Sunday School for February 22, 2015 First Sunday in Lent
Themes:
The beginning of Lent.
Present the Church calendar as a curriculum strategy of the church to divide up Christian knowledge and practice into units and each Church season has a little bit different emphases.
Talk about the various emphases of the season of Lent.
Use the analogy of training camps or pre-season training as a special time of disciple to get ready for the official season.
Lent is about penance and repentance.
Repentance is education, it is the renewing of our minds so that we might behave and perform better.
Lent sometimes means changing habits so that we can devote our time and our resources somewhere else. We may want to stop eating fast food during Lent and use the money for the food bank. We don't give up things just to give things up; we give up things because we are taking up better things which will benefit our community and world.
We may want to take on a re-cycling project during Lent or do something good for the environment.
The Scripture lessons:
The meaning of the number 40 in the Bible
The number 40 is a symbol of the time of test and trials in the Bible
The rain of the great flood lasted 40 days and nights, the people of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years before entering the Promised Land. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness for 40 days. The church has adopted forty days, excluding Sundays, as the season of Lent before Easter. It is a time for us to "put ourselves to our own tests of special discipline" so that we might live better lives.
The biblical meaning of the rainbow
Noah received it as a promise from God that God is not involved in the destruction of the world.
After the flood, the rainbow was a sign from God that people no longer needed to believe that God used acts of nature like storms, floods and earthquake as a way of punishing or destroying people.
The rainbow is an important sign to remember when great disaster occur.
The Gospel: The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness.
Some times Native American braves would go on a Vision Quest. They would fast and spend time alone and they would expect to receive a special vision which would lead them into the next phase of their lives.
After the baptism of Jesus, he went on his own vision quest. He spent time alone for 40 days and he did not eat food. We are told that he had an encounter with the great accuser Satan who tried to get him to do things that God his Father did not want. Jesus resisted the accuser and he became a hero. He went on to complete the vision of what God the Father gave him to do with his life.
Puppet Show
Noah
Seth
Seth: Dad come look outside. I see a UFO in the sky?
Noah: A UFO? What do you mean?
Seth: There is this beautiful round arch in the sky. And it is make up of many colors. Why is it there?
Noah: Well, Seth, we just finished the great flood. And God told me that he was going to give me a sign that God does not punish men and women with natural disasters. God let me know that some things just happen because there is freedom for lots of things to happen in this world.
Seth: So the rainbow is a gift of God and a promise from God.
Noah: Yes, it is. It is a promise of God's love to us.
Seth: I'm glad that all of the colors are together in the rainbow. They look so pretty when they are all together.
Noah: You can play a game and make a prayer for each color.
Seth: Red, thank you God for the beautiful red birds, the Cardinals. I love to see red birds.
Noah: Orange, thank you God for the fruits called oranges. They are sweet to eat and they make good juice and they give us healthy vitamin C.
Seth: Yellow: Thank you God for the big yellow sun in the Sky. It provides us with light and warmth.
Noah: Green. Thank you God for all of the green plants and trees. We eat green vegetables for our health and green makes us feel so fresh.
Seth: Blue. Thank you God for the blue sky and the blue ocean waters. We love the great blue sky.
Noah: Indigo. Thank for this lovely royal color. We use it for both the color of our clothes and we use it to remind us about our need for repentance.
Seth: Violet. Thank you for the beautiful flowers of violet. They make our homes very bright, happy and colorful places.
Noah: Amen. We thank God for the rainbow and the rainbow has given us the opportunity to thank God for all of the wonderful colors in our world.
Liturgy
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
Seth: Blue. Thank you God for the blue sky and the blue ocean waters. We love the great blue sky.
Noah: Indigo. Thank for this lovely royal color. We use it for both the color of our clothes and we use it to remind us about our need for repentance.
Seth: Violet. Thank you for the beautiful flowers of violet. They make our homes very bright, happy and colorful places.
Noah: Amen. We thank God for the rainbow and the rainbow has given us the opportunity to thank God for all of the wonderful colors in our world.
Liturgy
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
February 22, 2015: First Sunday In Lent
Gathering Songs: Yield
Not to Temptation, Change My Heart, O God, Eat This Bread, Peace Before Us
Opening Song: Yield
Not to Temptation (LEVAS # 170)
Yield not to temptation, for yielding is sin, each victory
will help you some other to win. Fight
pressing onward, dark passion subdue.
Look ever to Jesus, he will carry you through.
Refrain: Ask the Savior to help you. Comfort, strengthen and
keep you. He is will to aid you. He will carry you through.
Shun evil companions, bad companions disdain. God’s name hold in reverence, nor take it in
vain. Be thoughtful and earnest,
kind-hearted and true. Look ever to
Jesus, he will carry you through. Refrain
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.
Liturgist: The
Lord be with you.
People: And also with
you.
Liturgist: Let us
pray
Almighty God,
whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to
help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses
of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your
Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and for ever. Amen.
Litany phrase: Praise the Lord (chanted)
O God, you are Great!
Praise the Lord
O God, you have made us! Praise the Lord
O God, you have made yourself known to us! Praise the Lord
O God, you have provided us with us a Savior! Praise the Lord
O God, you have given us a Christian family! Praise the Lord
O God, you have forgiven our sins! Praise the Lord
O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead! Praise the Lord
A Reading from the Book of Genesis
God said to
Noah and to his sons with him, "As for me, I am establishing my covenant
with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is
with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with
you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that
never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never
again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth." God said, "This
is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living
creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the
clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I
bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember
my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh;
and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the
bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant
between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth."
God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant that I have
established between me and all flesh that is on the earth."
Liturgist: The
Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be
to God
Let us read together from Psalm 25
Show me your ways, O LORD, *and teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of
my salvation;
in you have I trusted all the day long.
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.
In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was
baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water,
he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And
a voice came from heaven, "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased."
And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the
wilderness. He was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was
with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on 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
Offertory Anthem: Change My Heart O God, (Renew! # 143, gray paperback hymnal)
Change my heart, O God.
Make it every true. Change my
heart, O God, may I be like you. You are
the Potter, I am the clay; Mold me and make me, this is what I pray. Change my heart, O God, make it ever true;
change my heart, O God, may it be like you.
(Repeat)
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. And sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that
we may love God and our neighbors as our self.
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 by 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 Anthem: Make a Joyful Noise, by Kevin McChesney
Divine Jubilation Handbell Choir
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: Peace
Before, (Wonder, Love and Praise # 791)
Peace before us, peace behind us, peace under our feet. Peace within us, peace over us, let all
around us be peace.
Love before us…
Light before us..
Christ before…
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks
be to God!
