Faith Formation Journeys

Walking Together in Grace

Tag: Psalms

  • Children’s Sermon Dec. 2nd 2012, First Sunday of Advent Psalm 25

    Scripture: Psalm 25

    Prepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit (ask an older child to help with lighting the wreath) you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home devotion. Download it here! The idea is for the devotion to be copied on the back of the candle ornament to be used as a family devotion. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and/or household.

    Faith+Open: Gather the children to the Advent wreath. Say, “Does anyone know what day today is in the Church?” Accept all answers. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are gathered here at this wreath with candles on it, we call this an Advent Wreath, and we are going to light just one candle today. Each week of Advent we will light another candle until all of the candles are lit. How many candles do you see here? That’s right four! There are four weeks of Advent; four weeks until we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, Christmas. We light a candle to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world!

    Faith+Share: Did you know that each candle has a name? This week’s candle’s name is the Hope candle. What is hope? Accept all answers. Hope is expecting something wonderful to happen. We know that something wonderful happened when Jesus was born and also when Jesus died and rose again. This wonderful thing is that God loves us so much and we expect God to be with us always because God promised this to us! Nothing keeps us from God and we are free to love God and everyone around us!

    Each of you will get this candle ornament that you can take home and color blue (or purple if you do purple in Advent). You can hang it on your Christmas tree and each week you will get another one to add to the tree. On the back is a Bible passage to read, a prayer and a blessing. You can do this at dinner, in the car or before bed. Let’s practice it now!

    Faith+Pray:  God of Hope, you free us from whatever keeps us from you. Thank you for being with us always, amen.

    Faith+Bless: Have everyone in the congregation turn to one another and say this blessing while making the sign of the cross on their forehead or hand: “You are free in God’s love.”

    As you distribute the ornaments with the devotion on the back, have them sing “This Little Light of Mine” as they go back to their seats.

    ~BW

  • Blessing of the Christmas Tree

    Gather either around or near your tree!

    Tell where you see God at Advent & Christmas and where you need God at Advent & Christmas.

     

     

    Psalm 96:11-13

    11Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

    12let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy13before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.

    This tree is a blessing to our home. It reminds us of all that is beautiful, all that is filled with the gentleness and the promise of God. It stands in our midst as a tree of light that we might promise such beauty to one another and to our world. It stands like that tree of paradise that God made into the tree of life, the cross of Jesus. If you have young children or like good stories you may want to read “The Three Trees” by Angela Elwell Hunt

    How can the Christmas tree remind you of the story of the birth of Jesus? How will it bless you in this Advent/Christmas season? How will you be a blessing to others?

    Join in prayer together thanking God for where you see the Holy Spirit active and asking for help in where you need God this year.

     

     

    Loving God, we come with joy to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, whose path of justice and inclusivity lights a path for all who follow him. May this tree, arrayed in splendor, remind us of the life-giving cross of Christ, that we may always rejoice in the new life that shines in our hearts. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

    Now make the sign of the cross on one another and say, “Child of God, remember that you are a light of God’s love. Amen”

    ~LB

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