Palm Sunday is April 9: Ideas for Childrens' Ministry

1. In the Bible story of Jesus' entry the people called Him
"blessed." 
The children could brainstorm about words they can use
to tell Jesus how special He is. 
You could talk about praise words.
What do people say to thank or praise one another?
What do people say to you to praise you or thank you?
What might we say to God?
These praise words could be printed palm branches which they
make from green construction paper. 
Without doing a big procession, the children could line up on both sides of your
classroom. 
Have them use their imaginations to see Jesus and the donkey. 
Choose a child to lead the donkey who slowly walks down the center, holding a pretend rope over the shoulder. 
As the child leading the donkey walks along, the class will pretend to roll
out blankets and they will say the words which are on their palm
branches. 
These palm branches could then be displayed in the
classroom as a reminder to continually praise Jesus.

2. I have rented or borrowed a donkey before. 
You would not have to lead the procession. 
You can get palm branches for the  triumphant procession or you could have the children put down towels, or jackets down for Jesus on the donkey to pass over.


3.  have also seen the children go around the main sanctuary with the adults putting their jackets and articles of clothing down for Jesus and the donkey to pass over as they march down the aisles of the church while the children are participating in worshiping and
adoring Jesus as they place something for him to ride over and the adults and children are singing praise choruses or Easter hymns. 
This takes no more than five minutes and it is very dramatic and meaningful.

These ideas were found on a website, www.childrensministry.net which is no longer on line. 

In Praise of Celebrating Palm Sunday

It has become increasingly fashionable among lectionary practitioners to recognize Passion Sunday on the Sunday before Easter instead of the more traditional Palm Sunday.  

The usual reasoning is that so few folks participate in Holy Week events that most will never hear the Passion story unless they hear it on the Sunday before Easter.

However, I would suggest that Palm Sunday offers some unique opportunities to witness to the community beyond the believers.

The image of a full-fledged parade celebrating the presence of Christ in our midst is ripe for exploitation and sharing with folks beyond our faithful congregation.

Could there be a more appropriate time for a parade through the streets of your community?

Certainly, the story line is there, the images are there, the raison d'etat is there.

With proper planning - including procuring the necessary permits - a Palm Sunday Parade could involve many many people in your community in a new celebration of a little-celebrated holiday.

One group in Minneapolis holds workshops for neighborhood children and youth for weeks before the parade.  

Workgroups pick an appropriate aspect of the theme of the parade to work out a

demonstration through the use of larger-than-life-size puppets, floats, music, dance, flags, and so on and so forth.  

The whole neighborhood turns out to watch their neighbors -- and actually join the parade to a public park where fair-like activities continue the celebration for the afternoon.

One church actually had an incident when a neighbor called the police to complain about the ruckus of the contingent of bagpipers disturbing the peace as they led the Palm Sunday parade.

I can't remember when our church was accused of being overly enthusiastic about anything enough to disturb the peace.

This is an opportunity for real out-of-the-box thinking.

Brainstorm.

Let your imaginations soar.

Don't we have something to celebrate?

Isn't the Christos Praesence something to shout about?

Wouldn't it be great if we had to say, "If we were to keep quiet,

these stones would have to shout!"?

Hozanna!  Hey-zanna! Zanna, Zanna, Hozanna!

Let No One Suspect

Jesus warns against us doing all pietistic acts in public:
when you pray, go off by yourself and shut the door – and by the way, stop using all those empty phrases.
When you give alms – do it in secret, don’t even let one hand know what the other is doing.
When you fast – that is to say
when you work to break the chains of injustice,
or to get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
or to free the oppressed,
or when you share your food with the hungry,
or when you invite the homeless poor into your homes,
or when you put clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
or when you are available to your own families –
do it on your own time.

These are not things you seek publicity for.
These are not things you should call attention to.
For sure, these things are to be done –
but do it under the radar.
Wash your face and comb your hair.
Let know one suspect.

I think it is clear that we need to pay more attention to these admonitions.
This is essential to the faith that has been passed on to us.
We can choose to ignore it – to our peril.
Or, we can take it to heart and spend these 40 days in Lent to deepen our faith and how it impacts our life – who we are and what we do.

Fasting has nothing to do with diet.

Time and time again the prophets and Jesus reminded people in the past –
and reminds us today –
fasting has nothing to do with diet.

