Year A - The Third Sunday in Lent (March 27, 2011)

There are a lot of thirsty people in today’s texts.  To get worshipers of all ages thinking about thirst slaking water, borrow a bubbling fountain to display prominently in the worship center.  As the service begins urge the worshipers to listen both to the fountain and for all the thirsty people in worship today.  Offer as a hint, that some of the people are thirsty for water and some of the people are thirsty for something else.  If it fits your theme, encourage them to ponder what they are thirsty for.  During some of the prayers, leave silence in which people can simply listen to the fountain and remember God’s life giving love.

Exodus 17: 1-7

The key to presenting this story to children is Moses’ staff.  It is the staff that connects this story to all the important preceding Exodus stories.  Moses’ staff was turned into a snake at the burning bush.  Aaron turned the staff into a snake which ate the staff/snakes of the Egyptian magicians.  The staff dipped into the Nile turned it into blood.  Held over the Nile, it produced frogs.  Pounded on the dust, it produced gnats.  Moses raised it producing the great hail storm and later the swarm of grasshoppers.  Then, Moses held it out to divide the Sea so that God’s people could pass through safely beyond Pharaoh and his army.  So, bring a large walking stick to display during worship.  With it illustrate a brief account of how Moses used it on the escape from Egypt.  Then read Exodus 17:1-7 emphasizing, maybe picking up the staff as you read, the phrase "take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go..." (NRSV)  

I think God used Moses’ staff to remind people that just as God had been with them in the escape from Egypt, God was with them in the hard times in the wilderness.  God would be with them always. 

FYI - “Aaron’s Rod” in Wikipedia notes Jewish, Christian, and Muslim use of this staff that may be fodder for more adult exploration of the staff as a symbol of God’s powerful presence.

To set listeners up for Psalm 95, point out the significance of the names of the well and urge them to listen for those names in another scripture today.  Also note that God’s people camped there for a long time, maybe years, and drew water from that well every day.  Imagine going to a well that reminds you that you tested and quarreled with God about drinking water.

Psalm 95

Read this psalm AFTER exploring the Exodus story.

Start by reading verses 7c-11.  Note the names of the well and the connection to the Exodus story.  Briefly, celebrate being biblical scholars!  Then read the entire psalm.  It could be read by one reader, in unison by God’s people (the congregation), or the separate praises of verses 1-7b could be read by a series of readers with verses 7c – 11 read by another more pensive reader.  The latter would be a good worship leadership opportunity for an older children’s or youth class.

Romans 5:1-11

What Paul might have said to the children:

There is something you need to know that we grownups don’t like to talk about a lot.  Bad things are going to happen to you.  You are going to get sick or hurt.  People you love are going to get sick or hurt.  Or, those people are going to hurt you by what they do.  You may get caught up in war or be the victim of a crime.  Bad stuff like that just happens.  Also, sometimes when you try to do good important things, things that God wants, you might get hurt.  Paul got beaten up for preaching.  Some people in the middle East have been beaten up, even killed, this month for protesting against unjust rulers.  So, you need to know that bad things will happen to you during your life.  You can count on that.

But, you also need to know that God will be with you when those things happen.  You can count on that too.  Sometimes it won’t feel like God is there.  It is easy to get mad at God when bad things are happening.  We yell, “Why don’t you stop it, God?”   We worry that God must not love us if this is happening to us.  We wonder if we are so bad that God is punishing by letting the bad things happen to us.  Sometimes, we even wonder if God is there at all.  At times like this it is important to remember that God loves us always and is with us even when the bad stuff happens. (Say it again, slowly for emphasis.) God may even be working through us to take care of the world.  We can count on that.  We have to depend on our heads to remember this even when our feelings can’t.

Remember, even Jesus got whipped, nailed to a cross, and died.  But that was not the end of his story.  He was raised on Easter.  It is the same with us.  The bad times are never the end of our stories.  Remember that.

Paul might have gathered the children to tell them this.  Or, in the middle of talking to the adults  (aka , “the sermon”) he might have said, “Children, this is for you.  Listen up.” 

We don’t talk to children like this often.  For that reason, doing so can be memorable.  It can also prepare children for the bad times when they do come.

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The cross is a reminder of Paul’s message about suffering.  Point to crosses in your sanctuary and tell stories of suffering in your congregation and community.  Describe how looking back we can see God’s presence in those times. 

