Family Sunday: The Roots of the Relationship Part 2

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Welcome

Good morning, everyone! Welcome to our family service — it is so good to see all of your faces today, from the youngest to the oldest. We’re here together as one church family, and God has something special for each one of us. Last week Spencer preached about the Family of God, and we continue this today as we hear testimonies of individuals on the importance of the church in their lives.

Hebrews 10:24–25 says “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” This Scripture reminds us:

“Let us think about how we can help each other to love and do good deeds. Let us not stop meeting together... but let us encourage one another.”

That means church isn’t just a place we come to — it’s a family we belong to, God’s family. We gather so we can grow in faith together, cheer each other on, and remind one another that Jesus is with us and we are not alone. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t problems, or issues, but that through it we remember we are not alone, God is faithful and He calls us to keep gathering, loving, and encouraging one another. We lean on God and we support one another as a church family.

So today, let’s sing loud, learn together, and share kindness and encouragement. Let’s open our hearts and minds — because God is here with us!

Let’s pray together:

Father God, Thank You for bringing us here as a church family. Thank You for every child, every youth, every adult, every grandparent in this room. Help us to love one another, listen to one another, and encourage each other just as Your Word teaches us. Fill our hearts with joy as we worship You today. Help us to learn, to grow, and to see Jesus more clearly. Bless our time together and make us more like You.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Today’s going to look at little bit different for family Sunday. There is more music throughout, so we’re going to open up with a couple of songs, and then have a moment with the children and youth, that we all will participate in.

Let us sing praises, starting with Waymaker.

Sing:

WayMaker

My Lighthouse

Children’s Story:

Get Foodbank from around the room

Read Matthew 25:34-40

CBM Children’s Stories on Food

Bolivia:

Despite vast reserves of natural resources (natural gas and minerals), Bolivia is known as one of the poorest countries in South America. “According to the latest census carried out at the end of 2012, Bolivia has a population of just over 10 million, with 45 percent living below the poverty line”, reports the World Food Programme. Almost 20% of the population is malnourished, and almost half the total population is comprised of children and adolescents.

This is Victor, the father of a boy named Hector, who he comments his dad being his biggest hero. Hector says: My dad got training from church development workers to help become the best farmer in our community, Charapax in Bolivia. Today he is the model farmer there! He even shows other families what they can do with their farms, so it can become like ours, with fruit trees and organic crops (plants that do not use chemicals). We even have a tree nursery. We grow all kinds of trees, like apple, passion fruit, and eucalyptus trees. We can then sell these trees and the fruit to others and make money. Hector says he may only be 13 years old, but he is pretty strong. I help my dad carry the tree seedlings to the nursery, and help him with other chores, like carrying water and watering our plants. My siblings and I all get to go to school because now our family can pay for school fees and materials. We are so glad that we get to go to school to learn! Before, things were quite different. We did not have clean water in our community, and we had many problems earning enough money from farming our small plot of land. But one day development workers from a church came to my community and taught us how to farm in a safe way that protects the earth, and how to start a tree nursery. Even though we grow food, it is sometimes not enough, and my family can still be hungry. We are glad we get to eat three meals a day, but sometimes we can only eat a little bit of food each meal because basic food has become more expensive here.

India:

India has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world.

This is brothers Vija and Siddhartha, from the village of Aradaspally! Siddhartha is 8 years old,and Vija is 10 years old. “It was not very nice being sick,” Siddhartha shares. “We would get fevers a lot, our heads would hurt, and we often got other infections too. Sometimes our knees and fingers would hurt a lot. It was very painful.” “Yes, Siddhartha and I could not go and play with our friends, and it was hard to go to school or do chores when we were sick,” adds Vija. “We are both glad that we are healthy now, and can work and play as much as we want to!” The way Vija and Siddhartha became healthy again was through a CBM-funded program called BLESS (Burden & Love for the Economically & Socially Suppressed), which helped their grandfather Ramalu and their village by offering tips to help improve farming. This produced more healthier food to eat. The program is run through the South Lallaguda Baptist Church in India. Before the help of BLESS, it was very hard and expensive to farm. But the boys’ family received seeds and training from BLESS which produced healthier crops and more variety of foods like vegetables, for better nutrition than ever before.

The seeds the family used to buy never sprouted well, and they always had to use lots of chemicals to grow the crops. Now their family can actually keep some of the crop and use it as seeds for the next season because it grows much better. Not only that, BLESS taught them a different way to farm that protects and saves the earth from getting destroyed, called conservation farming. Almost no chemicals for killing bugs and parasites or fertilizing the soil are required, which used to destroy the crops. Instead, composting is taught, and new native plants (azola) & oils (neem) are introduced to fertilize and protect crops naturally. Things really have changed in the village of Aradaspally. Being healthy, now having enough food to eat and money to pay for school and other needs that could not be afforded in the past. With programs like BLESS, there is hope - and it started with some seeds.

