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Welcome to you! I am glad you can join us today in the discussion of this month’s story, “Going Home,” found on pages 318-325 in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. As usual, you and your family are invited to listen and read and create and pray around this selection.
Children: First, sit back, relax, and enjoy listening to our story being read aloud to you. It is a story that is as important to us as Christmas and Easter. At story’s beginning, we join some of Jesus’ friends who are meeting secretly, hiding in an upstairs room with the door bolted shut. They were afraid for their lives, especially since Jesus had been killed on the cross. Jesus had been seen often since He had risen from the dead, but this was the first time for these particular friends. You can imagine how astonished they were to actually see and hear Jesus, as rumored. It would be like seeing a ghost walking and talking and eating! Even Thomas, the doubter, now believed! The friends knew that, because Jesus couldn’t stay dead, because Jesus had come alive again, that somehow everything would be all right. And so it would be! These same friends were with Jesus a couple of days later when Jesus taught his final lesson to them before rising to heaven in front of their very eyes! What was the happy news that Jesus wanted His friends to share with everyone? How had Jesus rescued the whole world? And how are we supposed to let everybody know this? Adults: The Biblical references for this story are Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24, and John 14. Forty days had passed since Jesus had been resurrected, and hundreds of his disciples in Galilee and Jerusalem had witnessed that Jesus was alive and well. He taught them important lessons and performed many miracles. For His closest friends, to be able to sit together again at table, to hear Him speak, to see Him eat, to be close to Him … One can only imagine the great joy they felt, almost bursting from happiness! As will be our reaction upon seeing Jesus sitting next to our Father upon our arrival in heaven. What will we say when asked, “How did you spread the word that God loves His children?” ~This week’s prayer: Dear Jesus - I need your strength to reach out in love to those both close to me and all around me. Amen Next week there will be one more online Learning Together lesson in May, and Sunday School will meet on May 21, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. after church services for story discussion and a craft. Summer recess for Learning Together and Sunday School will continue until September, when both will resume. Wishing you a safe and happy summer, Margo Greer As promised, here is the last of three lessons based on the story “A Dark Night in the Garden” found in The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd-Jones on pages 294-301. Children: Please reread the story out loud, maybe with a family member listening, or silently by yourself. There’s a lot of emotion in this story. Maybe you could draw your own picture of one of the scenes.
There are two main ideas to remember in this story. The first is that Jesus really loves us. I mean he really, REALLY loves us. In our world today, there aren’t too many people who would die for someone, especially someone they never met. Jesus died for his friends, his enemies, for you, and for me. He obeyed God because he knew by obeying God, he could give all of us a new life. The second main idea is a challenge for us. Jesus was obedient to God, and God wants us to be obedient to Him. We need to obey our parents, teachers, coaches, and other mentors, but more than anything, we need to obey God. Adults: This story is biblically referenced in Luke 22, Mark 14, and John 18. Jesus didn’t want to suffer, but He nevertheless chose voluntarily to be obedient. That incredible obedience means we can have help to be just as obedient when it’s our time. It shows God provides strength in tough circumstances, and that even when we might not understand everything going on or are unsure about our next step, we can trust the one who controls all things to see through his vision for our lives. God might not make a difficult situation disappear, but he'll give us much-needed strength. ~This week’s prayer: We thank God for the obedience of Jesus, and ask him to help us to be just as obedient. This coming Sunday, April 23, Sunday School will meet right after church services at 11:00 a.m. for a story discussion and a related, fun craft. Please bring any of your artwork, or questions, or comments with you. Looking forward to seeing you! Goodbye for now, Margo Greer edit. As promised, here is the third and final online March Learning Together lesson. Turn to the story, “Washed with Tears,” on pages 280-285 of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
