Holy Week: Day 4 – Cleaning Feet – A Blessing?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

On Wednesday’s it was my habit to present to you a Blessing to use with your children. There may be a blessing in here somewhere, but allow me to mostly make this post be an entry in our Holy Week series.

You know the drill… scroll slowly and stop when you see the speech balloon (so as not to expose the answers too early!) These questions are meant for a little family discussion around the computer screen.

Jesus washes his disciples feet

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What Holy Week event is happening in this picture?

It is the foot-washing that took place during the Last Supper. I know, the Passover feast that Jesus shared with his disciples happened on a Thursday; I’m taking liberty with the timing of things.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble Why did Jesus wash everyone’s feet?

Probably because their feet needed cleaning. (Sandals + no paved roads = dusty, dirty, smelly feet). But, as you can suspect, there is a deeper meaning. (I feel another question coming on…)

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble Whose job was it, in those days, to wash people’s feet?

That’s right – a servant, and usually it was the lowest of the low-on-the-totem-pole, servant. John’s Gospel tells us that after he had finished, Jesus asked his disciples:

'Do you understand what I was doing?

Someone must have said, “No” because Jesus went on to explain how he intended it to be a teaching example.

'And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. John 13:14

I like how this passage continues, a few verses later with…

'Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. John 13:17

Jesus was telling us to do acts of service in a humble way and we would be blessed!

This flows perfectly into a Wednesday’s Weekly Blessing! So, right now, turn to your child and touching their arm say…

'May others know of God’s love through your generosity and kindness.

(Repeat for each child if you’ve got more than one.)

Make plans to attend the Maundy Thursday service at 7:00 pm in the downtown sanctuary at FUMC. We will be celebrating The Last Supper with Holy Communion. See you there?

Stay tuned for the next installment of our series on Holy Week.


Photo credits:
By Peter DeHart, © 2007. Used by permission.
Speech bubbles via WPClipart.com. Quote marks via Clker.com. Both are in the public domain.

Holy Week: Day 3 – Looking for a way

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Thanks for joining us on our journey through Holy Week. We offer this series of discussion guides for your home use, because after all, you spend more time with your kids than we get on Sunday mornings at FUMC. (It’s okay if you don’t know all of the answers to the following questions. Let them spark discussion!)

So far on our journey we’ve been through Palm Sunday; “Yesterday” was at the Temple. Today… someone is doing something secretive; looking for a way…

A staged photo showing Judas meeting with the religious leaders

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What could be happening in this photo? (Is someone holding a money bag?)

What’s happening involves some shady dealing. The religious leaders did not like what they were hearing from Jesus. They were afraid. (What if Jesus stirred up the people? That could result in the Romans getting upset; the Romans might take away our power!)

The religious leaders wanted Jesus out of the way. They were more than pleased when Judas, one of Jesus’ disciples, showed up with an offer they couldn’t refuse.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What was it that Judas agreed to do?

The Bible tells us that the religious leaders had been plotting to arrest Jesus and kill him. Then Judas shows up, saying…

'How much will you pay me to betray Jesus to you? Matthew 26:15

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble How much did they pay Judas?

If you’re not sure about the answer to this one, how about a little look-it-up-in-the-Bible practice? Find the answer at Matthew 26:14-16.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble Who were these religious leaders?

This body of leaders was called the Sanhedrin. Their leader was Caiaphas, the high priest. Technically, Israel was under Roman rule, however the Romans allowed the Sanhedrin some power. This group of seventy-one men made laws, had their own police force, and could arrest people and send them to jail. (But they needed the Roman governor’s permission to condemn someone to die.)

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble (No right or wrong answers here!)

  • In what way has the Sanhedrin misunderstood Jesus?
  • In what way does Judas seem to have misunderstood Jesus?
  • Has a friend ever turned against you? How did you feel?

Stay tuned for the next installment of our series on Holy Week.


Photo credits:
By Maria Koukios, © 2011, used by permission.
Speech bubbles via WPClipart.com. Quote marks via Clker.com. Both are in the public domain.

Holy Week: Day 2 – Clean up in Aisle Ten

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Jesus turns over tables at the Temple

Ready to continue our journey through Holy Week?

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What is happening in the above picture?

