May 6, 2018 Sixth Sunday of Easter Acts 10:44 48 Ps. 98 1 John 5:1 6 John 15:9 17 Goal for the Session Children will discover God s welcome to everyone everywhere in the story of the Gentiles receiving the Holy Spirit. n PREPARING FOR THE SESSION Focus on Acts 10:44 48 WHAT is important to know? From Exegetical Perspective, A. Katherine Grieb As our passage begins, Peter has just given testimony concerning Jesus healing ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection. Peter summarizes: To this all the prophets bear witness, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (v. 43). The word everyone apparently functions as a dramatic cue for the Holy Spirit to fall upon Cornelius and upon his companions, fulfilling the prophecies Peter has just mentioned and demonstrating beyond a doubt that these Gentile believers in Jesus have also received forgiveness of sins in his name. WHERE is God in these words? From Theological Perspective, Noel Leo Erskine The intervention of the Spirit in Peter s meditation indicates that God in the Spirit often goes before to plead the case of those on the margins, those who are excluded. In Peter s case the Spirit interrupts his meditation and orders him to engage strangers at his door. Peter is presented with another opportunity to learn something new concerning the divine persistence on behalf of persons in need. It is interesting that an apostle as devout as Peter has something fresh to learn about the divine character. SO WHAT does this mean for our lives? From Pastoral Perspective, Jeffrey D. Peterson-Davis While Peter and Cornelius have central roles in this narrative, it is not a story about them. Rather, it is a story about the Holy Spirit and how the Spirit s purposes are accomplished in spite of the boundaries constructed by humans. The witness of the text is that neither Peter nor Cornelius was able to cross the boundaries on their own. But the outpouring of the Holy Spirit empowered each of them to move from their segregated places. The Holy Spirit broke the barriers and propelled the witness of the resurrection beyond the boundaries of Jerusalem and Galilee. NOW WHAT is God s word calling us to do? From Homiletical Perspective, Barbara K. Lundblad The Holy Spirit can be disruptive. Church historian Rosemary Radford Ruether says that the church must be organized to do two things: to pass on the tradition from one generation to another and to be open to the winds of the Holy Spirit by which the tradition comes alive in each generation. Sometimes the Holy Spirit has a hard time getting through our stubborn desire to stay the way we are. Where is the Holy Spirit trying to break through traditions that have become rock hard? How do we continue to pass on the traditions from one generation to another while also being open to the Spirit that brings the tradition alive? 1
FOCUS SCRIPTURE Acts 10:44 48 Focus on Your Teaching Playground politics are in full swing as children this age discover the unwritten rules of who is in or out of any particular group. Most have experienced feeling part of a group and feeling like an outsider. Still, children may not understand fully how they end up on the outside. And children on the inside of a group may not always understand how they keep other children out. Today we hear in the focus scripture that God s love and Spirit-filled gifts are for everyone. No one is denied an invitation to these gifts. Merciful and loving God, forgive me when I withhold my welcome, love, and care from others. Send your Spirit to open my heart to all your children. Amen. YOU WILL NEED white cloth white batterypowered candle Singing the Feast, 2017 2018; CD player Bible Color Pack 10, 21, 22, 30, 31 Resource Sheet 1 newsprint markers pitcher of water, large bowl 2 long, narrow scarves For Responding option 1: newsprint, markers option 2: playground ball option 3: copies of Resource Sheet 2, scissors, glue sticks, construction paper n LEADING THE SESSION GATHERING Before the session, consider inviting another group to join you. Think outside the box if you would normally invite the preschool class, invite the adult choir instead! As children arrive, invite them to help you arrange the white cloth in the center of your meeting space. Place the candle and Color Pack 10 on the fabric. Gather the group. Remind the children that the church is still celebrating Easter. Invite them to move around and shake hands with one another, saying, Happy Easter! As you light the candle, say, Jesus Christ is the light of our world. Sing I m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says Sing (Color Pack 30; track 13 on Singing the Feast, 2017 2018). Lead the children in prayer, asking them to repeat each phrase after you: Dear God, / thank you for being with us always. / Help us learn, / help us pray, / help us be good friends today. / Amen. Invite conversation by asking: P When you go to a friend s home, what does your friend do to make you feel welcomed? P When you go to school, what makes you feel welcomed? P When a visitor comes to your home or your school, what do you do to welcome this person? 2
I m Gonna Sing When the Spirit Says Sing I m gonna sing when the Spirit says sing, I m gonna sing when the Spirit says sing, I m gonna sing when the Spirit says sing, and obey the Spirit of the Lord. I m gonna walk... I m gonna leap... I m gonna praise... You Are My Beloved Child You are my beloved child, hallelujah, You are my beloved child, hallelujah. And my face has smiled on you, hallelujah, And my face has smiled on you, hallelujah. Then says God to everyone, hallelujah, Then says God to everyone, hallelujah. You re God s daughter, you re God s son, hallelujah! You re God s daughter, you re God s son, hallelujah! EXPLORING Show Color Pack 21 and 22. Play You Are My Beloved Child (Color Pack 31; track 26 on Singing the Feast, 2017 2018), inviting the children to listen as they look at the pictures. After listening to the song, invite the children to tell about what they see in the pictures: P Have you seen pictures like this anywhere else? If so, where? P What do these pictures remind you of? Tell the group that they will