Year A - Day of Pentecost (June 12, 2011)

R Pentecost is a birthday party for the church.  Since children are the pros on birthday parties, it is a good Sunday for them to be involved in lots of ways.  Go to http://www.rockies.net/~spirit/sermons/sr-pentecost-celebrate.php for a list of 27 ways to do this – everything from everyone wear red that day to having readers scattered throughout the congregation read the Pentecost story in different languages at the same time.  To that list, I add:

1.      If you have birthday party at the fellowship hour, ask the children to host it.  Preschoolers add stickers (church buildings, flames, “Happy Birthday”) to the usual white napkins.  Elementary schoolers decorate a iced sheet cake or cupcakes.  (White cake is fine, but Red Velvet Cake is more liturgically correct J and interesting.)  Write “Happy Birthday Church” and add flames, crosses or other symbols with red icing tubes.  Older elementary children can serve the red punch.  Children can also lead the congregation in singing Happy Birthday and blowing out the candles.

2.      Children’s classes can prepare red crepe paper stoles for all worshipers to wear during worship.  Precut the red streamers and ask children to add a Pentecost sticker (church, flame, dove, “Happy Birthday”) to each end of each stole.  Children may give these stoles to worshipers as they enter the sanctuary or distribute them during the Call to Worship as a worship leader explains the meaning of wearing stoles and briefly introduces Pentecost.

Vocabulary note: Use God’s Spirit or Holy Spirit rather than Holy Ghost.  Holy Ghost conjures up Halloween images throwing children hopelessly off track.

R If the youngest children simply enjoy the birthday party aspect of the day’s worship, that is enough.  Older children are ready to hear a little about the Holy Spirit.  On Pentecost, there are two points:

1.      Even though Jesus has ascended, God is still with us.  We are not on our own. 

2.      God gives us power that enables us to do God’s work on earth.  God inspires us, gives us gifts (talents), and works through us.  God expects us to “do something in God’s name.”  This is a powerful self-image.  We are powerful and God has work for us to do.  Impress it on the children, encouraging them to identify and practice their gifts.  Tell stories about people and churches doing this.  Look forward to seeing what each of them do for God.  Celebrate that fact with amazed joy.

R The best Pentecost songs for children are often familiar short choruses.

“Spirit of the Living God Fall Afresh on Me”

“Every Time I Feel the Spirit”

 – Consider singing only the chorus since the verses refer to unfamiliar to children Bible stories and the River Jordan.

“I’m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says Sing”

-          Make up new verses that match the ideas or illustrations in the service, e.g. I’m gonna serve, walk (fund raiser walks), etc.

R “Breathe On Me Breath of God,” even with its Elizabethan English, is one of the best longer Pentecost hymns for children.  They savor the repeated first phrase of each verse and figure out the rest of the verses over the years.

R It is a good day to sing hymns from different countries.  Many current hymnals include Spanish and Asian hymns with words printed in that language and English.  If each hymn is introduced with a simple “our next hymn comes to us from the Christians in NAME OF COUNTRY” children will enjoy all the variety and learn that the church includes people who speak many different languages.

Acts 2:1-21

R Before reading the story, alert worshipers to the list of the homelands of people in the Pentecost crowd.  Project or display a map of the region and point out where each named place is.  When possible name the language spoken in each place at that time.   Laugh about how hard it is to pronounce some of the names.  Get a show of hands from the congregation to learn who has visited which places.  Note the places , like Libya, that are in the news today.  The goal is not that the children know and pronounce all the names, but that they realize that these were real places and the people who lived in them were real people visiting in Jerusalem.

R Wind and fire are the two key symbols in this story.  The list at the beginning of this post offers lots of suggestions for using them in worship.  Especially on Pentecost, include the overwhelming power of wind and fire as well as the comforting ones.  Refer to the power of raging forest fires, exploding volcanoes, windy storms.  Tell stories of people acting powerfully to do great things in God’s name.  Encourage the children to see themselves doing the same.

Numbers 11:24-30

Moses’ “Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his spirit on them” is a birthday wish for the church.  It might be said aloud before the candles on the birthday cake are blown out or incorporated into a litany prayer of intercession in which it is the congregation’s response.

