New Testament

Our Advent Rotation (2014)

Posted on November 20, 2014January 1, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Our next Rotation is about… Christmas!

A crèche scene

Since Christmas comes every year this allows us the chance to, each year, focus on a different aspect of the story. We’ve done Advent Rotations from the point of view of:

Shepherds and angels,
Wise Men,
Jesus’ mother’s perspective, and
through the eyes of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah.

This year we’ll take a look at the overall birth story of Jesus. Our target is to ensure that kids know the sequence and timing of story events surrounding Jesus’ birth. We’ll also be digging into the concept of “God with us.”

Our story is found by interweaving the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Read the story as the kids will hear it, in Luke 1:26-38, Matthew 1:18-23, Luke 2:1-18.

On Sundays, at the downtown location of FUMC, our schedule is:

Date	Our workshops for 1st through 5th graders…
	Art	Cooking	Drama	Games
	Room 212	Social Hall	Room 215	Room 204
11/23	1st & 5th grade	2nd grade	4th grade	3rd grade
11/30	4th grade	3rd grade	2nd grade	1st & 5th grade
12/7	Enjoy worship and Communion with your family. Read the scripture to be used in the service.
12/14	2nd grade	1st & 5th grade	3rd grade	4th grade
12/21	3rd grade	4th grade	1st & 5th grade	2nd grade
12/28	Enjoy worship with your family. (One service at 9:30.)
1/4	Enjoy worship and Communion with your family. (One service at 9:30.) We are celebrating Epiphany. Read the scripture ahead of time.

And here’s what the 6th graders will be doing this Rotation…
Lots of special projects! (They’ll almost always be in the Pine Room.)

11/23	11/30	12/7	12/14	12/21	12/28 & 1/4
Watch a short video called “The Coat: A Story of Charity.” Participate in a service project for the Humane Society.	Do baking for Ronald McDonald House families.	Worship with your family. Read the scripture to be used in the service.	Spend the morning with our younger kids! Perform a drama, read storybooks and sing with them.	A Christmas party!	Worship with your family.

And on For Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule…

Date	Workshop or Activity
11/22	Work on a service project. (Bring your favorite music to listen to while we work.)
11/29	Game night! Bring your favorite board or card game.
12/6	Art Workshop
12/13	Cooking Workshop
12/20	Drama Workshop
12/27	Worship with your family
1/3	Children will enjoy a special showing of Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving.

What’s happening in each workshop?

In the Art Workshop students will help tell the story using various colors of felt, creating a “stained glass window.” They will create a stained “glass” scene made into a Christmas tree ornament that reminds them of the story of Jesus’ birth.
In the Cooking Workshop students will create a nativity snack bag with items to represent story elements. They will get to try out some of this snack at church but will bring home a bag of goodies. Share this snack bag as a family and have your child use it to retell the story!
In the Drama Workshop students will enact the story. What a great way to learn the story details by participating in the story!
In the Games Workshop students will play a quiz game to see how much they really know about the story.

On Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings at FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops. If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI.

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Crèche photo is from my archives.

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What does it feel like to be called?

Posted on November 14, 2014April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

A bunch of us were gathered for our weekly Disciple Bible study, and talk turned to being called by God. “Called” as in: God prompting you to do something. This sparked the question in my mind:

How do we know when God is calling?

What does it sound like (or look like or feel like) when God calls?

Discuss this concept with your family group (perhaps around the dinner table). Start off with a couple rounds of the game “Telephone.” (Where one person starts and whispers something to the person next to them. They in turn whisper what they heard to the next person, and so on.) It can be fun to see how the whispered phrase likely gets distorted.

Was it hard to hear? (Especially through the giggles.)

We live in a very noisy, active world. How do we listen for God?

For most of us God doesn’t talk with words passed via whispers in our ears. But then again, perhaps God does whisper! How?

God speaks to us through the Bible. A suggestion: Read our current Rotation story. Check the latest schedule post for the scripture.
God speaks to us through prayer. Prayer is more than just communicating our thoughts and needs. Include a time of being in silent prayer to listen for God. Try closing your eyes and breathe normally. If you have trouble being silent try starting off with repeating a sacred word or phrase that calms your mind. (Try “Lord come,” or “Holy One” or “Immanuel.”)
God speaks to us through worship, and music, and nature, and books, and other people.