see these pictures again as you tell the Bible story. Open your Bible to Acts 10:44 48, and say that today s Bible story is found here. Read the story aloud from the child-friendly version on Resource Sheet 1 (), showing the Color Pack pictures as indicated. After you read the story, discuss: P Who invited Peter and the other disciples to come for a visit? Why? P What did Peter tell Cornelius, his family, and the other people? P What did the Holy Spirit do while Peter was speaking? P Why did Peter baptize Cornelius, his family, and the other people in his house? P What does this story tell us about God s love? Stand up and tell the children that it s time to act out today s story. To prepare, cue the CD player to You Are My Beloved Child (Color Pack 31; track 26 on Singing the Feast, 2017 2018), give the scarves to two volunteers, and give the pitcher of water and bowl to another volunteer. Tell these volunteers to be ready for your instructions as they listen to the story. Invite the entire group to use their bodies to pantomime or act out the story as you read it again from Resource Sheet 1. At the point when the Holy Spirit comes upon those listening to Peter, have the volunteers with the scarves run around the group, waving the scarves over the heads of the children. When Peter baptizes, ask the volunteer with the pitcher to pour the water into the bowl. At the end of the story, sing You Are My Beloved Child, waving your arms over your heads as you sing hallelujah. Write today s memory verse on newsprint as you say the words aloud: The Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word (Acts 10:44). Repeat the verse several times until everyone is able to say the verse with you. Wonder together what it might feel like to have the Holy Spirit fall upon you. Invite the children to tell their favorite part of today s Bible story. Comment that Peter and the disciples welcomed Cornelius and his family and the other people in his house as new followers of Jesus. Ask: P What are some things we can do to welcome people to our church? 3
EASY PREP RESPONDING Mark the activities you will use. 1. Welcome Litany Work together to write a litany prayer for use in Closing. Write this refrain at the top of a sheet of newsprint and teach it to the group: God, help us welcome everyone with your love. Down the left side of the newsprint, print W-E-L-C-O-M-E. Recall that Peter learned that God s love is for everyone. For each letter, brainstorm names or groups of people that begin with that letter. Write down as many as will fit next to the letter. (For example, W: women, Wyatt, walkers, Wendy; E: everyone, Elias, engineers, Eva.) To lead the prayer, ask for volunteers to read each letter and the words that follow it. After each line, the group responds, God, help us welcome everyone with your love. 2. Welcome Game Reinforce the concept that all are welcome in God s family through a game. Sit in a circle on the floor. Have everyone spread out their legs so their feet are touching. Ask the children to close their eyes and then roll the playground ball so it lands in front of one child. That child says, Wake up, everyone, I m here! The rest of the group says, Welcome, friend, welcome to church! The child with the ball continues the game in the same manner. Play until everyone has been welcomed. Talk together about who else the children wish were in this circle with them. What might the group do to welcome friends to your church school or other church activity? Choose an idea to try as a group. 3. Welcome Puzzle As they solve this puzzle, the children will be reminded that God s love is for everyone. Distribute copies of Resource Sheet 2 (Welcome Puzzle), scissors, and glue sticks. Have the children cut out the puzzle pieces, being careful to stay on the lines and to keep their pieces separate from their neighbors pieces. Distribute sheets of construction paper. Tell the children to lay the puzzle pieces on the construction paper, fit them together to complete the puzzle, and then glue the pieces in place. What is the hidden message? As the children work, ask them to name one person to whom they will deliver this message today. CLOSING Gather the group and invite the children to name what they have learned about God s love in the session today and what they enjoyed doing the most. If you wrote a litany prayer (option 1 in Responding), pray it as a group now. If you did not, offer this prayer: Dear God, help us invite other people to come to your church, and when they do, to welcome them with your love. Amen. Say good-bye to each learner by name, offering this blessing to each one: (Name), may God bless you with great love each and every day. Amen. 4
May 6, 2018 Grades (K)1 2 Resource Sheet 1 (A retelling of Acts 10:44 48) Peter was Jesus disciple. Peter and some other disciples traveled to many of the towns around Jerusalem to tell people about Jesus. One day, a man named Cornelius asked Peter to come and tell him about God s love. Cornelius worked for the Roman government. Cornelius and his family were not Jewish. So, Peter and the other disciples went to visit Cornelius. They found a crowd gathered in the house to listen to Peter: Cornelius, his family, and many other people. Peter told them about Jesus. While Peter was speaking, the Holy Spirit came in a powerful way (show Color Pack 22) to help Cornelius and his family and the other people believe that Jesus is God s Son. Everyone rejoiced that Jesus was their Savior! Peter baptized everyone who was in the house with Cornelius in the name of Jesus Christ. (Show Color Pack 21.) Peter welcomed them all into God s family. In Jerusalem, some of the disciples wondered about this. They were surprised that God would send the Holy Spirit to people who were not Jewish. Peter explained, It is not right for us to refuse to baptize anyone who believes in Jesus! Peter knew for certain that God s love is for everyone. 2018 Westminster John Knox Press
May 6, 2018 Grades (K)1 2 Resource Sheet 2 Welcome Puzzle Directions: Cut out the puzzle pieces. Put the puzzle together on another piece of paper to find the hidden message. 2018 Westminster John Knox Press