Palm Sunday



Triumphal Entry

 Palm Sunday
April 1, 2012
Mark 11:1-11
Props: Palms for the children

Good morning!

I am going to need everyone's help in telling the story this morning.  Do you have the palm frond you were given when you entered the sanctuary this morning?  Who doesn't have one to hold?  (Pass out palms as needed.)  Now, I'm going to ask you to please keep the palms in your laps until I get to the part in the story where the crowd greets Jesus, waving palm branches.  Then you wave your palms in the air, too.  OK?  Great.

Passover is a very important holiday in the Jewish faith.  It remembers a time when the Jews escaped from slavery in Egypt.  Jews all over the world celebrate Passover, but the most special place in the world to be during Passover is in the city of Jerusalem.  Even when Jesus was teaching and preaching, Jerusalem was extra crowded at Passover.

Jesus, too, wanted to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem with his disciples.  They were all walking from Jericho to Jerusalem.  As they got closer to the city, Jesus sent two of the disciples to borrow a colt for him to ride.  The disciples threw their coats on the back of the colt, and Jesus rode the rest of the way, surrounded by his very best friends in the world.  Jerusalem is a walled city, with several gates allowing people to come and go.  As Jesus and his parade of disciples came near one of the gates, some of the other people coming to Jerusalem recognized them.  They threw their coats on the ground to make a smooth path for Jesus.  They spread leafy branches on the road, too, and waved palm branches in the air to welcome Jesus.  (Encourage the children to wave their palms.)  The crowd greeted Jesus as if he were a king!  They even cheered him, shouting,

Hosanna! 

Let's shout that together.  Hosanna!  Hosanna! 

Good!  The crowd also shouted, Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!

Let's shout that, too.  Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna!

Now the whole congregation together:  Hosanna!  Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna!

Jesus entered into the city of Jerusalem with the crowd cheering his arrival.  It was a thrilling day!  A few days later, he shared the Passover meal with his disciples.  But then later that night, he was arrested, and the next day he was brought to trial.  The judge, Caesar, asked the crowd what he should do with their teacher, Jesus.  And the same crowd that cheered him a few days before shouted again, only this time their words were not cheerful.  They were ugly and mean.  Crucify him!, they shouted.  Crucify him!

The next day was a Friday, and on that day Jesus was put to death.  This was a sad, sad day.  But this day, this Friday, was not the end of the story!  Three days later Sunday came, and Easter, and resurrection, New Life and hope.  Hope for the world.  Hope for us all.  We'll talk about all that next week! 

Let's pray.  Dear God, We thank-you for great festivals which help us remember our past as people of faith.  Help us to live as faithful people each and every day.  Amen.

In Christ's Service

In Christ's Service
Sunday, March 25
Lent 5
John 12:26
Props: Map of Cameroon or a globe
            A Papaya (opt.)

This week's sermon has at its heart a story drawn from the One Great Hour of Sharing materials.  Many churches will be taking up the OGHS offering on Palm Sunday, April 1.  If your church does not participate in OGHS, adapt the sermon using an example from your own church's mission work.

Cameroon is a country in Western Africa.  Here it is on a map.  (Show map or globe.)

Stephanie is a young girl who lives in Cameroon with her father and her three younger siblings--brothers and sisters.  Stephanie dreams of becoming a journalist when she grows up.  One day, however, it looked like she would never achieve her dream.  In Cameroon, parents have to pay money to send their children to school.  On this one, sad day, Stephanie was sent home from school because her father could not afford to pay her school fees.

Stephanie's father, Pierre, is a hard-working farmer.  He grows papayas, like this one.  (Show papaya, if you have one.)  Three times over the last ten years, Pierre and his children were kicked out of the farm they were working because a huge farm next door kept growing bigger and bigger.  Three times the big farm bought the land Pierre was renting to farm, and he, Stephanie and her brothers and sisters had to move.  Each time, they spent monty to build up a new papaya farm.  And then, just when the farm was producing well, the big company bought the farm and Pierre had to start all over again.  Finally, Pierre was out of money and he could not even afford to pay Stephanie's school fees.

