Hidden inside the ordinary, will you see God-alongside?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Christmas eve worshipAs you gather with your family and/or friends, ponder this question:

What was your favorite part of the Christmas Eve worship service?

I’ll bet you get a variety of answers.

My unofficial poll included the music offerings, and when all the lights are turned off and Silent Night is sung by candle light.

The telling of the story didn’t make our list.

I wonder if we have become so familiar with the story of Jesus’ birth, that we forget to be amazed?

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem

I spent Christmas Eve too sick to attend worship. Home alone, in bed, I decide to read the story. I’m glad I did. Functioning as the only component of “worship” that I had, it allowed for deep contemplation.

I was reminded of the wondrous, amazing aspect of Christmas.

What’s that you say?

As explanation, I’ll use a phrase often heard in this season:

The Incarnation

Star of Bethlehem Nativity

The Incarnation is a concept that leaves me awestruck. (And also feeling a bit jumbled – reminding me that sometimes we have to live in the mystery.)

Incarnation is a big word that comes from Latin, meaning “the act of being made flesh.” It’s what God did in the birth of Jesus. Somehow, mysteriously, Jesus is both fully God and fully human!

In Jesus, God is with us!

The prophet Isaiah had described our coming Savior as Emmanuel. What a perfect title for Jesus, because “Emmanuel” means “God with us.” It’s the very thing we need and look forward to the most: the presence of God himself! Jesus wasn’t born just to save us from our sins; God came to be with us.

God loved us so much that he chose to come into the world in the actual person of Jesus. We find this expressed in John 1:14, which paraphrased reads…

The “Word” was made flesh and moved in with us.

The Adoration of the Shepherds, a painting by Gerard van Honthorst, 1622

Even more amazing (if that is possible)… God joined us, not just in human form but as a tiny, helpless baby! What are we to make of this news? Knowing what we know, what will we do?

Who would have looked for God as a baby in a manager in a stable?

If the way we live shows what we believe, should we be actively looking for God among us?

What does God with us look like today?

Richard Rohr calls it, “hidden inside of ordinariness.”

The Incarnation

A humdrum home for animals, equipped with a feeding trough. Where will God-with-us show up next?

Have you observed God, hidden, yet present with us, in the ordinary?

Let’s look for Emmanuel! Here are a few searching suggestions:

  • Go for a drive at night, and be dazzled by the neighborhoods festooned in Christmas lights.
  • If it snows, go outside and catch flakes on your tongue. (Or spend time studying the rain drops rolling down the window pane.)a child ponders the first snow
  • Lay on your backs under your Christmas tree and silently gaze upward, pondering the beauty and perhaps the scent of pine or spruce.
  • Watch and notice when your child seems in an attitude of awe. (A moment of wonder is often characterized by quiet stillness rather than enthusiastic activity.) Silently join them in their observation.
  • Where will you find God?

May you experience God with you — in whatever ordinary awesomeness he arrives.

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Photo credits:
The first photo is from my archives.
Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem was created by moi from an Unsplash.com image by Tim de Groot. The figures were adapted from wpclipart.com; the words are the start of Luke 2:4, NIV.
Star over Bethlehem by Garrett W. offered on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Birth of Jesus is a portion of “The Adoration of the Shepherds,” a 1622 painting by Gerard van Honthorst; from Wikimedia, in the Public Domain.
Babe in a manger by Rapolas; from Pixabay, in the CC0 1.0 Public Domain.
First snow by Joe Thorn, offered on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

How to practice kind words? Chutes and Ladders anyone?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

a word cloud with kind, caring words

You’ve heard the old rhyme about sticks and stones, and words not wounding?

Not true!

Our words do matter; to others, and to God!

God really cares about the words that we use and how we use them. How do we talk about this issue with our household? Join us for some discussion!

Start the conversation in the car, or around the family dinner table, or wherever your family is gathered together. Spread the questions out over several sessions. Ask these questions even if you missed the video showing!

