Be Love. GBIM Sponsorship Sunday. Church resources for pastors and children s ministry.

Transcription

1 Be Love GBIM Sponsorship Sunday Church resources for pastors and children s ministry.

2 Table of Contents Your quick guide... 3 Sermon Outline SERMON OUTLINE Prayer Activity Prayer Activity Statistics on Poverty Children s Church Activity Children s Church Activity

3 Your quick guide Get your resources ready Look over the children/student profiles and information from GBIM. Ask a volunteer to set up and manage a sponsorship table for the month of February. Find video and ministry resources online, us at gbiminfo@generalbaptist.com or call Celebrate your Be Love Sponsorship Sunday Share on Facebook and in your newsletter about your Be Love Sponsorship Sunday service. Play the Be Love Sponsorship video Pray Reflect and celebrate the combined impact of your church for children/student. Thank you Return forms, send an thanking your church, and share your impact on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account 3

4 Sermon Outline 1 Being Love: what it means to join an incredible story Adapted from a sermon prepared by Mark Purser SUMMARY Life is full of opportunities to be love, to bring Jesus s compassion to someone crying out to be loved, and to engage with people who are in desperate need. Jesus would often become part of someone s story as He reached out in mercy and changed the course of their life. If we just open our hearts and widen our gaze, we will find incredible stories of hope just waiting to unfold. Stories that God is calling us to be part of. INTRODUCTION Use a personal example to reflect on how, in our busy lives, we can sometimes walk right past those most in need. Personal example option 1: Think of a time when you were presented with the opportunity to show love and concern for someone in need, but due to your busyness or judgement you ignored them. Personal example option 2: Think of a time when you sensed God calling you to show love to someone in need. You responded to the prompting and as a result you became part of that person s story of healing and transformation. BIBLE READING Luke 8:40-48 or Mark 5:24-34 CONTEXT By this point in His ministry, Jesus had gained a great deal of fame and was at the pinnacle of his popularity. People respected Him as a healer and a teacher, and crowds swarmed around Him wherever He went. But despite the pressures of popularity, despite the constant push and shove of the crowd around Him, despite all the demands on His time, Jesus, in His kindness, stopped everything He was doing to help people and meet their needs. In this story, Jesus was on an urgent mission - to visit Jairus dying daughter. Surely nothing could stop Him in His tracks? APPLICATION 1 How well do you handle interruptions? Jesus often came across people who were desperately in need. They were not on his daily agenda, but presented themselves, desperate to encounter hope and healing; the perfect opportunity to be love. Show statistics of poverty (see p9), and pictures of current issues. What about us, and the statistics we hear on poverty? The images we see in the news? Are they a rude interruption to our plans? Or do they invite a response? BACK TO THE STORY Jesus is urgently rushing off to Jairus s house when He is stopped in His tracks by another woman with a need of her own. Now, in this moment, you wouldn t blame Jairus for protesting and urging Jesus to press on to the focal point of this exercise being with his daughter. But Jesus stops and engages with this woman. She fights her way desperately through the crowd to touch Jesus and, as soon as she does, she is healed. Jesus is spontaneous. Here we have an unplanned encounter that He invests in, even on a busy day. APPLICATION 2 Opportunities to be love exist every day if we just dare to look beyond our own needs and busy agendas. BACK TO THE STORY Because of her disease, this woman was an outcast in her society. She was treated like a leper and ignored by her family for 12 years. Mark s gospel account infers she is out of money and that doctors can t help her, so, she has nothing to lose. She was not allowed to walk the public streets, so she would have had to disguise herself to get anywhere near Jesus. To sneak up from behind, probably on hands and knees, fight her way through the crowd and tug on His garment. And when Jesus feels Her faith touch, He turns and gives her His personal attention as though she were the only one there. This woman represents what we see in people afflicted by and stuck in poverty today. Often unseen, unheard, unclean, powerless and cast aside by society. People reaching out in desperation; longing for things to change. APPLICATION 3 Our world is becoming more and more impersonal. Think of all you can do without ever having to speak to a single person: online banking and grocery shopping, pay at the pump for petrol, checking your own luggage in at the airport. 4