We are not sure what day of the week Jesus caused a ruckus at the Temple. He probably spent time every day at the Temple after his arrival in Jerusalem. However, there were no waving branches or laid out cloaks at the Temple. No, it is likely that Jesus was making enemies as he angrily over-turned tables and benches; driving both buyers and sellers out.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What made Jesus do this?

Jesus was distressed at what he found. Salespeople (selling animals to be sacrificed) and money changers, were using God’s Temple to conduct business. (Currency exchange was needed because no “foreign” coins could be used in the Temple, only Temple money.)

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What did Jesus say?

'This is a place of prayer, not a den of thieves! Matthew 21:13.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble But such a system of selling animals benefitted those who were arriving from out-of-town. Do you suppose there were other factors that contributed to Jesus’ actions?

Well, some of the merchants could have been dishonest, however there has to be another reason as Jesus threw out both the sellers and their customers (Matthew 21:12). Here’s another possibility: The outer court of the Temple, where this took place was called the “Court of the Gentiles.” Gentiles, anyone who was not Jewish, could worship at the Temple but could not go into the inner Temple areas. Perhaps Jesus was defending the Gentiles ability to worship. (With all of the noise of market activity, it was hardly a place suitable to worship.)

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble (No right or wrong answers here!)

  • We can imagine how the sellers felt but how do you suppose the crowds reacted to Jesus?
  • What about the religious leaders; how did they react? (Hint: Read Matthew 21:15-16)
  • What does this story teach you about Jesus?

Stay tuned for the next installment of our series on Holy Week.


Photo credits:
By Maria Koukios, © 2014, used by permission.

Holy Week: Day 1 – Palm Sunday

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Holy Week is almost here; the week that leads up to Easter Sunday. Do you have your Easter eggs ready – the ones you can use to tell the story?

How about some family discussion about the first event in Holy Week? (Hint: scroll just enough to not reveal the answers to the “Time Out. Talk about…” questions!)

A donkey walks across a field

Okay, gather round the computer screen. Go ahead… ask the question…

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble What is the first event of Holy Week?

That’s right; it’s the day we call “Palm Sunday,” named because of what took place as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. He was welcomed by a happy crowd! It was sort of like a parade.

Our story takes place against the backdrop of the city of Jerusalem preparing for the Jewish festival of Passover. Multitudes of people would have been coming to Jerusalem to celebrate. Thus there was a considerable crowd, with lots of excitement and waving of palm branches!

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble Why were they waving palm branches? And they were shouting something, weren’t they? What was it they were saying?

The waving of palm branches (and the laying of their coats on the road) was because they were excited to see Jesus! They called out:

Open quote marks Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9)

Hosanna is a word which has appeared to change in meaning. It started off meaning “save us now.” However, here it seems to be a word of praise. Word had gotten out: the Messiah was coming!

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble Messiah? What is that?

For hundreds of years the Jewish people had been waiting for the Messiah: someone who would save them. The prophets of the Old Testament had announced the coming of this savior. Jesus was the Messiah, but not the sort of messiah that the people expected! Both The crowds (and some of the disciples) anticipated that Jesus would take command in Israel as a king, and save them from the oppressive rule of the Romans. The events of Psalm Sunday were the public welcome of this awaited kingly Messiah.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble If Jesus was a king, why wasn’t he riding a big, white horse?
A king riding a white horse!

We all have different ways we understand God. It looks like the people in Jerusalem had an understanding that God would send them a Messiah who behaved as they wanted. And they wanted a warrior king! The people didn’t realize that Jesus came not as king of a nation. He was a humble, gentle king.

Jesus was a king with no need of a warhorse! He came to town riding a lowly donkey.

 
Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble (No right or wrong answers here!)

  • How do you suppose Jesus felt about their misunderstanding of the type of Messiah that he was?
  • The people wanted Jesus to take care of their problems, but what did Jesus really come to do?
  • What do you like about the type of king Jesus is for you?

Want to learn more about Palm Sunday? Check out these posts. Even more discussion questions for your family!

Stay tuned for the next installment of our series on Holy Week.


Photo credits:
Donkey by Rob Bixby
Royal king by Filko Dawidzinski, all licensed on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Speech bubbles via WPClipart.com. Quote marks via Clker.com. Both are in the public domain.