Psalm 104:24-34, 35

With so much else attracting the attention of children, the psalm may slide by.  To provide children with a worship worksheet, print the text in the middle of a page and frame it with empty blocks.  Invite children to illustrate a word and phrase they find in the psalm in each block.

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

R The CEV translates verse 7, “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others.”  Use it to tell children that each of them has been given one-of-a-kind (not “special” as in fancy, but simply unique to them) abilities. Their job is to recognize them, practice them, and use them to love God and other people.  Point to recognizable gifts among members of the congregation as examples.  Offer the children a worship worksheet with a big gift box on it.  Invite them to draw or write about their gifts in each section of the box, fold it up, and put it in the offering promising God to use those abilities well.

R With all the fire and wind images, it is probably wise to save the body of Christ image for a separate Sunday on which it can be the focus.

John 20:19-23 or 7:37-39

R Of the 2 John readings, John 20:19-23 is the first choice for children, even though it was read on the Second Sunday of Easter.  It provides a second story of the giving of the Holy Spirit.  However, since there is no way to explain why there are two such different accounts of Pentecost in the Bible, I would skip the gospel entirely this week to focus on the Acts Pentecost story.

R If you do read it, check out The Second Sunday of Easter for a way to link the passage to “forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.”  

Year A - The Sunday after the Ascension of Christ (June 5, 2011)

The Ascension is not one of the best known stories about Jesus, but it offers several rather diverse possibilities for children.  It…

1.      provides an “end” to Jesus’ story and answers the question “where is Jesus now?”

2.      clearly insists that Jesus “passed the baton” to his disciples and us

3.      is an opportunity to review Advent through Easter

So, I suggest using the Ascension texts on the last Sunday of Easter. 

Acts 1:1-11 and Luke 24:44-53

R   Display pictures of Jesus’ birth, healing, teaching, Palm Sunday, Crucifixion, Empty Tomb, and Ascension.  With the children review Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  Then tell the story of the Ascension in your own words.  Stress that during his life on earth, his disciples knew Jesus as a very special person, after Easter Jesus was different.  He appeared and disappeared sometimes in locked but still ate fish and bread.  Thomas could touch him.  Since the Ascension, people have seen Jesus only in visions and dreams.  Jesus is still alive and is not just with God, but part of God. 

R   Instead of using pictures, bring out seasonal paraments from Advent through Easter.  If you have season banners, hang them all in sequence and walk your way through them.  Or, lay out your stoles in order and match them to their seasons.  Recall things you did during each season to remember that part of Jesus’ life.  Even add them (or let a different child add each one) to your robe as you talk about their seasons and then wear all of them for the rest of the service. 

R Both accounts of the Ascension make it clear that Jesus passes his ministry to his disciples.  Near the end of school many elementary schools have field days featuring, among other events, relay races.  Describe or ask some children to help you demonstrate the passing of a baton in a relay race.  Children could run the perimeter of the sanctuary, carrying a baton which they pass to the next child at the front of the sanctuary.  Then explain that though Jesus did not actually pass a baton to his disciples, he did tell them very clearly that they were to take up his ministry on earth.  His earthly part of the race was complete, but theirs was just starting. 

If you have a wood worker in the congregation, ask him or her to prepare a baton for each child or each worshiper.  Dowels can be cut into 8 inch lengths and the ends sanded.  Wood burn or draw with a marker a cross on each baton.  As you give one to each child say, “NAME, Jesus needs you to be his disciple.”  At the benediction raise a baton in one hand offering it to the whole congregation with words of challenge.  With the other hand bless them, reminding them that God will be with them as they carry their baton.

R Tell the story with movements which you invite the children to do with you.  Begin with hands and faces looking up (as Jesus ascends).  Drop your hands to your sides (as you ponder what the angels said).  Then, go into marching pose pumping your arms (as the disciples take up the task).  Repeat these motions and the angels words during the benediction.

RThe Ascension is about both endings and beginnings.  The end of the school year is also very much about endings and beginnings.  The school year just passed is over.  It is past, but everything children learned, the people they knew, and the things they did during the year will be part of them forever.  Jesus’ life on earth is officially over.  It is now in the past.  But Jesus is still alive in a new way.  Everything he said and did continues to matter.... 

The truth is I think this connection could be useful, but I also followed it to several really dead ends.  If you follow it a conclusion that really works, what about sharing it in Comments.

