Children’s Sermon for November 11, 2012 - Pentecost 24, year B, Mark 12:38-44

Scripture Focus: Mark 12:38-44

Prepare:  Get enough pennies for each child to have 2 pennies.

Faith+Open:  As you welcome the children, ask them to think about all the things that they and their household own.  Give them a minute to think and then suggest things that they may not have thought of, like the family car, their bed, the washing machine, etc.

Faith+Share:  Wow, we have a lot of stuff, don’t we!  That makes 

me feel pretty good, except . . .

Today we hear a story about Jesus people-watching outside the temple.  He sees some scribes and talks about how they seem to brag about how good they are.  They wear fancy clothes, get the best places to sit, they even show off when they pray!  Jesus says, that’s not so good, they shouldn’t be showing off like that.

Then, he sees a widow.  A widow was one of the poorest kinds of people in Jesus’ time.  Widows are women whose husbands have died.  It’s still really sad today, but in Jesus’ time there were laws that made it very difficult for a woman to live without a husband.  The widow walked up quietly and put two small coins into the offering (hold up two pennies).  The story says that both of her coins together were worth less than one of these pennies.  Then Jesus says the craziest thing.  He says that the widow gave more than anyone else!  Wait, she gave less than a penny, how can that be more than anyone else?

Jesus says that all the other people gave out of their abundance.  Or to put it another way, that the other people have lots of stuff, like you and me, and they gave just a very small part of what they had, but the widow put all that she had to live on in the offering, she kept nothing for herself.  That would be like you and I bringing all that stuff we talked about to church and putting it in the offering plate . . . which probably wouldn’t work since I’m pretty sure that a washing machine won’t fit in the offering plate.

I brought some more pennies, enough for each of you to have two, so twice as much as the widow had! (pass out the pennies)  As you take your two pennies, think about this being all that you have to live on, to buy food, to buy clothes, to pay for shelter.  Not much, is it?  Today, when we get to offering time, I want you to put one penny in the plate, and keep one penny as a reminder of the story.

Faith+Prayer:  Loving God, we thank you for the blessings that you have given us; food to eat, warm places to sleep, and people who love us.  Teach us to share the amazing gifts that you have given to us with those who need them. Amen

Faith+Blessing:  May the God of abundance give you all you need.

~GB

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Weekly Devotion - November 11, 2012 - 24th Sunday after Pentecost - Lec 32B

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 24th Sunday after Pentecost, Lectionary 32B - November 11, 2012

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Weekly Devotion - October 28th, 2012 - 22nd Sunday after Pentecost - Lec. 30B

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost, Lec 30B - October 28, 2012

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Children's Sermon Pentecost 21 Mark 10:35-45

Children's Sermon by guest writer Mary Stoneback who serves Ascension Lutheran church in Colorado Springs, CO. Thank you Mary! 

(if you would like to submit a children's sermon please email pastorleta@gmail.com)

Scripture: Mark 10:35-45

Faith+Gather: Gather the children together. Ask, Have you ever asked your parents for something and they said “no?” Maybe you asked for a new bike, a new outfit or maybe a chocolate chip cookie? Was it hard to understand why they said no?

Faith+Share: Today in Mark’s Gospel reading, two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, asked Jesus for something very big. They asked Jesus to have a special place at Jesus’ right and left side when the disciples think he will be made king, to be his special assistants. What exactly are they asking for? It’s a little different than asking for a bike, an outfit or a cookie.

Well, the Disciples didn’t really know what they were asking for either and Jesus let them know this. In Jesus’ time, the Jewish people were made slaves, living under the rule of a bad Roman king and they desperately wanted to be freed from the meanness they experienced. The prophets in the Old Testament had told people about God’s plan for a new kind of Kingdom, the Messiah’s Kingdom. Jesus was their hope for a new future but it wasn’t the kind of kingdom they expected. Jesus’ kingdom didn’t have thrones and palaces like that of Rome. Instead, it was in the hearts of Jesus’ followers. And that’s not very easy to understand.

Jesus knew that James and John were willing and would experience really hard times because they were His followers but Jesus said, “no” to their request to sit to the right and left of Him when Jesus goes back to heaven because it wasn’t for Jesus to grant that request. Jesus knew what was best for them.

Just like James and John, we don’t have to fear asking God for anything. He hears us when we pray but the answer may not always be yes. God wants to give us what is best for us, not only what we want. Sometimes it may be really hard to hear “no” even if we ask for a cookie right after brushing out teeth but God says “no” sometimes for our own good, even when we don’t always understand why. 

Faith+Prayer: Dear God, thank you that we can talk with you like a parent or friend. We can ask you for help, for understanding and for the desires on our hearts. Thank you for listening to our prayers. Help us trust you, even when your answer is “no”.

Amen.

Faith+Blessing: Gracious God (pause) Help us to see you in our lives this week. 

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Guest Writer: Mary Stoneback, Ascension Lutheran, Colorado Springs

www.ascensionlutheranelca.org/

Weekly Devotions - October 21, 2012 - 21st Sunday after Pentecost - Lectionary 29B

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, Lec 29B - October 21, 2012

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Children's Sermon Pentecost 20 Hebrews 4:12-16 and Mark 10:17-31 October 14, 2012

Children's Sermon by guest writer Molly Sullivan who serves Lord of the Hills Lutheran Church in Centennial, CO. Thank you Molly! 

