November 20, 2016 Reign of Christ Sunday Scripture Semicontinuous Scripture Jer. 23:1 6 Scripture Luke 1:68 79 Scripture Complementary Jer. 23:1 6 Ps. 46 Col. 1:11 20 Luke 23:33 43 Jeremiah s Message Goal for the Session Children will investigate Jeremiah s message from God and reflect on what peace means to them. PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Jeremiah 23:1 6 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective by Jack R. Lundbom In the days of this future king, a united Judah and Israel, such as existed under David, will experience deliverance (from enemies) and a secure existence. The concluding line of Oracle IV (v. 6b) states that the future Davidic king will be named YHWH is our righteousness, a wordplay with reversal on the name of Judah s reigning king, Zedekiah, which means My righteousness is YHWH. This future king will be a complete turnaround from the present king what Zedekiah should have been, but was not. The seeds of later messianism are here, as they are also in Isaiah 9:6 7; 11:1 9; Amos 9:11; Micah 5:2. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective by Nelson Rivera It is no wonder that these verses have been cherished by generations of believers for their messianic utterance, particularly on Reign of Christ Sunday. No doubt this passage (especially vv. 5 6) has messianic implications, but this should not be understood merely as end-of-the-world indictment, or exclusively as future eschatology. The truth is that, at one and the same time, this passage speaks powerfully both to what God will do in the future and to what God is doing in the here and now. Such is the dynamic life of the word of God wherever it is uttered. It speaks to the possibilities of the present, as well as to the hopes of the future. God is able to do all of that under one and the same word of promise. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective by Mary Eleanor Johns The reign of Christ is the reign of peace. The perennial question for the church is, how do we live faithfully under this reign? As Christians, do we stand by and let national leaders direct us into war, or do we stand up, moving the prism around until we discover a just and equitable approach to handling the impasse at hand? Whether the crisis in our region, nation, or world is war, natural disaster, young people dying violently, lack of work, racism, sexism, trade policies, or migration, we are called to look to the underlying issues that play into the brokenness. At times, we are even called to upset the applecart in order to empower all people as children of God. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective by Martha Sterne There are significant moments in human history when a renewed and powerful cry for justice does in fact serve as a vehicle for the power of God to change the course of human events. Certainly this reading has been and will be helpful in rallying a community that has been weakened and scattered through bad leadership. A prophetic voice speaking truth to power is surely the heart of the liberation of God s oppressed people down through the ages. Perhaps it is the same prophetic cry that reverberates century after century. 2016 Westminster John Knox Press Fall 2016 Grades K 2 1
Jeremiah s Message FOCUS SCRIPTURE Jeremiah 23:1 6 Focus on Your Teaching While young children may not use the words justice and peace, they are concerned about fairness and are sensitive to conflict among people they know. They may have experienced times when they felt they were not being treated fairly, perhaps when being denied an extended bedtime or when snacks weren t shared equally. They may think of peace as times with no raised voices, or as a relaxed feeling while engaged in a favorite activity with friends or loved ones. As we help children become more aware of peace and justice in their lives, we can encourage them to treat others in peaceful ways. YOU WILL NEED white cloth battery-powered candle Giving Tree, green handprint cut-outs (from Sept. 18) Bible Resource Sheet 1 Color Pack 24, 25 Singing the Feast, 2016 2017; CD player For Responding option 1: copies of Resource Sheet 2, pencils, newsprint or markerboard, scissors, markers, glue sticks, small paper lunch bags option 2: masking tape or sidewalk chalk, Singing the Feast, 2016 2017; CD player option 3: Resource Sheet 2, mural paper or newsprint, markers, white glue, confetti, envelopes Living God, help me to play my part in creating a just and peaceful world. Amen. LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Before the session, if you are using option 2 in Responding, use masking tape to outline a simple hopscotch board of