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Advent
November 4, 2007
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Waiting and
Watching
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Theme: |
Jesus
is coming again. 1st Sunday in Advent Year C |
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Object: |
Advent
Wreath |
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Scripture: |
Luke
1:26-36 |
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It's official! We have entered into the Christmas
countdown period. Every day now we will see it in the newspapers and hear it on the radio and television, "24 shopping days
until Christmas," "23 shopping days until Christmas," "22 shopping days until Christmas." All around us there are signs that
Christmas is coming. What are some of those signs?
- Stores are filled with Christmas
decorations
- Santa is at the mall
- Christmas music is playing on
the radio and television
- Christmas cards are arriving in
the mailbox
- Christmas parties at work, at
school, and at church
There are plenty of signs that Christmas is coming,
but 2000 years ago when Jesus was born, there were no big signs to announce that it was going to happen. There were no ads
on the radio or TV saying "Coming soon! A Savior will be born in a stable near you!" When Jesus was born, many people were
surprised! But as word of his birth spread, some people remembered that prophets had told them that God was going to send
a Savior. They knew that this baby, born in a manger, was God keeping His promise.
Christmas is a not only a wonderful time to celebrate
the birth of Jesus. It is also a time to remember that Jesus promised that he would come again. We don't read much about that
in the newspapers and we don't hear much talk about it on the radio or television, but Jesus told us to be prepared and to
watch for his return.
As we look forward to Christmas day, we also look
forward to the day when Jesus will come again. Today we light the candle of hope on our advent wreath. Just as the people
of Israel found hope in the promises of God, we find hope in Jesus' promise that he
will come again.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for keeping your promise
to send a Savior. We also thank you for the promise that he will return again to take us to our home in heaven. Amen. |
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First Class
Today, we are going to talk about a new beginning. It is better than
the beginning of a new year -- it is the beginning of a new life. A new life in Jesus.
In the Bible we read about a man called John the Baptist. John went
all around the countryside in Judea telling people to repent and ask God to forgive them of their sins. When they confessed their
sin and asked God to forgive them, John baptized them in the river Jordan.
They were baptized to show the world that God had forgiven their sins and they were washed clean. This was a new beginning
for them.
We still baptize people today. Perhaps some of you have been baptized.
When we are baptized, it is a picture of what Jesus has done for us. He died, was buried, and rose again to wash away our
sin and give us a new life in him. Now, that's what I call a new beginning!
When many of you were baptized, the priest not only poured water
on your head, but also made the sign of the cross on your forehead with consecrated oil. (Consecrated means it was blessed
by the priest). This represents the Holy Spirit being poured into you.
Also, you may have worn a special baptismal gown or suit that was
white or off white. You wore white to represent that you are now clean because you have been washed in the Holy Spirit.
Finally, a special candle may have been lit for you. This candle
is to show that you are to shine in the world as a child of God. Just like the song, “This little light of mine, I’m
gonna let it shine.”
Here the children are given
an opportunity to talk about their baptism – their godparents, if they wore a special gown, and to show photos, if they
have them.
After we complete the appropriate
worksheet, we will then walk into the sanctuary and view the baptismal font and will review the order for baptism in the Prayer
Book. We will finish with the following Bible verse and prayer.
Dear
Father, we thank you that Jesus, who was without sin, washes away our sins and gave us a new life. Amen.
And so
John came, baptizing in the desert region and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The whole Judean
countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him.
Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. Mark 1:4-5 (NIV)
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Eucharist (First Half)
September 9th
Lest We Forget
Theme: Communion
Objects: A piece of string, a pad of Post-It Notes, an electronic pocket scheduler or Palm PC (If you don't have one,
you could use a regular pocket calendar.)
Scripture: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said,
"This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me. "In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 1 Corinthians 11:23-25
Do you ever have trouble remembering things. Of course
you do. Children haven't changed much since I was your age. I can remember when I was a boy and my mother would
ask me, "Did you clean up your room?" I would usually answer, "I forgot." Or she might ask me, "Did you take
out the trash like I told you to?" "I forgot" was my usual reply. I still have trouble remembering now that
I am grown. I am always forgetting something that I was supposed to do.
People have a lot of ways to help them to remember things.
One of the oldest memory tricks is a simple piece of string. Sometimes I tie a string around my finger
and every time I look at the string, I remember that I was supposed to...hmm, I forgot what it was I was supposed
to remember. That's why someone invented post-it notes. With post-it notes, you can write down what it is
you need to remember. The only trouble with post-it notes is that I sometimes forget to look at the notes! Now,
here is a really hi-tech way to help you remember things. It is an electronic pocket scheduler. You can put in
what you are supposed to remember and set an alarm. When it is time for you to do it, the alarm goes
off and you can read on the display what it is you are supposed to do. I can't use my pocket scheduler right
now because the battery is dead and I keep forgetting to buy a new battery for it.
Being forgetful isn't new. It has been around since
just about the beginning of time. The night Jesus was betrayed, he was eating with his disciples. He knew that
he would soon return to his Father in heaven. He wanted to make sure that his disciples would remember him
after he was gone, so he did something that would help them to remember. As they were eating, he took a piece of bread
and he broke it and said, "This is my body which is broken for you. When you eat the bread, remember me."
Then he took a glass of wine and held it up and said, this is my blood which is shed for you. When you drink it, remember
me." It has been almost 2000 years since that night and we still use that same way to remember Jesus. When we
take communion, we eat the bread and drink the cup to remind us that Jesus suffered and died on the cross so that we might
have life. As we eat the bread and drink from the cup today, we remember him.
Dear Jesus, we remember you today.
We remember that your body was broken and your blood was shed so that we might have life everlasting. Thank you.
We will put together a Missal for each child and I will take them to have them bound. On October 7th all
of their children will receive their Missals and we will practice taking Communion and prepare for the Comprehensive Communion
on October 14th.
The Comprehensive Communion will be a Sunday of celebration for the children of the class. They will enter the
church together and sit together through out the entire service. We will then all take Communion together. Please feel
free to let your child dress up for this special occasion if you'd like. While this isn't the first time the children will
be taking Communion, it is a very special time for them.
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