Pierre wanted to start a new farm far away from the huge company farm next door, but he had no  money.  He didn't know what to do.

Your gifts to One Great Hour of Sharing are now helping Stephanie and her family.  One Great Hour of Sharing money was given to Pierre to start up his new farm, and to send Stephanie and her brothers and sisters to school.

One Great Hour of Sharing also supports a fair trade dried fruit project called Fair Fruit.  Pierre sells some of his papayas to Fair Fruit, which adds to his income and helps him care for his family.

Money donated to One Great Hour of Sharing helps dreams come true for families who, like Stephanie's, live in some of the world's poorest places. 

To be a follower of Jesus means to live a life of service to others, especially those who are struggling to survive.  When we help the others, we are helping Jesus' mission and serving God.

Please remember to bring your fish banks with you to church next Sunday for the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.

Let's pray.  Dear God, we thank-you for the chance to help people like Stephanie and her family build a better lives for themselves all over the world.  Help us to be loving servants so that Jesus' mission will reach to all corners of the planet.  Amen.

 

The Bible in One Sentence

The Bible in One Sentence
Sunday, March 18, 2012 - Lent 4
John 3:16
Props: A large Bible, such as the pulpit or a family Bible
           A pew Bible
           A pocket Bible
           A children's Bible
           A laptop or Kindle-type reader, loaded with the Bible


Good morning, boys and girls!  I have something to show you this morning--several things, actually.  This I took from one of the pews in the sanctuary--it's a Bible.  And this I borrowed from the Lectern over there (point to lectern)--it's a Bible, too.  The pew Bible is what we might consider a normal-sized book, and this Bible is huge by comparison.  Now look at this tiny Bible!  (Show pocket Bible.)  When I open to the text, I think you can see why the pulpit version is so huge, and the pocket version is so small.  Look at the size of the print.  See how big these words are, so people reading to the congregation can see it easily and not lose their place.  And the print on the pocket Bible is teeny-tiny so the book is small and can be carried around easily. 


Here's a Bible published especially for children.  It has a lot of pictures in it.  (Flip through and show some pictures.)  With today's technology, you can even read the Bible without turning a page!  (Show electronic form.)  See?  I can read the Bible on this screen.  And if I want to look up a particular story or verse of the Bible, I can put it in the search field, and the part I want to read will come up on the screen immediately.


The Bible was written a long, long time ago by many different people, and not all at once.  It was written by people of faith telling about God and their experiences with God.  Some of the writings are stories, like the stories of Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the Egyptians, stories about Jesus.  Some of the writings are rules, like the 10 Commandments.  Some of the writings are poetry, like the Psalms, and some are letters.  All of the writings tell us about who God is and what God has done in the world.


All of the stories, poems, lists, rules and letters were compiled into one book by the leaders of the church about 1700 years ago--the book we call the Bible.  The complete Bible has been translated into 450 languages, and sections of the Bible have been translated into over 2,000 languages.  In the King James Version of the Bible, written in English, there are 66 sections, or books, 1,189 chapters, and, can you guess how many words?  (Let children guess.)  There are 783,137 words in the King James Bible!  That's a lot of words to read, right?


With all of those 783,137 words, 1,189 chapters and 66 books of Holy Scripture, the message of the Bible can be summarized in one sentence--25 short words.  This sentence can be found in the Gospel According to John, chapter 3, verse 16, and it reads like this (Look up the verse in one of the Bibles--electronic or print):

   ¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His ^[a]only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

That's it--the Gospel message in a nutshell.  All of the words and verses and chapters and books of the Bible are there to convey this one message:  "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." 

Eugene Peterson, a pastor who lives in Montana, wrote a modern translation of the Bible that was first published in 1998.  He called it The Message.  He translates John 3:16 this way:

"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life."

