Baptism of our Lord 1/10/10

Our theme in worship and Sunday School classes today is “Baptism of our Lord” --focusing on the baptism of Jesus. We are baptized just like Jesus was. Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. At our church, and many other churches, children are baptized from a bowl of water.

As I was thinking of what to say to you today, I was thinking a lot about water. Water is a theme that we are going to be thinking a lot about in Lent this year. Our themes for Qabats are all around stories of water in the Bible. . . The children’s musical will be all about many of those same stories.

As I was thinking of water, I was thinking about all the ways we use water. In a day, there are dozens of times and ways I use water:
 to my body, hair, teeth, clothes and dishes
 I drink water, and I use water to cook my food
 If when cooking my food, I burn myself, I use water to cool and soothe the burn
 I water my plants so that they will grow


Now when we baptize people, we use that same water that comes out of the tap here at church. Maybe that sounds less than exciting--maybe you imagined that we used some special water locked up in a safe in the church somewhere, or some fancy bottled water, but the truth is we use the same water that we use to make coffee and clean counters.

And that is on purpose--the water isn’t important because of where it comes from, it becomes important because of how we use it.

Water does amazing things--it cleans and soothes and helps things grow. When we use it for baptism, it also does amazing things--it is a symbol and reminder that we are God’s own--that God loves us and claims us and cares for us always--just like God has loved and cared for and claimed as God’s own everyone who has been baptized before us and will be baptized after us.

Thanks be to God!

Let’s pray: Loving God
For water that cleans and refreshes
For water that soothes and calms
For water that helps us to grow and thrive
For the waters of baptism
We thank you. Amen.

Unto us a Son is born--Sunday, December 20, 2009

Children’s Message


In Sunday School for the past few weeks, we have been looking at Jesus as the Son.

First, we spent time studying Jesus as the son of Joseph. We looked at his family tree through Joseph, tracing him all the way back to King David.

Last week, we looked at Jesus as the son of Mary, and today in worship, the adults will hear the scripture of Mary’s response to the news that she was going to be the mother of God’s son.

This week, the focus will be on Jesus as the son of God—the greatest gift given to us—God giving his son to be the Messiah here on earth to bring the Good News to all the world, especially the poor and the outcast.

And we understand Jesus as the Son in all of these ways: the son of Joseph, connecting him to the house of David just as the prophets of the old testament told. . . the son of Mary, bringing a song of joy to the world just as Mary sang. . . and Jesus as the son of God—the Messiah—God with us.

As we approach the joyous day of Christmas, there are so many things that are happening—parties and presents—special meals and visitors—new Christmas outfits and treasured family rituals. I hope that you enjoy everything that is special and wonderful about Christmas, and I hope you remember that at the very center of it all was a little babe who was destined to bring great and wonderful things to our world—"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given" (Isaiah 9:6—KJV)



Loving God—
We give our gifts to you in the name of Jesus Christ,
Messiah of whom the prophets spoke
As we prepare our hearts and minds
To welcome the Christ child in.
Amen.

Easter Children's Sermon, Sunday, April 12, 2009

So I’m going to be honest with you. Easter is a hard thing to “get”.

On one level—Easter is easy—bunnies, eggs, baskets and chocolate. Egg hunts, a day or two off of school, a new dress, and a great big ham dinner.

But the church-y part of Easter—that is not so easy. There are some scary parts—there are some uncomfortable parts—there are lots of big words like crucifixion and resurrection. . . it is not easy for adults, much less for kids!

So what is Easter about?
Easter is about NOTHING!
*gasp*! What did I just say?

I know, it sounds bad to say, but think about it. When Jesus’ disciples went to the tomb, they expected to find Jesus body, but there was nothing there but the cloths that he has been wrapped in.

On Good Friday, we hear about how Jesus died on the cross, but when we get to church on Sunday, there’s nothing on this cross except some flowers—no Jesus, that’s for sure.

In a lot of ways, Easter is about celebrating the things that we can’t see, the things we can’t hold. It’s fun to have an Easter basket, but we should remember all the times when there was NOTHING and that was the greatest Easter news there is.

In one of the songs that Mrs. Lenti teaches, you sing, “my God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there’s nothing my God cannot do!” Alleuia! There is nothing our God cannot do, and Easter is a great time to celebrate the good news that God’s love for us is without limit!

Let's Pray:
Loving God
We rejoice on this Easter morning
That Christ is risen!
There is nothing our God cannot do.
Alleuia!
Amen.

Children’s Message, Sunday, March 22, 2009, The Gospel in a Nutshell—John 3:16

OK, here is a Bible quiz for you—What are the first four books of the New Testament? Those first four books have a special name when they are looked at all together—they are called the Gospels. The Gospel according to: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In Sunday School, you are studying the Gospel of Mark right now. In worship today, we will be hearing from the Gospel of John.

The gospels are the place where we hear the story of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The Old Testament, which comes before the Gospels, tells of God’s people before the Messiah came. The rest of the New Testament after the gospels is made up mostly of letters about the early church and the spreading of Christianity. So the Gospels are where we really hear about and get to know Jesus. In our pew Bibles, the gospels take up about 115 pages. Do you think you could memorize all of that? I know I couldn’t. What if I told you that instead of memorizing the whole of the Gospels, I could teach you “the Gospel in a nutshell”? How about just 27 words??

