Sunday School, March 31, 2024 Easter Sunday, Cycle B
Theme:
Imagine a picture album of your entire life from when you are a new born baby until you are a very old person. From picture to picture you look very different. And when you compare your baby picture with the picture of you when you are very old, how would anyone know that the person in the two picture is the same person.
We depend upon a community to remember who we are. When we are babies we depend upon on parents to know who we are and what we looked like when we were babies. When we have died, we depend upon our children and grandchildren to remember who we were.
But who will remember who we are when everyone who has known us has died?
The resurrection of Jesus is really about how much God loves us. How does God love us? God loves us to remember us forever. God is bigger than all of our earthly family who might remember who we are. God's memory is the greatest and God can remember us when we live and when we die.
We might even say that God's memory is magically strong and creative. How so? God's memory can keep us together as a remembered person even after we have died. This is how much God loves us. And this is message that we get when Jesus was raised from the dead.
God will remember you and keep you together forever even when you go out of the sight of everyone else. That is how much God loves you.
We depend upon a community to remember who we are. When we are babies we depend upon on parents to know who we are and what we looked like when we were babies. When we have died, we depend upon our children and grandchildren to remember who we were.
But who will remember who we are when everyone who has known us has died?
The resurrection of Jesus is really about how much God loves us. How does God love us? God loves us to remember us forever. God is bigger than all of our earthly family who might remember who we are. God's memory is the greatest and God can remember us when we live and when we die.
We might even say that God's memory is magically strong and creative. How so? God's memory can keep us together as a remembered person even after we have died. This is how much God loves us. And this is message that we get when Jesus was raised from the dead.
God will remember you and keep you together forever even when you go out of the sight of everyone else. That is how much God loves you.
Children’s Sermons
Easter Sermons for Children
The Smith family had three children, Harry, Jeremy and Chloe. And they had some wonderful grandparents. The three kids loved to do things with their grandparents. Papa and Nana would do wonderful things for them and with them at special times of the year, like for their birthdays, for Christmas, Easter, summer vacations and for Valentine Day.
One year the three children decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special. They just loved Christmas; it was so fun to wake up on Christmas morning and see lots of gifts under the Christmas tree. They loved to sing Christmas songs and so they decided to ask their Nana and Papa for something special.Chloe, Harry and Jeremy were with their Nana and Papa one day and Chloe said, "Nana and Papa, we have something special to ask you." Papa said,"Well, what do you want to ask?" Jeremy jumped in and said, "I will asked. We have been talking about this for a long time and so now it is time to ask you." Nana said, "Okay, Jeremy, what is it that you want?" But then, Harry interrupted and said, "Nana, I should ask you since I am the oldest. I'm 9, and Jeremy is 7 and Chloe is 5, so I should ask." Papa said, "Okay, what is it that you want?" Harry said, "What we want is this. We want you to make Easter for us just like Christmas." Papa thought he knew what they meant. Perhaps they were thinking about all of the presents under the Christmas tree and they were comparing this with just getting about a dozen chocolate Easter eggs in the Easter egg hunt. Nana looked at Papa and winked and said, "Papa, we'll have to think really hard and see if we can make Easter a special time for the kids."
The children were very excited now and they could barely wait for Easter. Every day they would ask their mom and dad, "When is Easter coming? Will it be coming soon?" Harry asked, "Can I use your cell phone to call Nana and Papa to make sure that they don't forget Easter and their Easter promise."
Mom and Dad made a count down calendar for them on the refrigerator and each day they would mark big red X on a day. They were so excited. And mom and dad were worried that it might be a big let down for the children and they did not know what Nana and Papa had planned.
Well, finally Easter came and the children got up really early. They went down stairs to see if there was anything in the living room. Nope. Nothing there. They went into the backyard to see if there were any surprises there. They couldn't find anything. Chloe wondered," I wonder if Nana and Papa forgot." So the children went to the kitchen and mom and dad had breakfast ready. And then they had to get ready for church. So they went to church and had a very good Easter celebration and they had an Easter Egg hunt, but no Nana and Papa. Jeremy asked their mom and dad, "Where is Nana and Papa? Why weren't they at church?" Dad said, "Well, they went to their own church today. But we are going to drive to their house today and see them."
Chloe said, "Great, so we will get our Easter surprise."After they got home from church, they changed clothes and ate a quick lunch. Harry said, "Let's go. We have to go to Nana's and Papa's to see if they can make Easter better than Christmas."
So they got into the car and in about twenty minutes they came to Nana and Papa's house. Jeremy was excited and he said, "I can hardly wait for our surprise."
They got out of the car and Nana and Papa greeted them and hugged them and wished them a happy Easter and they all went into the house. And the children were surprised by what they saw in the family room. You know what they found?
They found a large cross there. And around the cross they found lots of gifts wrapped. Chloe said, "Nana, is this a Easter Christmas Tree?"
Nana said, "No, this is a cross." Harry said, "I see that you have our names on the gifts. Can we start opening them?" Papa said,"Okay, do you want to start? So each child got one of the gifts with their name on it." Jeremy said, "Let's open them together. On, your mark get set, go!" The three children ripped off the wrapping as fast as they could. They got down to the box. And together they ripped open the boxes. And Harry said, "There's nothing in my box. Where's my gift?" And Jeremy said, "There's nothing in my box either." And Chloe said, "There's nothing in mine either. My box is empty." Chloe started to laugh in nervous way, "Ha, ha, Papa, that's a very good joke. Can we open the rest of the gifts now?" Papa and Nana said, "Sure go ahead. Open all of the gifts."
So the children began to open all of the gifts. They opened their second presents and again, all of the boxes were empty. Jeremy said, "Let keep going and open more presents; this is a scavenger gift hunt." So they open three gifts and then four gifts and five gifts and all of the boxes were empty." And they came to their last gift. Harry said, "I hope you saved the best for last." And they all opened their sixth gift and their sixth gift was also an empty box. The family room was a mess; it was full of the all of the wrapping and boxes of 18 different wrapped boxes and all of the boxes were empty.
Chloe was sad and she started to cry. She said, "Why didn't we get any gifts? I thought you were going to make Easter as good as Christmas." Harry was older and he said, "Papa, you got us! That was a good Easter joke." Though he still was sad about the empty boxes. Jeremy said, "Nana and Papa, why did you do this? We got so excited and now we're so sad and disappointed. Why did you do this?"Papa said, "Well, your parents told us that we should not make Easter like Christmas. They said we should do something to teach you about Easter. Christmas is about giving the gift of our lives to the baby Jesus, just like the wise men brought gifts to the baby Jesus. That is why we share gifts at Christmas. But Easter is different from Christmas. How did you feel when you opened your presents?"
Chloe said, "We felt sad and disappointed because we were expecting to find some gifts." Harry said, "I thought it was a joke that you playing on us."
Nana asked, "What did the women discover on Easter morning when they went to the tomb of Jesus?" Jeremy said, "They saw that the tomb was empty. They were very sad. They thought someone had stolen the body of Jesus."
Papa said, "But was it good that they found the tomb empty?" Chloe said, "Yes, because it meant that Jesus was alive and risen. The angel told them that Jesus had risen. And then they were really happy when they saw Jesus alive and well."
Nana said, "So what did you learn from the empty presents?" Harry said, "I learned that sometimes empty can mean the very best gift of all because the empty tomb of Jesus meant that he was alive.
Jeremy said, "So we learned something very important today. Easter is not supposed to be like Christmas because the empty tomb of Jesus is the very best gift of all."
Papa said, "I so happy that you have learned about how special Easter is. But I do have something fore you. Here's an envelope."Harry opened the envelope and he found airplane tickets for all of them to go to Hawaii for a vacation together. The children all hugged their Nana and Papa and thanked them for teaching them about Easter.
Sermon Two: The empty Easter Egg
Let me tell you today about an Easter Egg hunt that took place on Easter Sunday in a church. And the Sunday School teacher wanted to teach a lesson to the children on Easter Sunday. So Mr. Jones during Sunday School on Easter Sunday, said to his class, “Today is Easter Sunday and so we want to do something special. We are going to have an Easter Egg hunt. I’ve have already hidden the eggs. So let’s go outside and look. And I want each of you to find only one egg. And when everyone has found one egg, then we will come back to the classroom and each of us will open our egg in front of the entire class. So the entire class of twelve children ran outside to look for the eggs in a place on the lawn where Mr. Jones had hidden the eggs. One by one each child found an egg. One child said, “I’ve found my egg.” Another child said, “Please help me find my egg.” And finally after about 10 minutes each child found an egg. Mr. Jones rang a bell and said, “Come into the classroom.” And so the children came back into the classroom each holding an egg. Now these eggs were not real eggs, they were plastic hollow eggs so that there could be a hidden treat inside of the egg.
When they were seated in the classroom, Mr. Jones said, “Now one by one we are going to open each egg to see what’s in the egg. And let me tell you, there is a surprise in one of the eggs and whoever has the surprise will get something special.”