Who is the Son that is mentioned in John 3:16?  It's Jesus.  So, God loved the world so very much, that God gave Jesus to the world.  By believing in Jesus, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

Of course there are many, many other important lessons we can learn by reading the Bible.  This one sentence, however, is so important that you might even want to memorize it.  Then you can remember what the Bible says about God's love for the world and the gift of God's Son any place, any time.  Let's say it together now.  Repeat after me, please:

"For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish,
but have eternal life."

Amen.

Rules to Live By

Rules to Live By
Sunday, March 11, 2012 - Lent 3
Exodus 12:1-17
Props: Copies or projection of the 2 photos included herein

Good morning!

Every group, organization or society has rules.

Schools have rules.  No running in the halls.  Now throwing food in the cafeteria.  No cheating.  Raise your hand if you want to ask a question in class.  No leaving during the school day without permission.

There are rules to follow when playing games.  In baseball, only one player is allowed to be up to bat at a time.  When yo hit the ball, you must run to first base first, then second, third and then home, and not the other way around.

When playing Candyland, you have to wait your turn before drawing a card.  And if you draw a red card, say, you move your playing piece to the next red square on the board, and not a yellow or a green square, right?

There are even rules for walking down the street!  Always walk on the sidewalk.  Cross only at a corner.  Stop and look both ways before crossing the street, or only cross the street if you're with a grown-up.  If there is a light at the corner and the signal looks like this (show photo of hand), what do you do?

You stop, that's right.  And when the light turns to this, what do you do?

You look both ways and cross when all the cars have stopped.  Exactly.

We may not always like rules, but rules are there to keep us safe and to help us live together in peace.  Thousands of years ago, God saw that the people of God needed help living in community with respect for each other and for God.  So the Lord gave Moses a set of rules to share with the people.  They were short and simple--The Ten Commandments.  They were rules like:

Worship only God.

Do not swear.

Respect your parents.

Do not lie. 

Do not take anything that doesn't belong to you.

Do not murder.

Do not wish really, really hard that you could have something that your neighbor has.

Like I said, there were only ten of these rules--fewer rules than there are in a game of baseball!  But the people given these ten commandments lived so long ago, that these were new ideas to them, and so following just these ten was a challenge.  Well, years went by, and even though the Ten Commandments became well known and the people tried really hard, they still found it difficult to follow all Ten Commandments all the time.  Let's face it--we find it hard, too. 

When Jesus came along, he tried to simplify the rules for the people.  He said there are two commandments that are the most important--to love God completely and to love our neighbors as ourselves.  But we even fail at following these two rules!  All of us sometimes put our own needs and wants before the needs and wants of others.

Our failure is why Jesus came into the world in the first place.  Jesus came to show us through his own example what it means to live the way God wants us to live.  Jesus always loved and respected God and always put the needs of others before his own.  He lived a perfect, God-centered life.  We try our best to follow Jesus' example, but we aren't perfect all the time.  We still fail sometimes.  Another word for this failure is sin.

Jesus came to show us the way to God.  He also came to save us from our sin.  Jesus died on a cross for us, so that when the time comes, we can live in heaven with Jesus and all of God's people.

It is still good to try our best to follow Jesus' example and live a life that shows love and respect for God and others.  But it is also good to know that when we fail, when we make mistakes, God forgives us.  God still loves us.  We are God's children.  Forever. This is the gift we call grace.

Let's pray:  All-loving and forgiving God, we thank you for rules that keep us safe and living together in peace.  And we thank you for the grace that keeps us in your care always.  Amen.



Mistaken Identity

Mistaken Identity
Lent 1
Mark 8:27-38

Good morning!  Today, I want to start off with a question.  How many of you have ever been called by the wrong name?  Raise your hand if this has every happened to you.  Maybe your mom or dad called you by your brother's or sister's name.  I have a friend named Susan who has four sisters.  Her mother used to call her and she'd sometimes go through everybody else's name before she got to Susan's--"Julie, her, Abby, I mean Carol, no, Kaitlyn, um, Sammie, no, SUSAN!  Will you come here a minute, please, Susan?"  Sammie was the dog.

Sometimes people don't just make a mistake with our name, but they get us totally confused with someone else.  Identical twins have this happen all the time.  But maybe it's been a while since you've seen some friends of your parents', say, and you've grown a lot, so they get you mixed up with your older brother or sister.  Or maybe you just look a lot like someone you've never even met and a stranger comes up and starts talking to you like you're old friends.  They have you confused with another person!

I was in the grocery store by myself one time, and a little child about two years old came up to me and latched on to my leg.  He was sure surprised when he looked up and saw that I wasn't his mother (father)!

One time, Jesus was traveling with his disciples, and while they walked, Jesus asked them, "Who do people say that I am?"  Jesus knew that the public might be confused about him.  Stories were getting around about Jesus--that he healed the sick; that he argued with the religious leaders; that he understood things about the Scriptures and God that people twice his age didn't know.  Folks must have been wondering, "Who is this Jesus, anyway?"

The disciples shared some of the guesses they had heard others make.  "Some say you're John the Baptist.  Others think you're Elijah and still others think you're one of the prophets."  Then Jesus asked what he really wanted to know.  "But who do you, my disciples and closest friends, say that I am?" he asked.  Peter knew the right answer.  He said, "You are the Messiah sent from God."

Then Jesus began to teach the disciples what it meant for him to be the Messiah, the One sent to save the people from their sin.  He told his friends that he would need to suffer pain and rejection.  He told them he would be killed, and after three days, he would rise again.  Being God's chosen Messiah was not an easy job!  It wasn't all healing and miracles and good times.  There were going to be some really hard times ahead, too.

Peter didn't like what he was hearing.  He pulled Jesus aside and started to argue with him.  "No, Jesus!  This couldn't happen to you!  You've been chosen by God!"

But Jesus cut Peter off and told him that he wasn't looking at the big picture.  The hard times were a necessary part of God's plan.  Being Jesus, and being a disciple of Jesus would not always be easy, but Jesus promised that faithfulness would always be worth it. 

Jesus knew who he was.  We know who we are, too.  We are his disciples.  We are Christians.

Let's Pray.  Dear God, we thank you for Jesus and his willingness to suffer for our sakes.  Give us the strength and courage to be his faithful disciples when it's easy and when it's not so easy, too.  Amen.

The Baptism of Jesus

The Baptism of Jesus

The Baptism of Jesus

Lent 1
Mark 1:9-15
Props: Copy of Photo 
Your church's baptismal font, bowl, baptistry, with water

This story describes the baptismal practices of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A.  You may need to adopt the details to reflect the traditions of your particular church or denomination, should they differ.

Good morning, everyone!  Today we are going to talk about one of the most important things that we do as a church.  We don't do it every week, like singing hymns and praying prayers.  This ceremony is so special, so sacred, that it is called a sacrament--the sacrament of baptism.

Different churches perform baptisms in slightly different ways, but they all have four things in common--a person to be baptised, a congregation, water and God.

In our church, the person coming to be baptised can be any age.  He or she can be an adult who has decided to follow Jesus, or a baby or child whose parents want their daughter or son to grow up in a Christian home and church.

Water is poured into this special bowl, called a baptismal font (show your font).  Can you all say that?  Baptismal font.  Very good.  Prayers are said asking God to bless the water for its special, sacred use in baptism.  Then Pastor Chris dips his hand into the font and lets the water run over the head of the person being baptised.  Sometimes the babies are startled by the water and cry, but not too often.

When a baby is baptised, its parents and everyone in the congregation promise to love and nurture the child, teaching him or her about Jesus so that she or he will grow up knowing God's love and what it means to be a Christian.  Baptism is a way for parents to say, "I believe in the promises God has made in the Bible to love and care for my children and me, and I want my child to learn about and follow Jesus every day."  Baptism is also a way of saying, "Yes!" to God's invitation to enter the community of faith, or the church.

