The Sacred Steps: Lent 4

Introduce the children to the word “transgression” or “sin”. Which word does your congregation use when saying the Lord’s Prayer (transgression, debt, or sin)? Be prepared to give a definition of that word. You could talk with the children about what it means to confess our “sins/transgressions/debts”. Children will relate this to “fessing-up” or admitting to having done something wrong or being caught breaking a rule.
Ask the children to help you understand the “steadfast love” of God. What do they think this means? How can we, or how have the children, experienced God’s steadfast love?
Is there a time in your life when you acknowledged the healing grace of God? The psalmist tells of her/his experience. How can you translate your experience for the children in a psalm of Thanksgiving?

God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites and safe passage into the Promised Land. One could talk with the children about how God provides for people today. How does God provide for the children? For the Church? For the Earth? Are there ways that the children can help God provide for others?
Another option would be to talk with the children about the celebration of Passover, which includes a special meal, and what Passover means for Jewish people. For more information about this Jewish festival, go to: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/holydays/passover_1.shtml or http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm. Just as the Jewish people have a special meal to remember who they are, Christians also have a special meal to remember who we are. How does Communion/Eucharist/the Lord’s Supper remind us who we are?
This is another opportunity to introduce the children to Joshua, as a character in the bible, and help them learn a few facts about him and his relationship to the story of the Israelite people. Did you create a “Bible Character” list for the children? If not, this would be a good time to start, so that when you do introduce a new character you can pull out the list to help the children remember who they have met in the biblical stories. Today you could add Joshua to the list.

Introduce the children to the word “reconciliation,” which is one of those “big church” words that children often hear. Be ready to give them a simple, but not oversimplified, definition of reconciliation. This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the different ways your congregation does the work of reconciliation.
Has your congregation ever received a grant to support your reconciliation work? In the Disciples of Christ tradition, congregations can apply for “reconciliation grants” to further their work of being communities of reconciliation. If you received a grant, talk with the children about how that money helped your work or project.
Talk with the children about reconciliation by telling stories about what you have witnessed the children doing that meet the definition of reconciliation. This will help the children recognize what they are already doing and how they participate in your congregation’s mission of reconciliation.
Many will talk with the children about being ambassadors for Christ. If you choose to do this, I encourage you to give the children concrete ways they are representatives of Christ. For example, a person is an ambassador of Christ by helping people make peace on the playground or standing up for someone being teased or bullied.

You could talk to the children about how Jesus told parables. You could introduce the word “parable” to the children and talk about what a parable is supposed to do. You could highlight these parables in Luke and then talk with the children about your favorite parables.
Children will understand the idea/feeling of being lost. You may have your own story about being lost and found or searching for something or someone lost. This is one way to approach these texts, inviting the children to express feelings and consider what God seeks or looks for, each one of us with the same urgency they did when trying to find something lost.
These texts lend themselves to another “images of God” children’s sermon. If you created a chart or page listing all the images of God you discover with the children from the bible stories, it is time to get that out. If not, you might want to create one and begin with these parables.
Another option would be to talk with the children about where we would find Jesus today. Can they name the food bank, homeless shelter, or emergency rooms for those seeking work, migrants, immigrants, refugees, or those suffering from illness? If you have an older group, you might talk with the children about who is considered “untouchable” or outside our culture’s boundaries of grace or acceptance.

Davison's Doodle