Give the children ( or all worshipers) a small cross to carry with them as a reminder that God is with them in bad times as well as good.  Oriental Trading Company is one on-line source for such things.  Click on Oriental Trading Company crosses for a vast array of inexpensive crosses for distribution.  My favorite one for today is a polished worry stone printed with a cross.  Unfortunately, those are almost one dollar a piece – maybe a little pricey.

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“There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy” again comes to mind as an appropriate child accessible hymn.  Perhaps it can be sung repeatedly this Lent.  If you do use it, remember to introduce “mercy” as “love” before it is sung.

Paul’s message is an opportunity to do a little worship education about the Benediction.  Ask the children to join you at the front to help you with the Benediction.  Briefly note that worship ends the same way every Sunday.  A worship leader stands up front and urges everyone to do something during the coming week and then reminds them that God will be with them as they do it. Then walk them through the benediction below.  Finally ask them to stand with you facing the congregation and to repeat each line after you.  If it is appropriate in your tradition, lead them in raising their hands to bless the congregation as they repeat the last 2 phrases.

Remember when good things happen this week

God is with you.

Remember if bad things happen this week

God is with you.

So,

Go in peace.

Amen

John 4:5-42

Most of this story is a very sophisticated conversation between Jesus and a Samaritan woman at a well.  Children, however, can skip the conversation about water and hear a calling a disciple story.  Jesus treated the total outsider with respect and kindness.  Nobody treated her that way!  In response, she left her water jug (like the fishing disciples left their nets and Levi left his tax office) and became the first evangelist, telling everyone in town about Jesus.  And, she was  successful.  The town believed her first and then believed Jesus.  That is a story worth remembering.  As they get older, children can appreciate the conversation that was at the heart of the story.

Children do need an introduction to the Samaritan woman before they can understand her encounter with Jesus.  They need to know all the things that meant Jesus shouldn’t care at all about her.  She is a Samaritan.  She is a woman.  She is so unpopular that she comes to get water in the middle of the day when she thinks no one else will be there to say mean things to her or call her names.  She is a real loser. 

If you want to explore the conversation:  The water image in this story is complicated.  It’s not just water, it’s living water.  Explaining the word play there simply doesn’t help children get the joke.  It is more productive to put John’s message into your own words for them.  Verses 31 -34 are a good place to start.  Jesus says it takes something other than food and water to make us feel “alive.”  Jesus felt like he had everything he needed after talking to the lonely lost woman and seeing her feel that she was “alive” again. 

Before reading the verses, list some of things that make people feel “alive” today – soccer, their music, spending time with a good friend, etc.  Note that those things can make us feel more “alive” than food or water.  Then read what Jesus said about what made him feel “alive.”

That something other than food or water makes us feel “alive” is not so surprising.  What is surprising is what Jesus says keeps him “alive.”  It is loving like God loves.  In this story it is making friends with a really outsider woman and in the process making her feel totally different about herself.  This can lead to descriptions about how people felt about working on congregational mission projects.  (Be sure to include projects in which children participate.)

I’ve been trying to identify a baptism connection to this story for children – but am coming up dry.  Anyone else have ideas about this?  Please, share in the Comments.

No matter how you unpack this story, it is a very long scripture reading!  It is mainly a conversation between Jesus and the woman.  To bring it to life and edit out all the “he said”s and “she said”s, present it with three readers.  The Narrator reads from the lectern.  Jesus sits near the center of the worship space.  The woman stands beside him.  All read from scripts inside dark binders.  A rehearsal in which emphasis is on reading dramatically will be essential.  Below is one simple script.

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Narrator:  So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.  A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her,

Jesus:  Give me a drink. (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)

Woman:  How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?  (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)

Jesus:  If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.

Woman:  Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?”

Jesus:  Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.

Woman: Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.

Jesus: Go, call your husband, and come back.

Woman: I have no husband.

Jesus:  You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!

Woman: Sir, I see that you are a prophet.  Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.

Jesus:  Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.  You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.  But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.  God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Woman:  I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.

Jesus:  I am he, the one who is speaking to you.

Narrator:  Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” ²⁸ Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people,

Woman walks off and faces away from Jesus.

Woman: Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?

Narrator :   They left the city and were on their way to him. Turning back toward Jesus.  Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.”  But he said to them,

Jesus:  I have food to eat that you do not know about.

Narrator:  So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?”   Jesus said to them,

Jesus:  My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.  Do you not say, ‘Four months more, then comes the harvest’? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting.  The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together.  For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’   I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.

Narrator:  Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.”  So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days.  And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”

From New Revised Standard Version

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Year A - Good Friday (April 22, 2011)

from Jesus Is Alive published by Augsburg Publishing House, 1977

Good Friday is often the very last day of the church year when we expect and plan for children in the sanctuary.  The story for the day is so filled with violence, evil and death which we barely understand ourselves, that we hardly know how to share it with children.  But, the story is there and it is the heart story of the faith.  Indeed, it is impossible to jump over the Passion going directly from the Palm Sunday parade to Easter joy without wondering what the big deal is.  When our children walk through the crucifixion story with us, they make sense of the whole Holy Week saga and they are prepared to face the violence and evil that they will surely encounter in their own world.

Children need to hear the Passion stories with the Easter stories.  For preschoolers the story goes something like, “There were people who were angry with Jesus.  They were so angry they killed him.  Jesus’ friends were very sad.  They cried and cried.  But God had a wonderful surprise.  On Easter Jesus was alive again.  His friends were very, very, surprised and happy!”  They really follow the emotions rather than the facts of the story.  Every year as the church walks through the story, children add more details.  They slowly collect the list of people who contributed to Jesus pain and death.  In their adolescence they begin to identify ways they also betray and deny God’s love.

Especially on Good Friday, children gain more from hearing and pondering the story than on hearing theological explanations of its significance.  Sacrifice, mercy, grace, salvation, atonement, etc. are abstract words that very quickly lose them.  By exploring the details of the story and thinking about the experience of different people in the story, children will come to some of the same ideas that the theological vocabulary attempts to express. 

Remember this when selecting hymns.  “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” with its simple, concrete story telling is probably the best Good Friday song for children.  Be cautious with hymns that sing of the cross metaphorically, e.g. “In the Cross of Christ I Glory.”  Children simply don't understand what they sing.  Still, every congregation sings some of these songs with a depth of feeling that communicates to children that this is a very important song, e.g. “O Sacred Head Now Wounded” in some congregations.  Children will try to sing these songs just to be part of the congregation and grow into them over the years.

My book Sharing the Easter Faith With Children  includes the following Good Friday resources:

-     Commentary on the Passion stories from children’s point of view and a description of how children understand the Passion-Easter stories from infancy through age 12

-     Directions for sharing the story with congregational responses

-      Directions for a family service focused on a Tenebrae featuring a prop for each story that is covered with a black napkin after the story is read

-      Directions for a stations of the cross type experience called "Journey to Jerusalem"

-     Directions for children's events that combime worship with cross crafts on Good Friday

-     Suggestions about how to encourage families who will not worship at the church on Good Friday to observe the day at home (or on the road)

The biblical story is so long and complex that additional “children’s stories” are hardly needed.  But the following books might prove useful;

The Tale of Three Trees, retold by Angela Elwell Hunt, describes the dreams of three trees.  Each dream comes true, but as the trees expected them, in the life of Jesus.

Peter’s First Easter, by Walter Wangerin, Jr., tells the stories of Holy Week from Peter’s point of view.  It is too long to read entirely, but one or two specific stories could be read.

Finding the Fruits of Peace: Cain and Abel, by Sandy Eisenberg Sasso, explores the sin and evil between the two brothers.  It could be used as a partner story to the crucifixion to explore how we act like the villains in both stories today.  (Yes, it’s a bit of a stretch.  But, it might have possibilities.)

John 18:1- 19:42

This is of course the key story of the day.  But it is verrrrry long.  For children, break it up interspersing pieces of the story with liturgy. 

Go to  http://worshipingwithchildren.blogspot.com/2011/01/year-holy-or-maundy-thursday-april.html for directions for including children in a Tenebrae.

In Sharing the Easter Faith With Children I give detailed directions for a stations of the cross event for elementary children.  This could be a worship service during which worshipers travel together from site to site to hear the Passion stories.  Or, the sites could be set up as worship centers to be visited by families on their own any time on Good Friday.  (Look for the directions in the Palm/Passion Sunday chapter.)

Go to http://www.homiliesbyemail.com/Special/friday/sounds.txt for an order of worship featuring the sounds of Good Friday.  This particular service is a three hour watch service intended mainly for adults.  But I can see it being wonderfully adapted for services including children.  Perhaps a youth class or group could create a recording of the sounds for each reading.  If they worked on one story each week reading the story and creating the tape in would be a deep Lenten experience for them.

Help children follow the order of worship by printing a small clip art picture related to the story next to each reading.

In John’s gospel Jesus is almost in charge of everything that happens.  Children who depend on adults to be in charge of the world around them especially appreciate this view of Jesus.  They like that he just took the violence, that he forgave the thief and the crowd, that he took care of his mother.  This is the same Jesus they know and love in all the other gospel stories. 

Isaiah 52: 13-53:12

If they are told that many people think this description of a suffering servant is a lot like Jesus on Good Friday, children can listen for words and phrases that connect to the Passion stories.

Psalm 22

Introduce this simply as a prayer Jesus might have prayed on the cross.  Encourage listeners to listen for words that tell how Jesus might have felt on the cross and for words that might have given him comfort and hope on the cross.

It begins “my God why have you forsaken me (“left me on my own when I needed you” to children)” and ends with a statement of great faith in God.  Point out that it is a good prayer to remember when we feel abandoned and hopeless and stuck.  Jesus felt that way on the cross, but still trusted God.

Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9

The image of Jesus as high priest is foreign to Protestant children who do not have a "priest" leading their congregation.  Children who know a priest will interpret this image to mean Jesus is sort of  "super priest" and see Jesus as being and doing a lot like the priests they know.  (Some of you who  worship in priest led congregations, may want to weigh in on this in the Comments.) 

To understand the writer's message in his terms, we must understand the Old Testament sacrificial theology.  Even when they are given the facts today's children are confused.  They ask unanswerable questions like, “Why do we have to forgive people for free, but God has to have a sacrifice to forgive us?”  “Why would killing an animal make God happy?”  Jesus may come out looking OK, but God looks rather scary.  Given this I think that this is one image of Jesus that needs to wait until later – much later.

Hebrews 10:16-25

Children see very drippy, red images when reading about "entering the sanctuary by the blood of Jesus."  For them verse 17b "I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more" is the most useful commentary on the Passion.  Jesus was killed, but he forgave everyone involved in it and he he promises to forgive us.  The stories of Jesus forgiving the thief and the crowd are amazing, but make sense to children.  If Jesus could forgive them, we can trust him to forgive us as well.  That is the very heart of the Good Friday message for children. 

Year A - The Sixth Sunday in Lent Palm/Passion Sunday (April 17, 2011)

LITURY OF THE PALMS

First, a word about the palms distributed to children and other worshipers.  The single strips of greenery often distributed to the congregation are not palm branches.  They are at best leaves from palm branches or even sections of leaves.  Children handed one of them and told to wave their palm branches are puzzled.  For good reason, they cannot imagine people waving such a thing to welcome Jesus.  So, to help them join the crowd on Palm Sunday provide them with real palm branches.  (They can be ordered from the same distributors at not that much greater a price.) 

  

The only reason to order the little strips of palms is to use them as Bible bookmarks or to make them into palm crosses.  To do the latter follow the directions with photographs at http://www.kingofpeace.org/resources/ . 

I heard about one worship leader who walked the  whole congregation through making palm crosses of their own during the worship service, projecting the step by step photographs.  Worshipers were urged to take their crosses home to post on the refrigerator, a bathroom mirror, or some other visible spot where it can dry during the year.

Or, save palm Sunday crosses made today to make ashes for next Ash Wednesday.  Burn the crosses then crush them in a small bowl with a pestle and mixed the ashes with a little oil for use at the imposition of ashes.  The worship leader who described this  suggested that the majority of the ashes be prepared before the service, setting aside a few to be crushed during the service while the significance of ashes made from last Palm Sunday’s palms is explained.  It would also be possible to prepare the ashes with an older children’s class during the church school hour to both teach them about the ashes and encourage their attendance on Ash Wednesday.  (Warning:  ashes mixed with water may form lye which will burn the skin.  So, mix ashes with olive or any other kitchen oil.)

Palm Sunday processionals at the beginning of worship are a tradition in many congregations.  Often children lead or follow the choir/s waving palm branches.  Adults love these parades.  As children age, they can become uncomfortable and feel “on display” in them.  For them, the best parades are those that include worshipers of all ages mixed together.  It is possible for the entire congregation to begin worship outside or in “the hall” and then process into the sanctuary together.  When they process as a group, older children appreciate having a stylized way of carrying their palm branch such as help across their chest and pointed up toward their shoulder. 

In my book Sharing the Easter Faith With Children there are scripts for two calls to worship led by children.  One has children yelling set lines from several corners of the sanctuary.  The other has a group of children at the rear of the sanctuary answering a worship leader in the front and is based on Psalm 24.

 

Matthew 21:1-11

Though Matthew does not mention children participating in this parade, other gospel writers do and most worshipers imagine children present.  That makes this a good opportunity to have the gospel read by a well prepared child.

The Palm Sunday parade is all about what kind of king Jesus intended to be and how he would use power.  This leads many preachers to speak about political power and how it is used today.  Though they miss some of the details of such political discussion, older children are quite ready to explore the theme.  While younger children simply want power and insist they will use it well.  Older children are becoming more aware of the difficulty of using power well.  They are beginning to recognize that some leaders claim power and privilege for themselves and other leaders use power on behalf of others.  They have heard enough of the stories of people such as Martin Luther King, Ghandi, and Mother Teresa to know the importance of their contributions and to realize that being a servant leader has a price.  For these older children, Jesus entry into Jerusalem is both about Jesus and about the leader they hope to become.

One way to explore these two kinds of leaders is to display two crowns: a crown of thorns and a king’s crown.  Pick each one up and ponder the differences in the people who wear them.  This could be a children’s sermon, but would be more effective if done within the “real” sermon.  A gardener can probably create a crown of thorns and very presentable royal crowns can be purchased cheaply at party shops or borrowed from a local theater group.

Even if you are observing Palm rather than Palm/Passion Sunday, consider reading Philippians 2:5-11 to explore its description of Jesus’ kingship.  A trained dancer could take the directions below as a starting point to creating movements that interpret the psalm as it is read.  Or, children could be asked to come forward to help present this text to the congregation.  Introduce the passage as the words to a very old song about the kind of king Jesus is.  Before reading it once, suggest that they listen for movements.  Then, reread it inviting the children to join you in the movements below.

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                                                        Philippians 2:5-11

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,

Raised hands and face upturned toward heaven

but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness.

Rock a baby in your arms

And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

Arms out to the side as if on cross

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name,

Raised hands and face upturned toward heaven

so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Kneel and bring hands together in prayer

and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Stay on knees and raise hands and face to heaven

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Psalm 118.1-2,19-29

Psalm 118 echoes the parade story in Matthew.  Many of the verses could be shouts from the crowd.  To bring it to life, prepare readers to be scattered throughout the congregation to stand and shout one verse.  Reader 1 who reads the first and last verses is a worship leader standing in the lectern.  Remaining  readers could be of many different ages or could be the members of a teenage church school class.  (Teenagers with practice can read loudly enough to be heard without a microphone.  Older children are likely to be too soft even after a shouting practice.)  If 11 readers are too many to gather, settle for fewer assigning two or more verses to each reader.  This reading could be a call to worship or it could immediately follow the reading of the gospel lesson.

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          Psalm 118:1-2, 19-29

Reader 1:         O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

his steadfast love endures forever!

Reader 2:         Let Israel say,

“His steadfast love endures forever.”

Reader 3:         Open to me the gates of righteousness,

that I may enter through them

and give thanks to the Lord.

Reader 4:         This is the gate of the Lord;

the righteous shall enter through it.

Reader 5:         I thank you that you have answered me

and have become my salvation.

Reader 6:         The stone that the builders rejected

has become the chief cornerstone.

This is the Lord’s doing;

it is marvelous in our eyes.

Reader 7:         This is the day that the Lord has made;

let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Reader 8:         Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!

Reader 9:         O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

Reader 10:       Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.

We bless you from the house of the Lord.

Reader 11:       The Lord is God,

and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches,

up to the horns of the altar.

Reader 12:       You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

you are my God, I will extol you.

Reader 1:         O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever.

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LITURGY OF THE PASSION

Vocabulary Heads Up:  for children passion is kissy, icky, mushy stuff.  Few have even claimed passion as an intense enthusiasm, as in “she has a passion for the cello.”  So, it is probably best to simply introduce “Passion with a capital P” as the title given to the stories Jesus betrayal, trials, and crucifixion.