Canada:

Every year, food banks across this country are setting new records. This year, they recorded nearly 2.2 million visits in a single month. That’s double the monthly usage recorded just six years ago. It took decades to reach one million visits in a month, and it has now taken half a decade to double that. Behind every food bank visit is a story. A parent skipping meals so their kids can eat. A senior choosing between medication and groceries. A worker juggling multiple jobs and still coming up short at the end of the month. These are not outliers.

(Hand out Cootie Catcher)

Testimonies:

Dorothy

Cheryl

Songs:

They’ll Know We Are Christians By Our Love

What A Friend We Have in Jesus

Children’s Story:

Prayer - talk about my experience.

Sometimes our answers happen right away (Mackenzie in the car),

other times, it can be longer (praying for someone to come to know Jesus and after years there are some glimmers),

sometimes it’s not what we prayed for (when I didn’t know what was happening at the church), but God has a plan.

I have many individuals throughout the church saying they are praying for me and/or my family particularly when I started as pastor here and then as there have been difficult moments this year, all an incredible support of raising people up in prayer.

You have any thoughts about prayer?

Read Philippians 4:4-6

Prayer Activity (have easel, tape, hand out pencils, paper)

Start with a refresher “doodling” class. I ask participants to tell me the names of some shapes they could draw. They’ll probably say “circle, square, star, heart, rectangle, octagon....” I will say some of the shapes they might have missed like amoebas, blobs, clouds, irregular polygons…. As they say them I quickly draw them on the easel I’m using up front. They don’t need to draw them. Then I ask them how they could embellish or add to the shapes. They might say “lines, teeth, crosshatching, dots, polka dots, scallops, arcs, rays....” I draw the ideas as they say them. The idea is to let people know that anything goes in the drawing. They don’t have to be an artist, just a person who can draw lines or dots! But I also tell people to feel free to draw things that actually look like real objects--trees, flowers, people, cars—if they want to.

On another piece of easel paper ask them to tell me the “God” names they use when they pray; “God, Holy One, Loving Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, Creator, Higher Power, Beloved One…” You can write the names on the paper as they say them. I also remind them that we often add adjectives to those words: Gracious God, Brother Jesus, Eternal Creator…. The idea is to acknowledge that we use different names for God at different times or in our different prayers. Participants can use whichever name they want or whichever feels right to them in their prayer.

You might consider hanging those easel sheets on the wall so people who are timid about drawing can refer to them.

3 individuals we should pray for (Susan, Joel, Jamaica)

Tell the group that we will be entering a time of quiet (no talking while drawing/praying). I ask them to take a big breath and let it out. We do this a couple of times. I tell everyone we will start praying by drawing a shape on our own piece of paper (I usually put my shape in the middle of the paper, but that isn’t necessary). In the shape, ask them to write their God name-- whichever name they choose from the list you made earlier or from their own personal list. Then I say that for one (usually 3) minute we will “ask God” to be part of this time together by drawing around the name for God. The asking can include words, but words are not necessary. The drawing is a way to get still on the inside and prepare for a time of intercessory prayer and listening to God. People can add to their shape using the doodle ideas above and also add color. They can pray with words in their heads or just be silent as they concentrate on the drawing and on the name of God. I often say—“Ask God with words to be present, but when the words run out, keep praying—do this by drawing and focusing on the name for God. Your marks, color on the page and your attention are the prayer.” I also say, “If words come, pray them. If not, enjoy your quiet time with God.”

When one minute is up, I will say a line from Psalms 71: “You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me.” (Book of Common Prayer), which will be on the screen. You repeat it back.

Then I’m going to say the name of the person we’re going to pray for. We will all pray for the same person at the same time. I ask the whole group to pray for the named person by drawing a shape on their paper and putting the name of the person in it. For one minute everyone will pray for the person by drawing, doodling, and coloring a shape with the name in it. When the minute is up, I will say the line from Psalm 71 again, you repeat, and then we continue this process for the 3 people, plus our last one will be for someone we don’t have to name.

As you draw/pray, you can use words in their heads if they want (or write them down), but the words aren’t necessary. Or they can start using words, but when the words run out we continue to sit with God by drawing. We are offering the person into God’s care without necessarily knowing what to say or what the person needs. We are spending time with them and God by drawing. The movement of our hands allows our bodies to participate in the prayer and to be less distracted.

See examples on the screen.

Let us begin in prayer, focusing on your name for God.

You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me.

Let us pray for Susan.

You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me.

Let us pray for Joel.

You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me.

Let us pray for Jamaica

You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me.

And now pray for another individual on your heart.

You strengthen me more and more. You enfold me and comfort me. Amen.

Testimonies:

Bruce

Marilyn

Sunday, November 2 we are invited to participate with the global fellowship of Christians as the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church. This year’s theme is “Unite in Prayer”. Carol is going to come to give prayer.

As we prepare for Communion let us sing the song O Come to the Altar.

Song: O Come To The Altar

Communion

Song: The Blessing

Grace & Peace