Fall 2012 DIRECTOR GUIDE 132117_DirectorGuide_Fall2012.indd 1 4/13/12 4:50 PM
Contents (Items marked with an asterisk are also included on the Director CD and may be reproduced. Items marked with double asterisks are found ONLY on the CD.) Garden Tools: The Director Packet 4 Helping Teachers Use the Growing in Christ Curriculum 5 * Quarter-at-a-Glance 6 Growing in Worship: Sunday School Opening Devotions 7 Sunday School Opening Checklist and Suggestions 8 * Order of Opening Worship for Sunday School 9 * Seedlings Devotional Talks 10 22 ** Bible Words for All Levels and Reproducible Resource Pages ** Digging in the Word ** Growing in Christ Bulletin Notes ** Preparing the Lesson Commentaries ** Rally Day Service
Garden Tools: The Director Packet Using Growing in Christ Materials For the New User The GROWING IN CHRIST DIRECTOR GUIDE AND PACKET is published quarterly and is filled with the tools you will need to lead, plan, organize, and carry out Sunday School in your parish. Features of the Director Guide Quarter-at-a-Glance: An easy-to-read chart with common information for each lesson Order of Opening Worship: A reproducible worship service template for use in your openings Seedlings Devotional Talks: Child-friendly devotional messages for each week in the quarter In addition to these regular features, the following will appear each quarter to help you grow and strengthen your Sunday School: Features of the Director CD Digging in the Word: A Bible study outline for this quarter s lesson texts Growing in Christ Bulletin Notes: Brief notes about the lesson for the church bulletin/ newsletter Growing in the Word: One-page Bible commentaries for each of the thirteen lessons Musical recordings of songs and hymns Musical scores for songs and hymns Order of Opening Worship Rally Day Service (fall quarter only) Reproducible certificates and forms: Attendance, teacher appreciation, etc. Features of the Director Packet Sunday School Publicity Posters The Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum is unified and integrated from level to level. All levels share the same Bible texts and Key Points, making it easy for you as the director to lead a staff discussion about the weekly lessons. All Teacher Guides are designed to use the following four-part lesson structure: Opening Opening greetings and class rituals are observed. God Speaks The Bible story is presented and taught. We Live The Bible story and its Key Point are applied to the students lives. Closing The lesson is summarized, clarified, and concluded in Christ. 4
Helping Teachers Use the Growing in Christ Curriculum An Overview The Growing in Christ Sunday School curriculum is a unified curriculum. As you introduce the materials to your staff, walk them through the four-part lesson structure. Discuss the goals and flow of the lesson. Examine how each level is unique in the Teacher Tools and Student Stuff that it employs to help the children learn about their Savior, Jesus Christ. The four-part structure is outlined below. Opening Opening rituals are observed. Students are greeted and icebreaker activities are used. Opening devotions are held for a large group or in individual classes. Student birthdays and baptismal birthdays are celebrated. The lesson theme for the day is introduced. God Speaks The Bible story is read and told. The Key Point of the story is brought out. The Law/Gospel dynamic in the text is highlighted. The story details are reviewed. We Live The Bible story and Key Point are applied to the students lives. The Law and Gospel in the text is applied to the students lives. Connections are made to the catechism, liturgy, and hymns of the Church. Our relationship to Christ as Savior is emphasized. Closing The lesson is summarized, clarified, and concluded in Christ. Closing rituals are observed. The session ends in prayer. At each level, the four parts have the same purpose and follow the same lesson texts and Key Points. Level-specific items include the Teacher Tools and Student Stuff, which are designed for the age group being taught. The Teacher Tools contain a variety of age-appropriate resources to use and choose from. Take time to explore the materials and become familiar with them. Each Teacher Guide has an introductory section that describes the materials and their use. A key word is choice. Every week, each class needs to study the Bible story and discover the Law and Gospel Points and the Key Point in the text. We recognize that the teacher is the best person to decide which of the Teacher Tools and Student Stuff to incorporate into the lessons to enhance learning. The materials are designed with flexibility in mind. Some weeks, students are on task and ready to learn; other weeks, there is less energy or interest. Each child learns differently, and so the many teaching pieces are designed to reach children in different ways. Choose what works; skip what doesn t! Don t be afraid to pick and choose or move things around in the lesson the Teacher Guide is just that, a guide. The teacher is the expert in the classroom! 5
