Sunday School, August 7, 2016 12 Pentecost
C proper 14
Themes
The Gospel reading is about Jesus telling his followers that
they needed to always be ready. One of
the reason we go to school and learn things is so that we can be ready for the
many things which are going to face in life.
We might live in fear if we are not prepared for some very challenging
situations.
Why do we do our math problems? Yes, so we can pass a test, but also so we
know how to take care of our money or use math to build a new kind of airplane
in the future.
What is the best way to be ready and be prepared to live our
lives in the very best way with God and with each other?
The answer is to live by faith
Hebrews chapter is call the “faith” chapter. It defines faith and then gives the examples
from the lives of many Bible heroes of faith, people like Abraham, Noah, David
and others.
How is faith defined?
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not
seen.
What does that mean?
Hope is about the future and the future has not yet
happened. And because it has not
happened we can be fearful about what might happen. If we are fearful about might happen, we
might just try to hide in our rooms and not do anything.
Faith is not fear; it is a different way of living toward
the future. With faith, we get up and do
good and wonderful things which are aimed toward future good goals and targets.
Faith is acting because we are aim our lives toward very
good goals and targets.
We study and we practice now not because we are afraid of
the future but to prepare ourselves to be better at the good things which we
want to do.
So, remember Jesus wants us to be ready and prepared for the
future. And we do this by living with
faith. Faith is living in a positive way
with positive goals.
A sermon
Do you know what a wish is?
What are some things
we might wish for?
Do you wish have a
certain toy?
Do you wish to be a
good soccer player?
There was a boy who once saw a beautiful bicycle and he
wanted this bicycle a lot. So he asked
his parents to buy him this bike, since he did not have much money and the bike
was very expensive.
His parents said he
could have the bike but first he had to complete some chores and some
projects. They said if you finish these
projects then we will get you bike.
Some of the chores
were easy, but some of the chores were harder.
He had to make his bed every day.
He had to keep his room clean. He
had to help watch his younger brother when they played in the back yard. And sometimes the boy did not do his chores
and his parents reminded him about the bike and his promises. So he kept doing his chores, though he was
getting very impatient.
One day, day his dad
told him to go into the garage and get a hammer. And when the boy went into the garage, he saw
the new bike. Of course he was
excited. But then he asked his parents,
“Why did you make me work for this bike?”
And his parents
said, “We wanted you to have faith.”
We wanted you to
believe us that we would get you the bike.
But we also wanted to teach you a lesson about wishing and dreaming and
hope and faith.
When you are young
you can wish for something and think that because mom and dad gives it to you
right away…you can think that everything in life is very easy.
But not everything
in life is easy. Sometimes you have to
work and you have to work hard to get something.
Like if you want to
be good in soccer or baseball, you just can’t wish to be good, you also have to
work hard and practice, practice, practice.
Faith is important
because when you see what you want to do, you need to have faith to work hard
to do what you really wish for in life.
So faith is when we
see what God wants us do and we work to do it, even if it very hard and
difficult. When we have faith, it means
that we do not give up working for some very important things.
So faith is very
important in life, because everything does not just happen with magic in
life. Your parents are trying to teach
you to have faith, when they encourage you to work for the good things in your
life. And if it seems hard, just
remember you are learning to live with faith and you are building faith muscles
to do lots of great things. Amen.
St. John the Divine Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with Holy Eucharist
August 7, 2016: The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Gathering Songs: Awesome God, My Jesus I Love Thee, Let All
That Is Within Me, Lord Bid Your Servant
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: Awesome God,
(Renew!, # 245)
Our God is an awesome God.
He reigns from heaven above. With
wisdom, power and love, our God is an awesome God.
(Sing three times, repeat ending on third verse)
Liturgist: The
Lord be with you.
People: And
also with you.
Liturgist: Let us
pray
Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do
always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may
by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our
Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Liturgy Leader: In our prayers we first praise God, chanting
the praise word: Alleluia
Litany of Praise: Alleluia
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 to the Hebrews
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen. Indeed, by faith our ancestors received
approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of
God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible. .By faith
Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive
as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going
Liturgist: The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 33
Our soul waits for the LORD; *he is our help and our shield.
Indeed, our heart rejoices in him, *for in his holy Name we
put our trust.
Let your loving-kindness, O LORD, be upon us, * as we have
put our trust in you.
Liturgist: Before we
offer our thanksgiving, is there anything special you are thankful about today?
As we thank God, let us chant, “Thanks be to God.”
Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God!
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 Luke
People: Glory
to you, Lord Christ.
Jesus said to his disciples, "Do not be afraid, little
flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your
possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an
unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. "Be dressed for
action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master
to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as
soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds
alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them
sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle
of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
"But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief
was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be
ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
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.
Liturgist: As we offer our prayers for people in need, let
us chant: “Christ, have mercy.”
Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.
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.
Youth 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 Song: My
Jesus, I Love Thee, (Renew! # 275)
My Jesus I love thee, I know thou art mine. For thee all the follies of sin I
resign. My gracious redeemer, my savior
art thou. If ever I loved thee, my Jesus
tis now.
I love thee because thou has first loved me. And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s
tree; I love thee for wearing the thorn
on thy brow, if ever I loved thee, my Jesus, ‘tis now.
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)
Liturgist continues:
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.
The Prayer continues with these words
And so, Father, when we will bring you the gifts of bread
and wine. We will ask you to 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,
(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: Christ
our Passover is sacrificed for us.
People: Therefore
let us keep the feast.
Words of Administration
Communion Song: Let All That Is Within Me, (Renew! # 269)
1-Let all that is within cry holy. Let all that is within me cry holy. Holy, holy, holy is the Lamb that was slain.
2-Glory 3-Jesus
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: Lord, Bid Your Servant Go In Peace, (Renew! #
295)
1-Lord bid your servant go in peace; your word is now
fulfilled. These eyes have seen
salvation’s dawn, this child so long foretold.
2-This is the Savior of the world, the Gentiles’ promised
light, God’s glory dwelling in our midst, the joy of Israel.
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to God!
