+ While some congregations
change the sanctuary for Lent on Ash Wednesday, it may also be saved for the
First Sunday in Lent when more worshipers of all ages can participate. Check Observing Lent and Celebrating Easter in 2014 and Burying the "Alleluia!" for Lent
for ideas.
TEMPTATION SIN FORGIVENESS GRACE
+ Today’s texts are dominated
by the Old Testament account of the Fall and the gospel account of Jesus’
temptation in the wilderness. It is all
about sin and temptation. So,
announce that today’s worship is brought to us by the words sin, temptation,
and forgiveness (or whatever your key words will be). Have older children each holding a poster
bearing one of the words over their heads, stand at the front of the sanctuary. (Print the word/s about sin or temptation in
heavy black and the word/s about forgiveness or grace in gold glitter.) Briefly introduce these key words and
encourage worshipers to watch and listen for them as you sing, pray, and read
together. Encourage children to
underline or circle each word every time they find it in their bulletin. The poster bearers may take their posters
back to their seats with them or may leave them displayed at the front of the sanctuary.
+ There are several opportunities
for worship education today. One is to
explore the phrase “lead us not in to temptation, but deliver us from evil” in the
Lord’s Prayer. This is one of the last
phrases of the prayer that children understand. The Ecumenical Version’s ”save us from the
time of trial, and deliver us from evil” is not much easier. The key is knowing what temptation is and
having in mind some examples of temptations with which you are familiar. Common examples for children include
a plate of cookies on the counter,
an
iced cake on the counter (no one would notice if you took one little
finger-full of it),
an
item (maybe a cool jacket or iPod?) left unattended, or
the
student in the next desk has left his work uncovered where you can hardly help
but see his/her answers.
After describing one of these
situations, point out that sometimes you see what’s there and just
automatically do the right thing without even thinking about it. But other times…. Describe how you want to have or do what you
know you should not and how you rationalize your way into doing it. Ponder the difference between those two
reactions to the same situation. Then
put “lead us not into temptation” into your own words – something like “God,
help me know what is right and wrong and be able to do what is right without
even thinking about it.”
This
could be an introduction to the Old Testament and Gospels for the day. If so, conclude it by encouraging children to
listen to two stories about people in the Bible who really were tempted.
Gen 2:15-17, 3:1-7
+ Especially if you have given
copies of the Children of God Storybook Bible, by Desmond Tutu to
families to read as a discipline during Lent but even if you have not, read “Leaving
the Garden.” (Go to Observing Lent and Celebrating Easter in 2014 for details about reading this book as a Lenten discipline.) The story is very short
and slips past the “nakedness” while adding the conversation in which Adam and Eve
both blame others for what they did (which is missing from the assigned reading
for the day). Hearing this read in worship
might encourage families to read it at home (if they have not already).
+ Children, who are constantly
pushed to take responsibility for their own actions, are puzzled by claims that
Adam’ and Eve’s bad choice to eat the apple affects them. They are more interested in exploring the
story about how Adam and Eve made that bad choice. Take time to explore each step Eve takes as
she allows herself to be tempted by the snake and even draws Adam into her
sin. Then compare Adam and Eve’s apple
temptation to tempting situations children face today. (See the list in the paragraph above about
the Lord’s Prayer.)
+ Instead of or in addition to
telling the story of the Fall, read the story of the first sin between brothers. Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace,
by Sandy Sasso, tells the story of Cain and Abel in poetic terms that make
sense to both adults and children. It
could be read as a children’s sermon or as part of the “real” sermon. The art could be shared with a small group of
children. Or, the book could be read
without sharing the art to a larger group.
(Read aloud time: about 8 minutes)
Psalm 32
+ Here is another golden
opportunity for a little worship education about the prayers of
confession and assurances of pardon - if they are a weekly part of your
worship. Psalm 32:3-5 gives you a good
biblical example of sin that is confessed and forgiven. Verses 3 and 4 describe what feels like to
have done something wrong and try to hide it.
Verse 5 describes confessing the sin to God and being forgiven. Before praying the day’s prayer of confession
and assurance of pardon, walk through both these verses and the meaning of the
prayers you will pray. Invite worshipers
to join you in adding the hand motions below to illustrate the verses more
fully.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm
32:3-5, 11
All bow heads covering face with hands
3 When I did not confess my sins,
I was worn out from crying all day long.
4 Day and night you punished me, Lord;
my strength was completely drained,
as moisture is dried up by the summer heat.
All remove hands and peek up
5 Then I confessed my sins to you;
I did not conceal my wrongdoings.
I decided to confess them to you,
All stand with
hands to side and smile
and you forgave all my sins.
11 You that are righteous, be glad
and rejoice
because of what the Lord
has done.
You that obey him,
shout for joy!
All pass the peace with neighbors
TEV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Romans 5:12-19
+ Paul’s comparison of Adam and
Christ is hard for children because children think literally. I saw it yesterday in a fifth and sixth grade
church school class. My co-teacher had
worked through the story of Jesus’ call of the fishing disciples. He ended by saying that once the disciples
had caught fish. But after meeting
Jesus, they caught people. A bright
twelve year old said, “Ah yes, cannibalism?”