Have some family time discussion…

  • Do you find it easy or hard, to use kind words with someone you know well? What about with someone who is a stranger? With someone you dislike? Someone who is giving you a hard time?
  • Have you ever heard the expression: “Kill them with kindness” — what do you suppose it means?
  • Do you suppose that there is a difference between acting kindly and true kindness that comes from the heart? How would the two look different?
  • The Bible tells us that our words are important to God. Why do you suppose God really cares about what we say?
    Jesus taught that “A person’s mouth says everything that is in their heart” (Luke 6:45). What we say reflects what is in our innermost selves. God loves us, so of course God would care about us. And, since God loves everyone, he cares about the effect our words could have on other people. What we say to others matters!
  • The Bible has lots to say about how we should use our words. Take turns looking up a verse and talking about what it means to you: Luke 6:45, Proverbs 15:1, Proverbs 15:4, Proverbs 16:24, Psalm 19:14, and Ephesians 4:29.
  • Several of these verses were from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is a book full of short instructions on living wisely. Watch this short video about Proverbs. (If reading this in an email, you can watch this video on YouTube.)


 
Chutes-and-Ladders game boardIn class on Sunday we played a version of Chutes and Ladders. If your child didn’t bring home a game board, get two here. (This will download a Word doc to your downloads folder. Print it in “Landscape.”)

Play this game at home. Use small items as game pieces and toss a die to play a round, or two.

 

Have fun while practicing using kind words.

We hope you’ll continue the learning at home! Be sure to notice kind word usage. (Respond by saying: “I notice you are using healthy words!”)

Note: This post refers to a video watched during our Summer Sunday school: # 14 “How Do We Show Respect to God Through Our Words?” from Clive & Ian’s Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge.

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Photo credits…
A created word cloud by moi. Shared at flickr, licensed under a Creative Commons (BY-NC-ND 2.0). I also created the game board. Enjoy!

What happens when jubilant children lead us in worship?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
cast of the Jonah musical

We experienced a treat this past Sunday: kids leading us in worship!

Children in worship, the Cherub Choir doing the response to Psalm 8Children executed all parts of worship – ushering, conducting the Call to Worship, playing hand chimes, singing in choirs, and reading scripture. Here the Cherub Choir — representing our youngest — provided the musical reply to a responsive reading of Psalm 8.

Baptism Tucked into the service, was also a baptism of a young child. An appropriate opening to the musical that the kids put on about the story of Jonah! In a baptism, the sprinkling with water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, signifies a new life and becoming a child of God. Did Jonah experience his own sort of “sprinkling” to help him see his faith journey?

Being baptized means you join in our community of faith. One of my favorite parts of a baptism is when the pastor takes the child down the center aisle amidst everyone — parents usually in tow — where the congregation repeats their promise to nurture the faith of the child being baptized. Surrounded by love!

Baptism in the center of the congregation

On to the musical portion of the service! The Children’s choirs presented “Oh Jonah!”

You know the story: Jonah is a reluctant prophet who at first chooses not to follow God’s instructions. He ended up in the belly of a big fish.

 
I like how the kids portrayed Jonah (dressed in red) as being “inside” the big fish — surrounded by kids who were the “whale.” That’s a group of angels in orange, hanging out near by to offer guidance to Jonah.

Jonah in a big fish watched over by angels

This is a story about choices and responsibility. When he was “spit out”…with gusto, it was a second chance!

Jonah is almost spit out   Jonah is spit out of the big fish

This time Jonah went to Nineveh and gave the people God’s message. (Look at all of those cool Ninevehites!)

Jonah goes before the King of Nineveh

How does the story turn out?

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Photo credits:
I created Oh Jonah from a claymation video by Riley Marchand, shared under a Creative Commons License on YouTube. (I altered this screen shot to make Jonah appear much smaller than the big fish.)
Rest of photos from my archives.

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Why did Ruth make a startling (crazy?) choice?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
a thoughtful childHave you ever admired something in someone, causing you to wonder: What makes them tick?

I’m not talking about wonderment in a swooning sort of way — more wanting to know what it is that motivates a person. What is their driving force?

The Bible doesn’t give us many clues but Naomi must have exhibited behaviors that Ruth applauded, eliciting a, “Hey, I want to be like her” response in Ruth.

This coming Sunday kids will be in worship as we celebrate All Saints Day, a time when we commemorate the lives of those who have shown us a picture of faith. Though this is a day set-aside to remember faith-warriors who have died in the last year, we can stretch our definition of a saint to someone who is living; someone who wears their faith on their sleeve.

Naomi must have worn her faith on her sleeve.

Ruth acted on her admiration for her mother-in-law Naomi. She made a startling choice:

Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16b,c

Time Out. Talk about…speech bubble
Ask these questions at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

  • What could have made Ruth decide to follow Naomi’s God?
  • Who to you seems like they are close to God?
  • Have you ever thought about asking them how they got connected to God?
  • Identify people you know who seem to be “God followers.” Make a plan to ask them about their faith.
  • What is it about YOUR faith that might make other’s think: “how can I be like them?”
How are you wearing your faith on your sleeve?

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Photo credits:
A thoughtful child by Ryse Lawrence, in the Public Domain, offered at Pixabay.com.

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How to make bold, Ruth-like promises to people we care about

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Naomi had packed up her belongings, and with her two daughter-in-laws, was heading to Bethlehem. What a trio – three widows without any children! (People hearing this story in Bible times knew about the perilous predicament of a widow without a son to care for her.) These three likely hadn’t gotten very far before Naomi urged them to make a different choice.

Go home. Go back to your families. What possible reason would you have for returning with me? (Ruth 1:11)

One of the daughter-in-laws does just that. She returns to her home in Moab… to her mother… to what was well-known… to her gods (Moab was a land of multiple pagan gods)… to a place where she wasn’t likely to be shunned (Israelites looked down on Moabites). She was looking out for number one – herself. Nothing to be faulted for that!

Meanwhile, Ruth makes a bold, surprising promise:

Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

Two kids make a pinky promise (by linking their pinky fingers)

Such an extravagant commitment!

This is a story about love, loyalty, devotion. And it’s about making hard choices.

What “Ruth-like” promises have you made for the people in your life?

While this strategy can apply to everyone in the family, I’m specifically talking to the parents here. How about making one (or all) of these promises:

  • I’ll attend worship with my family every week – even though the kids might squirm, sigh loudly, and make a fuss. (Because worshiping with your kids is good parenting in action.)
  • I’ll make sure that I am cultivating my own faith and I’ll talk about my faith journey with my family.
  • I’ll ask my child every night, “How can I be praying for you?”
  • I will daily invest in blessing my child.

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a Ruth wheat braiding projectIf your kids attend FUMC as Cool Disciples, they are mentally absorbing the basics. Each week they hear the story details. As they craft wheat creations or knead barley biscuits, they are learning definitions for widow, famine, and gleaning; they are hearing Ruth’s bold statement of trust.

But, with only (at best) 45 minutes in class, we can’t dig deep enough. We try, but we don’t have the time.

 
We need parents and caregivers to continue the learning.

We need you to make some Ruth-like promises, to ensure your child’s spiritually is nurtured.

Here’s my Ruth-like, stretching-myself promise to you (because I care about your kids): I’ll keep bugging you to grow your kids faith!


Photo credits:
Pinky promise by Cheryl Holt, in the Public Domain, offered at Pixabay.com.
Other photo from my archives.

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How to read a long story – a little at a time

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Gleaning by Arthur Hughes Pose this question at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.) True or false: Dumpster-diving was practiced during Bible times.

Want to find out? Read our scripture together as a family. Since it’s a long story, use the following plan to read and talk about our story in stages, over the course of several days. Read a passage and then discuss the question(s) or do the activities. (Scroll down for suggestions on reviewing this story with preschoolers.)

