Kids Korner: Don’t say that (Feb. 25th)

February 24, 2024 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Read Mark 8:31-38 with your family.

Sometimes we have friends who support us in everything we do without a problem. Sometimes we have friends who support us even if they think we are making a bad choice.

And sometimes we have friends who try to talk us out of things because they are afraid we will get hurt.

In this story before Jesus and his followers get to Jerusalem, Peter was trying to talk Jesus out of doing things that would hurt and probably kill him. The language Jesus used “Get behind me, Satan”, sounds really harsh, but what it really meant was “stop tempting me”.

Jesus knew what he had to do, and he knew that the people in Jerusalem would be angry once he was finished. So Jesus needed all his strength and the support of his friends to do the job. Anyone who questioned what Jesus was going to do was just too hard for Jesus to deal with.

Jesus was never angry at Peter, he just needed Peter to understand how hard it was already, and Jesus simply could not hear the thought of doing something differently.

Lenten Study 2024 – Week 1

February 21, 2024 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

There are many children in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures, but they are often overlooked or by-passed by Sunday lectionaries and Bible studies. Even Sunday School curriculums rarely take time just to focus on the children, or the childhood of significant people in Scripture.

Through this Lenten series we will be looking at some of the children found in Scripture, why their stories are significant, how they are related, and their influence on the growth of our spiritual tradition.

Week 1

Brothers in Genesis

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Ash Wednesday Reflection – February 14, 2024

February 14, 2024February 13, 2024 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Pillars of Lent

Matthew 6 When you do good deeds, don’t try to show off. If you do, you won’t get a reward from your Father in heaven.

²When you give to the poor, don’t blow a loud horn. That’s what show-offs do in the synagogues and on the street corners, because they are always looking for praise. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

³When you give to the poor, don’t let anyone know about it. ⁴Then your gift will be given in secret. Your Father knows what is done in secret and will reward you.

⁵ When you pray, don’t be like those show-offs who love to stand up and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners. They do this just to look good. I can assure you that they already have their reward.

⁶When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.

¹⁶When you go without eating, don’t try to look gloomy as those show-offs do when they go without eating. I can assure you that they already have their reward. ¹⁷ Instead, comb your hair and wash your face. ¹⁸Then others won’t know you are going without eating. But your Father sees what is done in private, and he will reward you.

¹⁹ Don’t store up treasures on earth! Moths and rust can destroy them, and thieves can break in and steal them. ²⁰ Instead, store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy them, and thieves cannot break in and steal them. ²¹Your heart will always be where your treasure is.

Lent 2024

February 8, 2024 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, this year falling on St. Valentine’s Day, February 14th.

How to Lent with Kids and How to Lent for Teens are resources for parents and teachers alike, showing how to make a difficult and often confusion season more relevant for the younger people in our homes and faith communities. Each page has several videos explaining how the three pillars of Lent: giving, prayer, and fasting, along with Bible readings, can be adapted for children and teens.

Our five week Lenten study this year will look at the children of the Bible. They are often hidden in plain sight and are rarely the focus of our worship services or Bible studies. Over five weeks from February 21st until March 20th, we will dig deeper into these stories, the culture and social expectations of the day, and what we can learn about God’s promises shown through their lives.

Sunday Reflection – Palm Sunday, April 2, 2023

April 1, 2023April 1, 2023 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Jesus enters Jerusalem

Matthew 21 When Jesus and his disciples came near Jerusalem, he went to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and sent two of them on ahead. ²He told them, “Go into the next village, where you will at once find a donkey and her colt. Untie the two donkeys and bring them to me. ³If anyone asks why you are doing this, just say, ‘The Lord needs them.’ He will at once let you have the donkeys.”

⁴So God’s promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

⁵“Announce to the people
    of Jerusalem:
‘Your king is coming to you!
He is humble
    and rides on a donkey.
He comes on the colt
    of a donkey.’ ”

⁶The disciples left and did what Jesus had told them to do. ⁷They brought the donkey and its colt and laid some clothes on their backs. Then Jesus got on.

⁸Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down branches which they had cut from trees. ⁹ Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

“Hooray for the Son of David!
God bless the one who comes
in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God
in heaven above!”

¹⁰When Jesus came to Jerusalem, everyone in the city was excited and asked, “Who can this be?”

¹¹The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Performed by Margaret Whisselle

Lenten Study 2023, Week Five

March 30, 2023 / thebarefootevangelist / Leave a comment

Our journey through Psalms will begin March 1st and run for five weeks. During our study we will look at how the book was used by the Hebrew people and continues to be used by Jewish and Christian believers today. We will use the different genres of poetry found throughout as our entry point into these ancient texts.

YouTube videos with accompanying study guides will be uploaded every Wednesday until Holy Week.

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