Our theme for the year is Walking with Jesus: Healing and Miracles.
Over the next few Sundays (May 6 to May 20) we will be focusing on this story:
Jesus, the Light and the Word
Do you remember John the Baptist? John was just a little bit older than Jesus. John’s mother Elizabeth and Jesus’ mother Mary were cousins. Some people thought John was weird because he wore clothes made from the skins of camels and he ate insects and honey. Not only that–John often sounded angry and sometimes he yelled at people. But John had an important job to do. God wanted John to get people ready for the Messiah (Jesus), the one who would tell people about God’s love. “Get ready,” John shouted. “If you have done wrong things, tell God you are sorry. Live the way God’s wants you to. Share what you have with others, be honest, and be kind.” When John met Jesus, he knew it was his job to point everyone to Jesus and tell them to pay attention to him.
Memory Verse:
God loves us so much that he lets us be called His children, as we truly are. John 3:1 (CEV)
Workshop
Art: Use color and form to create a picture of Jesus as WORD or LIGHT, and think about how, as the children of God, and we can know Jesus in a special way.
Video: See a VIDEO about people who had faith, and think about how God came to live among us as a person named Jesus, and how God wants us to learn Jesus’ ways and act accordingly.
Family and Prayer Time
Read: John 1:1-18
Reflection: We don’t have John to tell us, but we have the Bible to tell us about Jesus. By reading the Bible we can learn about who Jesus is and how we should act. Jesus is called “the light of the world.” What does that mean? What does light do for us? If Jesus is the light, what does he do for us? He is also called “the Word.” Jesus taught people about God and God’s love for them, using words and actions. He taught his followers to love all people, even their enemies. He taught his followers to forgive those who said and did bad things to them. Jesus taught his followers to give to the poor and to care for the sick and for children whose parents had died. He taught his followers to be kind to everyone, especially strangers. Most importantly, Jesus taught his followers to be sincere, to make sure that what they did was the same as what they thought and felt. God wants us to learn Jesus’ ways and act accordingly and when we do that, we will know Jesus in a special way.
Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for sending us Jesus so that we may know how we should act. Help us to love and care for each other. Help us to forgive those who say and do bad things to us. Help us to be kind and to follow your way. Amen.
Offering: Our offering this year will go to Homefront in Trenton, helping people who are living in transition to permanent housing.
