Sunday School, June 2, 2024 2 Pentecost B, Proper 4
God’s Law and How to use it
Laws can be very general or very specific
Love God, Love your Neighbor, Love Yourself: these are general laws.
Drive 25 miles per hours in a school zone: This is a very specific laws.
Think about some very specific laws that you know about
Think about some very specific family rules
Think about the reasonable use of a law.
You must always clean your bedroom on Saturday mornings.
Would there ever be exceptions to this family law?
What about if you were sick?
What if you were gone?
What is a soccer match happened at the same time?
What would you think about your parents if they made you clean your bedroom on Saturday morning even if you were sick?
In the time of Jesus there were rules for the Sabbath
On the Sabbath one was supposed to rest from work.
But what counts for work on the Sabbath?
Can a farmer feed the farm animals on Sunday?
Can parents work to fix meals for their family on Sunday?
Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath. Some of the religious leader told him that he had broken God’s law because healing was on the Sabbath when he was not supposed to be working.
Jesus said that Sabbath law was made for people to honor God and people were not made so that they could follow Sabbath laws.
Laws are good but we have to know how to use laws in the right way.
Fire fighters, police, nurses and doctors work on Sunday and the Sabbath, why? Because healing people, taking care of people and protecting people are important. The big rules to love God, love one’s neighbors, and love oneself can be adjust to little rules which help to make life loving, kind and fair to everyone and still honor God.
Sermon:
How many of you have rules in your family?
Do your rules ever get broken?
Do your parent want you to eat the food that is put on your plate?
But do they make you eat food if you have a tummy ache or if you are sick? Why not? If you are sick, then rules about eating change. Why? Because the rules have to change to help a person when they are sick. Right.
Do your parents make you take a bath? Do you have to take a bath if you are sick? No. Again the rules change when you are sick.
Does a police car have to stop at a red light if they have turned on their flashing lights and sirens and if the police car is rushing to an accident?
No, the police get to break the law. The same is true for fire trucks and for ambulances. So there are special situations in life that make us change or adjust the rules.
In the time of Jesus there was a law about the Sabbath. The Sabbath was a day of rest, a day of worship. And no one was supposed to work on the Sabbath. But what did Jesus do? He healed a sick woman on the Sabbath. And the religious leader got mad at him for breaking the rule. And Jesus told the religious leader that he was being silly about the rule of the Sabbath. You give water to your animals on the Sabbath and that is work but you still do it. So why is it wrong to heal a sick woman on the Sabbath?
Jesus showed that laws are good, but they still have to used in the right ways so that they truly help people.
What if I am playing soccer with you and there is only one soccer ball and it is mine. So, when we play soccer, I get to touch the soccer ball with my hands. And you say, “That’s not fair.” And I say, “Too bad. If you don’t want to follow my rules, then I am going to take my ball and go home.”
What kind of rule would that be? It would be a selfish rule that served only me. And because I owned the only soccer ball, I controlled the game.” That would not be a fair rule, would it?
Jesus said that the leaders were not fair in their rules. They made rules that were good for them and their jobs, but not good for ordinary people who wanted to know that God loved and care for them.
So you and I need to remember that laws and rules are good, but we have to know how to use them so that they truly help us to love God and help us to love and help other people. That is what Jesus taught us about the law. Amen
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
June 2, 2024: The Second Sunday after Pentecost
Gathering Songs: Hallelu, Hallelujah, He’s Got the Whole World, I Come with Joy, I’ve Got Peace
Song: Hallelu, Hallelujah (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 84)
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.
Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.
Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah.
Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah, Praise ye the Lord.
Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
People: And blessed be God’s kingdom, now and for ever. Amen.
Liturgist: Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.
And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.
Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Liturgist: The Lord be with you.
People: And also with you.
Liturgist: Let us pray
O God, your never-failing providence sets in order all things both in heaven and earth: Put away from us, we entreat you, all hurtful things, and give us those things which are profitable for us; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen..
