Lent III (March 23rd)

Season of the Church Year: Lent (Liturgical Color: purple) 

Story in Scripture: Matthew 3: 13-17

Throughout the Season on Lent, these Family Pages will consist of sharing the short story lesson that your child participated in, as well as the image that was used to convey the meaning of this day of preparation. Please hold on to all of the Lent summaries so that you can reflect on them again and again as we prepare for Easter and Jesus’ resurrection. 

“This is the 3^rd Sunday in the Season of Lent. Remember, Jesus was born as a little baby to his Mother Mary and Father Joseph. When he was a little boy, his parents lost him in the big city of Jerusalem, but they found him in the Temple, teaching. Today, we will talk about a time when Jesus was a grown up man. When he as about thirty years old, he went to the River Jordan, where his cousin, John, was baptizing people. 

Do you see John? You can see the back of his head. He was a wild man! Jesus waded into the river until he was face to face with John. He said, ‘Baptize me.’ John looked at Jesus as if for the first time. Now he saw who his cousin really was. ‘How can I baptize you? You are the Messiah, the one we have been waiting for. You must baptize me.’ 
‘No,’ said Jesus, ‘It is written that you will come before me and prepare the way. Baptize me.’ Jesus went down into the darkness and chaos of the water. When John lifted back into the light, a dove came down from heaven and came close to him. A voice came from heaven that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ 

After Jesus was baptized, he went on across the River Jordan into the desert to learn more about what God planned for him to do.” 

Lent II (March 16th)

Season of the Church Year: Common Time Lent Season (Liturgical Color: Purple)

Story in Scripture: Luke 2: 41-52

“This is the 2^nd Sunday in the Season of Lent. Last week, we learned about the beginning of Jesus’ life, when was born to Mother Mary and Father Joseph. Well… that baby grew up a little and became a boy. When he was about twelve years old, he went with his mother and father and with many other people from their village of Nazareth to the great city of Jerusalem to keep on the of the high holy days. When the celebration was over, the people from Nazareth went out through the great high gate and started on the road toward home. Suddenly, Mary and Joseph discovered that Jesus was not there! They thought he had been playing with the other children from their village as they walked together. They hurried back to the great city of Jerusalem to find him. Mary and Joseph look in the dark and narrow streets… they looked in the marketplace where they had bought their food… They looked where they had spent the night… they looked everywhere!! Finally, they looked in the Temple--- and there he was. He was talking to the rabbis, the priests. When he spoke, they listened, because he knew so much. When they spoke, they listened, because he wanted to know even more. Mary and Joseph then asked Joseph the question that all parents ask of their children, the question that is always so hard to answer: “Why did you do this?” And Jesus said something very strange. He said, “Didn’t you know that I would be in my Father’s house?” Mary and Joseph did not understand. Their house was in Nazareth… they didn’t understand that he was speaking about God, his Father. Even though they didn’t understand, they didn’t forget.”

LENTEN FOCUS IMAGE -> 

Lent I (March 9th)

Season of the Church Year: Season of Lent (Liturgical Color: Purple)

Story in Scripture: Luke 2: 1-20

Throughout the Season on Lent, these Family Pages will consist of sharing the short story lesson that your child participated in, as well as the image that was used to convey the meaning of this day of preparation. Please hold on to all of the Lent summaries so that you can reflect on them again and again as we prepare for Easter and Jesus’ resurrection. 

"This is the 1^st Sunday in the Season of Lent. During Lent, we celebrate God’s story, beginning with the birth of Jesus. In the beginning, the baby was born. God chose Mary to be the mother of God. Listen carefully! Listen to the words. God chose Mary to be the Mother of God, and the Word was born a wordless child. 
When the baby looked up into the face of the Mother Mary, he already saw the cross. When he looked into the face of the Father Joseph, the cross was there, too. 
The Mother Mary and the Father Joseph held the baby close. They kept the baby warm. They gave the baby everything he needed to grow, and of course, it began to grow.” 

LENTEN FOCUS IMAGE -->

Musical Worship Sunday (March 2nd)

Season of the Church Year: Common Time “Great Green Growing” Season (Liturgical Color: Green)

Story in Scripture: Psalm 95: 6 

This Sunday, your child participated in musical worship with their classmates and teachers. Throughout the last few weeks, they have been learning a lot about the Bible, the ways of God, and the promise of Jesus' salvation. Today, they spent time worshipping, praying, and considering how they might create a sanctuary in their heart so as to fully worship worship and adore God. As with other activities, we approach this time of worship by focusing not only on transferring "head" or cognitive knowledge of God and the Bible, but invite children to interact with both. We have chosen this way because we believe it invites them to become active participants in their spiritual growth. In our children's worship setting, we want to educate children in Lord Jesus Christ, more so than simply teaching about him and his word. Sharing God's word through storytelling, art response, and musical worship not only engages their mind, but also goes straight to the heart and draws them in. It keeps God's truths in context and allows the children to roam and explore the richness of his word. By storytelling and responsive worship, we invite them to connect with the characters and themes of the Bible- which in turn teaches them about themselves. Maybe this is the reason Jesus chose to teach this way too. 

Guiding Questions for Discussion: 

I wonder what it means to worship? 
I wonder why God wants us to make a sanctuary in our own hearts to spend time with him? 
I wonder how you like to worship? 
I wonder how Jesus worshipped God in his own life? 
I wonder how I might worship like Jesus? 

