Soooo many options that speak
to children this week!!!! This is
probably the longest post ever.
> There are three natural
storms that awe Job, panic the disciples in a boat, and overtake
those who go down to the sea in ships in Psalm 107. In both northern and southern hemispheres
late June can be a stormy time. So, it
is easy for everyone to get into the fear of the storms.
Set the stage with a stormy, dissonant musical prelude. If they are familiar in your area, add a
storm siren. Hang the storm flags used
in coastal regions. If you taped red
streamers to electric box fans on Pentecost, tape dark blue, gray and black
streamers to remind of the storms. Begin
worship with a call to worship that names God’s power and our fears and invites
the congregation to respond to each, “When there is rough weather ahead we turn
to you, O God.”
Adults
immediately make the mental jump from
natural storms to storms in fighting friends, problems in families, wars
between countries, illnesses that
upend our lives and the lives of all around us, etc. Children need help. Early in the service specifically tell them
about these other kinds of storms. Show
pictures of a variety of storms asking “What is the storm here?” “How does it
feel to be in this storm?” Then
encourage them to listen for the storms in worship today and for suggestions
about how we face all kinds of storms.
> The common element in all these storms is our fear of their power. None of these stories deny the power of the
storms. They are there and are
real. But, each one insists that God is
with us in all the storms. Children are
often told not to be afraid. These
passages say that fear is the appropriate response, but that fear doesn’t need
to overpower us. Jesus/God is with
us.
Singing from the Lectionary
> This is a good week to check out “Singing From the Lectionary” Australian Natalie Sims’ blog that suggests worship songs for each text for each Sunday of the Lectionary year. She includes everything from old standby hymns to camp songs to new songs. She cites sources and offers suggestions of how to sing each song. When they are available she provides sound samples and links to sheet music. She also labels the hymns that are Good for kids. Today there are lots of those for several texts. So go to Singing from the Lectionary and check it out.
1 Samuel 17: (1a, 4-11, 19-23) 32-49
> The story in the Bible is long, but everyone might
enjoy hearing the whole thing read from the Bible. Children especially enjoy hearing a story
they probably know read in church from the big Bible. (BTW I couldn’t find a version of this story
in a children’s Bible storybook that I particularly like. If someone else has one, speak up!)
> To make it more dramatic, have it read by three males
– a deep-voiced big Goliath, a 10-12 year old David, and one of the usual
liturgists. They stand in the front each
carrying their script in a choir folder to read. One past commenter made the Goliath reader about as tall
as Goliath by standing him on a stool.
The reading will be smoothest with either lapel mikes or three separate
mikes. Try this script.
GOLIATH David GOLIATH David GOLIATH David GOLIATH
1 Samuel 17: 1a, 4-11, 20-23, 32-49
Philistine
Reader: Now the Philistines gathered their armies for
battle; they were gathered at Socoh. And,
there came out from the camp of the Philistines a champion named Goliath, of
Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.
He had a helmet of bronze on his head, and he was armed with a coat of
mail; the weight of the coat was five thousand shekels of bronze. He had
greaves of bronze on his legs and a javelin of bronze slung between his
shoulders. The shaft of his spear was
like a weaver’s beam, and his spear’s head weighed six hundred shekels of iron;
and his shield-bearer went before him. He stood and shouted to the ranks of
Israel, “Why have you come out to draw up for battle? Am I not a Philistine,
and are you not servants of Saul? Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come
down to me. If he is able to fight with
me and kill me, then we will be your servants; but if I prevail against him and
kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us.” And the Philistine said, “Today I defy
the ranks of Israel! Give me a man, that we may fight together.”
Israelite
Reader: When Saul and all Israel heard these words of
the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid….
David
Reader: David rose early in the morning, left the
sheep with a keeper, took the provisions, and went as Jesse had commanded him.
He came to the encampment as the army was going forth to the battle line,
shouting the war cry. Israel and the
Philistines drew up for battle, army against army. David left the things in charge of the
keeper of the baggage, ran to the ranks, and went and greeted his
brothers. As he talked with them, the
champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, came up out of the ranks of
the Philistines, and spoke the same words as before. And David heard him.
David said to Saul, “Let no one’s heart fail
because of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”
Israelite
Reader: Saul said to David, “You are not able to go
against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are just a boy, and he has
been a warrior from his youth.”
David
Reader: But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to
keep sheep for his father; and whenever a lion or a bear came, and took a lamb
from the flock, I went after it and
struck it down, rescuing the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned against me,
I would catch it by the jaw, strike it down, and kill it. Your servant has killed both lions and bears;
and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, since he has
defied the armies of the living God.” David said, “The Lord, who saved me from the paw of the lion and from the paw
of the bear, will save me from the hand of this Philistine.”
Israelite
Reader: So Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you!” Saul clothed David with his armor; he put a
bronze helmet on his head and clothed him with a coat of mail. David strapped Saul’s sword over the armor,
and he tried in vain to walk, for he was not used to them.
David
Reader: Then David said to Saul, “I cannot walk with
these; for I am not used to them.” So David removed them. Then he took his staff in his hand, and chose
five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in his shepherd’s bag, in the
pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near to the Philistine.
Philistine
Reader: The Philistine came on and drew near to
David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. When the Philistine looked and saw
David, he disdained him, for he was only a youth, ruddy and handsome in
appearance. The Philistine said to
David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed
David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come to
me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the wild animals
of the field.”
David
Reader: But David said to the Philistine, “You come
to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied. This
very day the Lord will deliver you
into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head; and I will give
the dead bodies of the Philistine army this very day to the birds of the air
and to the wild animals of the earth, so that all the earth may know that there
is a God in Israel, and that all this
assembly may know that the Lord
does not save by sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s and he will give you into our hand.”
Philistine
Reader: When the Philistine drew nearer to meet
David,
David
Reader: David ran quickly toward the battle line to
meet the Philistine. David put his hand
in his bag, took out a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his
forehead; the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell face down on the
ground.
From
the NRSV
GOLIATH David GOLIATH David GOLIATH David GOLIATH
> How big was Goliath? Well actually he wasn’t as big as some
cartoon giants. He was between 7 and 10
feet tall. He was a very big man and
from his words we know he was mean. His
spear weighed about 19 pounds. The
javelins used in the Olympics today weigh one and a half pounds. (If you have one pound and 20 pound gym
weights, let children handle them to get a sense of the difference.)
> The challenge is to get worshipers of all ages past
the way this story is used in our culture to say that the little guy can beat
the big guy to the biblical message that God’s power is
stronger than the power of humans – even giants. Unpack this by paying careful attention to
the war of words that precedes the physical battle. What does Goliath say? What is his power? Then, What does David say? Note that David does not say “I come to you
with the perfect aim of my deadly slingshot” but “I come to you in the name of
the Lord Almighty.” Reread the rest of
David’s speech taking time to highlight his reason for getting into this fight
and who he thinks is going to be the winning power.
> Compare David with the other Israelite soldiers. The other soldiers facing Goliath said “I’m
scared” and “I can’t (because I am scared).”
David said who does that giant think he is dissing God? God can use me and my trusty slingshot to
teach him a lesson. Then, identify
times when we all say “I’m scared” or “I can’t (because I am scared)” and
challenge worshipers to follow David’s example.
> Have a group of children retell the story singing “Only A Boy Named
David” with the motions. Find
free sheet music at Joyful Life Sunday School. Watch
a group of children sing it with motions here. http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=only+a+boy+named+david&qpvt=only+a+boy+named+david&FORM=VDRE#view=detail&mid=273EA3ECAF70DC743CCE273EA3ECAF70DC743CCE .
Three children’s stories that parallel
David and Goliath:
> If you are uncomfortable with David’s use of violence
to settle the score with Goliath, take a look at “How
to Train Your Dragon” (2010 animated movie). In it Hiccup, the puny son of the Viking
chief Stoik the Vast, conquers a dragon by befriending it. (There is a clip in which Hiccup tells his
friend Astrid that when he looked into the eyes of the dragon, he saw someone
just like himself and realized that the dragon was afraid too.) In return the dragon becomes Hiccup’s
partner. Together they save the village
and replace the animosity between dragons and Vikings with friendship. The problem with this is that it strays from
the Bible’s insistence that God rather than human physical or mental powers
wins the day. But it does parallel the
small guy winning – and without resorting to violence.
> Another movie that connects to this story is “The Karate Kid.” David perfected his slingshot skills doing
the mostly dull, boring job of taking care of the family sheep. In the 1984 Karate Kid, the kid builds his
muscles and responses by sanding and repainting a very long wooden fence and
repeatedly polishing an old car. In the
2010 version he must repeatedly pick his jacket up from the floor and hang it
on a hook. In both versions the Kid
hated the job and did not understand until later how it prepared him for his
Karate match.
> The Recess Queen, by Alexis O’Neill, is a school yard David and
Goliath story featuring big ol’ Mean Jean who terrorized the playground and
Katie Sue, the tiny new kid, who stood up to her and asked her to play with
her. When another kid urged Mean Jean to
respond to Katie Sue’s invitation to jump rope with her, she did and the two
became fast playground friends. Seems none
of the terrified children had ever asked asked Mean Jean to play with
them. It takes 5 minutes to read the
rhyming story aloud and you better practice reading it a time or two to get all
the fun language right.
> Add a slingshot like the biblical ones to David’s hand. Children enjoy comparing it with the forked stick slingshots with which they are more familiar. There are lots of YouTube videos about making and using this type of slingshot. These are two of my favorites.
7
minute demo with some interesting factoids and very detailed directions for
making your own slingshot. This one uses
nylon braid. It would look more
authentic if made out of brown twine or leather lacing.
A
repeated demo of a man using such a sling shot
Psalm 9:9-20
This is a psalm David might
have prayed while taking care of his sheep (and so perfecting the skill of
trusting God) and/or while walking toward Goliath. It is an acrostic and makes most sense in
that format. Have it read by a
series of readers of all ages with each reader stating his or her letter before
reading that section. Readers stand bravely
in a line at the front of the sanctuary.
I can trust God I can trust
God I can trust God
Psalm 9:9-20
Waw The Lord
is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
And those who know your name put their trust
in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken
those who seek you.
those who seek you.
Zain Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the
afflicted.
Het Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up
from the gates of death,
from the gates of death,
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
Tet The nations have sunk in the pit that they
made;
in the net that they hid
has their own foot been caught.
has their own foot been caught.
The Lord
has made himself known,
he has executed judgment;
he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work
of their own hands.
of their own hands.
Yod The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.
Kaph For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish
forever.
Rise up, O Lord!
Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are
only human.
Based on
NRSV
I can trust God I can trust
God I can trust God
1 Samuel 17:57 – 18:5, 10-16
> I suspect that this text is offered in the RCL as
alternate for those who do not want to read about David and Goliath in
worship. It is in many ways a summary of
the complicated relationships between David, Saul, and Jonathon. I think both these texts need to be
read. Go to Planning for NINE Weeks of David to ponder how this might be done this year in a David
series.
> “David and Jonathan” in The Family Story Bible, by Ralph Milton,
fleshes out the details of this story and adds further stories about the
problems between David and Saul and the friendship between David and
Jonathan. (Reads aloud in 4 minutes)
> Depending on what other stories of David you plan to
read on the coming Sundays, today add the spear to David (maybe lay it on the
floor beside him since Saul rather than David threw it and it landed near David)
and/or the “My Best Friend is Jonathon” heart. If you add them both, note as you do how hard
it must have been for David and Jonathon when Saul hated David so much. Ponder the fact that friendships are not
always easy. To keep a friend one often
has to get past some very real problems.
Psalm 133
> Today Psalm 133 celebrates the
friendship of Saul and Jonathan (especially
in the face of the problems presented by Saul’s hatred of David) and the
harmony Paul seeks, but sometimes does not find, in the church at Corinth. The fact that such friendships are not easily
formed or kept makes them even more precious.
> Children either laugh or are grossed out by the idea of pouring oil over someone’s head and letting it run
over his beard and down onto his collar. YECH! To get past this, explain that people in
different times and places like different things. The psalmist liked using oil on his head. We prefer to rub good smelling lotion into our
hands. If the children are gathered
around you, squirt a small bit of lotion into their hands for them to rub in as
you talk. Enjoy smelling one or two of
the hands, then reread the psalm.
> With older children try your hands at creating new psalms comparing living in peace and harmony as God’s people to activities
we enjoy today. For example, add to “How wonderful it is, how pleasant, for
God’s people to live together in harmony. It is like…” (TEV)
Smelling good lotion on our hands
Sitting around a campfire on a cold night
Wearing a warm coat on a cool day
Running barefoot through fresh grass
Job 38:1-11
To understand God’s message
from the whirlwind, one needs to hear the whole story of Job. This fall Propers 23, 24, and 25 include Job
texts. It might be better to save Job
for then. Use the Lectionary Index or
Scripture Index to check them out if you use them now. Also check the storm suggestions at the
beginning of this post.
Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32
> Psalm 107 is a road
song.
Pilgrims climbing the steep, hot road up to Jerusalem to worship at the
Temple, would recite it as they walked in groups, rather like some of the songs
families sing in cars as they travel today (think “Banana-nana-bo bana”). It has a clear pattern of verses describing
the trouble some people faced and were saved from by God and a chorus calling
on them to “thank the Lord” for their deliverance. Today’s “verse” describes the stormy problems
that befall those who go down to the sea in ships – like Jesus and his
disciples in Mark. It turns into a
responsive congregational reading.
Before reading it, tell worshipers to imagine themselves in a crowd
singing on the hot, steep road to Jerusalem.
For maximum effect have the whole congregation stand and walk in place
as they read the psalm together.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Psalm 107:1-3,
23-32
People: O
give thanks to the Lord, who is good;
whose steadfast love endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
those God redeemed from trouble
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
Solo: Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters;
they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
For he commanded and raised the stormy
wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
They mounted up to heaven, they went
down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their
calamity;
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their
distress;
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
Then they were glad because they had
quiet,
and he brought them to their desired
haven.
People: Let
them thank the Lord for this steadfast love,
for these wonderful works to
humankind.
For God satisfies the thirsty,
and fills the hungry with good things.
Based
on the NRSV
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
2 Corinthians 6:1-13
> This complex text is mainly for the adults. One message to share from it with children is
Paul’s account (vss. 3-7) of how he stuck with his job no matter how hard it
got. Read
from the Contemporary English Version
with lots of dramatic inflection.
Stop after each set of 3 difficulties to detail them with brief
specifics from Paul’s life. If you have
read the gospel storm at sea, be sure to refer to Paul’s being shipwrecked at
sea.
3 We don’t want anyone to find fault with our
work, and so we try hard not to cause problems. 4 But in
everything and in every way we show that we truly are God’s servants. We have
always been patient, though we have had a lot of trouble, suffering, and hard
times. 5 We have been beaten, put in jail, and hurt in riots. We
have worked hard and have gone without sleep or food. 6 But we
have kept ourselves pure and have been understanding, patient, and kind. The
Holy Spirit has been with us, and our love has been real. 7 We
have spoken the truth, and God’s power has worked in us. In all our struggles
we have said and done only what is right.
> The Karate Kid that connects to David’s story (see the ideas in the
section about David and Goliath above) could also be used as a parallel to
Paul’s perseverance in his mission.
Mark 4:35-41
> Imagine how Jesus’ voice sounded when
he told the wind and waves to be still.
Did he say it loudly and forcefully or gently as if calming a
puppy? Was he irritated with the
storm? Try saying it several ways. Invite worshipers to read it as they think
Jesus said/meant it.
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||
> This painting of the
storm at sea comes from the Vanderbilt Art library. There are several others just as wonderful in
different ways. Show this or one of the
others. Talk about storms and how it
feels to be caught in the storm. Point
to Jesus asleep in the boat and ask how the disciples felt when they were so
scared and Jesus was sleeping. Then read
Mark’s account of what happened. Older
children can compare the difference in the disciples’ fear of the storm and
fear of how Jesus calmed it.
> Sing “Eternal Father
Strong to Save.” In the
USA point out that it is the Navy Hymn.
Before singing it work through the phrases of verse 2 connecting them to
the gospel story. Also, point out the
final line of the first three verses.
Have the congregation say it together.
Identify groups of people who live on the sea today. Then sing the hymn.
> See other suggestions about fear in the face of storms
at the beginning of this post.
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