Sunday School: September 7, 2014 13 Pentecost A Proper 18

Sunday, September 7, 2014  13 Pentecost A Proper 18


Theme: Where two or three are gathered Jesus promises to be present
             Teaching points: Reminders that even when mom and dad and others are not around, they still are present in the ways in which they inspire the very best behavior.

Make WWJD, pins or bracelets as a reminder that Jesus is always present with us to do the right things and to get along well with each other.


Puppet Show:

Welcome to Sunday School Puppet School

Michelle, the emcee, Susie, (Pam) the young girl,  Marilyn (Kathryn) the young girl, and Jesus (Eric)

Michelle: Welcome boys and girls to Rally Sunday.  Do you know what Rally Sunday is?   It is a celebration for the start of Sunday School.  Today is the day we begin our Sunday School Program.  We had a summer vacation and now we start Sunday School.

Susie:  Miss Michelle, I have a question.  Why do we have to go to school on Sunday?  We go to school during the week.  Why don’t we take a break from school on Sunday?

Michelle:  That is a very good question Susie.  We come to Sunday School to remember that we are in the most important school in our lives.

Marilyn:  What School is more important than Charter School?  Or Nordstrom?  Or P.A. Walsh?  Or Jackson Oaks?  Or Oakwood?  Or Paradise Valley?   Those are some of our schools.  Why is Sunday School more important than our schools?

Michelle:  Does anyone know what the followers of Jesus were called?  You remember people like Peter, James, John, Philip and Bartholomew?

Susie:  I think they were called disciples.

Michelle:  That is right Susie, good answer!  But do you know another word for disciple?

Marilyn:  Does it mean pastor or priest? Like Father Phil.

Michelle:  Well, a pastor or priest is a disciple of Jesus but disciple means something just a little different than pastor or priest.  A disciple is a student or a pupil.  So a disciple of Jesus is a student of Jesus.

Susie:  I get it!  So we come to church on Sunday because all of us are students of Jesus.

Marilyn:  So that means that we are always in two schools; we are in our elementary schools and we are in Sunday School.

Michelle:  Jesus was a great teacher and his students learned many things from him.

Susie:  What did they learn?  Did they learn arithmetic?  Did they learn how to read and write?

Michelle:  No, they learn some very important rules about how to live good lives.

Marilyn:  What rules did they learn.

Susie:  They learn the 10 commandments.

Michelle:  That is correct Susie and they learned about loving God with all of their hearts and they learned about loving their neighbors.  And there was something wonderful about how Jesus taught his students.

Marilyn:  How did Jesus teach his students?

Michelle:  How many of you like to hear stories and riddles?  Well, Jesus taught his students using wonderful stories.

Susie:  Are we going to hear stories at Sunday School? 

Michelle:  Yes, each week we read stories in the Bible; we read stories about Jesus.  And we look at the stories to see what lessons we can learn about how we can live better lives.

Marilyn:  Do we have to memorize things?  Do we have to take tests?

Michelle:  When you say memorize, it sound like hard work, but when you say “remember” it seems easier.  When I tell Alex to put on his bike helmet, I don’t ask him to memorize it, I ask him to “remember” to put on helmet.  Why?  Because I want him to be safe.

Susie:  So we learn in Sunday School some important things to remember so that we can live successful lives?

Michelle:  That’s right.  And you know what?  We need get out of Sunday School because we never stop being students of Jesus Christ.  Your parents and grandparents are also still students of Christ.

Marilyn:  What would Jesus do if he were here today?

Susie:  I bet that Jesus would welcome us and he would enroll us in his school as his students.

Jesus appears:

Jesus:  Susie, you are right. I am glad that all of you have come to Sunday School.  I am glad that all of you are students in my school.  And now I want to enroll you in Sunday School for this fall.  Can everyone stand?  Now put your right hand on your heart and repeat after me.

Jesus:  I am a student of Jesus Christ.

All:  I am a student of Jesus Christ.

Jesus:  I promise to follow him as my Lord and Savior.

All:  I promise to follow him as my Lord and Savior.

Jesus:  I promise to learn new things about God each week.

All:  I promise to learn new things about God each week.

Jesus:  I promise to be a Sunday School Student at St. John’s.

All:  I promise to be a Sunday School Student at St. John’s.

Jesus:  With God’s help I will be a good student of Jesus Christ.

All:  With God’s help I will be a good student of Jesus Christ.

Jesus:  May God bless you as a student in Sunday School Amen.

Michelle:  Thank you coming and welcome to St. John’s Sunday School.  We’re going to have a great year.  

 Family Liturgy

September 7, 2014: The Thirteenth Sunday of Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High, Sing a New Song,  

 Liturgist:     Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

People:       And Blessed be God’s kingdom, now and forever.  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.

Song: Lord, I Lift Your Name on High (Renew!  # 4)

Lord, I lift your name on high; Lord, I love to sing your praises.  I’m so glad you’re in my life; I’m so glad you came to save us.  You came from heaven to earth to show the way, from the earth to the cross, my debt to pay.  From the cross to the grave, from the grave to the sky; Lord, I lift you name on high!

(Sing three times)

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:          And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Grant us, O Lord, to trust in you with all our hearts; for, as you always resist the proud who confide in their own strength, so you never forsake those who make their boast of your mercy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: 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 Letter of Paul to the Romans

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, "You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet"; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 149

Hallelujah! Sing to the LORD a new song; * sing his praise in the congregation of the faithful.

Let Israel rejoice in his Maker; * let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

Let them praise his Name in the dance; * let them sing praise to him with timbrel and harp.

Birthdays:  Bailey Dimas, Jayne Perryman, Kyle Perryman, Alexis Parish, Bonni Rice

Anniversaries:   

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 Matthew

People:          Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them."

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.

Your prayers are asked for the health and comfort of  Debbie,   Jane, Mary, Miranda,   Jairo, Linda, Al, Jim,  Arabella, Leslie, Larry, Paul, Heidi, Steve,   Elsie,  Aiden, Jim, Dorothy, Victor, Stephen, Carson,   Ann, Don, Temme, Georgia, Margarita, Jerry, Julie, Mary Beth, Richard, Dixie,  Emily, Ron, Rose Marie, Doris M,  Doris L., Pat P.,  Carolyn,    Betty, David, Ernie, Chloe, Nick, Daniele, Danica, Stefanya,   Carol, Annie-Sue,  Ed,   Rick, Clifford, Mary,  Leslie Ann, Patty,  Burke,  Keith, Kristen,   John,  Mike, Patty, Joyce, Michelle,  Ava, Mary,  Sarat, Wilma, Tom, Eva, Lorraine, Ganla, Krishna, Ganla Gouri Devi, Jim Lee

Faithful Departed:     

Your Prayers are asked for those in the Armed Forces:  Jeremy, Harry, Joseph, Steven, David,  Daniel and Eric.Forces: Jeremy, Joseph,  Dominic, Steven, David,  Daniel and Eric

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

Offertory Music: Jesus Stand Among Us, (Renew # 237)

1     Jesus, stand among us in your risen power; let this time of worship be a hallowed hour.

2      Breathe the Holy Spirit into every heart; bid the fears and sorrow from each soul depart.

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 our 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.

(Children may gather around the altar)

The Celebrant now praises God for the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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 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,

(Children rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

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 Hymn:  Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

1     Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

2     So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

3     Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

 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: Sing a New Song, (Renew!  #21)

Refrain: Sing a new song unto the Lord; let your song be sung from mountains high.  Sing a new song unto the Lord, singing, “Alleluia.”

1.    Yahweh’s people dance for joy; O come before the Lord.  And play for him on glad tambourines, and let your trumpet sound.  Refrain

2.    Rise, O children, from your sleep; your Savior now has come.  He has turned your sorrow to joy and fill your soul with song.  Refrain

Dismissal:   

Liturgist:    Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People:      Thanks be to God! 

The Tetragrammaton Is Not a New Video Game

12 Pentecost, Cycle A  Proper 17, August31, 2014

Exodus 3:1-15  Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c

Romans 12:9-21  Matthew 16:21-28

Lectionary Link

Priya: Are you familiar with the Tetragrammaton?

Chike: No, is that the latest video game?  Should I buy a copy today?

Priya: No, it is not a video game.  It is the unpronounceable name of God Almighty?

Arinze: But you just said God Almighty.  So you pronounced the name of God.

Priya: Well, yes I did but God Almighty are English words for God, but the ancient Hebrews did not pronounce a particular written form of the name of God.

Chike: Is that like the rock star Prince, who decided not to have a name any longer and so he became just a symbol?

Arinze: Well, people still had to talk about him; a symbol is only written and so people began to say "The artist formerly known as Prince."

Priya: Well, God's name came to be written in the Hebrew language.    And it is written with four Hebrew consonants.  Tetragrammaton means "four letters" which in English would be YHWH.  And if you added vowel sounds to the consonants, you might say, "Yahweh."  But of course, when we say Yahweh, we offend devout Jews because we are presuming to speak the holy and special name of God which cannot be pronounced.