Quarter-at-a-Glance LSB=Lutheran Service Book; HS98=Hymnal Supplement 98; LW=Lutheran Worship; TLH=The Lutheran Hymnal; LL=Lower Levels Lesson Number Calendar Date Title and Bible References Hymns 1 9/2/2012 Worship in the Tabernacle (Exodus 40) O Lord, Open My Lips (LSB, p. 219; LW 236; TLH 32); LL Greet the Rising Sun (LSB 871; HS98 902) 2 9/9/2012 The Twelve Spies in Canaan (Numbers 13 14) Have No Fear, Little Flock (LSB 735; LW 410); LL Greet the Rising Sun (LSB 871; HS98 902) 3 9/16/2012 The Bronze Serpent (Numbers 21:4 9) Drawn to the Cross, Which Thou Hast Blessed (LSB 560; LW 356; TLH 390); LL Greet the Rising Sun (LSB 871; HS98 902) 4 9/23/2012 Entering the Promised Land (Joshua 3:1 5:12) Oh, How Great Is Your Compassion (LSB 559; LW 364; TLH 384); LL Greet the Rising Sun (LSB 871; HS98 902) 5 9/30/2012 The Fall of Jericho (Joshua 6) A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (LSB 656; LW 298; TLH 262); LL O Sing to the Lord (Cantad al Señor) (LSB 808; HS98 900) 6 10/7/2012 Deborah (Judges 4 5) Lord of Our Life (LSB 659; LW 301; TLH 258); LL O Sing to the Lord (Cantad al Señor) (LSB 808; HS98 900) 7 10/14/2012 Gideon (Judges 6:11 7:25) Entrust Your Days and Burdens (LSB 754; LW 427; TLH 520); LL O Sing to the Lord (Cantad al Señor) (LSB 808; HS98 900) 8 10/21/2012 Samson (Judges 16) Jesus Loves Me (LSB 588); LL O Sing to the Lord (Cantad al Señor) (LSB 808; HS98 900) 9 10/28/2012 Ruth (Ruth) O Christ, Our Hope, Our Hearts Desire (LSB 553; LW 151); 10 11/4/2012 God s Servant Samuel (1 Samuel 1 3) Speak, O Lord, Your Servant Listens (LSB 589; LW 339; TLH 296); 11 11/11/2012 Saul Becomes King (1 Samuel 8 10; 11:12 15) Before You, Lord, We Bow (LSB 966; LW 500; TLH 575); 12 11/18/2012 David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17) O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe (LSB 666; LW 300; TLH 263); 13 11/25/2012 David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18:1 5; 20:1 42) Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus (LSB 338; LW 22); 6 Growing in Christ Director Guide 2012 Concordia Publishing House. Reproduced by permission.
Growing in Worship: Sunday School Opening Devotions Fall quarter occurs during the time of the Church, when the post-pentecost season brings the Church Year to its close. The color for the season is green, except for festival Sundays, which use red or white. Two significant festival days are celebrated: Reformation Sunday and All Saints Day. For many churches, the Sunday of the Faithful Departed and the Last Sunday of the Church Year are celebrated as minor festivals. The tone and tenor of this season in the Church s calendar draws God s people to think on the last things, on heaven, and about those who have gone before us. It is a season rich with the comfort of the Gospel and the certain hope of heaven pointing us to the second coming of Christ and the start of Advent. The Sunday School lessons for fall quarter do not follow the appointed Gospel readings in the Church s worship, as they do in the winter and spring quarters. The reason for this deviation is to provide a sequential study of the Old Testament for the children. However, there are opportunities for you to make a connection to the readings in church and the lessons that are being taught. Sunday School flows out of the Church s worship, in which Word and Sacrament are offered to the people of God. Help the children to make connections with the congregation s worship. The Sunday School devotions provided in the Growing in Christ curriculum are designed to teach children how to worship. These devotions are similar to the Sunday morning worship service that is found in Lutheran hymnals and followed in many congregations. Using this pattern of worship in Sunday School will help teach children that the Church s worship is their worship. The Order of Opening Worship for Sunday School and the Seedlings Devotional Talks in this guide are designed to be used in a common opening for all classes of the Sunday School during the quarter. Suggestions for individual class opening and closing devotions are provided in the Teacher Guide at each level. As you plan and work with your Sunday School teachers, take time to prepare the worship aspect of your program carefully. In it, you will plant the seeds for active and meaningful worship on the part of the children for years to come. May the Lord bless your worship! This Director Guide comes with a CD filled with resources and music for use in the Sunday School openings. The music comes in downloadable notation with simple accompaniments and has also been recorded by a children s choir to aid in teaching the songs and hymns of God s people. 7
