All Hands on Deck May 1 The story begins by describing a conflict between the two groups in the early church. How the particular conflict developed is unstated, but we are told the issue involves the case of some widows not receiving enough during the daily distribution of food. From the start, the story contains interesting information about the early church. First of all, disagreement sometimes occurred between groups in the church. Secondly, there was a system in the early church that provided for food distribution so everyone had enough to eat and no one went hungry. Right from the beginning, Christians have followed Jesus example of helping others. The early church leaders came up with a solution to the conflict that had arisen. They decided to have the congregation choose certain members to oversee the food distribution. Here is recognition that while we are all called to do God s work, none of us can do everything. There are plenty of ministry opportunities to go around. Read Acts 6:1-7 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read Choosing the Seven : The number of disciples continued to increase; the Greek-speaking disciples complained that the Aramaic-speaking disciples were overlooking their widows in the daily meal service. All the disciples were called to a meeting. The Twelve suggested that the disciples choose seven well-respected men who followed the Spirit and had exceptional wisdom. These seven men would take care of the widows. The community selected Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus. These seven were presented to the Twelve who prayed and laid hands on them. How can your family serve your church/faith community? Contact your pastor to see if there is way your family can help out. Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, help us to share your love with everyone we meet. Amen. Choosing the Seven (Acts 6:1-7)
All Hands on Deck May 8 The Ethiopian in the story was an important official who was responsible for the treasury of the Ethiopian queen. In spite of his status, Jews at that time would have considered him an outsider for two reasons. Most Israelites would have treated him as an outcast because of where he lived and because he was a eunuch. His castration excluded him from the religious assembly and because he lived far from Jerusalem, pilgrimage to the holy city would have been difficult. In spite of this, the Ethiopian man was seeking God. He had been to Jerusalem to worship and was on his way home when the Spirit sent Philip his way. To one who was considered an outcast, hearing about Jesus who welcomed society s outcasts must have been amazing. The Ethiopian man ended up asking Philip to baptize him before the Spirit led Philip elsewhere. Read Acts 8:26-40 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read Philip and the Ethiopian : An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip and told him to take the desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza, so he did. An Ethiopian man in a carriage was on his way home from Jerusalem. He was a eunuch and was in charge of the entire treasury of the Ethiopian queen. While he traveled, the Ethiopian man read from the prophet Isaiah. The Spirit of the Lord told Philip to approach the carriage and to stay with it. Philip heard the man reading and asked if he understood what he was reading. The man replied that he did not because he had no one to guide him. The man invited Philip to ride in the carriage. Philip proclaimed the good news of Jesus to the man as they traveled. They came upon some water, and the man asked if he could be baptized. Philip and the man went to the water where Philip baptized him. The Ethiopian eunuch was outside of the normal Jewish community, but that didn t stop God from moving. Philip reached out to him and shared God s love. Is there someone outside of your normal friend group that you could befriend? Share joys and concerns, and then say this prayer: Dear God, help us to share your love with everyone we meet. Amen. Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40)
All Hands on Deck May 15 Although as Christians we celebrate Pentecost as the birthday of the church the day God spent the Spirit to the followers of Jesus, Pentecost is not a holiday that originated with Christianity. Pentecost was a Jewish festival more commonly known as the Feast of Weeks. Pentecost was one of three pilgrimage feasts when Jews gathered in Jerusalem. Jesus had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Holy Spirit. During this time of waiting in Jerusalem, the disciples and other followers of Jesus were celebrating Pentecost. While they were celebrating, the Spirit arrived. The arrival of the Spirit was not a calm quiet event, but rather the Spirit came sounding like a violent wind and appearing like fire. The Spirit s arrival in Jerusalem on Pentecost Day is a fulfillment of prophecy and an answer to the community s expectant prayers. Jesus promised to send the disciples a helper and it had arrived. Read Acts 2:1-41 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read Pentecost : When the Day of Pentecost arrived, the disciples were all together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven. It sounded like a loud wind. As the sound filled the house, what looked like flames of fire appeared on each person. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking other languages. There were many people in Jerusalem from every nation. A crowd gathered when they heard the disciples talking in their native languages. The crowds were very amazed and confused. Peter began preaching to the crowd, proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ. After the crowd heard Peter, they asked what they should do. Peter responded by telling them to change their hearts and lives, and to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Many were brought into the community of believers that day. Make a birthday cake to celebrate the church! Share your favorite church memories over a piece. you for your holy spirit. Amen. Pentecost (Acts 2:1-41)
All Hands on Deck May 22 The rapid growth of the community of believers made some religious and political leaders in Jerusalem nervous. Followers of Jesus were persecuted. Many of the believers left Jerusalem. The unexpected result of the scattering was the development of churches in new places. Some of the believers went to Antioch. There they told the good news about Jesus to Jews, and also to Gentiles. Many people believed and the community at Antioch grew. Back in Jerusalem, the followers of Jesus were in hiding. When news of the believers in Antioch reached Jerusalem, they sent Barnabus to investigate. Barnabus was so excited about what was happening in Antioch that he sent for Paul to come join him. It was in Antioch that the followers were called the name we still use today Christians. Read Acts 11:19-30 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible. Read First Called Christians : Some of Jesus followers went to Antioch and proclaimed the good Many heard the good news, and a large number joined the community of believers. When the church in Jerusalem heard of what was happening in Antioch, Barnabas was sent to check things out. When he arrived, he was overjoyed. Barnabas went on from Antioch to Tarsus to look for Saul (whom we know as Paul) to bring him to Antioch. They were together in Antioch working with the community of believers. It was here that the community was first called Christians. About that time, it was predicted that Rome would experience a great famine. The Christians in Antioch decided to send relief to the Roman community with everyone offering support. Barnabas and Saul were sent to Rome with the relief gifts. Make a welcome mat for your home that identifies your family as Christian. Buy a blank mat and fabric paint. Paint fish onto your mat. In the early church, it was illegal to be a Christian. To let people know they were safe to talk about Jesus, the symbol of the fish would be shown. Set your mat outside so people know it is safe to talk about Jesus. you for our faith community. Amen. First Called Christians (Acts 11:19-30)
All Hands on Deck May 29 Today s Bible story is from one of the letters Paul wrote to the church at Corinth. During his missionary travels, Paul helped establish the church at Corinth and became friends with the followers there. As Paul was continuing on his missionary journey, he heard that the Christians in Corinth were struggling and arguing among themselves. Specifically, they were quarreling over who was most important. Paul wrote to his friends at Corinth to remind them that each person is important. To help make his point, Paul uses a metaphor of the human body. The one body, many parts metaphor was common in the Greco-Roman world and would have been familiar to Paul s readers. The message to those suffering from low self-esteem and those with an inflated sense of importance is the same. Just as every part of the body is important and has its own purpose, every person is important and has a job to do. If one part of the body were missing, the body would not be the same. If even one person is missing from the church, the church is not the same. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31 together in the Deep Blue Kids Bible, as well as Life Preserver: What are spiritual gifts? Read We Are One Body : Each of you has been given a special gift and talent from God. Nobody s gift is better than anyone else s gift. All gifts are special. When we work together, we are like a body. We all need each other, just like we all need eyes, ears, hands, and feet. We couldn t do all of the important things we need to do without all of our body parts, just like we can t do all the things Jesus wants us to do if we don t work together, taught Paul. We need to work together to share God s love. Take an inventory of the strengths of your family. What are your gifts? Talk about ways your family can use their gifts to help others. Choose a way to help, and do that this week. We Are One Body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) you for our gifts. Help us use them to serve the world. Amen.