One by one the eggs were opened. Johnny said, “I have a dollar bill in mine…I bet I won the prize.” Mary opened hers and she found some very nice chocolates so she said, “No, these are really the best chocolates, so I bet I won the prize.” Jimmy opened his egg and he had a little Lego man so he said, “I think I got the best prize.” Grace opened her egg and she had a cute little furry bunny rabbit and she said, “I won!” Gloria opened her egg and found a silver dollar and she said, “Wow! I hit the jackpot!” Jeremy opened his egg and he found a lovely ring that fit his finger and it had a red jewel on it, so he said, “Surely this must be the best prize.” Betsy then opened her egg and she found a cute little baby chick, and she was thrilled because she knew she had won. Todd opened his egg and found a shiny whistle and he blew the whistle because he thought he had won. Everyone who heard the loud noise, said, “Stop blowing the whistle, it hurts our ears.” Joey opened his egg and he found a little race car…just what he wanted, and so he believed he was the winner. Margaret opened her egg and she found a cute little teddy bear and she was happy. Harry opened his Easter Egg and he found a porcelain little Dalmatian. And he just loved those spotted dogs. And then there was only one person and one egg left to open and it was Lucy’s egg. Everyone said, “Hurry and open it let us see.” But Lucy got very shy and so she hid her egg under desk so that no one could see her open it. She looked down as she opened it and when she got it opened, her face turned red and said. Everyone shouted, “What did you get Lucy? Did you win? What did you get?” And Lucy looked up and said, “I lost…I did not get anything…my egg is empty.” And the children laughed at her and said, “Mr. Jones really played a joke on you.”
Then the children asked Mr. Jones, “Tell who won the best prize?”
And Mr. Jones said, “Children, Lucy won the best prize and so she get this special prize, a new Bible.” The children said, “Why did Lucy win? Her egg was empty?”
Mr. Jones said, “Today is Easter. And when the women went to the tomb of Jesus what did they find?” They found that the tomb was empty and because it was empty they were winners, because that meant that Jesus was still alive.
And so Lucy’s egg was empty. And she wins the prize on Easter to remind us that the empty tomb of Jesus means that Christ is alive and that he is still with us today.
So as winners today let us be happy about the empty tomb of Jesus. Let us say, Alleluia, Christ is Risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Intergenerational Family Service with Holy Eucharist
March 31, 2024 Easter B
Gathering Songs:
Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks; I am the Bread of Life; Jesus Christ is Ris’n Today
The Return of Alleluia out of Lenten Hibernation
Bringing Back Alleluia from Lenten Hibernation
Song: Alleluia, Alleluia, Give Thanks, Hymn # 178, in the Blue Hymnal
Refrain: Alleluia, Alleluia, give thanks to the Risen Lord, Alleluia, Alleluia, give praise to his Name.
1-Jesus is Lord of all the earth. He is the King of creation. Refrain
2-Spread the good news o’er all the earth: Jesus has died and has risen. Refrain
3-We have been crucified with Christ. Now we shall live forever. Refrain
4-Come, let us praise the living God, joyfully sing to our Savior. Refrain
Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.
People: The Lord is Risen Indeed. Alleluia.
Holy Noise!
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, who through your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life: Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by your life-giving Spirit; 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 First Letter to the Corinthian Church
For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them--though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
The Word of the Lord
People: Thanks be to God
Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 118
The right hand of the Lord has triumphed!* the right hand of the Lord is exalted! the right hand of the Lord has triumphed!"
I shall not die, but live,* and declare the works of the Lord.
On this day the Lord has acted;* we will rejoice and be glad in it.
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 the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint Jesus. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled back. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man, dressed in a white robe, sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed. But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed; you are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Look, there is the place they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.” So they went out and fled from the tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
Liturgist: The Gospel of the Lord.
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.
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 with you always.
People: And also with you.
Anthem:
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 family 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 good and right so to do.
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 & 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 neighbors.
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, 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 (Sung): (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.
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: Jesus Christ is Risen Today! (Blue Hymnal # 207)
1-Jesus Christ is Ris’n today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia! Who did once upon the cross, Al-leluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
2-Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ our heavenly King, Alleluia! Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save, Alleluia!
4-Sing we to our God above, alleluia! Praise eternal as his love, alleluia! Praise him, all ye heavenly hosts, Alleluia! Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Alleluia.
Dismissal:
Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. Alleluia! Alleluia!
People: Thanks be to God! Alleluia! Alleluia!