Blessings: Doing something about the Race to Nowhere?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
A poster for the film Race to NowhereHave you seen the film Race to Nowhere?

It looks at the pressure to perform that children (and their teachers) face today, including…

  • Hours of homework for students; not enough sleep.
  • The crunch to get into a “good” university.
  • Standardized tests (and teaching to the test… The school will loose funding if the students don’t pass!)
  • Just to name a few…

The film is a call to action for parents, educators, and people who care about kids, to stand up for change. My question is: how does our calling as people of faith, influence our response to this film?

Here’s one way… I am not saying that this is a cure-all but… how about offering regular Blessings to our kids?

Try out this one: Say your child’s name and…

God sees you as trustworthy and valuable.

When giving a blessing, you are painting a word picture describing what God would say to your child.

What are your thoughts on this film and our response? Share by clicking on “LEAVE A COMMENT” below.


Interested in finding out more about blessings? Click here to get started using blessings with your children. View other blessings here.


Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Film poster from Race to Nowhere.

Workshop schedule for April/May 2011

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
On Sunday mornings, our Cool Disciples (our 1st – 6th graders) experience Rotation Model Sunday’s school, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops.

In April and the beginning of May, our story will be about the first Easter. In this Rotation, we will explore the sequence of events that took place during “Holy Week.” Holy Week covers the last days – the last week – of Jesus’ life on earth.

Palm leaves the stone is rolled away
Our Bible stories come from the Gospels. We’ll start off in Matthew 21 and hop around, visiting a bit of John and Luke and ending at Matthew 28:1-10.

Here is the schedule for the next few weeks…

Date Art Photography Cooking Cooking Puppets Games
Room 212 Room 204 Social Hall Pine Room Room 215 Room 211
4/10 2nd grade 5th grade 3rd grade 6th grade 4th grade 1st grade
4/17 1st grade 4th grade 2nd grade 5th grade 6th grade 3rd grade

Then on 4/24th is Easter! Everyone will be in worship on Easter. On May 1st, since it’s the first Sunday of the month, it will be a family worship Sunday with Communion. We’ll complete our “April” Rotation on May 8th.

Date Art Photography Cooking Cooking Puppets Games
Room 212 Room 204 Social Hall Pine Room Room 215 Room 211
5/8 3rd grade 6th grade 1st grade 4th grade 5th grade 2nd grade

What’s happening in each workshop?

  • In the Art Workshop students will create story books using interesting papers and colored pencils.
  • In the Photography Workshop students will setting up the scenes from the stories of Holy Week and creating a photo montage. Stay tuned for pictures!
  • In the Cooking Workshop students will create an edible map of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus. Yum! Edible learning is so much fun we’ll be running two Cooking workshops so that everyone can visit.
  • In the Puppets Workshop students will use puppets to enact a modern-day story as they discuss the trials of Jesus.
  • In the Games Workshop students will participate in a quiz game.


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). Palm leaves by momentcaptured1 and Empty tomb by James Emery. Both licensed this photo under: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Wednesday’s Weekly Blessing

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
I remember one day (a long time ago) wondering if talking to my baby was foolish. (She couldn’t answer back!)

A father and baby

Of course it wasn’t! Oh, the things I didn’t know!

But the words felt awkward. (Thankfully I kept it up.)
It can be like that for offering blessings.

Awkward.

Do it awkward then. (Practice it on your significant other.) Consider it like teaching the language of faith. Try this one out… Say your child’s name and…

Our Creator God has made you perfect and grand and wonderful!


Need a resource to get started using blessings with your children? (Click on the word “resource.”)
View other blessings here.


Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email). A beautiful baby photo from Katie Tegtmeyer, shared under: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Wednesday’s Weekly Blessing

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
A child holds a seedling

We all need to hear blessings.

A sprinkling of words to water and nourish our souls.

And remind us that we are loved.

Make giving blessings be a part of the care of your tender seedlings, your children.

Say your child’s name and…

God has planted his love in your heart.

Doesn’t that feel better?


View other blessings for your children here.


Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email). Green sprout by D. Sharon Pruitt who licensed her photo under: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic