Sunday, October 15th

Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

The Season after Pentecost is the period between the Day of Pentecost and the First Sunday of Advent. This season makes up half of the calendar year, and its liturgical color is green. It is a time to focus on the life and growth of the Church in the world, empowered by the gift of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

12th-century mystic Hildegard von Bingen captured the essence of this season when she wrote,

"The Holy Spirit is the greening power of God. Our task is to blossom."

PSALM 106:1-6, 19-22

PRAISE AND PRAYER

Praise the Lord! O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, God’s steadfast love endures forever. Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord or declare enough praise? Happy are those who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times. Remember us, O Lord, when you show favor to your people; help us when you deliver them, that we may see the prosperity of your chosen ones, that we may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that we may glory in your heritage. Both we and our ancestors have sinned; we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly. They made a calf at Horeb and worshiped a cast image. They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt, wondrous works in the land of Ham, and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

PSALM 106:1-6, 19-22

PRAISE AND PRAYER

Each week, the children color the illustrations in their own Bible story booklet as they read a paraphrase of the scripture passage that helps tell the Bible story we are learning about.

This story was about a boy named, CJ, and his grandma, who, every Sunday after church, ride the bus across town. CJ wonders and questions throughout their journey together, and his grandma teaches CJ about gratitude as she helps him see the beauty in the world around them.

Each week we listen to a book and/or watch a video that coincides with our lesson for connection and enrichment.

PRAISE & PRAYER

We remembered that we are still in the season after Pentecost, when we are reminded to be thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The scripture verse for today comes from the book of Psalms. We learned how the Psalms served as a prayer book, songbook, and book of worship for God’s people. We shared what some of our favorite songs to sing, hum, dance, or listen to were.  

We talked about how the psalm we read today is about remembering- remembering the stories of our ancestors, or the ways God shows up in the world. We discussed why it's important to remember and what happens when we forget.

The beginning of today’s psalm tells us to remember God’s goodness. We thought about what we want to remember and thank God for. In the middle of the psalm, the singer remembers their sins (breaking of relationship) and asks God for help. We discussed what help from God would strengthen and help us.

The people mentioned in this psalm shaped lots of gold into a calf, putting their trust in it instead of God. We learned that an idol is something that distracts us from loving God and our neighbors.

We talked about putting our trust in God, and what practices might help us keep God first in our lives, even when we are distracted.

We made prayer cubes!

To help us remember God, and to pray, we made a prayer cube based off of the Five Finger Prayer. The children had fun putting this cube together and were excited to take their cubes home to use during prayer time!

The squares say:

I love you, God

I thank you, God

Forgive me, God

I pray for others

I pray for myself

While making our prayer cubes, we discussed how sometimes we forget, and talked about different things we can do to help us remember that God is with us, even when we are distracted or overwhelmed.

We learned about how keeping a prayer journal can help us. We also learned about the 5 Finger Prayer to help us remember.

In addition to coloring the illustrations in their own Bible story booklets, each week, as time allows, the children will also make a craft that ties with the lesson.

We played the "Gratitude Game!"

The beginning of today’s psalm tells us to remember God’s goodness. We shared about what we want to remember and thank God for.

We had fun playing the "Gratitude Game!" The children rolled the large dice and added up the numbers to match the sum with the prompt. They took turns sharing what they were thankful for!

Each week, as time allows, the children will play a game or experience a fun activity together to help them think creatively about the scripture.

Every week, the children will take home an additional coloring page which has an illustration of a short phrase from our scripture passage. I encourage our parents to color with your children to reflect on the scripture and have an even deeper connection with the scripture and each other!

The reflection sent each week is great for additional practice to help form healthy,

spiritual and mindful habits with your child(ren).

Thank you, God, for your steadfast love.

Help us focus on you, instead of distractions.

May we remember what’s most important:

sharing your love, helping people,

and singing your praise.

Amen. 

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