5 God created us for relationship. Jesus models this in the way He affords this woman some precious time. Jesus affirms her by healing her, calling her out and listening to her story. It s probably the first time in a long time that anyone has really listened to her. Are you ready to listen to the stories of the poor? There are so many stories unfolding in the darkness of those statistics and images shown earlier. Yet with the loving engagement of people like us here in America, there are incredible stories, like the one I m about to show, unfolding in hope. Download your video from =PLh_pPdnIoN8QzB77h-IfjXbxTl- LtDuRO CONCLUSION There are children/students all over the world just like Jose waiting for people like us to show some interest. To show some love and concern to be part of their story. Not unlike how Jesus responded to the bleeding woman. As God s creation, she deserved attention and respect. She was valued, she was a masterpiece, and she mattered. Jesus heals this woman, spiritually, and gifts her with eternal hope. Jesus heals this woman physically, and empowers her and restores her place in society. Who is tugging on your garment today? 5

6 Sermon Outline 2 Being part of God s incredible story Adapted from a sermon prepared by Cameron Eccleston INTRODUCTION Use a personal example to introduce the idea of stories. Personal example option 1 I love to read. Share about your favorite place to read. For example, at the beach, or next to a fireplace, or share your favorite genre of book. Personal example option 2 I m not a big reader. Share about another interest that involves hearing stories. For example, I am more of a movie kind of person. TRANSITION Whether you like to read or not, it is hard to ignore the power of a story. Until recently, humans have relied heavily on storytelling; indeed, this is still the case for much of the world. George Miller, the director of such movies as Babe and Happy Feet, as well as the Mad Max movies, told the Sydney Morning Herald back in 2011: When you get down to it, you realise that stories do have a function. It s clear that the way we survive as much as anything else is through narrative - the way we make the world coherent. I think it s wired into us... Our ancestors needed very powerful narratives and accurate narratives to help conduct their lives - all their moral codes, all their observations of the world, all their science was held in stories. A story is powerful. And the most powerful story in history is the story of God and how He engages with His creation. BIBLE READING Genesis 2 CONTEXT God s incredible story begins in a garden. It is a beautiful scene of rivers, trees, and animals. It s paradise. But not only is it beautiful, it is also harmonious. The relationship between God and humanity is perfect, as is the relationship between Adam and Eve. We see that God has a deep desire to partner with humanity to tend this garden. It is an incredible opening to an incredible story. But it is not the reality of our world today, because humanity chose to disobey God in Genesis 3. Now the relationship between God and humanity is broken. Now the relationship between human and human is broken. This is expressed in hunger, violence, oppression and injustice. APPLICATION 1 Show statistics (see p9 9) and images of poverty and current issues. Deep in our hearts we know that this suffering isn t right that injustice isn t right, that poverty isn t right, that hunger, sickness, and oppression are not right. Do you ever question what God s intentions are for this world? BACK TO THE STORY This is not the end of God s incredible story. Just as God s story starts in a garden; it also ends in a garden. At the end of Revelation, we have a picture of a new garden with rivers and trees. Harmony is restored between God and humanity, and within humanity itself. Every tribe and every nation will be there, and there will be healing. So, God s incredible story starts in a beautiful garden and it ends in a beautiful garden. But what about in the meantime? What are we meant to do as God s people? Are we simply meant to sit around waiting for Jesus to return so that we can join Him in the new garden? Jesus paints a picture that God s story is unfolding right here, right now. Yes, God s story will end in a garden, but His story is happening here and happening now. Not only that, but God also invites us to be a part of His incredible story. APPLICATION 2 What you do in the present by preaching, singing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself will last into God s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether. They are part of what we may call building for God s kingdom. - Tom Wright, Surprised by hope. 6

