Year C - Proper 26, 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, 24th Sunday after Pentecost (November 3, 2013)

There are choices to be made by worship planners this weekend.

Halloween was on Thursday night, but will probably be celebrated in many communities on Friday and on into the weekend.  The Habakkuk reading and the format of Psalm 119 provide great opportunities for meditating on our fears.

All Saints Day was on Friday, but will be celebrated in many churches on Sunday.  If you are one of those, go to All Saints Day - Year C.  But also check out these texts since there are some interesting connections.  Another possibility to consider is the gospel text about life after death found in Proper 27.  It could be moved here saving Zaccheus for next week.  Go to Proper 27 (Year C) to see the details.

And, if you live in the USA it is time change Sunday.  So no matter what texts you select, remember to set your clock back an hour to claim that wonderful extra hour of sleep.

The Texts

Habakkuk 1:1-4, 2:1-4

F  Habakkuk complains about the violence and injustice that are causing so much pain in the world.  He speaks in generalities about what everyone fears and then delivers God’s promise that the violence and evil will not be the final word.  On Halloween we practice facing up to our fears.  We tell scary stories, walk through haunted houses, and dress up as monsters.  Children’s Halloween picture books range from tales in which heroes rise above their fears and in the process prove the scary thing or place is not so scary after all to tales in which monsters are shown to be just like us.  (There is even a take-off on Good Night Moon called Good Night Goon in which a young monster says goodnight to all the scary-to-us stuff that is part of his everyday life and a similar take off on Runaway Bunny called Runaway Mummy.) 

F  Display a not-too-scary mask (remember it doesn’t take much to scare the youngest).  Handle it, describe how it might frighten you but then point out that it is just a mask and not all that scary.  Use this as an entry to identifying the things we really fear – that bullies at school will go after us, that something bad will happen to someone we love, that we will get lost, that there will be a war where we live, that we will never be able to do what we want most to do….   If the children’s fears lead to talking about adult fears about jobs, the economy, world conflicts, etc., the children learn that fear is part of life.  They will then be ready to hear God’s promise to Habakkuk and us in Habakkuk 2:2-4. 

GOD SAYS

“Those who are evil will not survive,

but those who are righteous will live

because they are faithful to God.”

F  The TEV provides the translation of verse 4 that makes most sense to children: “Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.”  Write it in large letters on a big poster.  Have fun seeing if someone running up the aisle can read it while running.  Then, note that God’s goal in asking Habakkuk to write the message so big was that God wanted everyone to read it and know that God was on the side of the faithful and against the evil.

F  Suggest that everyone in the congregation hold hands because you are going to talk about scary things.  Then start with Halloween-y things and progress to the violent scary parts of everyday life for people of all ages.  Read Habakkuk 2:2-4 again, explaining some of its meaning related to the fears you have named.  Shake hands loose or clap hands to celebrate not having to be afraid because God is with us and will not all the bad things have the last word.
 

F  Some Things Are Scary, by Florence Parry Heide, is a random collection of things that scare children.  Turn to some of them to be sure the things that scare children as well as the things that scare adults get attention today.  

 

F  Display a large poster or some other item with an Alpha and Omega on it (maybe a stole or parament).  Explain its meaning and connect it with Habakkuk’s message.  Just as God was in charge at the beginning, God will be in charge at the end, so we don’t have to worry.  We can trust God.

F  Sing “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” after Halloween and in response to Habakkuk’s list of all the things that are going wrong.  It was written by Martin Luther while he was hiding in castle from people who wanted to kill him.  Tell this brief story of its writing before singing it and encourage worshipers to watch for fear and trust words. 

Psalm 119:137-14

F  Psalm 119 is an acrostic, that is an alphabet poem.  Each line in each section starts with a word beginning with the same letter.  The lines in this section start with the Hebrew letter zade/tsade (צַ).  If possible show a Hebrew Bible opened to this psalm or print this passage in Hebrew in your worship bulletin and help people recognize the repeated letter. 

When reading the psalm, have the congregation say the Hebrew letter zade before each line is read.

F  Each line says something about the value of God’s Word.  Hebrew poets rhyme ideas rather than sounds.  So, they say the same thing over and over again in slightly different ways.  For example,

It is a beautiful day.

The sun is bright and there is not a cloud in the sky.

It is wonderfully warm and there is a pleasant breeze.

I wish every day were just like this one.

