Welcome to Sunday School! We sure do wish we could meet together, share our highs and lows and even our uh-ohs, but in the meantime, we're glad you're here. We'll be making some changes and figuring out the technology along the way. Please be patient!
We know that God wants us to be in relationship with Him every day. With this in mind, here you will find small ideas and activities you can engage with daily, so please check back in to refresh and connect.
In this time where nothing is certain but God's love for us, we are glad you are here!
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Sunday, October 25, 2020
Scripture Verse
'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38This is the greatest and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Matthew 22:38-39
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This week's scripture links:
(Links are to BibleGateway)
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Overview: Sharing
our own selves; not passing judgement;
loving each other. God created
us for relationships. We are made to reach out to others and to love each other
unconditionally. We are meant to live in support of one another. So often we
know what we ought to do, but we don’t do it.
God wants us to love our neighbor as ourselves—that means we must put
another’s needs before our own. We are all in this life on earth together, it is
amazing what we can accomplish when we put God first and our neighbors before
ourselves.
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Highs, Lows, and Uh-Ohs....
How was your day? Take a few minutes and share with someone. It can be someone in your home or you could call a friend or reach out to a relative. Share what went right, what went wrong, and what just went a little weirder than expected. (Then be sure you take the time to listen! )
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Today is Reformation Sunday! Looking at our Lutheran roots, we know that Martin Luther was a man who did not want to start a new religion, or even change the world—he was a deep thinker who the Holy Spirit used to share the good news of Grace with the world. We can never be good enough, but through the gift of Grace given through Jesus Christ we know that we are saved! How do we respond to this extravagant gift?
Here are a few links to help you remember Reformation Day:
Luther's Seal explained. This is text from a letter written by Martin Luther, explaining the various colors and images represented in the rose seal.
Some adorable kids explaining Reformation Day for us, just because we always need that.
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Matthew 22:34-46 The Greatest Commandment (from The Spark Story Bible p 308 - 309)
© 2009 Augsburg Fortress, p 308-309 The Pharisees were a group of people who had lots and lots of laws. Altogether they had more than 600! Whew! That's a lot of rules to follow! One day, one of the Pharisees said to Jesus, "Teacher, what's the greatest law?" He didn't think Jesus could possibly pick just one law out of so many. He was trying to trick Jesus!
But Jesus knew the man was trying to trick him. He looked at the man and smiled, "Love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind," Jesus said. "This is the greatest of all the commandments. But there's another really important one too. Love your neighbor as yourself. If you obey these two laws, then you obey all of the laws."
The Pharisees' jaws dropped to the floor. They were shocked to know just show smart Jesus was. They were surprised Jesus had answered their question and turned their trick around on them. They didn't know what to say.
Then Jesus had a question for them. "What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?" That was an easy question for the Pharisees. They grew up learning in school that the Messiah came from the family of David, so that's what they told Jesus.
"Then why do all the people from the family of David praise David as the Messiah?" Jesus asked. Now that was a hard question. The Pharisees didn't have an answer. They backed away and didn't trick Jesus again.
* How would you feel if you were Jesus and a big group of people trick to trick you?
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PreK-5th Grade Sunday School
Sunday
- Read the scripture verse. Have you heard it before? Where have you heard it?
- Can you say it by yourself?
- Can you sing the milk song that is based on this verse?
- Here is a link. See if you can remember the hand motions! If you can't remember the ones we've used in the past, make up your own!
- The Milk Song
Monday
- Read the story from the Spark story bible, above (in green, with the picture).
- Jesus was talking to the Pharisees, who were a group of people who had a lot of power. They didn't like Jesus because they were afraid people would fellow him and not listen to them, so they were always trying to trick him!
- Do you think they were able to trick Jesus? No way!
- Draw a picture of Jesus telling the Pharisees about the most important commandment.
Tuesday
- Jesus said we all need to love God first.
- Make a list of all the ways we can show how we love God first above everything else. (pray, go to church, help others, etc.)
- See how many things you can think of!
- Jesus said we should love our neighbors. Who are our neighbors?
- Sometimes we think our neighbors are the people who live next to us, but do you think that's what Jesus meant when he said to love our neighbors? Just the people next door? He meant that all people are our neighbors on earth.
- Make a list of all the ways we can love our neighbors, even ones that we might not have met!