Of course, it is a lot easier for us to think that.
But, Micah tells us, Jeremiah tells us, Jesus tells us – what Isaiah tells us:
"The kind of fasting I want is this:
Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free.
Share your food with the hungry
and open your homes to the homeless poor.
Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear,
and do not refuse to help your own relatives.”Or, as one translator puts it:
"This is the kind of fast day I'm after:
to break the chains of injustice,
get rid of exploitation in the workplace,
free the oppressed,
cancel debts.
What I'm interested in seeing you do is:
sharing your food with the hungry,
inviting the homeless poor into your homes,
putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad,
being available to your own families.”

Time and time again, folks went astray and thought fasting had something to do with diet –
self-deprivation was a whole lot easier to deal with than what the prophets and Jesus said God has in mind.
Fasting has to do with living your faith –
putting flesh on what you say you believe –
enacting your belief.

Lent: Instead of Giving Up Something

Take Time for A Time Out - a sermon

Lent is a fascinating time in the church year that Presbyterians are only beginning to appreciate.

The main purpose of Lent is to encourage us to take a time out.

We are told that before Jesus began his ministry he took a time out.
He went off by himself – for 40 days – and 40 nights.

Jesus must of thought that this was completely necessary for him to do.
He did this to get his head right,
to get more completely in tune with God’s will and purpose for his life.

For centuries the church has said it was important to remember what Jesus did here,
and it important for us to take a time out as well.

Jesus took 40 days for his time out,
the church said we should take 40 days each year before Easter for our time out –
a time out from the routine of our regular normal life to consciously focus on getting our heads on right,
to get more in tune with what God is concerned about and wants for us to do with the rest of the days of our lives.

Lent is a fascinating time in the church year that Presbyterians are only beginning to appreciate.
Used to be, as you know, we never observed Lent in Presbyterian churches.
But, today we see this time as an opportunity to attend to the parts of our lives that we often neglect.
During this time before Easter we are challenged to open ourselves in new ways to the Spirit’s transforming power – not unlike Jesus did at the beginning of his ministry.

From the very earliest times, Christians took time out before Easter to reflect on their faith, cultivate it, and prepare for a most joyous celebration of Easter.

Remembering that Jesus took 40 days off to prepare for the beginning of his ministry, the church sets aside these 40 days prior to Easter for us to get ready.

This is a time for us to explore the mysteries of the universe,
looking beneath the surface –
within ourselves –
examining our own motives and desires,
and ascertaining exactly what our commitment is:
to what,
to whom,
and what it means.

Lent is meant to remind us that the days are getting longer now –
Spring is right around the corner here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Actually, the word Lent comes from an ancient word that meant "springtime," –
that period of the calendar during which the days lengthen.
Because the church season always fell at that time of year, the name came to apply there as well.

Although we can’t readily see it buried under 2 feet of snow, all around us new life is preparing to break out as the weather turns.
Signs of life are preparing to bud right before our eyes.
And, our task during this season is to prepare ourselves to see these signs when they occur.

Like I have said before, I believe we need Lent!

Lent encourages us to look within ourselves to see how we have confused popular cultural values with Christian faith.
Through sustained focus on the life and ministry of Jesus, Lent can help us resist the pressures of this culture.
Lent can remind us that we are called to continue his ministry:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”

Consequently, Lent prepares us for an Easter that is more than bunnies and eggs –
an Easter that begins a whole new reality –
a whole new world.

As you know, 40 days is almost a sacred number with strong Old Testament associations.
40 days seems to be a long time when you think about it.
[It is more than the 30 days we get to accept the special offer of the day that is in our daily mail.]
It seems that God is saying:
“take up to forty days to decide –
40 days to make up your mind –
which side are you going to be on.”

The Gospels say Jesus was given 40 days to decide whose side his life would be spent on.
40 days to come to a decision to align with God or accept the worldly enticements of the Devil that would have derailed his mission.

40 days seems to be God's time for allowing significant decisions to be made.
Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days getting the 10 commandments.
Elijah spent 40 days in the wilderness encountering God.
An extended time was given people of Noah's time to make up their mind before it rained for 40 days and 40 nights.
The 40 days of Lent gives us sufficient time to make up our minds again:
to decide for life – or death,
to decide for God – or the ways of the world
around us.

For me, when we get beyond the familiar outward trappings, the main purpose of Lent is to encourage us to take a time out.

For us with our total dependence upon clocks and schedules and appointments and meetings and deadlines, taking time for a time out is probably the most difficult thing any of us could be called upon to do.

And yet, here it is.
The call goes out each year during this time before Easter,
and our response is usually no more than an acknowledgment of a quaint – if not somewhat ancient, antiquated tradition – that we may give a passing nod to in church,
but having very little to do with anything in our home, or at work, or how we spend our time.

Most of the days of our lives we are pretty much self absorbed in our lives and our obligations and our health and perhaps in the caring for another or two or three or four or . . .