Matthew 26:14-27 or Matthew 27:11-54

The chief question children ask about the passion narrative is “Why did people hate Jesus that much?”  They simply cannot fit this story with all the others about Jesus being a friend, a healer, and a helper.  In one kindergarten class a boy posed this question and was answered by another boy thoughtfully, “Jesus said they had to share and they didn’t want to.”  Right on target!  Jesus called people to share, to forgive each other, to take care of each other, even to love people who do not love us back.  None of this is easy on either the personal or national level.  Because people did not want to do those hard things, they wanted Jesus to stop saying them or go away.  Since he wouldn’t stop saying them, they got rid of him – they thought.  It is a stretch but worthwhile to explore the possibility that they hated Jesus because they knew he was right, but did not want to do what he asked. 

If you have a good history of public conversations with children, explore this with the children during a children’s time.  Open by reminding them of all the wonderful things Jesus did.  Mention three or four well known stories about loving, kind Jesus.  Then present a rough wooden cross or a picture of the crucifixion and ask, “How could that have happened to him?”  If no answer is immediately offered, note that this is a question people have puzzled over for many years.  Then, recall some of the hard sayings about sharing and loving enemies.  Talk about how hard they are to keep and how bad it feels when you know you don’t do what Jesus said.  If you have history of talking about such things in worship, children will start weighing in and together you can move to some conclusions.

If you state this question at the beginning of the sermon, many children will be hooked and will stay with you as long as they can.  Be sure to get the simplest answers out first (before you lose the children), then move on to the more adult answers to the question.  This is both safer  than public conversation in a children’s time and teaches children that sermons might be interesting – at least in bits.

Often the entire passion story is read during worship.  It is powerful, but long.  To keep worshipers of all ages tuned in, read it in sections.  Have each section read by a different reader and separated with music, perhaps a mix of short choir pieces and verses of appropriate hymns sung by the congregation.  (“Go To Dark Gethsemane” is a good choice for children.  Matching the verses with the biblical accounts helps children understand both more clearly.)  Select readers of both sexes and all ages.  A teenage boy might read Peter’s part.  The Burial and Posting of the Guards at the Tomb can be read by two older children who come to the lectern together and read without a pause between them.  Because it is the longest reading, the Crucifixion requires an especially dramatic public reader.

Mat.      26.14-16               Judas Reader     Judas agrees to betray Jesus

                26:17-30               Reader 1              Last Supper

                                                Judas Reader     interrupts to read vv. 21-25 about Judas

Music?

                26:31-35               Peter Reader     Jesus predicts Peter’s denials

                26:36-46               Reader 2              Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane

                26:47-57               Judas Reader     Arrest in the Garden

Music?

                26:58-68               Reader 3              Trial before Caiaphas

                26:69-75               Peter Reader     Peter’s Denials

                27:1-26                 Reader 4              Trial before Pilate

                                                                              Judas Reader could interrupt to read vv. 3-5

Consider omitting vv. 6-10 for sake of time

Music?

                27:27-56               Reader 5              Crucifixion

                27:57-61               Child Reader 1   Burial

                27:62-66               Child Reader 2   Guards at the tomb

Go to http://www.sermonsfromseattle.com/series_b_the_passion_story.htm for a script in which the congregation takes the part of the crowd declaring Jesus guilty and calling for his crucifixion. 

Peter’s First Easter, by Walter Wangerin Jr., has Peter telling his experiences from the Last Supper through Jesus forgiveness at the fish fry on the beach.  Older boys especially appreciate his straight-forward, strong but emotional account of what happened.  The art depicts Peter and Jesus as strong believable men.  The book is too long to read in its entirety, but a single story could be read from this book at children’s time during a service with a sermon rather than reading of The Passion. 

Adult worshipers know that Easter follows this horrible story.  But, children, especially younger children may not.  Even if they have heard the Easter story, they may not place it after the passion.  Older children who may be tuning into this reading of the full passion story for the first time, often respond strongly.  So, it is important to end with a reminder that God has a wonderful surprise waiting.  If you buried the Alleluia in a box, bring out the box, refer to what is in it, and invite the children to come next week to celebrate God’s wonderful surprise ending.  It can be worth the effort to call the children up front briefly to be sure they hear this promise of a better ending.

Philippians 2:5-11

Use the movement of this great hymn about Christ to summarize the Passion.   See the directions for a trained dancer or for the children to come forward to move to this reading.  (Directions are in the Palm Liturgy section at the beginning of this post.)