7 We see a glimpse of this transformation through the work of GBIM s child/student sponsorship projects. Download your video from =PLh_pPdnIoN8QzB77h-IfjXbxTl- LtDuRO You may find yourself asking What can one person do? Surely God can t expect me to fix it all? Jesus doesn t expect us to do it all, but He does expect us to do something. APPLICATION 3 We can t do it all, but we can be a part of one incredible story. Showing God s love to one child/student, to one family, to one community. Show child/student needing sponsors - call to organize child/student profiles, as well as those in your sponsorship kit. You can be a part of (child/student name) s incredible story (hold up child/student sponsorship profile). You can be a part of (child/student name)s incredible story (hold up child/student sponsorship profile). You can be a part of (child/student name) s incredible story (hold up child/student sponsorship profile). By doing so, you are a part of God s incredible story of hope. CONCLUSION The Bible is full of stories. They all form God s whole incredible story of hope, grace, redemption, and love. It s a story that continues. Sure, the Bible has been written, but God s incredible story of redemption and restoration continues to be written through His followers and His church. And He invites us to be a part of that incredible story. We have an opportunity today to partner with God, to become part of His incredible story by choosing to be part of one child/student s incredible story. If you haven t already done so, why not consider sponsoring a child/student today, and if you have, why not consider sponsoring another children/student? And be part of the most incredible story. 7

8 Prayer Activity 1 Praying for Children/student Faithful prayer for child/student is powerful. By praying for all children/student s, as well as a specific child/student by name, you become a powerful and effective advocate for children/student living in poverty. Using the short prayers for children/students on each of the themes listed below, have 7 volunteers share the short prayers during your Be Love Sponsorship Sunday service. Here are 7 things that you can pray for children/student in your Be Love Sponsorship Sunday church service: 1 Love All children/student need love. The close love of their families, the sharing love of their friends, the generous love that comes from children/student sponsors, and the sacrificial and boundless love of God. Prayer: Lord, we pray that all children/student will know the love of a family and friends. We pray that You will pour out Your love on the children/student we know, and the children/student around the world. Teach us to love like You. Amen. 2 Hope God s plan for His people includes hope and a brighter future. Hope helps children/students see opportunity, even in tough circumstances. And hope can sustain children/students as they struggle against poverty. Prayer: Lord, we know Your plans are to give us hope, and a brighter future. Help us to be part making a brighter future for the child/student we know, but also for children/students around the world. Give us and them fresh hope that will lead to ending poverty. Amen. 3 Joy All children/students should have more moments of joy than of suffering. Imagine a children/student running, laughing, and playing. Joy is catching! The joy of a child/student can transform families and whole communities. Prayer: Lord, we rejoice in Your love. We rejoice when we see children/student s lives changed. Help us to keep being generous with your joy, and spread it throughout the world. Amen. 4 Faith It s difficult for anyone to find God when surrounded by injustice, corruption, and suffering. But as Christians, like you, act against poverty, children/students will see faith in action and want to join the movement that acts out of God s love. Prayer: Lord, we pray that all people will have faith in You. But help us, Lord, to understand when to share our faith in word, and when to share our faith in deed. Help us to put our faith in action for children/student living in poverty. Amen. 5 Provision Poverty robs children/students of school, clean water, healthy food, as well as hope and joy. But generosity can overturn poverty, providing everything a children/student needs to find joy, hope, and faith. Prayer: Lord, we pray for Your provision for children/student living poverty. Help us to be generous and use our gifts wisely. Help us to be Your hands and feet in the world, to provide for the needs of children/student we know and the children/student around the world. Amen. 6 Protection Children/student are vulnerable. They need a strong and stable family and community to protect them from abuse and exploitation. Prayer: God, we pray for Your protection over each child/student at risk of the terrible situations of abuse and exploitation. Build strong communities around them who will provide them with love and support. Amen. 7 Peace War and civil conflict are terrible evils and children/student are particularly vulnerable in these circumstances. Even family conflict can seriously limit a child/student s ability to achieve their dreams. Prayer: Lord, let Your peace reign. Raise up peacemakers, even from amongst children/student. And help us to remember them in our prayers. Amen. 8

9 Prayer Activity 2 Praying for a Sponsored Child/Student Celebrate your church s combined impact of helping children/students to change their communities. No doubt there are already people in your church sponsoring children/students. Celebrate this generosity by asking people to bring in a picture of the child/student they sponsor, regardless of which agency. Then you can: Ask people to hold up the picture of their sponsored child/student while someone prays from the front. Share a time of communal prayer. There s a suggested prayer below. On a world map, ask people to place a pin or sticky note where they sponsor a child/student. Prayer: God, I hold a child/student in my hand. Compared to You, I have only a small role to play in this child/student s life. But you knit this children/student together in their mother s womb. You know every bone in their body, and every hair on their head. Your love for this child/student s life knows no bounds. This is just a photo, but there is a real child/student out there. They are just waiting for a chance to fulfil their dreams. Help me, God, to see each child/student I sponsor the way You do. To see the individual beyond the photo. To love without bounds. Help me, Lord, to be part of this child/student s incredible story, As they make their dreams come true. Amen 9

10 Statistics on Poverty A quick reference Nearly half of all deaths in children under 5 are attributable to undernutrition. This translates into the unnecessary loss of about 3 million young lives a year Over 1,400 young children die each day, or about 526,000 children a year, from diarrhoea, despite the availability of simple effectve treatment. 663 million people do not have access a protected water source most of these people are poor and live in rural areas. in 2014, 42,000 people a day had to abandon their homes to seek protection due to conflict. 2.4 billion people lack access to basic sanitation services, such as toilets or latrines 836 million people live in extreme proverty Globally, one in nine people in the world today (795 million) are undernourished. Approximately 124 million children and adolescents throughout the world are missing school. An extimated 75 million children have had their education disrupted by crisis. From State of the World s Children Report, UNICEF 2016, and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 10

11 Children s Church Activity 1 The Art of Sharing and the Sharing of Art Sharing artwork with children/student will brighten their day! They can become treasured items, even put on display. STEP 1 Choose a country to learn about from the list below: Philippines India Honduras Saipan Discuss what artwork you might want to share with children/student who live in that country. STEP 2 Base your art on a letter size piece of paper or card, then draw, paint or collage! Some good themes might be: STEP 3 American animals American plants or landscape (like the beach or the woods) Friendship Story from the Bible Favorite activities Mail your completed artwork, with any donations to: General Baptist International Ministries 100 Stinson Drive Poplar Bluff, MO Include the country you would like to send your artwork to, and we ll forward them to children/student who would love to receive a special piece of art from the USA! SOME GUIDELINES Artwork should be based on a flat piece of paper or card. Drawing, painting, and collages are perfect! Artwork should be mailed flat. Artwork more than the height of standard letter size are difficult and expensive to mail. For your own safety, and for the protection of the children/student, please don t share your address or other personal details such as full names, school names, or church names). First names are ok. Please keep written words (if any) to a minimum. Translation is a time-consuming task, and we d love to get your artwork to children/students as quickly as we can! FAQS Q How will our artwork be delivered to the children/students? The artwork will be sent to children/students in your specified country. Depending on which country you have chosen to write to, the artwork will be bundled together and sent one of our child care or educational facilities. The institution will determine who receives which artwork, or maybe even display all of them on their wall! We know that the children/student will be very happy that someone has taken the time to make a special artwork for them! Q Can we make artwork for specific children/student? Sadly, you can t write to specific children/students. We can only facilitate one-on-one correspondence with children/students who are sponsored through our child/student sponsorship program. If you would like to write or send artwork to someone specific, we encourage you to sponsor a child/student! Q If we include our name and address will the children/student write back? We won t be able to share any full names, addresses, or identifying information. Please ensure that no personal information - full names, school or church names - appears on the artwork. This is for the privacy and protection of the children/students. We know that the children/students will be very happy that someone has taken the time to make a special message for them, even if they can t tell you themselves! 11