Children: The Important Leader and the Important People at the dinner party were angry when Jesus gently scolded them for thinking they were better people than the woman. Jesus said sinning on the inside, like them, was just as bad as sinning on the outside, like the woman. The Important People were guilty of being outwardly unkind to her and inwardly hateful to Jesus, whom they did not like. Jesus could see their nasty thoughts in their hearts. All the Important People did NOT believe that Jesus was the Son of God, so they did NOT believe Jesus could forgive the woman’s, or anybody else’s, sins. And they HATED Jesus for saying that he could. Have you thought about the question I asked in last week’s lesson, which is “Do you think you could ever do something to make Jesus not like you anymore?” The answer is … NO! He will always love you because you are His child. Forever. And Ever. Adults: The Biblical references for this story are Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12. The Pharisees’ invitation was offered to Jesus because they were trying to gather information they could use against him. That they had actually heard Jesus say he could forgive sins was just the evidence they were looking for. How dare Jesus make the false claim that he is God! Simon the Pharisee and the rest drew another equally false conclusion: they chalked up the Lord’s reaction not to evil, but to ignorance. That, however, was proof to them that Jesus could not be who He claimed to be because, the Pharisees reasoned, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner.” How could Jesus tell them things they did not know if He did not even know what they themselves knew about this woman? After all no sensible religious teacher, let alone one claiming to be the Messiah, would ever allow such a woman to touch Him. The Pharisees was both disgusted by the scene they was witnessing, and at the same time satisfied, because it confirmed their belief that Jesus’ ignorance of this woman’s wickedness was proof that He was not a true prophet. The sinful woman poured out her precious alabaster jar of expensive perfume as an extravagant act of love and worship. She recognized the Lord’s true value. How do you express your love, devotion, and thankfulness to Christ for His costly sacrifice? ~This week’s prayer: As a child of God, I pray to be kind outwardly and inwardly to all others. Amen On Sunday, March 26, there will be Sunday School right after church services, about 11 a.m. “Washed with Tears” will be discussed and a related craft will be done. You are cordially invited to attend! Stay safe, Margo Welcome once again to Learning Together! Today we are continuing the story of the month, “Washed in Tears,” found on pages 280-285 in The Jesus Storybook Bible written by Sally Lloyd-Jones.
Children: Please begin by listening again to the story being orally read to you. You could follow along in your own book as you listen. As usual, check out the cool pictures on each page. The pictures make the story come alive! Feel free to draw your own pictures, if you like. What does it mean to anoint someone's feet? To anoint means to put oil or ointment on a person's head or body. In ancient times this was done for various reasons. Sometimes it was a sign of hospitality (See pages 286-287) or of routine foot care. Those who were sick or injured were anointed with oil or ointment as medicine. Anointing was also done for sacred reasons. The woman’s actions at the dinner party were more and more astonishing as the story goes on. She cried, and she washed Jesus’ feet with her tears! She dried His feet with her hair!! Then she kept kissing His feet, and worst of all, she anointed Jesus by pouring her expensive perfume all over His feet!!! You see, she was so very sorry for her bad choices in life. She loved Jesus, wanted to change for the better, and was asking for His forgiveness. Jesus replied that her sins, which were many, were forgiven. Do you think you could ever do something to make Jesus not like you anymore? Adults: The Biblical references for this story are Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12. After washing them, the woman began kissing Jesus’ feet. Kissing is an intense word. In Luke 15:20 it describes the father’s kissing of the prodigal son on his return home. Luke used it in Acts 20:37 to describe how the elders of the church at Ephesus kissed Paul when he took his leave of them. The woman’s kissing of Jesus’ feet was a striking expression of affection. Then, unwilling or unable to wait any longer, she did what she had come to do and anointed the Lord’s feet with the perfume. This was a staggering display of honor rendered to Jesus in the midst of Pharisees, people who sought only to dishonor Him. Ancient Middle Eastern hospitality demanded that a guest be welcomed with a friendly kiss, foot washing, and fragrant oil. Simon skipped those tokens of respect. Jesus pointed out that the woman was both conscious of her sins and grateful for forgiveness. Simon, on the other hand, was spiritually arrogant, believing he had no sins to be forgiven. The sinful woman in this story answered the Lord’s call for faith while the self-righteous Simon the Pharisee failed to see his need of it. Faith in Jesus Christ and forgiveness are available to anyone in need of God’s divine grace, even the most rejected, outcast, scandalous people of this world. ~This week’s prayer: God loves me and will forgive my many sins if I ask him. Amen Next week there will be one more online lesson about this story, “Washed with Tears,” and on Sunday, March 26, Sunday School will be held in person after service at 11:00. We will discuss the highlights of the story and do a fun craft. Hope to see you then! So long for now, Margo March Week 1, 2023 Learning Together
