Kids Korner: Jesus helps (June 11th)

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Read Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 with your family.

Helping people is a big part of the work Jesus did while he was living on earth. Our story today has three people who were helped by Jesus.

The first was Matthew the tax collector. He worked with the Roman government even though he was a Hebrew, so no one liked him. It didn’t matter to Jesus what he did for a job, just that Matthew was open to hearing about the world of God and living with love for everyone.

The second was a woman who had been bleeding for a very long time. The community would have avoided her and she would have been both tired and lonely. Jesus healed her and told her everything would be different from that moment on.

The third was a little girl who was probably too sick to ask for anything except her parents. Her father loved her so much he went in faith to find Jesus. Unlike Matthew or the woman that was bleeding, this father was a respected member of the temple, the very people who said Jesus was a bad person. The father didn’t believe that and so he turned on his friends because of his love for his daughter.

All three people were very different, but Jesus gave them the acceptance and healing they needed. It didn’t matter to Jesus where they came from, just that they needed his help.

Sunday Reflection, Trinity Sunday – June 4, 2023

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Baptize and make disciples

Matthew 28 16  Jesus’ eleven disciples went to a mountain in Galilee, where Jesus had told them to meet him. 17 They saw him and worshiped him, but some of them doubted.

18 Jesus came to them and said:

I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth! 19  Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, 20 and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world.

Kids Korner: Trinity Sunday (June 4th)

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Read Matthew 28:16-20 with your family.

Every Gospel has a slightly different way of telling the story of Jesus, and in Matthew’s Gospel we read that the women told all Jesus’ followers to return immediately to Galilee, and that’s what they did. The verses we read today are the very last words in the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus tells his followers to go out and tell everyone about God’s promises. They are to baptize people in the name of God the Father, Jesus the Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

Now, this was hundreds of years before the church figured out how the three parts of God fit together, but they knew that God loved them, and that Jesus taught them everything they needed to know, and that the Holy Spirit would help them with anything they had to do in their lives.

And they knew that the best thing in the world to share with both friends and strangers is that God loved them, that they were perfect just the way they were. Everyone today is also perfect and loved by God.

Sunday Reflection, Pentecost – May 28, 2023

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Coming Of The Holy Spirit

Acts 2  On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. 2 Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. 3 Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. 4 The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

5 Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. 6 And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. 7 They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? 8 Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? 9 Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

12 Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

13 Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”

14 Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! 15 You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 But this is what God told the prophet Joel to say,

17 “When the last days come,
I will give my Spirit
    to everyone.
Your sons and daughters
    will prophesy.
Your young men
    will see visions,
and your old men
    will have dreams.
18 In those days I will give
    my Spirit to my servants,
both men and women,
    and they will prophesy.
19 “I will work miracles
    in the sky above
and wonders
    on the earth below.
There will be blood and fire
    and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will turn dark,
and the moon
    will be as red as blood
before the great
and wonderful day
    of the Lord appears.
21 Then the Lord
will save everyone
    who asks for his help.”

Kids Korner: The Holy Spirit (May 28th)

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Read Acts 2:1-21 with your family.

Pentecost (meaning “50 days” in Greek), was a festival for the Hebrew people where they celebrated the harvest of wheat, read the whole story of Ruth, remembered King David, and recognized the anniversary of Moses getting the 10 Commandments from Mount Sinai. It was an important time and the Hebrew people were expected to travel to Jerusalem to bring their offerings to the Temple.

That was the setting for the followers of Jesus, who were also there to celebrate Shavuot, the Hebrew name for this celebration. This time was different than any Shavuot celebrations in the past. This time the Holy Spirit, the presence of God that Jesus promised, came to the followers of Jesus.

They started talking in different language so all those from foreign countries heard the message of Jesus in their own words. This was overwhelming, and it was the start of what would eventually become the Christian religion. Pentecost is the birthday of Christianity.

Sunday Reflection – Ascension Sunday, May 21, 2023

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Jesus offers prayer

John 17 After Jesus had finished speaking to his disciples, he looked up toward heaven and prayed:

Father, the time has come for you to bring glory to your Son, in order that he may bring glory to you. 2 And you gave him power over all people, so he would give eternal life to everyone you give him. 3  Eternal life is to know you, the only true God, and to know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. 4 I have brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you gave me to do. 5 Now, Father, give me back the glory I had with you before the world was created.

6 You have given me some followers from this world, and I have shown them what you are like. They were yours, but you gave them to me, and they have obeyed you. 7 They know that you gave me everything I have. 8 I told my followers what you told me, and they accepted it. They know I came from you, and they believe you are the one who sent me. 9 I am praying for them, but not for those who belong to this world. My followers belong to you, and I am praying for them. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine, and they will bring glory to me.

11 Holy Father, I am no longer in the world. I am coming to you, but my followers are still in the world. So keep them safe by the power of the name you have given me. Then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one. 

Kids Korner: Jesus Leaves (May 21st)

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Read Luke 24:44-53 with your family.

Remember back to Good Friday, how sad everyone was that Jesus had died? Jesus came back Easter morning and everyone was shocked. Then they started getting used to Jesus appearing to his closest followers and they were happy again.

This week we hear about Jesus leaving for good, but this time his closest followers were not sad. This time Jesus had spent 40 extra days teaching them all about how God wanted to change the world, and this time they listened.

All of Jesus’ friends and followers knew that death was not the end, that God loved them very much, and that they now had the responsibility to share that with everyone. This time the disciples were ready to say in public “We believe in Jesus Christ!”.

Sunday Reflection – May 14, 2023

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Promise of the Holy Spirit

John 14 15  Jesus said to his disciples:

If you love me, you will do as I command. 16 Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. 17 The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.

18 I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. 19 In a little while the people of this world won’t be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. 20 Then you will know I am one with the Father. You will know you are one with me, and I am one with you. 21  If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like.

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Kids Korner: Promise of the Holy Spirit (May 14th)

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Read John 14:15-21 with your family.

Jesus knew he was leaving. His friends knew he was leaving, although they didn’t know the rest of the Easter story like we do. Everyone was sad.

But in the middle of all those feelings of worry and loss, Jesus gave them hope and love. He told them another would come to help them understand God. One who would make them feel better and help them really live the only commandment Jesus every gave his followers – that they love everyone. This was not romantic love or family love, but love for our neighbours and love for the world.

The promise was the Holy Spirit.

Jesus promised we would never be alone, and as long as we lived love for each other, we would always know God.