12 Children s Church Activity 2 Activity Stations Stations can be modified for different age groups. OBJECTIVE To share the incredible story of transformation that Child/student Sponsorship can bring. This activity should be modified to suit the age group. You could even modify to suit adults! Younger children/student may need more guidance. INSTRUCTIONS 1 Set up 5 stations on tables or floor mats. Each station should have a leader to supervise. For a small children s ministry team, invite responsible youth leaders to help with the younger groups. 2 Before the lesson, run though each station with the leaders, and explain how the children will move from station to station. Agree on the length of time to spend at each station so that all groups move on at the same time. Five minutes should be enough at each station. 3 Divide the children/students into 5 groups. Small groups are easier to manage, so if you have a larger group, you may want to divide further and set up an art table or other activities. 4 Guide each group through the station. Allow children/students to play and examine the activity, ask them discussion questions about the station theme, summarize and pray, before moving on to the next station. Station 1 Clean Water OPTION 1 Set up a water play area for the children/students. Some ideas include a bucket with cups and water toys. OPTION 2 Set up a scientific experiment using dirty water. Filter the water with three types of filters: a cooking sieve, coffee filter and proper water filter. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Where does your water come from? What do you use water for? LESSON NOTES FOR STATION When you are thirsty you can go to your kitchen and get fresh, clean water to drink. But for many children/students in the world, who are just like you, clean water is not available for drinking, washing, cleaning, or playing. Children/student sponsorship helps give these children/students clean drinking water. Pray for children/students like you who still don t have access to clean water. Station 2 Education OPTION 1 Puzzle station with Be Love find-a-words or crosswords. OPTION 2 Memory Flip cards game, with pictures themed around the five stations (i.e. wheat, rice, pencil case, well, shelter, etc). DISCUSSION QUESTIONS What do you want to be when you grow up? What things are you learning at school that will help you become a doctor, nurse, teacher, policeman etc.? LESSON NOTES FOR STATION Sometimes school can be fun. Sometimes school can be boring. But school helps us to choose what we want to be. Sadly, around the world many children/student, who are just like you, don t get the opportunity to go to school. This might sound like fun, but those children/student have to work instead. The money they earn goes towards buying food for their families. They don t get to spend it on what they want or choose what they want to be when they grow up. Children/student Sponsorship helps these children/student to go to school instead of work. Pray for children/student like you who don t go to school because they must work. Station 3 Shelter OPTION 1 Lego Station where kids can construct houses. OPTION 2 Popsicle stick houses.

13 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Who has a kitchen in their house? And a living room? Do you have your own bedroom, or do you share? What about your mom and dad do they have their own room? LESSON NOTES FOR STATION Imagine living in a house that only had one room, where all your family had to cook, eat, sleep, and play in the same area! It sounds like camping, but imagine if your tent got blown away in a storm, and you had no other home. Many children, who are just like you, live in houses that are easily damaged or destroyed in storms. Pray for children/students like you who are scared because they have no house to live in. Station 4 Food OPTION 1 Icing animal crackers. OPTION 2 Growing sprouts on a sponge. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Do you get to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner? What about morning and afternoon snacks? What is your favorite food? LESSON NOTES FOR STATION Food is good when we are hungry it also helps to keep us healthy. But some children around the world, children who are just like you, only get one or two small meals a day. And some will go hungry all day. Can you imagine what that s like? Pray for children just like you around the world, who don t have enough food to eat today. Station 5 Medical Help OPTION 2 Operation game. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Who has ever been sick with a runny nose, or coughing? What helped you to get better? Did you go to the doctor, or eat special food? And what helps you stay healthy? LESSON NOTES FOR STATION Sometimes we get coughs and colds. When we get very sick, our parents take us to the doctor. Sometimes we might need to go to hospital. But imagine getting sick all the time because you weren t taught to wash your hands or because you didn t know you should eat healthy food. Child Sponsorship teaches children, just like you, how to stay healthy by growing and eating good food, washing their hands, and not drinking dirty water. Child Sponsorship also helps moms and dads pay for a doctor when children get sick. Pray for children, like you, who are sick or disabled but don t have access to doctors and medicine so they can get better. OPTION 1 Have a nurse in your church take the kids temperature, blood pressure, etc. 13