Hello! I welcome you to the month of March and the first of three lessons based on the story, “Washed in Tears,” located on pages 280-285 in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. As always, you and your whole family are invited to listen and read and create and pray around our highlighted story. Children: As always, we begin by listening to the story being orally read to you. Sit back, close your eyes, and imagine that you are at the dinner at The Important Leader’s house with all the Other Important People and Jesus. As the story unfolds, you find out that this very bad, unpopular woman just walks right into The Important Leader’s home in order to see Jesus! Without being invited! All the Important People are shocked. Eyes widen. Mouths drop open. The Important People grumble and try to stop her, but she was determined to give Jesus a present – no matter what anyone said to her or about her. Is Jesus surprised by the woman? No, not at all! He already knew that this was going to happen! Was Jesus mad at the woman? No, he was happy and told everyone to stop being mean to her! Is Jesus upset for any reason? No, not at all! He wanted to tell everyone at the dinner that God loves “bad people,” and the people who think they are “good people” need to remember that only God is perfect. Adults: The Biblical references for this story are Mark 14, Luke 7, and John 12. As the story opens, Simon the Pharisee was requesting Jesus to dine with him along with other Pharisees. Simon was not an open-minded inquirer, but had, like the majority of the Pharisees, already decided that Jesus was a blasphemer, arrogating to Himself the right to forgive sins that belonged to God alone (Luke 5:21).These self-appointed guardians of legalistic, external, ritualistic religion hated Jesus’ message of grace, repentance, and forgiveness, and His call for sincere love of God from the heart. They also hated Him for pointedly rebuking their hypocritical self-righteousness (Matt.23), and for associating with the outcasts of society (Luke 7:34). Having already reached a conclusion regarding Jesus, they were busy accumulating evidence against Him. Simon’s invitation to Jesus was part of that evidence-gathering process. No self-respecting Pharisee would invite any association with a blasphemer, except to do him harm. ~This week’s prayer: God loves me and wants me to love all others! Amen There will be two more online lessons this March about the “Washed with Tears” story. Sunday School this month will met on fourth Sunday March 26 after church services. All are welcome to attend to join the discussion and enjoy a craft. Until next week, Margo Hello to you and your family! This is February Week 2’s Learning Together lesson about the story “The Friend of Little Children,” which is located in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones on pages 256-263.
Children: It is time to listen once again to the story being orally read to you, or you may want to oral read yourself while others in your family listen. Remember that a book is available to you if you request one. If you recall, last week we talked about how much God loves all people, but how He especially loves little children. Because of His great love, He became our ultimate friend by dying on a cross for our sins. Now it is our turn to be a friend of Jesus. How can we do this? One way is by loving one another just like He loves us. That means that we can choose to be kind, to be polite, to be helpful to our family and to others throughout our day, whether at home, or at school, or in your neighborhood, or in your family car. Another way to be Jesus’ friend is to spend time with Him in prayer. He is happy to hear from us anytime or anywhere, whenever we need help or want to give thanks or just wish to say, “hello and how are you today?” A question I would like to have you think about is this: If you could have a playdate with Jesus like in our story, what would you choose to do together? What would you choose to say to Him? Sunday School next week on 2/26 will be a good place to discuss your thoughts or bring artwork that describes your feelings about that question. Adults: The Biblical references to this story are Matthew 18, 19; Mark 10; Luke 18. Followers of Jesus Christ are called many things in the Scriptures: disciples, Christians, children of God. Incredibly, Jesus himself simply calls us friends. “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business,” Jesus said. “Instead, I have called you friends” (John 15:15). Happily, we never have to wonder “What a Friend We Have in Jesus.” We know His great sacrifice. We just look to the cross of Calvary and the matter is settled. “Greater love has no one than this,” Jesus said, “that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). The