpg“There are many things we can do with our friends. You know Jesus had friends too. He had his disciples and the people who followed him and he did all kinds of things with them. Can you think of any? He walked with them, talked, hung out under trees, went to cities and towns, drank and ate, etc. Do you think he did any of the things we listed like play games? Well today we hear from Jesus who had done all these wonderful things with his friends and we hear that Jesus reaches out to us too and calls us friend, a loved child of God. And what he is doing is praying. Yep he’s ‘thinking about all the things his friends have done and all the things they will need to do even when he is not with them any more to teach about God’s love. He’s thinking about them and about us and he is praying. He prays that all those ways that we live and play and learn are ways that we also show love to others. He prays that we will know what to do when hard things come into our lives. He prays that we will know how to love others and that God will be with us. So Jesus prayed for the disciples and he prayed for each one of you–that you will know how to be friend and love others.”

    If you have done the name scribble, tell the kids how to do this and then encourage them to do this during the sermon or at a worship station or at home. Describe how the name scribble shows things about the person that they can pray for specifically. They can make this for their friend, say the prayers for them when they give it them or before, like a blessing of the drawing.

    20130822-223749.jpg“One of the ways I have been taught to pray is to hold hands so that both thumbs point left.”Demonstrate by holding hands of the two children on either side of you. “See one hand is underneath, so it is being supporting this person. The other hand is on top so it is being supported. Let’s hold hands in a circle so that we are being supported by our neighbor and offering support to the other neighbor as well pray.  Jesus, thank you for the gift of friends. Thank you for sending us to the world to be a friend. Help us to love them and support them and show them your grace. Amen”

    20130822-223908.jpgJesus’ prayer today gives us a promise and blessing that we will also always be held in his love. Let’s say our blessing together while making the sign of the cross. “God in my head, God in my heart, God on my left, God on my right” Amen

    FaithCross_WorshipWorship Station: Have paper and markers and sample ‘friend scribbles’. Invite people to pray for a friend or friends by creating this name scribble and praying for each part of their friend’s lives. Another way to do this would be to write different places on the globe or different issues in the spaces of the scribble and pray over them.