Then, read one or two of the lines about God’s Word to show their similarity. 

F  Challenge children (and others) to write an alphabet psalm praising God on Halloween weekend or on other days when we are afraid.  Below is an activity sheet for doing this using words that begin with the letter H in honor of Halloween. 

N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

Try some of             Write a psalm prayer about fear. 

these words            Make each line begin with H in honor of Halloween.

 

Help

H_______________________________

Have

 

Hope

H_______________________________

Heal

 

Hallelujah

H_______________________________

Hear

 

Hide

H_______________________________

Happy

 

Hold

H_______________________________

How

 

Horrible

H_______________________________

 

 

N N N N N N N N N N N N N N N

Isaiah 1:10-18

To understand Isaiah’s message one needs detailed information about worship in Old Testament times and then be able to connect that message to our different form of worship today.  That is a tough task for children.  So I would tend to use the other Old Testament texts.  If you do work with this one, go straight to verses 17 and 18 with the children.  They are more direct and use more familiar words. 

F  If your congregation regularly uses the language about sins as scarlet being made white as snow, this is a good chance to explain what we are saying when we say that and then to use it in the usual way.  Bring something rough and deep red (even a wadded up ball of red Christmas foil) and something soft and white (maybe a white sweater or piece of white cotton).  As you discuss the colors, remember that most children would prefer red over white.  For them the stark difference between red (think red ribbons, Christmas, valentines..) and white (think white paper, white shirt, OK, maybe also snow, but… white is generally boring) is more important than the colors themselves.  Tie the difference in the colors to the different feelings we have when we are hiding sins and when we admit them in Psalm 32. 

Psalm 32:1-7   SIN  TRANSGRESSION  INIQUITY  DECEIT  GUILT

F  Psalm 32 in the New Revised Standard Version is a collection of words about sin used often in worship but nowhere else.  So, before reading it, list the words and encourage listeners to watch for them in the psalm and in other parts of worship today.  If this will be the focus of worship, give children red pencils with which to underline all the sin words they find in their printed order of worship.

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12

Because there is so much for children in the other texts and themes for this day and because a preacher is likely to go many different ways using this text, I am going to leave it with you.  If you find a great connection for children, please share it with the rest of us in the Comments.

Luke 19:1-10

F  This is another text that can take worship leaders many different directions.  Themes that speak especially clearly to children include:

• People CAN change.  Zacchaeus changed.  You can change.  People around you can change. 
• The best way to deal with a troublesome person or enemy is to become a friend.  We can follow Jesus’ example by eating with the lonely ones or inviting them to eat with us in the school lunch room.
• Giving away money or stuff can save you (or bring happiness).  Jesus told Zacchaeus that returning the money he stole and giving half of all he had to the poor was going “to save his life.”  Take time to define “save his life” to include bring happiness, peace, and a place among God’s people as well as eternal salvation.

F  Jesus and Zacchaeus get most of the attention in this story.  But the crowd is us and is worthy of our attention.  To explore their responses, enlist the help of a few youth or adults.  Their job is to show the crowd’s response at key points in the story using their faces and their whole bodies.  The script below could be used to prepare a rehearsed pantomime.  Or, it could be the beginning of a more free-wheeling interaction between members of the crowd as the worship leader helps them and the congregation explore the response of the crowd to what happened.

MNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLO

Luke 19:1-10

 19:1 He entered Jericho and was passing through it.

 

19:2 A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich

Zacchaeus stands proudly to one side.

 

19:3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.

Jesus stands to the other side.  The crowd steps between the two and they jostle with each other with knowing smiles to keep Zacchaeus at the back of the crowd.

 

19:4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way.

Zacchaeus climbs a short step ladder.

 

19:5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today."

Jesus calls Zacchaeus down. 

 

19:6 So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him.

Zacchaeus comes down smiling happily and heads off with Jesus.

 

19:7 All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner."

At this point a worship leader steps in and works with the crowd actors to show with their faces and bodies how they might be feeling.  Feelings might range from  disbelief (Zacchaeus couldn’t change!) to disgust with Jesus for reaching out to such a sinner or maybe amazed acceptance of what happened.

 

19:8 Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much."

Zacchaeus stops, turns to Jesus as this is said.

 

19:9 Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham.

Jesus reaches out to Zacchaeus.  Putting an arm around Zacchaeus’ shoulder, walks off the stage with him.