five or six spaces on the floor or draw one outdoors with sidewalk chalk. (For help: search Internet images for hopscotch boards. ) If you are using option 3, bring a 4-foot length of mural paper or tape three sheets of newsprint together to make a long piece. Use a marker to write the word PEACE in large block letters in the center of the mural. Put some confetti in an envelope for each child. Greet each child by name. Invite the children to help you arrange the white cloth in the center of your space, place the candle on it, and light it. Point out the white cloth, saying that the church uses white on celebration days. Today is Christ the King (or Reign of Christ) Sunday, a day to celebrate that Jesus is our leader. Place the Giving Tree on the cloth and invite the children to hang a paper hand on the tree as they name ways to use their hands to help others. Pray aloud, encouraging the children to repeat each phrase: Loving God, / thank you for our friends here today. / Help us to learn more / about Jesus, our King. / Amen. Invite the children to think about the meaning of the word peace. Discuss: P If you were going to draw a picture of peace, what would you draw? P What does peace feel like to you? P Is it possible to share peace with others? If so, how? 2016 Westminster John Knox Press Fall 2016 Grades K 2 2
Jeremiah s Message Circle of Love Refrain: The circle of love goes around, around, The circle of love goes Stop, reach out, your sister (your brother; someone) needs you, Listen, someone is crying, Wondering why she s been denied. Stop, reach out, your sister needs you, Refrain (your brother) Look, someone is searching, Trying to find his way back. Stop, reach out, your brother needs you, Refrain (someone) No one can travel life s road all alone; We all need a friend now and then. Stop, reach out, someone needs you, Refrain (someone) EXPLORING Open the Bible to the book of Jeremiah. Say that long ago, a long time before Jesus was born, God chose Jeremiah to be a prophet, to deliver God s messages to the people. Wonder together about the kind of person you think God would choose to be a prophet. Ask: P What kind of messages do you think God would tell a prophet to deliver? Show Color Pack 24 and explain that this is what one artist imagined Jeremiah looked like. Remind learners that there were no cameras then, so we don t know for sure. Say that the Bible story today is one of the messages that God told Jeremiah to deliver. Before you read the story, have the children practice saying Jeremiah brought a message from God when you raise your hand. Tell the story using the script on Resource Sheet 1 (Story Script). After presenting the story, discuss: P What do you think Jeremiah s voice sounded like when he delivered God s message to the people? (Invite volunteers to demonstrate, using the line In God s world, there will be peace. ) P Do you think Jeremiah believed that the people would listen to him? Why or why not? P Jeremiah s message said that God would send leaders who were like shepherds. How might a leader be like a shepherd? P What do you think the leaders said after they listened to Jeremiah? Look again at Color Pack 24. Invite the children to pretend they are standing in the middle of this group of people. Read the story on Resource Sheet 1 again, without the learners refrain. Ask: P What would you like to ask Jeremiah about his message? P What would you do after you saw Jeremiah leave? Summarize that Jeremiah tells us that God s plan is for a just and peaceful world. Say that one way to help create a peaceful world is to reach out and treat others in loving ways. Show Color Pack 32 and invite the children to sing Circle of Love (track 5 on Singing the Feast, 2016 2017). Show Color Pack 25 and invite learners to guess what might be outside this door. Gather the group at the doorway of your meeting space and ask them to name some things they see outside the door. Option: Take the children to stand at the door to the church and look outside. Discuss: P How can we help spread Jeremiah s message about God s peaceful world outside our door? 2016 Westminster John Knox Press Fall 2016 Grades K 2 3
