CRAFT: You have those cool little people. Let's make John. We have a much better description of him in Matthew 3:4 "Now John wore a garment of camel's hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey."
SNACK: Locusts and wild honey. (I have no idea what that means.
LESSON PLAN: This is actually the only Advent Sunday with a theme. The theme is "love." It comes from that fact that with Jesus in the world, God's Love has come down to us. It seems as if it is a good time to teach about John. Especially we are able to show the children the faith of others connected with our Savior being born into the world. Next week; Mary.
MEMORY WORK: Luke 3:4 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance.
We will learn that many people point us to Jesus.
We will understand that John was one of the people who followed the call of God to report the Advent of our Savior in our midst.
We will thank God for faithful people like John and our Sunday School teachers.
Preliminary considerations: There really is not escaping the fact that the overall theme for today is Love. The Introit starts us off talking about God's unfailing Love. The Collect talks about John, but it also reminds us of Salvation which comes through God's great Love for creation. The Old Testament Lesson is God's Love in being our Savior. Our punishment has been taken away. The Gradual is the prophecy of the Savior's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, God Loving us enough to send His Son to die for us. The Epistle Lesson speaks of the peace of God, which comes to us as a result of the Love coming down on us. The Gospel Lesson is the account of John who shows the Love of God through the preaching of the Good News.
THE OLD TESTAMENT LESSON: Zephaniah 3:14-18a
God's Word is for all people not only Israel. Zephaniah shows us how the Law serves the Gospel. God's Love in the Law serves God's Love for us in the Gospel. In our text Zephaniah is promising the eschatological Kingdom of God. Your God is coming to dwell in the midst of the people in the world. He will come as a mighty warrior to save and to turn back the enemies. The world rejoices and the Lord Himself rejoices at the destruction of the enemies of the people. The God of wrath turns to become the God of mercy because of the sacrifice. When the King of Israel is with us we will have no fear. We will no longer fear God we will only know His Love.
THE EPISTLE LESSON: Philippians 4:4-9
God gives peace of mind and heart to His people in this life. Paul implores the Christians in Philippi to respond in faith and to experience this peace by engaging in prayer with thanksgiving. To give thanks in everything by prayer and petition offered to a gracious and loving God. Remembering and recounting all the things God has done for us gives us a renewed confidence in His extreme Love for us and all creatures of the Earth. It fills us with joy in all things. God's Love always leads us to know His peace.
THE GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 3:7-18
Too many things are happening in these verses to do it justice in a summary. The coming wrath is predicted, and those who are coming out to John for reasons other than Faith are warned away. Then John sets about telling them how they should live as a response to the Good News that Jesus the Messiah is in the world. Finally he councils them on right vocation, right living toward each other. The upshot is that the Messiah has made His Advent into the world. All the promises of the Old Testament are being fulfilled in Him. God's overwhelming Love is being proclaimed. Missing the proclamation through a hardness of our hearts will lead to a distinct destruction. Acknowledging the proclamation means changing our life.
STUDY SHEET
Have you ever been in the situation where something has happened and there is an atmosphere of intensity, of tension in the room that could be cut with a knife. Something has gone wrong and everyone present realizes it. There is an underlying stream of anger. People are about to start shouting and throwing things.
Then the unexpected happens. Joy sneaks into the room! It first appears as s tiny glimmer of hope, even hope that feels out of place. The seriousness of the situation slips away and in the midst of that serious moment laughter rushes in and takes over. Joy bursts out in the midst of it all. Joy caused by an out of place action, or an unexpected word, or the sudden entrance of an unexpected visitor.
Not everyone gets excited about Christmas. Some people actually dread it. They get little satisfaction from the glittering decorations; the holiday music irritates them; and they only half heartedly participate in the gaiety of the season. They are filled with negative personal experiences, family quarrels, unreasonable schedules or financial difficulties.
We are in the midst of an interesting time of the year. Our agenda is overbooked. But in the midst of it all we are reminded of the great joy we have been given. In the Love and wonder of God, our Savior was born into the world. When we were the most down, the most stressed, the most overwhelmed by sin and death, Jesus came to proclaim the Love of God, the joy of the knowledge of salvation.
John was chosen to begin that message. He became the first of many to bring us out of the doldrums of our winter, and put us into the spring time Love of God.
1. What experiences do you have that might turn you against Christmas?
2. What is the reason for celebration in our Old Testament Lesson?
3. What is the source of joy in our Epistle Lesson?
4. What is the connection between repentance and a joyful life in the Gospel Lesson?
5. What was the message of Zephaniah?
6. What was the message of Paul?
7. What was the message of John the Baptist?
8. What was the message of Jesus?
9. Are there people who rob us of our joy at Christmas?
10. What is their problem?