 

19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost."

                                                                                    NRSV

MNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLOMNLO

F  It’s another opportunity to point out the invitation to the Lord’s Table and stress that it is open.  People who look hopeless like Zacchaeus (and sometimes us) are welcome. 

 

F  If it’s still Stewardship Season in your congregation, take a look at Miss Fannie’s Hat, by Jan Karon.  Elderly Miss Fannie gives the best of her grand collection of hats to raise money to fix up the church.  When she goes to church hatless on Easter morning, she finds the church surrounded by blooming rose bushes purchased with funds from the sale of her hat.  She and those all around her find great happiness in her gift.  One hopes that Zacchaeus and some of the folks he refunded will share similar happiness.

Year C - Proper 6, 11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 4th Sunday after Pentecost (June 16, 2013)

F Yes, it is Father’s Day – at least in the USA.  Ahab and David in these stories are hardly great male role models and the themes of sin and forgiveness that run through all the texts do not offer any obvious connections to the day.  So, I think recognizing fathers and fathering will have to come from other sources.

F It is also Juneteenth, the celebration of the ending of slavery in the USA.  The theme of God’s justice and forgiveness have clear connections to this day.  Since I have never participated in a Juneteeth celebration, I’ll not presume to give suggestions.  But, I’d love to read some ideas from those of you who are more experienced AND now find myself wanting to add this to my calendar of holy days.  Maybe I’ll have more to offer next year.

F Today’s texts are a rich stew of related ideas:  Sin, Grace, Forgiveness, Law, and God’s Justice.  It will be easy to lose the children in all the abstract words.  So, pick one or two as the focus knowing you will get to explore the others on others Sundays. 

F One place all the themes come together is in “(I believe in) the forgiveness of sins” in the Apostles’ Creed.  Usually that phrase is lost in all the others near the end of the creed.  Highlight it today.

Point it out in the middle of the creed or interrupt the reading of the creed to say, “Wait a minute.  What did you just say?  What did you mean?”  Explore it in the sermon.  Then call on worshipers to read the entire creed after the sermon.

Compare and contrast all the forgiven sinners in today’s texts and insist that we are just like them.

Insist that when we say this line we are saying both that God forgives us and that we can forgive each other.

Create a responsive reading by summarizing each of today’s stories about forgiven people.  Worshipers reply to each summary, “We believe in the forgiveness of sin.”

 

1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a and 2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:10, 13-15

                                                      GREED

F We have here the stores of two greedy kings.  One wants a vineyard the owner will not sell.  The other wants the wife of another man for his own.  Both operated on the Toddlers Law of Possession – I see it, I want it, it is mine!”  Though even children can laugh at that law, they have a very hard time learning that they cannot have everything they want.  These adult kings obviously have not quite got it yet.  Older children appreciate the fact that both Ahab (who was bad most of the time) and David (who was good most of the time) tried to grab what was not theirs.  Greed is something with which we all struggle.  So make it the theme of the day.  Present it with a big green GREED poster.  Illustrate greed with stories about greedy people of all ages.  Pray prayer of confession and intercession about greed. 

Feel free to copy or jump off from my version of the Greed Monster.
Also feel free to spell sandals correctly.

 

L L L L L L L L L L L L L L

F Responsive Prayer of Confession about Greed

We see ads on TV about cars and clothes and yummy looking food and great toys and cool electronic equipment.  We know we do not need it all. But…

We want it!

We see all the cool stuff our friends have.  They look so good in their clothes and seem so happy using all their toys.  We want to be like them.  So...

We want it!

When we are sad we think that we’d feel happy if we just had something special to eat or some new toy to play with.  Even though we know it will not really fix anything …

We want it!

When we feel that we are not good enough or smart enough or pretty enough, we think we would we be better, smarter or prettier if we just had that one special thing.  Even though we know that is probably not true…

We want it!

God, the world is filled with so many wonderful things.  Forgive us when we get greedy, wanting every fine thing we see for ourselves.  Forgive us when we hurt others as we grab what we want.  Teach us to see and enjoy without grabbing for ourselves.  Help us know the difference between what we want and what we need.  We pray in the name of Jesus who never grabbed anything for himself.

Amen.

J J J J J J J J J J J J J J

F Prayer of Confession with hand motions:  Invite worshipers to pray with their hands to confess their grabby greed following the lead of the worship leader who prays aloud and shows the motions for worshipers to follow.  Yes, this is an “eyes open, hands closed prayer.”