Litany Phrase: Alleluia (chanted)
O God, you are Great! Alleluia
O God, you have made us! Alleluia
O God, you have made yourself known to us! Alleluia
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior! Alleluia
O God, you have given us a Christian family! Alleluia
O God, you have forgiven our sins! Alleluia
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead! Alleluia
A reading from the Second Letter to the Corinthians
We do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.
Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 81
1 Sing with joy to God our strength * and raise a loud shout to the God of Jacob.
2 Raise a song and sound the timbrel, * the merry harp, and the lyre.
3 Blow the ram's-horn at the new moon, * and at the full moon, the day of our feast.
4 For this is a statute for Israel, * a law of the God of Jacob.
Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)
Litanist:
For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!
For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!
For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!
For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!
For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!
For work and for play. Thanks be to God!
For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!
For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!
For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.
Thanks be to God!
Liturgist: The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark
People: Glory to you, Lord Christ.
One sabbath Jesus and his disciples were going through the grainfields; and as they made their way his disciples began to pluck heads of grain. The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?” And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need of food? He entered the house of God, when Abiathar was high priest, and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and he gave some to his companions.” Then he said to them, “The sabbath was made for humankind, and not humankind for the sabbath; so the Son of Man is lord even of the sabbath.” Again he entered the synagogue, and a man was there who had a withered hand. They watched him to see whether he would cure him on the sabbath, so that they might accuse him. And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come forward.” Then he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. He looked around at them with anger; he was grieved at their hardness of heart and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored. The Pharisees went out and immediately conspired with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.
Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.
People: Praise to you, Lord Christ.
Sermon – Father Phil
Children’s Creed
We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.
Since God is so great and we are so small,
We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.
We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus Christ.
We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.
We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is
welcome.
We believe that Christ is kind and fair.
We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.
And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever. Amen.
Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy. (chanted)
For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.
For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.
For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.
For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.
For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.
For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.
For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.
For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.
Liturgist: The Peace of the Lord be always with you.
People: And also with you.
Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering.
Song: He’s Got the Whole World (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 90)
He’s got the whole world; in his hands he’s got the whole wide world in his hands. He’s got the whole world in his hands; he’s got the whole world in his hands.
He’s got the little tiny babies. ….
Brother and the sisters….
Mothers and the fathers…..
Doxology
Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
Prologue to the Eucharist
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”
All become members of a family by birth or adoption.
Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.
A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.
The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.
The Lord be with you
And also with you.
Lift up your hearts
We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to God.
It is right to give God thanks and praise.
It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts. Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)
Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might. Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.
Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.
All may gather around the altar
Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;
You have made us in your image
And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:
Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.
And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph
And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.
Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat
the bread and drink the wine, we can know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as
this food and drink that becomes a part of us.
And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.
On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."
After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."
Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.
Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ. May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.
By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory
is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.
And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,
Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)
Our Father who art in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.
Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.
Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.
And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.
As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.
Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.
But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.
Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.
Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.
Breaking of the Bread
Celebrant: Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore let us keep the feast. Alleluia!
Words of Administration
Communion Song: I Come With Joy (Renew! # 195)
1-I come with joy a child of God, forgiven, loved, and free, the life of Jesus to recall, in love laid down for me.
2-I come with Christians, far and near to find, as all are fed, the new community of love in Christ’s communion bread.
3-As Christ breaks bread, and bids us share, each proud division ends. The love that made us makes us one, and strangers now are friends.
Post-Communion Prayer
Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;
We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.
And His Presence has been known to us.
We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers
and sisters in Christ.
Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the
bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,
As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Closing Song I’ve Got Peace Like a River (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 122)
1 I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river in my soul. I’ve got peace like a river, I’ve got peace like a river. I’ve got peace like a river in my soul..
2 I’ve got love….
3 I’ve got joy……
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!