But I don’t know if what I heard is my idea, or God’s. How can I tell?

What is the source? Can it be trusted?
Examine your thoughts and compare them with the Word of God. Does what you are hearing align with what the Bible teaches?
Do certain phrases or ideas keep randomly “reappearing?” Pay attention!
Talk with trusted adults about your call.

Followers of Christ put faith into action!

What is God nudging you to do?

Photo credits:
Telephone by Florian Seroussi, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Being a disciple is hard work!

Posted on November 4, 2014April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

A cropped picture of a painting of Jesus calling Matthew by William Hole A few fishermen, a tax collector, and some other unseemly students… the hard work started with the abrupt summons: “Follow me.” They don’t even seem to give it a second thought! Consider what they each gave up to become disciples of Jesus…

Matthew probably gave up a pile of money. (That’s him in the painting, in his tax collector’s “booth”).

The fishermen gave up a rich haul of fish (as told in Luke 5:1-11).

Bartholomew (called Nathanael in John’s gospel) gave up his uncertainty.

James and John, sons of Zebedee, gave up their fishing equipment… and they left behind their father!

What about yourself?

What must you forfeit to follow Jesus?

Discuss these possibilities amongst your family group. Do you give up…

Sleep? Most of us don’t get enough sleep; I sure could use a few more zzz’s on Sunday morning.
Time? Read the Bible? Pray? They take time! My days are already jam-packed! (And I’d rather play a computer game.)
My ego? Because being a disciple places the focus on God and I like things to be about me.
My comfort zone? Because I don’t enjoy _______. (Fill in the blank: Hanging out with people I don’t know, or rubbing shoulders with the down-trodden, or opening my wallet.)
Dignity? Because I might do this disciple-thing wrong (and what would people say?) And yikes! Every decision I make is an exercise in discipleship!
A firm life-path? I want answers and a road map. Following Jesus can be scary! Who knows where I will be led next?
Reputation? Because maybe I’ll be laughed at. (You follow Jesus!?)
Society’s endless clamor for praise, power, and possessions? There are just so many distractions from Jesus’ calling! This is hard!

What difficult choices are you being called to make?

(Mess up? Me too. It’s okay. You can start to follow again and again!)

Photo credits:
Painting of Jesus calling Matthew, by William Hole, in the Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

Eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, and practice discipleship

Posted on October 30, 2014April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

It is easy to understand why Jesus assembled a crew of special disciples. Jesus needed help!

Enter, the Super Disciples!

These were not just average, I-like-the-sound-of-what-you-are-preaching, admirers. Jesus invited his apprentice good-news-broadcasters to come, follow me; become my students.

Fairly early in his ministry, they were called to receive basic training in Super Discipleship.

These selected followers saw it firsthand: God was up to something big! Here was a belief system that changed how you looked at everything! Transformed lives! And though they stumbled at times, Jesus’ disciples ended up doing an admirable job of spreading the good news about Christ, especially once they had the Holy Spirit.

Today Jesus still needs disciples to work at transforming the world. What about us?

Are we ho-hum fans, or are we Super-D disciples of Jesus?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that we need to work at becoming the latter.
How? It’s just like learning to play an instrument: we practice!

But how does one practice becoming this sort of committed disciple?

Here are some thoughts to ponder in forming a disciple-practice-plan:

Gather your family — how about around the dinner table? Read some of the stories of Jesus “calling” his disciples – fishermen, a tax collector, and others. Note that sometimes eventual followers were skeptical at first. Are we allowed to wonder at the mystery of what God is up to? You bet!
Next, discuss with your family what the difference is between an everyday follower and an in-it-for-the-long-run disciple like Peter and Matthew and James and John? How would it look if your family just “said” you were Jesus-followers vs. acted like you meant it? Would anything change or are you on that path now? Would you have to give something up? Is being a disciple of Christ one more thing to add to our to-do list? Or is it a new way of living?
According to your definition of a “Super Disciple,” tell stories of when you encountered someone like that. What was it that made that person memorable? What could you emulate? Perhaps you could invite a voted-upon Super D to share a supper with you?
Discuss which of these areas need your focus:
  On-going Christian education (not just for the kids!)
  Worshiping together as a family.
  Celebrating Communion together as a family.
  Regular Bible reading and prayer.
  Participation in mission to others.

