Author: SusannahDB

I am scheduled to preach on Sunday. My plan was to weave together stories of past mission trips and the importance of youth ministry with 1 Corinthians 12: 12-31 and Luke 4: 14-21. I say my plan because there is a huge blizzard heading for us this weekend. And I might have spent too much time watching the weather forecast and planning for when we’ll reschedule the weekend plans, and not enough time finishing my sermon. While my sermon may not be complete, I do have a plan for talking with the children on Sunday (or whenever this actually happens).

To help the children understand that we are all necessary parts of the body of Christ, I purchased some blank puzzles and will bring some of my favorite markers so they can sign or draw on the puzzle. We’ll take the puzzle apart and then put it back together to show how we come together as individuals to create the body of Christ together.

Here’s how it might work out-

Welcome. Today, I’m going to ask each of you to take a marker and sign your name or draw a small picture on this puzzle. And now that everyone has done that, I’m going to take our puzzle apart and together we’ll put it back together.

What would happen if one of the pieces decided it didn’t want to be in the puzzle? The puzzle would have an empty space and wouldn’t be complete.

Our first Scripture for this morning talked about how we need all our different body parts and we might think that some are more important than others and yet we need them all. The writer of Corinthians said we are the body of Christ and we all need to bring our gifts and work together to do the work God calls us to do in the world.

So all the puzzle pieces are important and all of you are important as we live as Christ’s disciples sharing his love with everyone in the world.

Let’s pray together. Repeat after me-

God, We thank you for each one of us and the gifts you gave us. Help us to love ourselves, each other, and all your children. Amen.

I love celebrating birthdays. Each of us needs a reminder that we are special and a beloved child of God. Birthdays are a time to give thanks for everyone who has supported us on our journeys and look with hope to what can happen in the next year.

A Birthday Prayer

Faithful God,

Thank you for surrounding me with people who love me and walk with me on this journey.

Thank you for the opportunities you give me to share my gifts and love with others.

Thank you for another year of life. in the midst of my joy, I pause to remember all those who are no longer with us. As I celebrate this year, I remember and give thanks for my family and friends who have died and now live with you.

Thank you for another trip around the sun. Thank you for the gift of another 525,600 minutes.

As I blow out my candles, I say thank you God for the gift of life. Amen.

I am always looking for new ways for my youth to engage their faith. My favorite ideas don’t require many supplies or much preparation and can be adapted for any age. And, I recently found a way to engage Scripture that uses Sharpies. What’s not to love?

This idea is not my own. Credit for this idea is given to Adam at pomomusings.com. I was so inspired by this idea that I needed to share it because you’ll want to add it to your worship life too. It could work well for individual meditation, with a small group, or even in worship on a Sunday morning.

Supplies Needed-

Black Sharpies for everyone. Ideally one fine point and one broad point.

Newspaper to put under your work to keep everything clean.

Prints out of the Scripture.

Depending on the space you are using, you might line the tables with newspaper or hand each person a piece of newspaper. The newspaper is only there to keep the Sharpie from transfering onto something you don’t want it on.

When everyone has a handout of the Scripture, shapies, and newspaper under their work, begin with an explanation like this-

We are going to be exploring a piece of Scripture today. We’ll read the passage together aloud (or you can ask for volunteers to read it verse by verse). And then we’ll read it silently to ourselves. What words or phrases jump out at you? Circle them or draw a box around them. Read it again to yourself. Do more words or phrases speak to you? If so, circle or draw a box around them. After you’ve found the words that have caught your attention, take the thick Sharpie and black out the remaining words. Read the words that are remaining. Offer them as a silent prayer. When others have finished, ask for volunteers to read their words out loud.

It has been suggested that this method of engaging Scripture is much like lectio divina with paper and markers. I used this way of praying and diving into Scripture as a devotion to start a meeting recently. Everyone participated and expressed their surprise at how it opened their eyes to what God might be saying to each one of them. So, why not give this a try? If you want, you can share what Scripture you used and what God was saying to you. 

You will need seven people who will hold up the seven letters of beloved and read their line. For ease, I would have their line printed on the back of their letter. As each person is sharing what their letter stands for, they hold up the letter. At the end, all letters are held up again as everyone says beloved together.

B-Believe you are loved

E-Everyday and always

L-Love others as you love yourself

O-Oh, child of mine, remember how

V-Very much I love you

E-Everyday and always

D-Don’t worry. Nothing! Nothing, at all will change the fact that you are my

All-Beloved!

For the last several years, I have documented the year by placing memories in a jar. I keep the jar in my living room. As we attend concerts or movies, I place the ticket stub in the jar. When a loved one visits, I start a new job, we buy a house, I paddleboard for the first time, etc., I write this information on a small piece of paper, date it, and place it in the jar. By this time of the year, the jar is full and ready to be emptied. So either on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, my husband and I dump out the jar and remember the year. We give thanks for the good memories. Sometimes I cry when I remember someone who has died. We laugh and talk and remember things that had slipped from our memories. And when we have read all we saved from the last year, we place it in an envelope, date it with the year, and begin again with an empty jar. This has become an important way for us to remember and give thanks.

Tonight, as we celebrate God is with us in the birth of Jesus, let us continue to live lives of hope, peace, joy, and love.

Share God’s love with the shepherds you meet on the hillside.

Let the communion of the Holy Spirit fill your heart with glad tidings like the angels.

And the Prince of Peace born again tonight, may He live in your heart to comfort and challenge you as you seek to live as one of his disciples. Amen.

This was published on Liturgy Link on November 23, 2015.