We live in response to stimuli from outside of ourselves.

Lent calls us to take time for a time out from all of that.

Take time now – just commit to only 40 days – this time leading up to Easter –
take time each day to focus on something other than on what we usually spend our time on.

It is important to take the time.
Jesus did it.
Moses did it.
Isaiah did it.
Many many others did it.
And, today many many others are doing it.
You can do it as well.

Traditionally, Biblically, there are some specific things we can do with this time,
but it what we do is of less importance than to commit to taking the time –
to get closer with our God.

The pattern is,
the experience is,
the promise is,
that when we do,
we become more aware of God’s presence
and more aware of God’s purpose
and more aware of what we are to do with the rest of the days of our lives.

And, of course, that’s the scarey part, isn’t it?
Because we’re not sure we want to discover that we should be doing something we aren’t doing, right?

For years I have been compiling a file of stories of people who after a time out,
changed the direction of their lives because it became clearer to them that this is what God would be having them do.
It’s a thick file containing many many stories.
Someday it would be worth sharing in some way just to see the stories one after the other after an other after an other.

Taking time for a time out can have a powerful affect on a person.
Norman Vincent Peale – and many other preachers – was convinced that by taking time out to concentrate on certain scripture lessons, folks could experience a power and wholeness and wellness that they never knew possible.

Of course, I think that, too.
Each Sunday between now and Easter, I will be focusing on specific practices that have proven to put us more in tune with the ultimate power and purpose of the universe.
Aligning our lives with the moral direction of the universe is probably the most primal of all our activities –
and that is something we cannot do with a compass or a clock.
It is something we can only do in a community like this one.

For your sake, each day during this time before Easter, take time for a time out.
And be here next week as we explore certain practices proven to lead us in the right direction.
Amen.

This is a portion of a sermon delivered from the pulpit of Christ Presbyterian Church in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania, USA, on February 28, 2010, by Clyde E. Griffith.

LENT: Doing Kosher Acts of Faith

When Jesus addressed the crowd about correct methods of righteousness, everyone knew what he was talking about.

They knew about the three legs on the stool of righteous living.

These days we don’t like to read this passage –
the only time it is brought up in the Lectionary is for Ash Wednesday services.
So folks that never go to Ash Wednesday services never have an occasion to hear this in church, unless their pastor is somewhat eclectic in his or her approach to Scripture.
But, we need to hear these words.

He said: “It is good to put the disciplines of godly living into practice.”
Jesus assumes you will be praying – and even tells you how.
Jesus assumes you will give alms.
Jesus assumes you will fast –
But, he warns about making a show of things when you do these acts of faith –
these acts of godly living.

In fact, Jesus says it is not kosher to do faith acts for show.


Check out the sixth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew.

How to Celebrate Lent - According to The Lord

From the book of Isaiah, Chapter 58:


7)  What I'm interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry

7)  I want you to provide shelter for homeless, oppressed people.

7)  Give clothes to those in need

7)  being available to your own families.

9)  Don't mistreat others

9)  Don't falsely accuse others

9)  Don't say something cruel or ugly to another

9)  get rid of unfair practices

9)  quit blaming victims

9)  quit gossiping about other people's sins

10) be generous with the hungry and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,

13)  treat Sunday with respect by refraining from your normal activities,
    and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals

13) treat the Sabbath as a day of joy

13) make Sunday a day of celebration

Our Lenten Song: To Help You Prepare for Easter

Just A Closer Walk With Thee
WYNTON MARSALIS & JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER ORCHESTRA 
Municipal House, Prague, July 10, 2013

It's Lent: 11 Ways to Appropriately Observe Lent

11 Ways to Appropriately Celebrate Lent  -  according to Jesus


1.   Make certain you do not perform your religious duties in public so that people will see      what you do.        (Matthew 6:1)

2.  Wash your face and comb your hair. (Matthew 6:17b)  

3.   Do not put on a sad face. (Matthew 6:16)  

4.   When you pray, go to your room, close the door. (Matthew 6:6)

5.   When you pray, do not use a lot of meaningless words. (Matthew 6:7)

6.   When you give something to a needy person, do not make a big show of it. (Matthew 6:2)

7.   When you help a needy person, do it in such a way that even your closest friend will not know about it.        (Matthew 6:3)

8.   Your heart will always be where your treasure is.  (Matthew 6:21)  

9.   Do not worry about tomorrow.   (Matthew 6:34) 

10. Can any of you live a bit longer by worrying about it?   (Matthew 6:27)

11. Be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what God requires of you.

       (Matthew 6:33)

 http://www.newcelebrations.com/11ways.html