(With grabby hands held near chests)  God, the world is filled with so many wonderful things.  It is easy to want them all for ourselves.  Forgive us when we get grabby.  Forgive us when we take what is not ours.  Forgive us when use and hurt other people as we try to get what we want. 

(With open hands lying in laps)  Teach us to see things others have without grabbing for them.  Help us see the difference between what we want and what we need.  Most of all remind us that people are more important than any stuff.  We pray in Jesus name.  Amen.

(Reaching out to one another with open hands)  The good news is that God knows we all struggle with greed and that God is with us in those struggles and forgives us when we fail.  So we can relax and reach out to one another with open hands to say “Peace of God be with you.”

F To explore sin and anger using another biblical story, read Rabbi Sandy Sasso’s Cain and Abel: Finding the Fruits of Peace.  It takes almost 10 minutes to read the entire story aloud.  During the laid back summer it could be the entire sermon. 

 

 

1 Kings 21:1-10, (11-14), 15-21a

F Before reading this story explain to children who do not live in vineyard country what a vineyard is – a grape garden.

F The biblical account of Naboth stealing the vineyard next door includes repeated conversations in which children get lost.  For an easier-to-follow account turn to one of these Bible story book accounts.

“Naboth’s Vineyard” in Children of God Storybook Bible by Desmond Tutu is very simple and concise.  It reads aloud in about 2 minutes.

The Children’s Bible in 365 Stories by Mary Batchelor offers a much fuller account with lots of details children appreciate in two sequential stories #167 “Ahab’s Kitchen Garden” and #168 “The King Gets His Way.”  Read both stories aloud in about 5 minutes.

F If you are growing an Elijah display this month, today add a bunch of artificial grapes.  (Go to Worship Display to Link Elijah Stories for details of this display.)

Psalm 5:1-8

F To summarize this psalm for children read only the verses below from The Good News Bible (TEV) as a prayer that Ahab, David, the gospel woman, Simon, and even we ourselves might pray.

You are not a God who is pleased with wrongdoing;

you allow no evil in your presence.

But because of your great love

I can come into your house;

Lord, lead me to do your will;

make your way plain for me to follow.

From TEV Psalm 5:4,7a, 8

2 Samuel 11:26 - 12:10, 13-15

F The story of David and Bathsheba appears in parts on two consecutive Sundays during the summer of Year B in the lectionary.  Psalm 51 which is attributed to David in response to what happened in the story is the psalm that goes with the story there.  Go to Year B Proper 7 for ideas and resources for worship built around this story.

L L L L L L L L L L L L L L

F Prayer of Confession:

God when we want to do something we know is wrong, we find lots of excuses.  We tell ourselves that we are special, so it OK.  We tell ourselves that it is not so very wrong and does not really matter.  We even tell ourselves no one will found out what we did.  But wrong is wrong.  Forgive us when we try to forget that.  Help us know what is right and what is wrong and to act in good ways.  Amen.

Assurance:  Jesus promises that God always forgives us.  Our job is to admit what we have done, to say we are sorry, and to try to heal people we hurt by what we did.  When God forgives us, we can do that.

J J J J J J J J J J J J J J

 

Psalm 32

F Read verses 1-5 and trace the sequence of events from sin to hiding to confessing to be forgiven just before the prayers of confession and assurance of pardon.  Point out the connections to this sequence in your usual liturgy.  Walk through the prayers you will share today.  Then invite the worshipers to join you in confessing and being forgiven.

F Children love the humor (“Don’t be stupid like a horse or a mule”) in verses 8 and 9.  Display a picture of horse in eins and discuss how the rider gets the horse to go where it should.  OR, ask a rider to bring the equipment and talk through the process with you.  OR, translate the whole illustration to a dog on a leash.  After explaining the illustration, make the point that God expects us to know what is right and wrong and to do it on our own – without a leash or reins.

Galatians 2:15-21

F Paul may know that none of us can keep all the rules perfectly all the time, but many children (especially older elementary girls like Hermoine in the Harry Potter saga) do not believe that about themselves.  They have great faith in the power of good rules and KNOW that they can keep all the rules perfectly.  It will be several years before they admit to themselves that even they mess up in important ways in spite of their best efforts.  Given that, I’d work with other texts today or introduce this briefly to children to plant seeds for later growth.

