Communion or Thanking God for your sins!

So today is communion Sunday. When I was a kid I always looked forward to those Sundays because my mom or grandma made the bread and we kids got to eat it after church! Because none of it is ever to be thrown away or go to waste.

Why do we take communion?

We take it to remember Jesus’ teaching and that he died for our sins.

 When my daughter Hannah was little, we would come to pray at the rail after taking  communion and we’d remind her why we were there. One day, she was about 5 and her dad and I both leaned in to talk to her about it at the same time  and she put her hands up to stop us and said, “I know, I know, I have to thank God for my sins.”

We didn’t correct her, but left her alone and as I thought about her words, I thought it was a better way to think about why we take communion.

So that leads us to, what are sins?

When we think about sins we think about the biggies like Murder, stealing, you know, the 10 commandments. But Jesus taught us there were a few others, like not helping those in need, not treating others like we want to be treated, lying, wanting what others have, not spending time with God in prayer or study and one that most of us do many times a day, take the Lord’s name in vain.

It’s not fun to think about our sins, and it’s not to remind ourselves that we aren’t as good as we think we are. But this is where Hannah’s words “thank God for my sins” got me thinking. When we thank God, it’s usually for the good things that happen to us. But if we had to thank God for our sins, we have to really think about them and hopefully learn from our mistakes and that will help us try not to do it again. Maybe what we are really saying is thanking him for a lesson we learned.

I, like several others out there belong to a group called Camino and at one Camino weekend I attended, the pastor giving us communion told us if we had only a few sins to think about, we only needed to take a small piece of bread, but if we had a lot, then we might need a bigger piece of bread.  There are some times; I think I should just take the whole loaf!

So today while you are waiting for your turn to take communion, I want you to thank God for your sins and decide if you need a little piece or a big piece of bread to help you learn from your mistakes. Take the time after to pray at the rail and really Thank God for all you have and all you want to change.

Let’s pray

Dear God, thank you for giving us a a time to remember Jesus and a chance to learn from our mistakes. Help us to do a better job of following your teachings. Amen

Lost and Found

Lost and found     Luke 15:1-10

When I was little my sister used to get lost in stores so she could hear them announce her name of the pa system. I lost Hannah once in the Mall when she was little, and it was really scary.

I’ve be lost while driving a few times with a friend that used to say, we’re not lost, we’re right here.

I even had a friend that got lost in Plattsburg once. He was at HyKals and they were shutting down the roads to set up the carnival and he couldn’t figure out how to get back to my house.

Have you ever gotten lost?

There are lots of ways to be lost. Do you ever daydream? That’s being lost in thought. I can get lost in a good book by just shutting out what is going on around me. You can even get lost in a crowd of people, if you  don’t know anyone or you feel alone.

The Bible reading for today is 2 stories that show how important God thinks we are when we are lost. God wants us to be a part of his family and never to feel lost and alone. Being a part of this church family, you have the advantage of not being lost.

Do you know where Helen lives? She lives right by the grade school. So does Marilyn. How about George? He lives close to the school, If you eaver felt lost while walking home for school, or you had car trouble or needed someone, you could stop at any of those houses. Do you know where to find your church family when you are at school? If you work at the school, please stand up. Those are people you can go to if you feel lost at school. Having friends, family and church family around us is one way for us to feel God’s love around us.

This week, I want you to look around you at school and in your neighborhood, and see if you can find other kids that might be feeling lost or alone. They are there, you just have to look. Maybe they need a friend someone to help them feel God’s love. You are getting 2 cookies today, I want you to eat, one and find someone to share the other with, and invite them to come to Sunday school or church or just show the God’s love.

Let's pray

Luke 14: 7-14 Humility

Luke 14: 7-14 Humility

Give  (?still thinking)  as treats

Offer great treats for all who come up to Children’s time. (Prep Adults to come up and crowd in front of the kids)

? Well, I have to say it’s really nice to see all you up here today, but really, don’t you think you all are in way of the kids? Why do you think that you did that? (have adults answer that they are the most important and they should be the first to get the good snacks)

? So you all want to be first and get the good seats so you can get the good treats before they are all gone right?

You know that’s not always how it works? Today Pastor Crystal is going to tell us about a time when Jesus went to a party and a lot of important people were invited, and when they got there and say how the seats were set up they all tried to sit in the ones that would show how important they were. Just like the Adults ran up here to get the best seats.

Okay kids move to the front and Adults, move to the back and let the kids come in front. (wait for them to move)

But you know what Jesus told all those people?  He told them that they should take the last seats, so that the host of the party could bring them to the front  and make them important, instead of telling them to move to the back and embarrassing them. He also told them that they when they have a party, they shouldn’t invite important people that they wanted to impress, instead they should invite people that never get to go to parties or are in need of the food and they will be blessed by God for having them there. Jesus says it’s better to humble yourself and allow God to lift you up, rather than being proud of yourself so that God must knock you down.

So this week, take the time to look around and see who you can put in front of you in line, how you can encourage someone else. Who you can listen to more, help and be behind to show support instead of trying to be first and most important.

Let’s pray, Dear God, help us to not worry about looking like the most important person. Show us ways to put other first. Help us to do what please you and not worry about trying to impress other. Amen