Sunday School,
June 24, 2018 5 Pentecost B, Proper 7
Themes:
One has to choose Hebrew Scripture/Psalter selection
David and Goliath in the time of all the
battling super heroes might be popular with the youth even though the story
itself might be PG-13 or even regarded to be violent if one tells the ending
with the beheading of Goliath by David.
One could also use the loyal friendship theme between David and
Jonathan even though the story includes Saul’s effort to kill David.
If one wants to match themes, one could go with God speaking out of the
whirlwind to Job informing Job that he is really not as big as God to be able
to understand how and why everything that happens to us in this world, so we
have the necessity to have faith in one who is greater than us to handle all
situations in life and in death.
The whirlwind theme of job could be coupled with the storm on the sea
with Jesus sleeping in the boat while the disciples are terribly
frightening. Jesus reminded them to have
faith because he was present with them and if he was calm enough to sleep
during the windy storm, they could have faith in his presence even during a
difficult times.
A possible fruitful line of instruction might be to present Storms as
great events over which we have no control as to when they happen, how strong
they are and when they will end. Storms
could be a metaphor for all of the big challenges in life that we have to face,
like an exam in school and other things which come up in our life and even may
surprise us. The lesson that we can
learn is that if we have this natural energy to fear, then we can have the
energy of fear converted to faith, if we can trust that others are with us to
help us as they represent the presents of Christ to us. When we are tempted to fear, we are to take
some deep breaths and say inside of ourselves, “Jesus, speak peace to my stormy
heart.” It is important to stop and
remember Christ and remember to have faith instead of fear.
I think that we can find out in our lives that Christ is not sleeping
and ignoring us; quite the opposite, we often are forgetting and ignoring
Christ. When we make the effort to
awaken the presence of Christ in our hearts, then we have the chance to know
the voice of Christ say within us, “Peace be Still.”
You can have your children mention times when they really needed to
have peace in their hearts.
Sermon:
We read a story today about the friends of Jesus. They were sailing with Jesus in a boat across
the Sea of Galilee. And suddenly a wind
storm came up and caused some very big waves.
And where was Jesus? He was
sleeping in front of the boat. And so
they woke him up and said, “Don’t you care that we are in danger?” And Jesus woke up and said to the wind and
sea, “Peace be still.” And the wind and
the sea became quiet. And Jesus asked
them, “Why are you so fearful?”
Jesus knew that his friends
were fishermen. They fished on this lake
all of the time and they had gone through many storms. So why were they more fearful now than other
times?
Well, they probably thought
that nothing bad should ever happen to them if Jesus was with them.
Sometimes we think that nothing
bad should happen to us when our parents are with us. And you know what? Your parents never want anything bad to
happen, but still some things can go wrong.
Why? Because they believe in
freedom. Have you ever lost a game when
your parents were watching? Yes. Now it would look silly if your parents tried
to play on your team to help you win.
Have you ever fell down when you are playing and when your parents are
watching? Of course. So we can have accidents even when our
parents are watching.
Have you ever gotten a B on
your homework, even when your parents helped you to do your project for school?
Should we quit playing baseball
and soccer, just because we lose some games?
Should we quit playing on the playground, just because we fall down and
skin our knee a few times? No… If we quit,
then we would let fear of bad luck control our lives and we would never try
anything because of fear.
Just because we have some bad
things happen to us in life, it does not mean that God is not caring for
us. God does not want us to be afraid of
life. God wants us to keep on trying to
do new and better things.
So, when we fall, what do we
do? Yes, we cry when our knee
hurts. We get some love from our
parents. We get a band aid on our
knee. And we try to be careful. But do we quit playing? No. We
keep on playing and having fun.
Why? Because we want to live in
faith about the good things in life. We
don’t want to live in fear about the bad things and the hurt that can happen in
life.
Jesus tried to teach his
disciples to live by faith instead of fear.
That is a good lesson for us to learn too. Let us learn to live by faith today. Amen.
St. John the Divine
Episcopal Church
17740 Peak Avenue,
Morgan Hill, CA 95037
Family Service with
Holy Eucharist
June 24, 2018: The Fifth
Sunday After Pentecost
Gathering Songs:
Only a Boy Named David, Peace Before Us, Precious Lord, When the Saints
Song: Only a Boy
Named David (All the Best Songs for Kids # 112)
Only a boy named
David, only a little sling. Only a boy
named David but he could pray and sing.
Only a boy named David, only a rippling brook. Only a boy named David and five little stones
he took. And one little stone went in
the sling and the sling went round and round.
And one little stone went in the sling and the sling went round and
round.
An-----------------------------------------d, Round and round and round
and round and round and round and round.
And one little stone went up in the air; and the the giant came tumbling
down.
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
Keep, O Lord, your
household the Church in your steadfast faith and love, that through your grace
we may proclaim your truth with boldness, and minister your justice with
compassion; for the sake of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for 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
First Book of Samuel
Then David took his
staff in his hand, and chose five smooth stones from the wadi, and put them in
his shepherd's bag, in the pouch; his sling was in his hand, and he drew near
to the Philistine, Goliah. The giant
said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?" But David said to the Philistine, "You
come to me with sword and spear and javelin; but I come to you in the name of
the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This
very day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and
cut off your head so that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel,
and that all this assembly may know that the LORD does not save by sword and
spear; for the battle is the LORD's and he will give you into our hand."
When the Philistine drew nearer to meet David, David ran quickly toward
the battle line to meet the Philistine. David put his hand in his bag, took out
a stone, slung it, and struck the Philistine on his forehead; the stone sank
into his forehead, and he fell face down on the ground.
Liturgist: The Word
of the Lord
People: Thanks be to
God
Liturgist: Let us
read together from Psalm 9
The LORD will be a
refuge for the oppressed, * a refuge in time of trouble.
Those who know your
Name will put their trust in you, * for you never forsake those who seek you, O
LORD.
Sing praise to the
LORD who dwells in Zion; * proclaim to the peoples the things he has done.
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.
When evening had
come, Jesus said to his disciples, "Let us go across to the other
side." And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat,
just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the
waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he
was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him,
"Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and
rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind
ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid?
Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to
one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey
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: Peace Before
Us (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… 3. Light before us…..4. Christ before us.
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.
The Prayer continues
with these words
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:
Precious Lord, Take My Hand (Wonder, Love and Praise # 800)
Precious Lord, take
my hand, lead me on, let me stand, I am tired, I am weak, I am worn; thought
the storm, through the night, lead me on to the light, take my hand, precious
Lord, lead me on.
When the way grows
drear, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is almost most gone; hear my
cry, hear my call, hold my hand, lest I fall, take my hand, precious Lord, lead
me on.
When the darkness
appears and the night draws near, and the day is past and gone; at the river I
stand, guide my feet, hold my hand, precious Lord, lead me on.
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: When
the Saints (Christian Children’s Songbook # 248)
1-O when the saints,
go marching in. O when the saints go
marching in. Lord I want to be in that
number, when the saints go marching in.
2-O when the girls go
marching in…. 3-O when the boys go
marching in….
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go
forth in the Name of Christ.
People: Thanks be to
God!
.