MARCH 22
10:15 I Facebook Live
UTTERLY AMAZED
Well friends, we’re all one week into the national emergency due to the COVID-19 virus. How y’all doing? I’m sure the answers are all over the board. And our answers say much about us — things like where we work, what personality type we have, where we gather our information. But most importantly, this is a great time to find out what we truly value. Testing has a way of making some things clear to us that we can’t see when life is easy, when nothing is asked of us. And what is testing but a time of being asked for things? Let’s dig in this week and see how Jesus handles this, and what it has to teach us, and let’s see why his answers let the crowds utterly amazed.
Traditionally, Lent is a time for prayer, sacrifice, and giving. Here are a few ideas for your family to intentionally practice these spiritual disciplines:
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Get three plastic or glass jars and items to decorate them. You might use stickers, permanent markers, or other items. Label one Prayers, one Sacrifice, and one Giving. Talk with your children about the importance of this season in the church calendar in remembering Jesus and the journey to new life.
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Decide as a family how you can be better at praying. Maybe you can put the prayer jar on your table and write down prayers as you place them in the jar, or you could try making generic prayer categories by writing “family,” “those who are lonely,” etc. on wooden sticks and pulling them out of the jar each night.
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Talk about making sacrifices. You might give up something you enjoy, such as candy or a certain game, or possibly, you might give up something you enjoy as a family. You could talk about the many sacrifices people are making as we live in this pandemic: from wearing masks to spacing apart from people, our sacrifices are in hope of a future outcome. Record your sacrifices on paper and place them in the jar, or write some ideas for things you could give up during the coming week and have individuals draw them out of the jar.
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For the giving jar, talk about how your family could grow in giving in this season. Most of us don’t carry as many coins around, so filling a jar with loose change might not be a useful way to encourage giving. Maybe you can pick some projects such as filling a Little Free Pantry, Little Free Library, or donating used toys to Potter’s House or the toy box outside the pantry at Good Shepherd Lutheran, and write those projects on paper slips or wooden sticks, drawing out one or two each week. Sacrifice and giving go hand-in-hand. Talk about sacrificing something as a family that will allow you to give more generously.
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In some faith traditions, families color a graphic “Alleluia” and have the children bury it under some rocks in a spot that will be undisturbed inside their house. (Maybe under some rocks on a platter, with a small potted plant on top) Then, on Easter morning, they “roll away” the rocks and rejoice in the Alleluias.