The Rule of Discipleship: Worship, Devotion, Compassion & Justice

As United Methodist followers of Jesus’ teachings, we are guided in our quest to be Super Disciples by what is called “The General Rule of Discipleship” which is described in The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church as: following Christ “through acts of compassion, justice, worship, and devotion under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

This means we practice being disciples by inward, life-giving means such as worship and “devotion” (prayer and Bible study), and by outward participation in God’s mission for the world: seeking justice and having compassion for others.

Pastor Nancy Lynn told us about this in a sermon she preached at FUMC on September 7, 2014, saying: “These four acts reflect that our journey of faith is personal as well as social, private as well as public, inward as well as outward. And to grow and be healthy, we need balance between them.”

A person who commits to practicing can become a Super Disciple. How are you practicing discipleship?

Photo credits:
A Super Disciple! was altered from an image by Jam Zhang, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
The Rule of Discipleship symbol © 2014, The General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church. Used with permission.

Come, watch, hear, see, follow, and… learn to fish?

Posted on October 24, 2014April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

Updated to add all of the fish prints in the slide show below!

Have you seen them on display around the church?

We hear a lot about disciples. Every time someone is baptized in church we all say together: “We will pray for them that they may be true disciples…” And every Sunday (at the 9:30 service) we sing the kids on their way to Sunday’s Cool: “Go ye, go ye into the world, and make disciples of all the nations…”

So what’s a disciple? How does one get to be a “disciple?”

The word “disciple” means “student” or “learner.”
A teacher has students/disciples.
A student/disciple watches his teacher very closely, listening intently to everything he says. A student/disciple will even watch how his teacher ties his sandals!
A student/disciple tries to emulate their teacher; their desire is to follow in his footsteps.

In Jesus’ day the cream-of-the-crop students could pursue their education by asking a scholarly teacher, known as a rabbi: “Could I please be one of your students?” I picture ambitious eager beavers literally burning the midnight oil memorizing the Jewish Bible (our Old Testament) to achieve entrance into just the right group. Only the brightest were chosen to be the disciples of a particular rabbi. (The run-of-the-mills took up a trade such as carpentry.)

Jesus followed a different path. The teacher Jesus, the rabbi Jesus, invited people to be his disciples. We say that he “called” them.

A fish print done by a 5th grader

At least four of the people Jesus called, had made a living catching fish. In fact he told them…

Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!
Matthew 4:19

Jesus was asking lowly fishermen to be his students?

It proves you don’t have to be somebody important to be a disciple of Jesus.

You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to be worthy-enough.
Or get straight A’s. Or live in a big house.
No midnight oil required.

A fish print done by a 4th grader

In our Art Workshop for our current Rotation at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI, we are making fish prints using an ancient Japanese process called Gyotaku (pronounced gee-oh-TAH-koo). Long ago Gyotaku was a way of making a record of the size of a fish one caught.

A fish print made by a 5th grader

Why make fish prints? It turns out that fishing has a lot of similarities to being a disciple.

You need to have the right training and some basic supplies.
It takes persistent practice.
Sometimes you don’t catch anything. Yet you cast again and again.
At times, being quiet helps.

Enjoy the slide show of the fish prints.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.

Want to see the lesson we used? Visit here.

The Calling Continues…

Posted on October 2, 2014April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

We are moving from one call to another! A call as in…

Call \kawl\ v. (but sometimes n.)
As a verb (in our usage): to ask or to invite; as a noun: a message.

In our last Rotation Samuel anointed David, signifying David’s “calling” as Israel’s next king. We didn’t identify it as a calling per say, but sure enough, it was one. It was also a message from God to David.

The Bible doesn’t tell us but we can imagine that David and his family were surprised at this invitation.

As equally surprised as the fishermen that Jesus invited — called — to be his disciples; a lot of years later.

As I said, moving from one call to another!

Our next calling story is about Jesus calling his disciples. Read about it in Matthew 4:18-22, 9:9 and in Mark 3:13-19.

A painting by James Tissot, “The Calling of Saint Peter and Saint Andrew”

Join us at FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops.

This is where the “Schedule” used to appear — which grades were visiting which workshops over the course of this Rotation. However it was removed as it was sort of out of date 🙂 Our current schedule of workshops, for whatever Rotation we are currently on, can be found on this page.