 

Read in Ruth Readers notes Talk about or do…
Chp 1, verses 1-2 written as 1:1-2 Elimelek (or spelled, Elimeleck) is
pronounced: ee-LIM-eh-lek. Mahlon => MAH-luhn. Ephrathite => EF-ruh-tight.		 What is a famine? Where have we heard of Bethlehem before? Find Bethlehem and Moab on a map (look here). How long do you suppose it took to travel there?
1:1-5 Orpah => OR-puh.
The Moabites and the Israelites were enemies! In fact the Israelites had strict laws forbidding these foreigners from participating in the Israelite community (Deuteronomy 23:3).		 What is an “unusual” place you’d like to visit? Why does Moab seem like a strange choice as a place for an Israelite to go?

Naomi has bad news! What do you suppose life was like for women back in Bible times?
1:6-18 In a patriarchal society, where women did not have access to jobs, widows were completely dependent upon men – either a grown son, or another husband (if they were able to remarry).
 Choices, choices! Which choice would you make: Go with Naomi or go back to “safety?” What could have made Ruth decide to follow Naomi’s God? Why do you suppose Ruth was so devoted to Naomi? Where do you suppose this loyalty come from? Who is someone to whom you are loyal?
1:16-18 Verse 16b, c is our key Bible verse for this Rotation. The “b, c” means the second and third portions of verse 16. Why does this seem like such an extreme promise for Ruth to make? What promises have you made lately? Any this radical?
1:19-21 Mara is pronounced: MAY-ruh.
The meaning of names was important in Bible times. Naomi meant “pleasant;” Mara meant “bitter.”		 How is Naomi feeling? She is hurting! She is moaning about her situation! She is doing what is called “lamenting!” Read together the classic Psalm of lament: Psalm 13:1-2. When have you lamented? Do you suppose that a little bit of lamenting is okay every now and then?
1:22-2:13 Elimelek => ee-LIM-eh-lek. Boaz => BO-az.
For the laws which set up gleaning, read: Leviticus 19:10; 23:22		 What does “gleaning” mean? (It was like welfare for the poor.) What sorts of programs do we have today to help people get food? Make a plan to attend FiSH Fri Service Night.
2:14-23 Israelite law required all farmers to leave dropped grain (or other crops) in the fields for the disadvantaged to glean, however it was the landowner who determined the generosity of the gleanings! In verse 20, what word is used to describe Boaz’s relationship to Naomi’s family? A close relative? Nearest kin? Guardian-redeemer? Who do you have in your family who takes care of you?
Is Naomi still lamenting? What has caused her attitude to change? Count all the ways Boaz showed kindness to Ruth.
3:1-18 According to Israelite laws, the nearest blood relative (a “kinsman redeemer”) was to marry a widow to continue the family line. Naomi is setting up a plan to implement this process. Which verses tell you that Boaz is an honorable man? How are things looking for Ruth and Naomi? Why do these demonstrations of loyalty seem counter to the Israelite-Moabite prejudice?
4:1-10 Is this a coincidence that Ruth finds her way to Boaz’s fields, or is it God’s grand plan to bless the life of Ruth and Naomi through Boaz? (Methodists say that God works inside of people, to transform them, and others around them.) What did you think of the handing over of the sandal? In what way do you seal promises?
Remember Ruth’s lavish pledge to Naomi? (1:16b, c) What do you suppose Ruth thinks of her promise now that Boaz is going to take care of her? Do you suppose that Ruth gave thanks to God? From this story, what does God teach us about caring for others?
4:13-22 You may wish to take care in how you read verse 13. What is the significance of the family tree? (King David was their descendant!) David had a great great great… (many greats)… grandson whom we talk about a lot, and who was born in Bethlehem just like Obed; who was it? (Jesus!) What would have happened with Jesus if Ruth hadn’t gone with Naomi?

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Reading and talking about the story for younger children:

Here are several versions of the story:

The cover of The Little One's Bible The Little One’s Bible

This Bible storybook has appropriate questions on each page.

 
The cover of The Beginner's Bible The Beginner’s Bible

Show a map and point out Judah. Identify Moab as the place where Ruth and Naomi were.
At the end of this story, add in the part about Obed being the grandfather of King David and about David being the ancestor of Jesus. Draw your family tree.