Luke 7:36 – 8:3

F This story is paired with one or both of the Old Testament stories to balance to God’s judgment with God’s forgiveness.  It is an important discussion, but one that is challenging for children.  They do better focusing on either judgment or forgiveness and being reminded of the other reality.  The bottom line is that God is very clear about what is right and what is wrong and expects us to live according to those ideas.  There are consequence when we choose to do wrong.  BUT, God also loves and forgives us when we admit to the ways we choose wrong.  When we apologize, God forgives us and treats us as if it had never happened. 

F Another theme to explore in this story is the call to forget as well as forgive.  The woman had been forgiven.  Simon still remembered what she had done and who she had been and treated her accordingly.  Jesus on the other hand forgot what she had done and welcomed her as a loving person who was giving him a wonderful gift.  Children need to hear this distinction and can use the story as a challenge to help them forget old hurts that have been technically forgiven.  They appreciate hearing that adults have trouble doing this too.

F Many older elementary girls are bothered by the lack of women in the stories about Jesus.  The women are there, but often do not get the attention they need to become role models for girls.  The loving gift of the forgiven woman and the care the group of women provided for Jesus and the other disciples are an opportunity to gather and celebrate stories about women in the gospels.  Tell stories about them or have a series of girls and women read home grown monologues or bits of their stories from the Bible.  In addition to the women in today’s gospel consider Jesus’ Aunt Elizabeth and mother Mary, the gentile mother who argued with Jesus to get him to heal her daughter, the woman who trusted Jesus to heal her if she could just touch his garment, his friends Mary and Martha, the women at the cross and tomb, and more.

Year B - Proper 12, 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, 9th Sunday after Pentecost (July 29, 2012)

There are two sets of oddly divided texts this week and next week.  So, the folks at the “Rumors” blog (and others) suggest combining the two texts about David and Bathsheba so that you read about both the sin and its consequence on one Sunday and combining John 6:1-21 and 24-35 to explore the event and its meaning on one Sunday.  The David stories would fall on July 29^th  leaving the feeding story and the beginning of the four week exploration of its meaning for August 5, which is a communion  Sunday in many congregations.  Not a bad at all! 

With today’s gospel we start a five week series of readings from John about the bread of life.  One commentator said that the synoptics tell us the story of the Last Supper.  John does not tell the story, but includes a whole chapter on its meaning.  That invites us to do a lot of worship education about Communion during August.  And, there is lots to point out and explain to the children with the adults listening in and learning, too.  I’ll make a Communion connection for gospel lesson.  These could become children’s times, be worked into the real sermon, or be practice sessions just before the Eucharist liturgy.

2 Samuel 11:1-15 (and maybe 11:26-12:13a)

D If you combine today’s story of David’s sin with next week’s story of God’s judgment, the story gets a little long.  To keep interest have it read dramatically by a David reader and a Nathan reader as follows:

David               2 Samuel 11:1-15

Nathan                               11:26 – 12:4

David                                 12:5-6

Nathan                               12:7-10  (I’d omit vss 11-12)

David                                 12:13a

D This story is heard very differently by people of different ages and sexes.  For children, David’s sin is not adultery, but stealing another man’s wife, then having him killed to cover up his theft.  It’s a matter of breaking the rules.  Young children assume that rules are made by the biggest, most powerful person in the room and are non-negotiable.  To them this story says that even great King David should have followed the rules.  No one is above Gods’ rules.  As children grow through elementary school, they realize that many rules are indeed negotiable.  Almost every group they are part of makes or clarifies its rules.  They empathize with David’s wish to choose the rules he did or did not follow.  In their own ways they follow his logic to get what they want.

“But the big kids do it, and I’m really a big kid now…I’m a fourth grader!...”

“But it’s my birthday…” and I thought the usual rules wouldn’t apply today

“But I wanted it sooooo much!”

“Sure, I knew it was wrong, but I didn’t think anyone would mind just this one time – I’ll never do it again, promise.”

Psalm 14 or Psalm 51:1-12

D Children will catch little of Psalm 14’s insistence that we are all sinners.  For them Psalm 51 is a much better choice.

D Most children have little grasp of their own sinfulness.  They know they do the occasional bad thing, but are not overwhelmed by it.  Few have had the opportunity to steal a wife or murder.  So, introduce Psalm 51 as the psalm David prayed after he had stolen Bathsheba and had her husband killed.  The children can begin to understand now why the images in the prayer fit David and thus be ready to claim those images and the prayer for themselves when they need them later.

D Children hear the poetic images in Psalm 51 literally.  So, “create in me a clean heart” sounds like “cut me open, take out my heart, scrub it down, and then stick it back in me.”  Ouch!  Point this out and then explore what it really means.  Describe how we feel dirty and yucky when know we have done things that are wrong and that have hurt other people.  We feel so rotten that we want to hide.  Then describe how clean and fresh and new we feel when we admit what we have done and do whatever we can to fix the hurt we have caused.  An unhappy family road trip with fussing over toys, food and space in the back seat might be a good illustration of these dirty and clean feelings.

D If you plan to use parts of Psalm 51 in the prayer of confession, gather the children before praying it.  Briefly tell the children the story behind it and put its meaning into your own words.  Then, pray it together.

The prayers of confession generally come early in worship.  It would be possible to pray them this week without comment at that time.  Then, pray them again after a sermon in which their meaning has been explored in detail.  During the sermon you might walk through that part of the liturgy explaining the sequence of confession, assurance, response, and passing the peace.  You might even practice any sung responses.  Repeating the whole process after this explanation will give it more meaning today and help worshipers of all ages participate in it more fully in the future.

D After exploring David’s story and prayer, use verse 11 in a responsive prayer of confession for the whole congregation.

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h

Leader:  Lord of all the world, there are so many things we want.  We want to eat the best food, we want to wear stylish clothes, we want to do what we want when we want to do it.  We want to be popular and successful and rich and beautiful.  We want.  We Want.  We want.

All:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Leader:  God of justice, too often we will do anything to get what we want.  We will break any rule.  We will lie.  We will cheat.  We will steal.  We will even hurt other people so we can have what we want.

All:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Leader:  God, too often it seems that each of our sins leads to more sins.  To hide the shameful things we have done, we break more rules and hurt more people.  We lose our ways in half-truths and broken promises.  Sometimes, the whole world feels dirty and lost and hopeless.

All:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Leader:  Have mercy on us, O God.  In your steady love and your abundant mercy, forgive our sins.

All:  Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

h h h h h h h h h h h h h h h 

2 Kings 4:42-44

Elisha’s feeding 100 people with very little echoes the gospel story, but adds nothing new and different.  Rather than add it, I’d focus on just the one gospel story for the children.

Psalm 145:10-18

G In connection with the feeding story, this psalm of praise becomes a meal time blessing.  Describe mealtime blessings, not as a way to change the food, but as a way to remind the eaters that all food comes from God.  Use this as an opportunity to challenge households to adopt this practice at least once a day.  Assign this as worship homework for the coming week.  Suggest several possible blessings, including Psalm 145:10, 15-16.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your faithful shall bless you.

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand,

satisfying the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:10, 15-16

G My favorite book of mealtime blessings for families which include young children is Thank You for This Food: Action Prayers, Songs, and Blessings for Mealtime, by Debbie Trafton O’Neal.  Since it costs about $3.00 it would be possible to give a copy to each family with young children to encourage them in adopting this spiritual discipline.

G Get into the spirit of this psalm by inviting children forward to enjoy an apple slice or small cookie with you.  When they arrive, identify with them all the people who were involved in getting this treat to you.  Trace it all the way back to God who planned for the raw materials.  In a brief prayer thank God for all these people and their work and praise God for the raw materials.  Then give out and enjoy the treat.

Ephesians 3:14-21

F This is Paul’s prayer for the churches of Ephesus.  In children’s words, Paul asks that

- the Holy spirit give them power to be strong inside,

- Christ live in their hearts so that they may always act lovingly

- they will get at least a hint of the incredible, too-large-to-imagine love of God at work in the world.

F Children are more interested in the possibility of praying for the church than they are in Paul’s prayer for his churches.  Invite them to create a prayer for your particular church.

Brainstorm prayer ideas together, writing them down as you go.  Then, meld them together into one prayer you offer on behalf of the children.

Give children paper and colored pens with which to draw prayers for your church.  Before passing out the supplies, brainstorm together people or groups in your congregation for which they might pray and general things they might say to God about this congregation.  Show the children how to make a scribble prayer by drawing a large loose scribble, filling in the holes with names (or pictures) of people or groups, then decorating each hole while talking to God about that person or group in the church.  Invite the children to work on their prayers during the sermon and place them in the offering plates when they are passed.