For prosperity, here is what we did in each workshop for this Rotation:

In the Cooking Workshop students will make (and eat!) “fish-shaped” pizza to recall the significance of fishing in the calling of the disciples.
In the Storytelling Workshop students will hear congregation member share their story of being “called” to follow Jesus. They’ll learn that “calling” takes many forms!
In the Art Workshop students will use the Japanese process of Gyotaku – fish printing – to open discussion of Jesus calling disciples. View the slideshow of completed prints!
In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of the live-action video The Visual Bible: Matthew and play a game to spark discussion about ways we are disciples of Jesus.

View a growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home for this story.

Photo credits:
The Calling of Peter and Andrew by James Tissot, in the Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Text message created from speech bubbles also in the Public Domain, via wpclipart.com.

Remembering… every day

Posted on May 22, 2014April 11, 2020 by Carol Hulbert

a person walks among flag-decorated gravemarkers

On Memorial Day we remember the men and women who died while serving our country. We also reminisce about lost family members and friends.We gather together, decorate graves, salute flags, and attend parades—a worthwhile day of tribute, a day of telling stories about service and honor and good deeds.

Where it falls on the calendar in the northern hemisphere, Memorial Day also signifies the start of summer. Sunny skies, picnics and vacations; more great memories in the making!

All this brings to mind other observances we need to recognize.

Remembering stories of God with us.

Brooklyn Museum - The Pilgrims of Emmaus on the Road (Les pèlerins d'Emmaüs en chemin) - James Tissot

Our children need to hear our stories of God walking beside us.

Our children need to be reminded of times when God walked with them.

In a recent Rotation from Luke 24:13-35, we heard Cleopas and his traveling companion reflect on their trip from Jerusalem to Emmaus, when they realized that Jesus had been with them!

Back and forth they talked. “Didn’t we feel on fire as he conversed with us on the road, as he opened up the Scriptures for us?”
Luke 24:32

We need to offer opportunities for our kids to join the “fellowship of the burning heart.”

Let this Memorial Day be the start of an every-day-sort-of-thing: tell remember-when stories about times when Jesus was with you.

The time the car broke down the night before the big trip (rather than on the road).
An out of the blue, call from a friend when you needed to hear from someone just at that moment.
A sunny day after so many grey, dreary ones.
Hearing a Bible verse that was just what was needed.
The list goes on and on!

What are your God-with-you stories?

A Journey of (Strangely Warmed) Hearts

Posted on May 15, 2014April 9, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

This weekend treat your kids to a peek at their potential future self.

the youth perform a skit during Youth Worship 2013

A scene from last year’s Youth Worship service

We won’t be holding Workshops this weekend for grades 1-6, so that our children can learn from an able group of mentors in grades 7-12. Invite them to attend the Youth-led worship service on Saturday at Green Wood and/or downtown on Sunday.

Tell them to listen for some journey stories.

How about a little preparatory discussion prior to worship? Note: Print out just the discussion questions from this Google Doc.

Introduce the concept of a journey by starting off with a dinner table game! Use the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt to pretend to go on a hunting journey – wading through tall grass, splashing through a river and squelching through mud, in search of a bear. (This is one of those stories where you can add your own adventure to your trip. See this version.)
Ask: What is a journey? What are some long trips that you can recall making?
Life can be described as a journey — we each travel a path that sometimes is straight and smooth, and sometimes windy and twisty. What are some stopping points that you’ve experienced in your life journey? (Adults: Describe some of these too-young-to-remember points for your kids such as their first birthday, or their first step or their first day of school.)
What faith steps have you encountered in your life path? (Adults: now is the time for you to share moments of doubt in God and times of questioning, as well as mountain-top experiences.)
The Bible seems to have many stories of journeys. What are some that you can think of?

This is where you can refer to our just-finished Rotation on the Walk to Emmaus! Ask your child(ren) to re-tell the story from Luke 24:13-35.

Why do you suppose Jesus didn’t reveal himself earlier in their journey?
What were they doing when they finally recognized Jesus? (hint: verse 30)
On our “bear hunt” would it have been as fun if we’d just gone straight to the bear’s cave and skipped the tall grass and the mud and the river? (No, probably not!) All of the parts of the journey were important. They all contributed to our experience.
It probably took some leading-up-to-it-time for the two disciples eyes to be “opened.” At what point in our Bible story do the disciples realize what this was?

They said to each other, “He talked with us on the road. He opened the Scriptures to us. Weren’t our hearts burning inside us during that time?” Luke 24:32