 
From a Jelly Telly video on Ruth A video by Jelly Telly (What’s in the Bible?): Ruth

 
What’s in the Bible: popsicle stick puppets – Ruth (If reading this in an email, you can watch this video on YouTube.)

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Photo credits:
Gleaning, a painting by Arthur Hughes is in the Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Loyalty, kindness, devotion… is this genuine love?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Ruth and Naomi in stained glassOur current Rotation is on three important people in Old Testament history: Ruth, Naomi and Boaz.

Our story is told in the book of Ruth. It is a brief story — only four chapters — yet we find it full of rich teaching opportunities about loyalty, kindness, and devotion, and caring for and accepting the marginalized and “outsiders.”

It’s a love story of the best kind!

 

It shows us a picture of what God’s love is like.

Hebrew (the original language of this story) has a word for this sort of love: hesed (pronounced: HEH-sed). Hesed is often translated as “lovingkindness” or “mercy,” but neither of these words fully conveys that hesed means acting out of unswerving loyalty. Not surprisingly hesed typifies God.

Watch this short (2 minute) video to get a quick overview of our story. (If reading this in an email, you can watch this video on YouTube.)

Join us as we explore this story!

Check out a growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home.

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On Sundays, at the downtown location…

Date Our workshops for 1st through 5th graders…
Art Games Cooking Puppets Video
10/11 4th grade 1st grade 3rd grade 5th grade 2nd grade
10/18 2nd grade 5th grade 4th grade 3rd grade 1st grade
10/25 1st grade 2nd grade 5th grade 4th grade 3rd grade
11/1 Worship with your family.
Read the scripture ahead of time.
11/8 3rd grade 4th grade 2nd grade 1st grade 5th grade

workshop location in the bulletinNote: Room assignments are in flux these days.
Check the bulletin for the location of workshops.

 

And here’s what the 6th graders will be doing on Sundays downtown… (They’ll always be in the Pine Room!)

10/11 10/18 10/25 11/1 11/8
Art Workshop Assist the 2nd graders in their Art Workshop Cooking Workshop Worship with your family. Read the scripture ahead of time. Prepare to host Connections. (Will be hosting on 11/22.)

What’s happening in each workshop?

  • In the Art Workshop students will braid with wheat. (It’s as close to barley as we could get!)
  • In the Games Workshop students will participate in a key verse relay race, and a “Stick Together” balloon challenge. The class will also will visit the time-line mural.
  • In the Cooking Workshop students will create barley biscuits.
  • In the Puppets Workshop students will watch a popsicle-stick puppet show that tells the story. Then they will sse handle-bag puppets to retell the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz.
  • In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of the animated video from Nest Entertainment, Ruth.

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

Date Workshop or Activity
10/10 Art Workshop
10/17 Worship with your family. Read the scripture ahead of time.
10/24 Puppets Workshop
10/31 Worship with your family. Read the scripture ahead of time.
11/7 Worship with your family.

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:
Stained glass of Ruth and Naomi, from Hook Church in the UK – photo by Bob Embleton, via Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons 2.0 License.

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How to bring up certain topics

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
Does your family play games together? Why not use a game as a way to open up conversation about faith topics. How about at the family dinner table? (Or wherever your family is gathered together.) You can do this!

Play the “Face Game.” That’s where someone calls out an emotion — such as mad, or sad, or over-the-top-glad — and everyone has to make the face that was named.

Three different facial emotions are depicted

With each emotion named, ask this follow-up question: What could happen that would cause you to make that face?

When the “scared” emotion gets named, and everyone has shared something that causes fear, ask these additional questions:

  • Why do you suppose that your Sunday’s Cool classes this month have compared Goliath to a problem that you’ve faced?
  • How would it look like if you used faith in God to face your fear?
  • David’s experience protecting his sheep helped him to know that he could face Goliath. What would help you to have a stronger faith in God?

Games are a great way to open up to faith conversation with your family. Give it a try.


Photo credits:
Faces are in the Public Domain, offered via Pixabay.com.

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