Sunday School Opening Checklist and Suggestions Preparing Your Worship Space You will need the following: A simple table to use as an altar White cloth to cover the table Green cloth (use same color as on your church s altar) Two candles, lighter, and candle snuffer Cross or crucifix Bible Chairs, pews, or carpet squares Hymnbooks or song sheets Copies of the order of worship Piano or other musical accompaniment Offering basket Involving Children in Worship Children learn by doing. Sunday School worship is the perfect setting to teach children by allowing them to help set up, participate, lead, and serve. Here are some ideas to involve children in your Sunday School worship: Select a child to light the candles. Ask a child to be an usher. Select a child to collect the offering. Invite a child to read the Bible text. Ask an able child to play the piano. Invite other instrumentalists to play. Let a class design and make a banner. Ask a class to sing a hymn or song. 8
Order of Opening Worship for Sunday School Leader and students may make the sign of the cross in remembrance of their Baptism. L: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. C: Amen. L: in the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; C: In the morning I prepare a sacrifice for You and watch. (Psalm 5:3) L: My mouth is filled with Your praise, C: And with Your glory all the day. (Psalm 71:8) L: O Lord, open my lips, C: And my mouth will declare Your praise. (Psalm 51:15) L: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit; C: As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen. Hymn of the Day Bible Reading Catechism Reading Seedlings Devotional Talk The Apostles Creed (optional) The Lord s Prayer (sung or spoken) General Prayers Luther s Morning Prayer I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. (Small Catechism) (The Hymn of the Day may be found on the chart on page 6 of the Director Guide. The Lord s Prayer music may be found on the Director CD.) Growing in Christ Director Guide 2012 Concordia Publishing House. Reproduced by permission. Scripture: ESV. Catechism quote: 1986 CPH. All rights reserved. 9
SEEDLINGS DEVOTIONAL TALKS What Hands Say September 30, 2012 Pentecost 18 Liturgical Color: Green Text: Mark 9:38 50 Hymn of the Day: Praise and Thanksgiving (LSB 789; CD 17) Visual Helps: A copy of the hand alphabet large enough for students to see. You can find these online by typing hand alphabet into a search engine. Can you talk with your hands? How? Several of your students may mention sign language. Yes, if you know sign language, you can talk with your hands. I have a copy of the hand alphabet here. Show it to the students. This is how you make the letter A. Demonstrate. This is the letter B. Demonstrate. There are hand positions for all the English letters. The hand alphabet is one way you can talk with your hands, but there is another way too. What you do with your hands every day of your life tells people what is inside your heart. In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus talks about hand language. His disciples were complaining because someone outside their group was doing miracles in Jesus name. But Jesus says not to stop him because no one who does a mighty work in My name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. And it s not just the big things. Even little things matter, like giving somebody a cup of water. What you do tells people what you are. If you act the way a Christian believer should, that tells people God s Holy Spirit is living in your heart. But if someone uses his or her hands for all kinds of evil, watch out! That hand language says the devil is in control. Does this mean that if you do good things with your hands, God will save you? Take answers. No, it doesn t. Our hands tell people what God has already done for us that He has already saved us and made us His own children through Jesus death and resurrection for us. We know this because God talks with His hands too. The nail holes in Jesus hands say the same thing forever: I love you. I forgive you. Whoever comes to Me in trust, I will never send away. Today, Jesus is still using hands to tell us this same thing. He uses the hands of the pastor, who baptized you and who gives us Jesus body and blood for forgiveness. He uses the hands of your parents and teachers, who read the Bible with you and talk to you about God s love. And Jesus will use your hands, too, to pass on that message of love and forgiveness to the people around you. Today in Sunday School, you ll hear how God s people used actions to accomplish His will. As you listen and learn, think about how you can use your hands and actions to communicate God s love and care. 14 Growing in Christ Director Guide 2009, 2012 Concordia Publishing House. Scripture: ESV. Reproduced by permission. This is also found on the Director CD.