He was not being sassy, but saying the first thing that came to his
literal mind. We took another shot at
explaining what it meant to fish for people, but were not too sure in the end
that our explanations really made much sense to our students. Given this, I’d not expect to meaningfully
explore Paul’s complex comparison of Adam and Christ with children.
Matthew 4:1-11
+ In children’s words the three
temptations Jesus faced and refused to give into were:
1.
To use his power
just to take care of his own needs, to be sure he got what he wanted, in this
case to turn stones into bread when he wanted bread (No one would even see him
do it out there in the wilderness; so why should he be hungry when he had the
power to turn stones into bread?)
Why not: The story began with God
leading Jesus out into the wilderness.
Being out there and being hungry was part of God’s plan. Jesus was out there to learn something
important. He was to do what God asked,
even if it meant being hungry in the wilderness.
2.
To be a
celebrity, to use his power in stunts to get attention and prove how important
he was
Why
Not: God does not want Jesus to show off or prove how powerful God is, but to
love and forgive people.
3.
To be king of the
world. If Jesus is God, Jesus knows what
is best and as king of the world could insist that everyone do what he
wanted. Jesus would make a very good
king.
Why Not: God created
people able to make choices. God wants
us to learn to make loving choices. God
didn’t want Jesus to force us to do anything.
The first temptation is the
easiest for children to understand and contains the basic reason for not giving
into temptation. Jesus and we are to
trust and obey God.
+ To help children follow the
action, present this story with three readers: a narrator standing in
the lectern, Jesus standing or seated in the center of the worship area, and
Tempter standing just behind Jesus to one side.
The readers could simply read dramatically in place. Or, they might add gestures with the Tempter
leaning over Jesus’ shoulder and Jesus firmly replying. If confident actors are available for Jesus
and the Tempter, they might even memorize their lines to be script-free to
dramatize them with their whole bodies.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Matthew 4:1-11 Reading Script
Narrator: Then Jesus was
led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. He fasted forty days and forty nights, and
afterwards he was famished. The tempter
came and said to him,
Tempter: If you are the
Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.
Narrator: But he answered,
Jesus: It is
written,
“One does not live
by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Narrator: Then the devil
took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying
to him,
Tempter: If you are the
Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,”
and “On their
hands they will bear you up,
so that you
will not dash your foot against a stone.”
Narrator: Jesus said to
him,
Jesus: Again it
is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”
Narrator: Again, the devil
took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor; and he said to him,
Tempter: All these I will
give you, if you will fall down and worship me.
Narrator: Jesus said to
him,
Jesus: “Away with you, Satan! for it is
written,
‘Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.’ ”
Narrator: Then the devil
left him, and suddenly angels came and waited on him.
New
Revised Standard Version
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
+ This wonderful cartoon telling of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness is appreciated by both
adults and children in their own ways. It is just over four minutes long. Introduce it by reading the biblical text,
then inviting worshipers to see the story again from the point of view of this
artist.
+ In the Disney Classic “Pinocchio,”
the wooden puppet who wants to be a real boy is given a cricket named Jiminy as
a guide. Jiminy Cricket explains
temptations to Pinocchio as follows:
Jiminy
Cricket: The world is full of
temptations!
Pinocchio:
Temptations?
Jiminy
Cricket: Yep.
Temptations. The wrong things
that seem right at the time but…even though…the things may seem wrong,
sometimes the wrong things may be right at the wrong times… or..a…vice-versa…
Understand? (talking faster and looking
more confused as he goes)
Pinocchio: But I am going to do right!
Either show this clip from
the “Pinocchio” video or give it your best dramatic reading. Then, work through one or two of Jesus
temptations to point out how they might have seemed reasonable… but… Finally, warn the children that just like
Jesus and Pinocchio they will face temptations, hard decisions when it will
seem like doing the right thing might not be necessary. (This could be a children’s sermon, but since
most adults and teens will remember the story of Pinocchio, it could also be
part of the “real” sermon.)
+ In “The Littlest Mermaid” Ariel
trades her best gift, her voice, to Ursula the Sea Witch whom she knows to be
evil, to get what she wants most, the chance to be with the prince on the
land. It was a bad decision from which
she was saved only by the bravery and strength of her father and a few
friends.
+ Storypath introduced me to a new book
and a new way of thinking about Jesus’ time in the wilderness. The book is The Dark, by
Lemony Snicket, which describes a young boy’s fear of the dark that is all
around him, but especially in the basement.
When he must go into the dark basement, he finds a much needed light
bulb. After that the dark is always
still there, but does not bother him.
That leads me to wonder whether during those 40 days in the wilderness,
Jesus confronted lots of fears – like fear of being hungry, snakes and other
wild animals, being totally alone, even the deep dark of the nights. When he came out of the wilderness, he must
have been fearless and ready to face whatever truly frightening situations and
people that came his way. The tester in
the wilderness was only the first of many to come. It makes me wonder if doing something that scares
us (working in a soup kitchen, speaking to someone we fear, even accept the
call to be a church school teacher…) would be an appropriate Lenten
discipline. Talk about spring training
for disciples! BTW my local library had
multiple copies of this 2013 book – all checked out! Plan ahead.
Another awesome worship guide! Thank you so much for sharing your talent!
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