OK, repeat after me--
For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life.
Those words are chapter 3, verse 16 of John’s gospel. They are perhaps the most well known verses of scripture. Sometimes, that one verse is called, “the Gospel in a nutshell” because if you remember that—that God loved us enough to give his only Son. . . that we should believe in him. . . that when we do, eternal life in heaven can be ours. . .you’ve got a pretty good idea about what Jesus life, death and resurrection was all about.

Let’s pray:
We thank you God for your love
And for giving your son Jesus
That we might believe
And have eternal life. Amen.

Children’s Message--Sunday, February 15, 2008--Helping Hands

In worship today, and in Sunday School this unit, we have heard stories about Jesus as a healer. Jesus healed in all sorts of ways. Sometimes with just words--Go, your faith has healed you (Mark 10), once even with spit! (when Jesus spit into the sand and made a mud to put on a blind man’s eyes) and many times with his hands.

When we think of healing, we often think of hands. Hands that pray, hands that touch, hands that fix broken things.

I once heard the story of a minister. She worked as a chaplain at a hospital—that means that she was the hospital’s minister. Once a year, this chaplain would visit the people who worked in the hospital and pray over their hands. The people who she prayed with reported that the time of prayer with her was really special for them. And what I like about this story was that she prayed over EVERYONE’S hands. She prayed over the hands of the surgeons and the nurses—but she also prayed over the hands of the technicians in the labs, the cooks, the people who put new sheets on the beds, the people who cleaned and prepared the instruments used in surgery, the people who mopped the floors and changed the light bulbs. All of those people played a role in helping the patients get well.

I love that story because it reminds us that we can all be helpers, and that God has ways to use each of us. I also love it because it reminds us how special it can be when we pray, and how praying for things that might seem ordinary can change the way we look at things.

So let’s pray now:
Loving God
We pray for hands
For the hands you have given us
And all the things that they do.
We pray for the hands of others
And ask you to work through all of us.
Amen.

Children’s Message, January 25, 2009

Well, here we are, Sunday Morning at Third Presbyterian Church! It is a good place to be. If it is your first time here, welcome. We are a nice place to worship. We have a beautiful sanctuary, nice ministers, fun Sunday school, and there are even treats after worship!

But, you might notice that some people are missing today. No bright red robes. No voices singing down to us from the back balcony. The Junior choir is missing! Except that they aren’t really. They are over at New Life Presbyterian Church just a few miles up the road at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Rosedale. Right about now, they are just finishing worship.

They’re missing from our community, but not from God’s community. This morning, people are, have or will be worshipping at the 71 churches in the Presbytery of Genesee Valley, the over 11 thousand Presbyterian churches, and over 350 thousand churches of all denominations in the United States. In the world this Sunday, millions are worshipping in churches all over the world--huge cathedrals, mud huts and every size building in between. But all around the world, Christians are worshipping the same God, and probably saying many of the same words and singing some of the same songs.

The Junior choir is missing from our community this morning, but they are with us in the huge community of Christians praising God this day. So we pray for New Life Presbyterian Church, and all the other churches who are worshipping this day.

Let’s pray:
Loving God
We thank you that we are all here
We pray for those who cannot be here today
We pray for all the other churches across the globe
As they worship and praise you. Amen.

Children’s Message--Sunday, January 11, 2009

“I like your haircut! It’s a whole new you!”
“I’ve finally got over that sinus infection. I feel like a new person!”
“She’s not in elementary school anymore—she’s a middle schooler now. It’s a whole new start!”

It is funny how things that seem little can change the way we think about ourselves. Maybe something about us looks different. . . maybe we feel different. . . maybe we have moved to someplace different. Even though almost everything else about us has stayed the same, things that seem little can make a big difference.

Today is a day when we are thinking of baptism. We all had the privilege of being a part of Jacob’s baptism. Our scripture today, and your Sunday school lesson in the coming weeks will be focused on the baptism of Jesus.
Baptism is one of those things where things seem like they are pretty much the same, but there is a wonderful newness. I like this definition of baptism: “Baptism is the sign of new life through Jesus Christ.” God has claimed us all as God’s own—but when we come to the font—whether we are one month old, one year old or one hundred years old, we( or our parents) answer yes to God. “You’re right God—I am yours. My child is yours. Please, I would like that new life through Jesus Christ.” And that makes a big difference.

The thing is, it doesn’t only make a big difference the one being baptized—it makes a difference to all of us. It is a special day for Jacob and his parents. They have made promises—but so have all of you! those of you who are littler, you might be in Qabats with Jacob some day. Bigger kids—you might just end up a teen helper or a Camp Cory counselor for Jacob some day. Do you all think that you can help Jacob (and all the other children’s whose baptisms you take part in) to know and follow Christ?

A new you. . . a new feeling. . . a new start! Baptism brings us new life in Jesus Christ! Thanks be to God!

Let’s pray: Loving God
We thank you for the new life you offer us
In Jesus Christ.
Help us to remember and celebrate
The promises we make.
Amen.