F If Olympic fever is running high, talk about the pressure on the athletes to do their best and WIN and the secret Paul knows that God loves each one of them no matter how well they do.  Together pray for the athletes.

John 6:1-21

G See the note at the beginning of this post about saving this text to combine with next week’s John reading on a Sunday when Communion is celebrated.  To keep the focus on one story, I’d edit the reading to John 6:1-15 and 24-35 with the briefest of words about Jesus and the disciples getting to the other side of the sea between the sets of verses. 

G Include an older elementary aged boy among the readers today.  If you read only verses 1-15, have them read by the boy.  If you read verses 1-21 have the boy read verses 1-15 and a man read verses 16-21.  If you combine today’s reading with next weeks text, have a boy read verses 1-15 and a man read verse 24-35.  It might be a good father-son leadership responsibility.

G To explore the miraculous nature of the feeding and maybe Jesus walking on water, introduce either or both as surprises.  No one expected they would happen.  Wear something surprising – maybe tennis shoes or flip-flops under your robe?  Stand before the children asking what about you is surprising today.  Then ask them what question they asked when they first saw that.  With any luck, it will be “why did you wear THOSE?”  Congratulate them on asking a good question.  Tell them you wore those shoes to help them recognize the right question to ask when you see something surprising.  Go on to talk about Jesus’ feeding the crowd with one boy’s lunch.  The right question to ask is not “how did he do that?” but “why did he do that?” or “what does that mean?”  Briefly answer the “why?” question for Jesus’ surprising feeding of the crowd and encourage worshipers to ask the right question, i.e. the “why?” question, of other surprising things Jesus does.

G There are a variety of answers to the question, “Why did Jesus feed the crowd this way?  What was he trying to tell us?”  To spin them out for children try some of the following.

Jesus was telling us that he/God is very interested in getting people enough to eat.  That makes it a good day to feature feeding ministries your church supports.  Just as it was surprising that one’s boys lunch in Jesus’ hands could feed a crowd, so it is surprising how many people can eat when all of us pool our food and money.  Give out grocery sacks printed with lists of things the local food bank needs and challenge families to fill them and deposit them at the food bank or at a designated spot at the church during the coming week.

Another thing Jesus might have been telling us when he fed the crowd is, “Hey, there is enough food to go around.  All you have to do is share!”  With children this challenges their desire to get “their fair share of cookies, fries, gifts, EVERYTHING.”  Ponder what Jesus is saying to us when we feel like we have to fight to get our fair share? 

To help children understand the fact that Jesus was interested in feeding people more than just food, display pictures of people in several “feeding” professions, e.g. teachers who feed students knowledge, social service caseworkers who work to get people food AND clothes, housing, whatever they need to survive, even a doctor who give people medicine so that they will be healthy.  Discuss how each feeds people.  Offer prayers for people who feed others.

G If Communion will be celebrated this week, display the Eucharist loaf and perhaps a basket of many kinds of bread.  Point out that bread comes in many shapes and sizes and is one food that people all around the world eat every day.

With very young children, display a basket of many kinds of bread common to your community (hot dog buns, tortillas/wraps, pizza crust, sliced sandwich bread, dinner rolls, etc.)  Enjoy naming all the breads.  Then point to the bread on the table.  Remind the children that Jesus said to eat bread and drink from the cup at communion to remember him.  Suggest that today they remember that Jesus fed people.  Also urge them to remember Jesus every time they eat bread.

OR

With older children, display a basket of breads from around the world (pitas, Russian pumpernickel, French baguettes, Indian nan, cornbread, tortillas, etc.)  Identify the different breads and the people who eat them.  Note that all the people in the world eat bread every day.  Point to the bread on the communion table and briefly ponder the possibility that Jesus chose bread as his symbol very carefully.  He wanted his symbol to be something we all recognize and share every day.  When we come to the Table we can imagine people all around the world eating bread with us.

G Allison Bauer, a minster and blogger in Pennsylvania, claims that there is more to inviting children to the Table than just handing them the bread and cup.  So one Sunday she gathered the children around the Table to talk about who is invited to the Table.  She then had them issue the invitation with her by echoing each phrase of the Invitation as she said it to the children and the congregation.  Cool idea!

G Invite worshipers to imagine themselves in the crowd Jesus fed as they sing “I Come With Joy.”