Prayer:
"Father, thank you for the opportunity to worship you. You are so wonderful and I am thankful every day for all the blessings around me. Help me to remember to worship you with my words, in my responses, and in my actions. I adore you and worship you. You are the one true Creator God. I love you. Amen." 

Jesus the Good Shepherd (Feb. 23rd)

Season of the Church Year: Great Green Growing Season/ Common Time (Liturgical Color: green) 
Story in Scripture: Psalm 23  

This parable, written by David, outlines for us beautiful imagery of the way that God truly loves us. With the children, the story is told in a hands-on, visual way, with the Good Shepherd leading the way to clear clean waters and also through dark places (represented by large black felt shapes). It is very powerful to talk with children about the Good Shepherd’s dedication to every last sheep. During our story telling today, the teacher eluded to a counting of each sheep. When one is found to be missing, the teacher moves the Good Shepherd back through it all, including the dark places, to find the missing or lost sheep. One of the most insightful responses I’ve ever heard from a child was this: After the story was complete and a connection was made between Jesus and the Good Shepherd, a student once exclaimed, “What? That good shepherd was actually Jesus the whole time!!?!?!? Wow!” This story is a fantastic way to bring the glory of God’s care for us into focus for the little ones. With the older children, this story provides an excellent beginning to a conversation about spiritual disciplines (connecting to the structure and boundary of the sheep fold), as well as the guidance of Jesus in their lives- even through places that are dark and confusing- Jesus goes first to lead us through to the other side! 

Guiding Questions for Discussion: 

I wonder how many sheep really could live in this place? 

I wonder if you have ever had to go through places of danger? 

I wonder how the sheep feel when they are with the Good Shepherd? 

I wonder how the Good Shepherd feels about the sheep? 

Prayer: 

“Dear Jesus, thank you so much for being our Good Shepherd. You care for us, you guide us, and you protect us. Help me to follow you and stay near your side, no matter if I am in times that are easy or hard. I am so grateful that you are in my life. Amen.”

Jesus Calls the Twelve Disciples (Feb. 16th)

Season of the Church Year: Common Time “Great Green Growing” Season (Liturgical Color: Green)

Story in Scripture: Mark 3: 7-19

Immediately after Jesus’s baptism in the Jordan River, he is taken to the wilderness for 40 days and nights of prayer and preparation. He is later tempted by the enemy of God. After this challenging  experience, he is ready to begin his work and ministry. But first, he must gather the right people to join him in such an adventure. Each of these men was called for a reason and each of them had the opportunity to trust God, even when it may have seemed impractical. I encourage you to discuss with your child what you know about each of the disciples (or look up information about them online or through a Bible concordance), so that you can assist your child in developing a connection with one or several of these men. For example, if your child often feels impulsive and jumps in to things too quickly, they may relate to Peter and his zeal for life. Perhaps they might learn, as Peter did, to trust and be excited about God, but to also be patient and wise. There are many fantastic books about the disciples and the amazing way that they leaned not on their own understanding, but had ultimate trust and dedication to the Messiah. The most important message of this story is that we must all choose to follow Jesus- to make our words, thoughts, and actions look like his. We are all called to be his disciples. 

Guiding Questions for Discussion:

I wonder why it was that these people that Jesus called from the crowd? 

I wonder how the twelve disciples feel being called to be with Jesus to tell the good news of God’s Kingdom? 

I wonder how the other people in the villages feel? 

I wonder if the people want to follow the way of the kingdom of God? 

Prayer:

“Father, thank you for the story of the disciples and how Jesus called them to follow him. May I also choose to say YES to Jesus and to be his disciple. Amen.” 

Jesus in the Wilderness (Feb. 9th)

Season of the Church Year: Common Time “Great Green Growing” Season (Liturgical Color: Green)

Story in Scripture: Mark 1: 12-13 and Matthew 4: 1-11

The topic of temptation is a challenging one for children. Developmentally, they are still quite impulsive and often make decisions based on spur of the moment desires and observations. Even the younger children do understand, however, that there are “good” choices and “bad” choices to be made. In this story, Jesus is brought out into a wilderness experience immediately after his baptism. He is tempted in many different ways, having each time to make the choice that, though difficult, is the “good” choice. First, he is tempted to turn stones into bread to satisfy his hunger. He responds that we need more than bread to live. Next, Satan tempts Jesus by using scripture to lure him into falling from the Temple’s apex, expecting that angels will catch him. Jesus wisely replies “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” Finally, he is tempted to submit to Satan in order to become ruler of all that he sees- all the nations of the world. Jesus explains that God is the true ruler of all. One of the most significant things about this story is that it illustrates for us that Jesus had to endure and experience human feelings, emotions, pain, and of course hunger and thirst. We know that he had to endure even more. With the children, we will be discussing how we can learn from Jesus’ example in the face of temptation. I encourage you to talk with your child about the temptations that they face. Perhaps they struggle with the temptation to cheat, make fun of others, steal, or treat others rudely. Jesus’ example can help is all to make choices that glorify God and help our neighbors. 

Guiding Questions for Discussion: 
Now I wonder what it was like to be alone in the desert for such a long time? 
I wonder what Jesus and God talked about in the desert? 
I wonder how Jesus felt when the evil one was near him? 
I wonder if it was hard to say, “NO!” ? 
I wonder if you’ve ever had to say, “NO!”? Was it difficult? 

Prayer: 
“Father, we pray that you will help us to know what to do when we think about making bad choices. Always be with us and help us to be strong and smart and make good choices. We know that Jesus is our example and we want to show trust in your way too. Amen.”