Wednesday
Rooted Deep
(a Prayer from Psalm 1, Spark Story Bible Psalm Book)
How happy I am, from the inside out!
Knowing I belong to you, I stand strong in this world,
like a sky-high tree,
rooted deep near sparkling waters,
green and alive,
bursting with the fruit of your Spirit.
I am not fooled by the empty chattering of people
who close their ears to you.
I listen instead for the sound of your voice
ringing out across the universe,
calling my name.
Thursday
- Last Sunday was reformation Sunday. Have you heard of that before? Do you know what reformation means? It's a big word. Reformation Sunday is like the birthday of the Lutheran church, which is named for a man named Martin Luther. This video will help you understand who he was: Lego Reformation Video
Friday
- Martin Luther was upset that the leaders of the church 500 years ago were telling people that they had to pay money and work really hard to earn their way into heaven. We know that's not true! We are saved by grace because Jesus died on the cross for us.
- Martin Luther made a picture to help him remember what Jesus did and how God will always love him.
- It's called Luther's Seal, or Luther's Rose. Here is a picture and an explanation of what every part of it means. Can you draw your own? Be creative and make one out of things you find in your house, like doilies, or cotton, or pieces of fabric!
Saturday
- This week, make a point of loving your neighbor as yourself, even the ones you haven't met yet!
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Middle/High School / Adult Sunday School
Sunday:
Check out this week’s Faithlens. You can find it here: https://blogs.elca.org/faithlens/october-25-2021/
The starter discussion is all about stress. Anybody stressing lately? People used to mistakenly believe that young people didn't have any; fortunately we know better now but we still need to improve how we address it.
Monday:
- Read the scripture verse. (Can you do it without singing it? I can't.
 )
- It's a familiar one, for sure. What words or phrases strike you?
- If you loved with ALL your heart, soul and mind, there'd be no room for distractions. No idols, no false gods.
- "All your mind" is listed last. What do you think of that? Can our minds get in the way of our faith?
- What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
- Are you good at it? Who is your neighbor? Who isn't your neighbor?
Tuesday:
- Read the whole gospel lesson.
- The Pharisees were trying to trick Jesus, trying to maintain their own power rather than being concerned with actual truth.
- Why is that such a good response? Read the 10 commandments and look at how they all refer to relationships. 1, 2, and 3 are about our relationship with God, and 4-10 all refer to ways that we should treat others - loving our neighbors as ourselves.
Wednesday:
- Read Leviticus19:1-2, 15-18
- What strikes you in these verses?
- Here is what verse 15 says: 15 “‘Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
- What do you think of that? How good are we at judging our neighbors fairly?
- Justice means not elevating one person to a higher status over another for any reason; God's love is for everyone equally, because of grace and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
- If we truly have a justice-oriented view in this world, no person is held in value more than another. Do we do that in our lives? Do we ever judge people at first sight? Either positive or negative, based on what they have, wear, or drive? We know we're not supposed to do that - how can we change that?
Thursday
- The 10 commandments point to our need for a Savior, Jesus Christ. We ALL need Jesus.
- We all equally fall short and need grace. Rich, poor, famous or not.
- Also, we are all equally loved by God!
- Imagine a world where everyone loved each other equally and there was no favoritism based on wealth, status, etc.
- What are some ways people judge one another as being better than someone else?
- If we are all truly equal and neighbors in our world, then we should feel comfortable treating a famous person the same as everyone else. If you could have a conversation with anyone in the world, who would it be? What would you say?
Friday
- Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book The Cost of Discipleship speaks about cheap grace vs. costly grace:
Cheap grace means the justification of the sin, without the justification of the sinner. Grace alone does everything they say, and so everything can remain as it was before. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ. Cheap grace is the grace we bestow upon ourselves.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the filed; for the sake of it a man will gladly go and sell all that he has. It is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.
- Cheap grace justifies the sin. It says we can do whatever we want and that sinning is ok, because we are saved by Grace. Costly grace comes with discipleship. If we are truly transformed in Christ, we will be his disciples—forgiven sinners, confessing our sins. We are all saved in Christ. Discipleship is our response to that gift!!]
Saturday
- Take note this week as you find yourself encountering your neighbors in this world. Who are the people you find yourself judging? For what reason?
- Make a conscious effort to view everyone you meet as an equal - no one above or below you. If you can, make an effort to get to know someone outside your normal social group.
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