Chike: But don't we still use the word Jehovah to refer to God in the English language?

Arinze: When they started to try to say Hebrew words and names in English they used to replace the Y sound with the hard J sound.  So, the old Jehovah is the new Yahweh.

Priya: So Yahweh is the pronounced name of the Holy God formerly pronounced as Jehovah.

Chike: How did it come that God's name should not be pronounced?

Arinze:  The story of the calling of Moses to lead Israel out of Egypt began with a fire which all firefighters would like?

Priya:  Why?

Arinze: Because it gave the special effects of a bush being on fire, but the bush did not burn and the fire did not spread.

Chike: Well, that some special effects!  Why do you think God appeared to Moses in such a spectacular way?

Priya: I think it was because God needed to get Moses attention.  Moses had run away from his people in Egypt.  He had gone to the land of Midian and got married and settled down.  He wanted to forget about his failure in his first attempt to lead his people.  But God would not let him forget about his responsibility to lead his people to freedom.

Arinze: Well, Moses was only human.  Sometimes it is very hard to deal with failure.

Chike: Sometimes when we fail, we just want to give up.  We just want to run away.  I think Moses gave up when he had a failure.  He doubted himself.  He did not believe that he had the ability to be the leader of the people of Israel.

Priya: I think that this story about Moses is important for us because we can get very disappointed when we experience failure.  Failure hurts even more when it involves the rejection by the people we are trying to help.

Arinze:  Yes, it was a real blow to the pride of Moses.  He wanted to help lead his people to freedom and in his first effort, he angered both the Egyptians and also his fellow Israelites.

Chike:  Moses was thinking, "What's a use?    I'll just run far away and start a new life somewhere else."  And that's what Moses did.

Priya:  This story tells us someone wonderful about God.

Arinze: What's that?

Priya: It tells us that God does not give up on anyone.  It tells us that we look at failure differently than God does.

Chike: How does God look at failure?

Priya: I think that God looks at failure as simply training and practice to live our lives better.

Arinze: Priya, do you think that you would believe God if you saw a burning bush and heard a voice from God speak to you.

Priya: Well, I don't always hear or listen when my brothers or parents are speaking to me, but I think if I saw these special effects, I would believe.

Chike: Even when Moses saw the burning bush and heard the voice, he asked God to tell him the Divine Name.

Arinze: And God said, "I am that I am or I shall be that I shall be."  The special Holy Name of God may be a form of the verb "to be." And so when God told Moses that the divine name was "I am that I am," it could be that Yahweh is a form of the verb "to be."

Priya: Since God is the greatest and best Being, it means that God always was, is now, and will always be in the future.  So the name of God could mean that God is more everlasting than anyone or anything else.

Chike: God is always going to be around.  Perhaps God was trying to tell Moses to keep trying because even our failure cannot make God go away or stop being God.

Priya: Well, I am glad that God doesn't have to speak through burning bushes and thundering voices.

Arinze: Why not?

Priya:  It seems a little scary and not very personal.

Chike: That is why Jesus Christ is important.

Arinze:  How so?

Chike: Jesus Christ is God in a human person.  Since God came to us in the form of a human person, we can know and feel treated by God in very personal ways.

Priya: Jesus was a teacher for his friends and students.  He needed to remind them about the true nature of the messiah.  He told that education and learning is like dying to an old state of ignorance so that one could learn new things.

Arinze: Taking up one's cross and following Jesus became an important phrase in the early church.  It did not mean that people wanted to be crucified like Jesus.  It meant that they were die to the things which are bad and be born to the things which are good.

Chike: Well I glad that we have learned some lessons today.

Priya: What have we learned?

Arinze: We learned that God does not give up on us when we think that we have failed.

Chike: Yes, failure is simply a teaching method to get better.

Priya:  And if God does not give up on us, we should not give up on ourselves and each other.

Arinze: We also learned that God does many things to get our attention, even dreams and visions and voices.

Chike:  But God has spoken to us best by sending Jesus Christ to this world.

Priya: And Jesus remains with us through the words of the Bible and through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Arinze: The words of Jesus remind us that we never graduate from the school of life where God is always trying to teach us new lessons.  We die to old ignorance to take on new knowledge.  This is the educational process of life.

Chike: Moses learned it.

Priya: The disciples of Jesus finally learned the lessons of God in their lives.

Arinze: Let us remember that God is always trying to get our attention so that we might learn to become better people.

Chike:  Amen to that.

Priya:  And can everyone say "Amen?"

Amen.