true question to be considered is what kind of friend does Jesus have in each of us? If real friendship is a two-way relationship, so, then, is being a Christian. It begins with God initiating friendship with sinners, bringing us into relationship with him. Genuine trust in Christ is not a one-time intellectual transaction, but a dynamic, ongoing relationship that Jesus calls friendship. People can measure their friendship with Christ as we would any other healthy relationship - by asking questions. *Am I a good friend to Jesus if I never talk to Him? Prayerlessness is a sure sign our friendship with Christ has grown cold. Christianity begins with prayer – a sincere cry to God for forgiveness of sin on the basis of Christ’s death on the cross. That first conversation with our divine friend begins a lifetime of communion with God. When Paul told the Thessalonians to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17), he urged them toward continuous fellowship with God as much as possible in the middle of daily living. *Am I a good friend to Jesus if I never listen to him? The Bible is not a textbook, though it is often treated as such. Nor is it merely a religious document among myriad others. No, the Bible is God’s very word, expressed in language we can understand, spoken directly and personally to us. Most of us know what it is to have a friend or acquaintance who never really listens to us. Yet we do that to God a lot of the time by ignoring his Word, or hearing it but not heeding it. Jesus will not be our acquaintance only. He died to secure for us friendship with God; it’s our privilege to listen to him as our closest friend. *Am I a good friend to Jesus if the whole relationship is based on my agenda? It is an arrogant presumption to think that Jesus Christ exists for us. Yes, we know that he set aside the glory of heaven and was born a man for us. Yes, we know he died on the cross for us. And yes, we know he is risen, alive, coming again for us. But it is we who exist for him. He saves us that we might follow him, imitate him, and lead others to him. Christian life is about Christ’s agenda, not ours. We do well to look continually to the cross to be reminded of the kind of friend we have in Jesus, but let’s also consider how he might examine us. What kind of friend are you? ~This week’s prayer: Jesus, I sincerely pray that I will be a good friend to you just as you are to me. Amen Hopefully you will be able to attend Sunday School at 11:00 a.m. this coming Sunday for story discussion and a related craft! Sincerely, Margo Greer February Week 1, 2023 Learning Together
Welcome again to Learning Together! This is February’s first lesson, and it is all about the story “The Friend of Little Children” found on pages 256-263 in The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. (If you would like to have your own copy of this book, please ask for one or order your own online.) You and your whole family are invited to listen and read and create and pray around this story. Children: First, please listen to the story read aloud to you. You may wish to follow along in your own book, making sure to carefully look at the pictures. You could invite your family members to listen and look with you. The story begins with some of Jesus’ friends arguing with each other about which one of them was the most important helper to Jesus. While they argued, Jesus had some children visit Him along with their parents. The friends stopped arguing with themselves in order to shoo these people away, but Jesus spoke up and told His friends to NEVER send children away but to bring them to Him. He told them that He loves all people, but especially children, because children can love him back so freely, so trustingly. This makes you an important part of God’s kingdom! Adults: The Biblical references to this story are Matthew 18, 19; Mark 10; Luke 18. Back in Jesus’ day, children often were seen as a nuisance. They were tolerated, but not welcome. Jesus’ words concerning children were extremely important and contrasted with practices of pagans of the day. It was common practice in both Greece and Rome to abandon unwanted children by the road to let them die. Later, early Christians were known for taking in these orphans. Jesus flipped this way of thinking on its head. In the Bible, Jesus spoke out against those who pushed children to the sidelines while drawing them near to Himself. So when Jesus says ‘come to God like a little child’, that's exactly what we want to do! There is no virtue in being childish, but we should never outgrow our childlikeness. As His child, God wants us to recognize our need for His care and protection. Adults, in order to have a more childlike approach to life, need to consider these four lessons we can learn from children:
Next week there will be one more lesson posted about this month’s story, then our Sunday School will meet on fourth Sunday February 26 at 11:00 after church services; there will be a story discussion and a fun craft. All are welcome! Until next week, Margo Greer |
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