Acts 1:1-11

R   Have children bring pew Bibles with them to the front before the scripture reading.  Help everyone find the Table of Contents, then the list of New Testament books.  Together read the names of the first four books aloud.  Briefly note that these books contain all the stories about Jesus.  Then read aloud “The Acts of the Apostles” and introduce it as the story of the beginning of the church.  Without reading all the long complicated names of the letters, point out that all the rest of the books, except the last, are letters that people wrote to each other during the stories that are told in Acts.  Then, help the children find Acts 1:1 (give the page number) and read it stopping immediately after “In the first book, Theophilus.”  Identify Luke as “the first book” and introduce Luke – Acts as a two book set that was written for a friend named Theophilus (maybe Theo today).  Then read the rest of verses 1-5.  Briefly summarize the big change that is happening here as the disciples move from being with Jesus to becoming the church.  Send them back to their seats with their fingers holding the place to follow along as you read the whole text for the day.  (This will obviously work only when most of the children are readers.)

Psalm 47

R   Psalm 47 begins with a call for applause.  After pointing this out, teach the congregation a simple short clapping pattern which they then repeat after a worship leader or the choir says each verse or after verses 1, 4, 7, and 9.  You might try clapping the rhythm of the first line of “Peoples, Clap Your Hands!” (Genevan 47 which is # 194 in The Presbyterian Hymnal) or enlist the aid of a music leader in selecting another good pattern. 

R Tie Psalm 47 psalm to the Ascension by reminding people that Jesus was God in human skin.  That makes this a fitting praise for Jesus as he acends.

Psalm 93

R   Psalm 93 celebrates God who is more powerful than the flood waters or the sea surf.  If you have a sound team, work with them to produce a recording of powerful water sounds to play as the congregation reads the psalm aloud – loudly to be heard over the recording.  (Hint, hint: if you produce such a recording, could you post it, and let the rest of us know where to find it, the less technically able among us would be oh so grateful J.)

Verses 1,2,5    any water sounds

Verse 3            rushing water sounds (flood or big waterfall)

Verse4             heavy surf sounds

Ephesians 1:15-23

I think the Contemporary English Version (CEV) may offer the best translation of this text for children.  Today verses 19-23 can be heard as Paul’s comments to the Christians in Ephesus about the Ascension.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

^19 I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used ^20 when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. ^21 There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. ^22 God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything. ^23 The church is Christ’s body and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Verses 19-21 describe Jesus Ascension power.  Verse 22-23 then describe the passing of Jesus’ ministry to the church.  Jesus is the Lord of the church.  The church is Jesus body present to do his ministry in the world.

RSpin out specific examples of today’s “forces, authorities, powers, and rulers” and celebrate the fact that Christ is more powerful.  For the children, list all armies (whether ours or theirs); terrorists who kill people to get their way; all presidents, prime ministers, and kings (the ones we like as well as the ones we don’t), any bully, etc.

R   The church as the body of Christ is a metaphor.  To help children explore both sides of the metaphor detail how different people and groups in your congregation serve as different parts of the body.  This would be an easy way to draw children into the “real” sermon.  Laugh with everyone about the idea that the minister might be the mouth of the church.  Then, point out that your mouth will not be around at the swimming pool or at the office this summer when someone needs to stand up for Jesus’ ways or say Jesus’ kind, loving words.  Insist that each of them must be Jesus’ mouth where they are.  Then go on to imagine who are the hands describing what they do being sure to include children serving as hands and so forth.  (Hmmm, I wonder how Jesus’ feet would play soccer?)  Offer children a sermon worksheet with outlines of the body parts you will explore.  Invite them to write or draw in each part at least one way they can be that part of Jesus’ body.

 



Get someone to improve on this and to feature the parts of Jesus' body
discussed in your sermon. 
As a last resort copy it with my permission and print it "as is."



 

Year A - The Fifth Sunday of Easter (May 22, 2011)

In North America school schedules are all over the place, but many schools start summer vacation in late May or early June.  “The Last Day of School” is huge for children.  Starting with this week I’ll be looking for connections between specific texts and end of school for children.  Then, the week after Easter look for a more general post about how to raise this big event in the congregation’s worship whenever it happens. 

Today’s texts are filled with rocks.  Some are quite real – the ones hurled at Stephen.  Others are symbolic – cornerstone, living stones, and “my rock and fortress.”  Adults enjoy the plurality of symbols.  Children who have trouble getting the meaning of symbols can be overwhelmed.  On this day it does not help that the real rocks were weapons and the symbolic ones point to God’s steady trustworthiness.  So alert the children to all of the rocks, but focus for them on just one or two kinds of rocks. 

Googling rocks reminded me that
"you rock!" or rock music will be
the first rock in many  young minds.

Have a pile of rocks front and center.  Depending on

your focus it could be a big pile or be arranged as a wall, even intersecting walls.  A local landscaper may even loan you a pile of rounded “river rock.”

At the beginning of the service point to the rocks and urge worshipers to watch for rocks in scriptures, prayers and songs today.  You may even want to briefly describe some of the rocks you will feature.

 Acts 7:55-60

R This text assumes listeners know how Stephen got himself into enough trouble to be stoned.  Most children (and many adult worshipers) do not.  For them, expand the reading.   Start with Acts 6:8-15, offer a brief summary of his sermon, and then read Acts 7:55-60. 

R Children need to be told that stoning is killing a person by throwing rocks at them.  Note that it is a very cruel way to kill a person.  You may or may not want to note briefly that it is still practiced today in some countries.

R Stephen is a hero who stood up to the crowd.  Doing so cost him his life, but he thought speaking about Jesus was worth dying for.  Children often find themselves in situations in which they must stand up to their friends refusing to do something they know to be wrong.  Stephen’s story provides both a hero to emulate and a warning that standing up to the crowd often causes trouble – fortunately the trouble is not often lethal.  Still sometimes standing up to the crowd is the right thing do, even when the crowd fights back.  Martin Luther King is reported to have repeatedly told his children that a person “who had nothing that was worth dying for…was not fit to live.”  This is a sober conversation, but it calls children to eyes-wide-open, heroic living.

R If you explore Stephen as a hero, sing some new verses for “Lord, I Want to be a Christian.” 

Lord, I want to be a Christian…

Lord, I want to be like Stephen…

Lord, I want to be courageous…

Lord, I want to be forgiving…

Lord, I want to be like Jesus…

R If you will be focusing on the living stones in 1 Peter, consider replacing the Acts 7 reading with Acts 6:1-7, the calling of the first deacons.  If your congregation has deacons, this is a great opportunity to introduce some of them and describe their work to the children (and other adults).  Deacons are in this case examples of people who are serving in one specific way as living stones in the church.  Be sure to point to others as well.  (FYI - This text does not appear in the Revised Common Lectionary at all, but is the Roman Catholic reading for this day.)

Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16

R This prayer for protection is filled with rock images that are unfamiliar to children.  If you want them to “get it” introduce key rock words before the reading.  Rock of refuge and strong fortress need only a brief definition.  But, “my rock” needs fuller explanation.  Talk about what it means to say a person is a rock.  Remind them that Peter in Hebrew means “rock.”  Jesus told Peter he was going to be his rock.  End by noting that many prayers and hymns refer to God as our rock.  Only then, read the psalm. 

R Many rock images in hymns need explaining to children – even “A Mighty Fortress is Our God.”  Point them out before singing.  If you sing “A Mighty Fortress,” get the congregation to look at the first line of each verse.  Put them into your own words.  This gets the rock message out.  Children may get lost in the rest of the lines, but they will catch the beginning key phrases.

1 Peter 2:2-10

The writer refers to God’s people as “a holy race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation” and a spiritual house composed of living stones.  I’d go with the last one.  There are several ways to develop it in worship.





Ø  Enjoy the picture of a human tower.  Then point to one of the people somewhere in the middle of tower and ask what would happen if that person decided to go home.  After realizing the importance of each person in the tower, point out that the church is a lot like that tower.  If any one of us decides to quit on our job, it makes a big difference.  Cite specific examples, e.g. what if the organist decided not to come today?  What if the fellowship hour person decided not to put out the cookies and lemonade?  Then point to one child and ask what if NAME didn’t come today.  There won’t be any immediately obvious thing that will not happen, but that person will be missed.  Compare them to one of the people in the middle of the tower and recall their importance.  (Link: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:3d10_fm_de_vilafranca.jpg.)

OK, this is perilously close to an object lesson.  But, I think that taking time to carefully describe both sides of the metaphor (the people in the tower and the people in the church) will make it understandable to children.  I’d be curious to hear from anyone who tries it how it went.

Ø  Before deciding whether to use the cornerstone image, ponder how frequently you use it in worship and how clearly your congregation claims it.  There are 10 biblical references to the cornerstone.  Psalm 118:22 is read every year on both Palm/Passion Sunday and Easter.  One is read in Year A after Pentecost and 3 others are read in Year B after Pentecost.  That may place the cornerstone at the margins in some congregations.  Other congregations, especially those with a significant cornerstone in their building, may speak frequently about Christ the Cornerstone.   In the latter case it is worth your time to carefully introduce the image to children.  If you do, try one of the following:

R If you have a pile of rocks up front, be sure there is a squarish one.  Use that stone as a cornerstone and line up the other rocks as walls.  Demonstrate the function of the cornerstone in setting the direction of the walls and insuring the stability of the whole building by laying out good and not so good rock foundations on the floor.  Then, explain that the church often says that Jesus is our cornerstone.  He shows us how we need to live as God’s people and thus makes sure that the church is strong.  Offer specific examples of ways churches can stray from Jesus’ directions, e.g. not paying attention those around them in need.

R If you have a cornerstone in your building, tell

about it, show a picture of it, and encourage people to find it after worship.  Then introduce Jesus as the “real” cornerstone of you church, citing things you do because Jesus directs it.

R Sing “We Are the Church” by Avery and Marsh to celebrate all the living stones that make up your congregation.

R To illustrate the fact that the church is not a building, but people, lead the congregation in the finger play, “Here is the Church.”  This could be embedded in the sermon.

Here is the church

Here is the steeple

Open the door

See all the people.

You can have a church

Without any steeple.

But you can’t have a church

Without any people.

R If school is ending and your congregation is going into summer mode, this is an opportunity to point out that the church is not a brick or wood building, but a human building and that they are “living stones” in that building.  Describe some of the things the living stones in your congregation will be doing during the summer, e.g. mission trips, Bible School, camps, etc as groups and lots of other things as individuals and families.  In an informal setting, hear summer plans.  In a more formal setting, describe some plans.  You might even create a bulletin board and invite people to add pictures of their summer “living stone” activities.  Leave it in a place the congregation see frequently for the whole summer.

John 14:1-14

from The Family Story Bible,
by Ralph Milton,
illustrated by Margaret Kyle. 
Permission granted for
non-commercial use with attribution.

R Jesus' discussion with Philip in verses 8-10, “whoever has seen me has seen the Father,” is the heart of this reading for children.  It is a good Sunday to bring out pictures of Jesus in action.  Ask worshipers to tell the story in the picture.  Conclude each description with “God is like that!”  If this is a children’s time, close in prayer thanking God for sending Jesus to show us what God is like.

R Sing “Once in Royal David’s City.”  Enjoy singing it out of season.  Read through the second verse and even the fourth before singing it to help worshipers see why it makes sense to sing it during Easter season and how it goes with this reading.

R Many adults and most ministers associate this text with the many funerals at which it is read.  Hearing it brings an “oh that again” sigh.  But, it is new to children and few of them connect it to funerals.  Their inexperience invites worship leaders to explain to them what a funeral is and why these verses are so often read at funerals.  There is a lot we don’t know about what happens after we die.  God has kept that secret, maybe as a surprise.  Name some of the guesses people have made about harps, streets of gold, wings and halos.  Be clear that these are just guesses.  But we do know for sure, because Jesus tells us so in these verses, that God will be with us and take care of us after we die.  So we and every person we love who dies are OK.

Year A - The Fourth Sunday of Easter (May 15, 2011)

Did you know that Psalm 23 and a gospel about the Good Shepherd are read on the fourth Sunday in Easter every year of the lectionary cycle?  I read one commentator who referred to it as “Good Shepherd Sunday.”  There’s always something to learn!  Now that I know that, I’m rearranging the order of today’s texts.  We’ll explore the Good Shepherd texts first, then go to the Epistle (which actually has a very small good shepherd connection) and Acts which is about community.

Before digging into the details, it is important to recognize that the Good Shepherd is a metaphor and children have a hard time with metaphors.  Studies show that most children do not develop the brain skill of transference that is necessary to understand metaphors until they are into adolescence.  But, the Bible and our worship are filled with metaphors.  I suspect that we help the children claim them when we carefully explore the details of a few key ones, expecting them to become familiar with the concrete part of the metaphor and some of the spiritual realities it embodies, but not fully making the connection until later.  The Good Shepherd is definitely one of those key metaphors.  Maria Montessori reports that while working in a children’s hospital she found that when she told sick children stories about the Good Shepherd using small wooden figures, they almost all grabbed the shepherd figure and held onto it “for keeps.”  So the Good Shepherd made sense to them in some way.

This week we have Psalm 23 which is packed with shepherd images and Jesus’ claim in the gospel to be the gate of the sheepfold.

Psalm 23

Psalm 23 appeared on the Fourth Sunday of Lent and will appear again in Proper 23 (28) on October 9, 2011.  Go to The Fourth Sunday in Lent  for a coloring sheet to print out and notes about child friendly hymn versions of the psalm.

Read through the psalm one sentence at a time, thinking like a sheep.  At the risk of stating the obvious, below is a copy of the psalm with sheep references as children understand them.  Many church school attending children know a lot about sheep and in a conversational setting can help you with this.  Other children may be clueless about sheep and their care.  After working through the psalm, point out that we look to God to care of us in the same way a good shepherd takes care of sheep.  Note that many people learn this psalm for memory so that they can pray it whenever they need it – in hospital rooms, in scary times, when they are worried.  Consider offering a small prize to anyone who can recite the whole psalm to you in the coming weeks.

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

²     He makes me lie down in green pastures;

Sheep eat grass

he leads me beside still waters;

Sheep drown in running water.  So, shepherd's must keep them

out of streams and lead them to safer ponds.

³     he restores my soul.

He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.

Sheep wander and get into places they can’t get out of

⁴     Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

Name animals that eat sheep and

imagine their eyes shining in the dark.

your rod and your staff—

they comfort me.

Describe using a rod to beat off animals and

staff to pull sheep back from dangerous places

⁵     You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

Remind of the animals watching as sheep graze

you anoint my head with oil;

Oil was first aid for cuts and thorns.

my cup overflows.

⁶     Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

my whole life long.

                            New Revised Standard Version

 

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

R Show this picture of Jesus as the Good Shepherd and identify it as the first painting we have of Jesus.  Explain that it was painted in the ceiling of the catacombs where the first Christians hid to worship God.  Briefly describe the Roman practice of feeding Christians to hungry lions.  Ponder why the artist chose to paint Jesus as a strong young shepherd.  List some situations today in which we need a strong shepherd. 

To take it another step provide children with paper and crayons with which to draw pictures of a good shepherd.  Invite them to show you their drawing as they leave or to post it on a prepared door or bulletin board.

John 10:1-10

Jesus is making a fairly sophisticated point about true and false shepherds.  Verses 2-5 lay the foundation for children.  That foundation consists of information about sheepfolds and shepherd’s calling sheep who know their shepherd’s voice.  It introduces the idea of non-literal voices that call to us.

R Present information about shepherding using a small cardboard sheepfold, a shepherd figure (maybe from a crèche), and some toy sheep.  Demonstrate how the shepherd would gather the sheep into the fold, counting as they came in and checking each one for injuries, then sleep across the gate so no animal or human thief could get to the sheep at night.  Show next how in the morning the shepherd would call the sheep to the gate and lead them out into pasture.  After showing this, reread verses 2-5 and comment that just as the good shepherd takes care of the sheep, Jesus takes care of us.

R Stretch the understanding of older children by telling them that lots of voices that are not actually “I can hear you” voices call out to us every day.  To illustrate, describe a beautiful sweater.  When you see it, it is almost as if it says to you, “Look at me.  I am so soft, such a great color.  You would look so cool in me.  You have to have me.  You will be nothing without me.”  Name other things without the ability to speak that call out to you, e.g. sports equipment, a plate of cookies, a hot cheesy pizza, a sports team that you want to play on, a part that you want in a play, and put what they say to us into words.  Point out that we have to decide which of these voices to listen to.  We have to be like smart sheep who follow only the voice of their shepherd.  Then read verses 2-5 again.  Preschoolers and early elementary schoolers can’t make this stretch, but some older children can respond to the challenge.