Jesus was baptised by his cousin, John the Baptist, in the Jordan River. When Jesus was baptised, God was very pleased. Jesus started his God work of teaching, preaching and healing soon after his baptism. And later in his ministry, he told his disciples to go out into the world sharing the Good News of God's love and forgiveness. They were to make disciples and baptise those who chose to follow Jesus. Now, over 2,000 years later, those disciples include us!
Let's Pray.  Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gifts of baptism and inclusion in the community of faith.  Help us to live as Jesus' faithful disciples each and every day. Amen.

As they leave the area to return to their seats, you may invite the children to touch the water in the baptismal font.

Noah's Noisy Ark

Noah's Noisy Ark
Lent 1
Genesis 9:8-17
Props: The Congregation

If you missed the January 15 Children's Story Today retelling of the Jonah story in this congregation-participation format, here is a second chance to use a storytelling method that is fun and effective.  If you did share The Story of Jonah, a Big Fish and Making Good Choices, it may be a bit soon for a repeat.  I plan to post an alternative in the next day or two based on the Baptism of Jesus, so check back if the following doesn't work for you this week.  For those new to CST, however, read on and enjoy!

Divide the congregation into groups.  Invite each group to respond with the words or actions below each time its assigned word is spoken in the story.

God - Ask the church organist in advance to strike the music for the first "Halleluia!" of Handel's famous Chorus from Messiah
Noah - This group raises its hand and says, "Here!"
Ark - This group sings the first words to "Sailing, Sailing!" or "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"
Animals - Each person in the room makes his or her favorite animal noise
Rainbow - This group points at the sky and says, "Ooh, pretty!"

Now, read the story:

Everybody on the earth was rotten to the core.  Everybody, that is, except for one family.  The Lord God was fed up.  The Lord decided to clean up the whole mess and start over again with the one family in the world who would listen to God's commands.  So God said to Noah, "I need you to do something for me.  I want you to bild me a big boat--an ark, if you will.  It has to be really big, huge, enormous.  When you are done, you and your family are going to put two of every kind of animal inside the big boat to protect them when I flood the earth.  You'd better get started.  I feel a rain cloud coming on."

So Noah built the ark according to God's blueprints.  His neighbors asked him what he was doing.  "Building an ark," he said.  "Why?" they asked.  "Because the Lord told me to.  God is going to send a flood and destroy the earth, you know."  His neighbors laughed.  Noah kept hammering.

Finally, the ark was finished.  Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives started gathering up the animals.  They put two of every kind of animal in the ark--llamas and lambs, hyenas and hedgehogs, cattle and cats, robins and roosters, snakes and slugs, flies and flamingoes.  That huge ark was filled from top to bottom with every kind of critter under the sun.  Noah slammed the great door of the ark shut.

A day went by.  Nothing happened.  Two days went by, then three.  Still nothing happened.  Finally, after a week, it began to sprinkle.  Next it rained.  Then it poured.  It rained and it poured like nobody's business.  It rained and poured for days and days.  The animals became restless.  The bugs wanted to dig in the dirt  The sheep wanted to graze on the fresh spring grass.  The birds longed to soar through the sky.  The rain kept falling.

But God did not forget Noah and the animals.  After forty days and forty nights, the rain stopped.  The clouds disappeared.  The sun shone brightly, and everyone inside the ark cheered.  The water all around the big boat went down, down, down until the ark rested on the top of a tall mountain.

Noah knew the earth was dry when he set a dove free and it didn't come back.  He opened the big, heavy door.  The bright sun streamed in.  Everyone cheered again.  Noah and his family led the animals outside the ark into the sunlight to begin a new life on the fresh-scrubbed earth.

The first thing Noah did was to build an altar and worship God, who then gave Noah a blessing and a promise.  "I am now making my promise with you and your descendants, and with all the animals," said the Lord God.  "I promise I will never wipe out the whole world with a flood again.  I will put a rainbow in the sky, and every time I see the rainbow I will remember my promise not to flood the whole world again."

Noah breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Thank-you, God."

The End.

Let's Pray:  Dear God, help us to remember your promise, your love and forgiveness each time we see a rainbow in the sky.  In Jesus' name, Amen.