Jeremiah s Message EASY PREP RESPONDING Mark the activities you will use: 1. Peace Messages Children will decorate and fill a bag with messages about God s plan for a just, peaceful world. Tell learners that they can encourage other people to live in peaceful ways. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 2 (Peace Messages) and pencils. Invite learners to read the messages in unison with you. Think together about other messages about God s plan for a just and peaceful world. Write three of these on newsprint or markerboard and have learners copy them on the three blank strips. Distribute paper lunch bags and set out markers, scissors, and glue sticks. Have learners decorate the rectangle that says Live in God s Peace, cut it out, and glue it to the outside of the bag. Have them cut apart the message strips and place them in their bags. Talk together about whom learners might invite to take a message. Ask the children to think about what they might say when they ask someone to draw a message from their bags. Form pairs and practice inviting people to take a message. 2. Hop and Talk Game Learners will tell what peace means to them as they play a game. Move with the group to the hopscotch board. Demonstrate how to hop on one foot or two feet as they follow the pattern on the board. Explain that they will form a line and follow each other through the pattern over and over as they listen to Circle of Love (track 5 on Singing the Feast, 2016 2017). When the music stops, each child who is standing inside a space on the pattern will say one thing about peace or living in God s peaceful world. Play until everyone has had a turn. Affirm the children for all their ideas and say that God relies on all of us to do our part to make our world peaceful. 3. Confetti Words Banner Children will create a banner about peace. Lay the prepared mural paper on a tabletop or the floor. Gather the children around it and ask them to read the word at the top. Ask volunteers to tell what the word peace means. As a group, recall ways to live peacefully. (See Resource Sheet 2 for ideas.) Set out markers. Invite each learner to draw a picture that shows peaceful living around the edges of the paper. After all have finished drawing, make squiggly lines of white glue inside each letter of PEACE. Give each child an envelope of confetti to carefully sprinkle on the lines of glue. After the glue is dry, hang the banner in your meeting space or somewhere in your church as a reminder of Jeremiah s message. Remove the paper hands from the Giving Tree and cut off the hanging loops. Save the paper hands to use in making an Advent wreath next week. CLOSING Gather the children around the candle. Invite the children to hold their hands in front of them and tell ways they will use their hands to bring peace to others. Pray aloud: Peaceful God, help us to make your world a place of peace for everyone. Amen. Say goodbye to each child by name, offering this blessing, (Name), God bless you with peace. <<sidebar: >> 2016 Westminster John Knox Press Fall 2016 Grades K 2 4
November 20, 2016 Jeremiah s Message Grades (K) 1 2 Resource Sheet 1 Jeremiah sat quietly by himself. He could see people around him busily working and talking to each other. Jeremiah knew that the Lord trusted him to bring messages from God to the people. He knew the people sometimes forgot what it meant to live in God s ways. He knew it was his job to listen to God and then to encourage the people to change their ways. Jeremiah stood up. He took a deep breath and called out, Friends, come close! Come and listen. I have something to tell you. I have a message from God. Jeremiah brought a message from God. The people grumbled a little because they were very busy, but they came and gathered around Jeremiah. Jeremiah looked sternly at the leaders of the community. He knew they were not doing their jobs in the right way. God sees what is happening, Jeremiah said. God knows that you are not faithful. You are not caring for each other. You have scattered the people in the community like sheep without a shepherd to care for them. Jeremiah brought a message from God. Jeremiah looked God will do the leaders work now. God will be the shepherd. God will watch out for the people and care for them. God will bring in leaders who will help people. In God s world there will be peace. In God s world there will be justice everyone will be treated fairly. Listen to what God is saying! called Jeremiah. God will send a new leader who will bring justice and peace. People will be safe with this leader. And God says that this leader will be called the Lord is our righteousness. Jeremiah brought a message from God. Story Script Based on Jeremiah 23:1 6 Jeremiah turned and walked away. He had delivered God s message. Jeremiah hoped the people had listened to his words. 2016 Westminster John Knox Press
November 20, 2016 Jeremiah s Message Grades (K) 1 2 Resource Sheet 2 Peace Messages Live in God s Peace Help people who need food. Be kind to everyone you meet. Comfort people who are sad. Be kind to pets and animals. Donate clothes and toys you don t use anymore. Tell people about God s love. 2015 Westminster John Knox Press