1 Peter 2:19-25

Children need to hear this message in other words.  The message is, don’t fight back and don’t try to get even when people treat you wrong.  Jesus is the example here.  Imagine what he could have said and done to the soldiers on Good Friday or to all the disciples who ran and hid when Jesus was arrested and killed.  Then remind listeners that he forgave the soldiers and the disciples.  Be honest about how hard it is to be like Jesus on this AND challenge even children to try to do so anyway. 

                                       REVENGE or REPAIR

R With older children define the word revenge as hurting someone who hurt you.  Define the word repair as fixing things between you and a person who has hurt you so that neither of you will hurt each other again.  You may want to print the words on two posters.  Use a fist fight as an example to explain the differences in the two.  A bully pushes you down accidently-on-purpose.  You go for revenge bumping into him and his lunch tray.  Then he gets revenge by wiping his spilled food on your face and…. soon you are both wrestling on the floor and are finally sitting in the Principal’s office.  Nothing has been repaired for anybody. 

After pointing out how hard it is to find alternatives to seeking revenge, recount the story “The Karate Kid” which tells of a boy who chose to learn Karate and challenge his bully in a Karate tournament.  He won the tournament and the respect of the bully.  That took a lot of work.  This letter dares us to figure out ways to repair rather than take revenge.

R The shepherd reference in verse 25 assumes full understanding of Jesus as the sacrificial lamb as well as Jesus as the Good Shepherd.  And, it blends the two so that Jesus is seen as both lamb and shepherd.  Other lectionary years provide readings that make quicker sense to children, so I'd not try to unpack this one for the children.

Acts 2:42-47

Exploring the value of community is a logical thing to do during Easter season.  It is also a hard sell during May in North America where everyone is hanging on for dear life looking forward to summer and a let up or at least a change in community responsibilities and activities.  Still, maybe especially in that situation, it is good to ponder the importance of community in our lives as Christians.  This text provides a list of activities in the early church that match those of most congregations today.  The list is also a list of good activities for Easter people.  To explore the importance of community and the list of activities, try some of the following:

R As you read the text, ask worshipers to raise hands every time they hear an activity.  Stop to identify the activity in the text and to identify ways you congregation does that.  (Be sure to include activities in which children as well as adults participate.)

R Tell worshipers that it is test day.  Each of them is to recite the 23^rd Psalm (or Lord’s Prayer) on their own.  Ask how many think they can do it.  Then, ask the congregation to recite it together.  (See if they can do it if you start it with them, then leave them on their own.)  Note that while no one may have been able to recite the whole thing perfectly on their own, with the whole group working together, they got it.  Use this to explore one benefit of living all of life in a community.  Whenever we don’t know what to do or say next, there are people around to help us out. 

 

R Display a large bag of wrapped candies (maybe Easter candies?)  Suggest that you might put the bag in your desk and eat one candy a day.  Guess how many days your bag would last.  Imagine eating it each day.  Then, say “OR, I could keep one to enjoy right now and give one to each of you.  That would be fun.  The whole church eating candy together!”  Decide on the latter and pour the candies into a couple of baskets for children to pass to the congregation.  While eating together, reread the phrase “they ate their food with glad and generous hearts” and note that you think you had more fun sharing that candy with everyone than you would have eating one piece a day by yourself and applying that lesson to everyday living.

A twist on this would be to give each worshiper two candies and the instructions to find someone in the next day or two with whom to eat the candies with “glad and generous hearts.”

R Connect community to the congregation’s prayers of intercession.  Before the prayers walk the congregation through your congregation’s practice.  Explain how concerns are gathered.  If there is a time when worshipers can identify prayer concerns, invite worshipers of all ages to offer requests and explain what is appropriate.  Also speak about why you pray for others.  Describe both asking God’s care for them and committing ourselves to care for them (e.g. sending a card or taking a meal to one who is sick). 

It would be possible to do this with children seated around you at the front.  Involve them in identifying people they want to pray and shaping those prayers.  Then hear prayer requests of the congregation and keeping the children around you lead the prayers of intercession.  There would also be wisdom in sending the children back to their seats before gathering congregation’s prayer requests.  The latter avoids having to respond to requests that you don’t particularly want to address with the children or for worshipers with such requests to not state them out of consideration for the children.