(if you would like to submit a children's sermon please email pastorleta@gmail.com)

Scripture: Hebrews 4:12-16; Mark 10:17-31

Preparation: Gather a “lovie.” Your favorite toy/stuffed animal/blanket from when you were a kid. You could also use one from your child, or a picture of yours, or just jog your memory and have a good description of yours ready.

Faith + Gather: Ask all God’s children to come have conversation with you. Invite them to sit around you. While they are coming up ask the children if they get allowance? Ask them what chores or duties they perform to receive this allowance? And then ask what they like to do with the money they receive from their allowance. (Allow several children to answer making sure to repeat their answers so the congregation can hear.)

Faith + Share: Our second reading this morning comes from the book in the Bible called Hebrews. This passage has lots of big words but basically tells us that God knows life is hard and he understands just how tough things can be sometimes. It says that God has been where we are in the form of Jesus.

Jesus knows how hard it sometimes is to follow Him. But do any of you know just how hard the Bible says it is? Our gospel text from the book of Mark explains it in an interesting way. Tell me what your “lovie” is. This is usually a stuffed animal, blanket or toy that is your favorite. (Bring yours, or a picture of yours, and show it to them as a prop). We love these things very much, don’t we? For grownups our favorite “lovie” sometime becomes money or “stuff.” People in American culture seem to think that the more stuff we have…the better. I want you to imagine giving away your “lovie,” your favorite blanket, your favorite stuffed animal, or toy. Would that be hard? Imagine someone who has lots of “lovies.” Fancy cars, lots of TV’s in their house, awesome clothes, cool toys, and the latest gadgets, anything you could ever want. Now imagine them giving that all away. That is super hard even to imagine right? The gospel story says entering God’s kingdom is just that hard. He likens it to a rich man giving up everything that is precious to him. Actually it says it is easier for a camel to fit through the hole in a needle. Funny to think about that huh? But you know what? That’s not the end of the story.

After Jesus says how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God the disciples say “Well I don’t think I can do that!” “How do we know who will be with God in eternity?” And guess what Jesus’ response is? If you do these things…meaning the really hard stuff, AND ASK ME TO HELP YOU…Then I will help you. And if you believe in me, that I am God’s Son, you will be blessed. Jesus doesn’t say it will be easy, but He says that by doing them “in His name” God will be with you.

Faith + Prayer: God in Heaven, Thank you for our favorite things. Help us to make your son Jesus one of our favorite things too. Please walk with us this week. We pray in Jesus name (and all God’s children said)…AMEN!

Faith + Blessing: Have the kids repeat: Gracious God (pause) Help us to see you in our lives this week. 

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Guest Writer: Molly Sullivan, Lord the Hills ELCA Centennial, CO 

Weekly Devotions - October 14, 2012 - 20th Sunday After Pentecost - Lec. 28B

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Lec 28B - October 14, 2012

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Weekly Devotions - October 7, 2012 - 19th Sunday after Pentecost - Lec 27B

Here is the Weekly devotion for the 19th Sunday after Pentecost, Lec 27B - October 7, 2012

Did you miss a week?  Go to the Weekly Devotion page to download past weeks!

Children's Sermon Sept. 30th, 2012 18th Sunday after Pentecost Mark 9:38-50

Faith + Open: As children come forward, randomly put them into two distinct groups preferably (depending on your space) with some separation between them. Make sure that no one migrates and make it clear that this is where they need to be. Don’t have them sit down.

Faith + Share: Take one group (this will be group 1 for reference) of the children and say “Ok you are with me. Let’s go over here for a little bit and talk.” Lead them away (maybe down one of the side aisles towards the back of the worship space) and don’t even acknowledge the other group( group 2 for reference). Begin talking to your group in hushed tones occasionally looking at and pointing to the other group still up front. Do this for only a minute to two. Then bring the groups back together.

Say to group 2: “How did it feel to be left up here alone not knowing what was going on? (Accept all answers) Did you wonder why you didn’t get to go with the other group? Did you wonder if you were different or had done something not quite right?” (Accept all answers) Turn to group 1: “How did you feel to go with me? Like the “in” crowd or like you were special for some reason?

Well in our story this morning there were two groups of people- the disciples who were with Jesus and another group who weren’t directly with Jesus but were helping people in Jesus’ name. The disciples thought that the other people were too different and shouldn’t be allowed to talk about Jesus. But Jesus tells the disciples that anyone who tells people about him ARE part of his group! Anyone who loves Jesus, tells people about Jesus, and helps people in Jesus’ name are important to Jesus and Jesus includes or welcomes anyone who believes! Pretty neat! Jesus tells the disciples “to have piece with each other” and this means to not worry about someone who is a bit different from themselves but welcome into God’s family!

We have a part of our worship service where we do this: it is called the “passing of the peace.” We do this because Jesus wants us to welcome everyone and so we shake hands or give a hug to let everyone here know that they are wanted and welcome here! So when we say “peace be with you” we are really saying “God’s peace and we are so glad you are here!”

How else can we let people know that we are glad that they are with us not just in worship on a Sunday morning but in our lives as well?

Faith + Blessing:  Today when we pass the peace I want all of us to say that to each other, “God’s peace and I am so glad that you are here!”

Faith + Close: Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for loving everyone. We want everyone to feel you love for them, help us to welcome everyone we meet for you. We all belong to you and we are so thankful! Amen
~BW
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