Table Talk: Week of April 2, 2017

Whether or not your children were able to make it to Sunday school, you can still engage them in this week’s story.  Please read the summary, look up the story online,  in your bible, or a children’s bible, and begin the discussion.  Increasing your child’s biblical knowledge will be foundational in their faith development.  What a gift to provide a child.  Adults also reap the benefit of digging in deeper to these stories.

Miracles and Mysteries

This week in Sunday School your children focused on the miracles Jesus performed and the mystery of Easter they led towards.

Our youngest and oldest students learned about the raising of Lazarus. When Mary and Martha’s brother died, Jesus came to comfort them and raised Lazarus from the dead. This both showed Jesus’ humanity, as he grieved with the sisters, and pointed towards the greatest mystery of all, Jesus rising from the dead.

To illustrate the burial of Lazarus, each child wrapped a stuffed animal in paper and “buried” them in a “tomb.” (under a desk)

Students in Godly Play heard about this great mystery. Lent is leading us through a time of preparation for this mystery. Just as Mary and Martha experienced sorrow and then joy as their brother was raised from the dead, so we are preparing for our time of sorrow and rejoicing. Sorrow at the death of Jesus on Good Friday and joy following his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Table Talk Questions

  1. When friends or people in your family look like they’re really sad, what do you usually say or do?
  2. How do you think Mary and Martha felt when their brother, Lazarus, died?
  3. What did Jesus do to comfort and care for Martha and Mary?
  4. What might you do, as Jesus’ followers, to offer God’s love and care to people who are sad?
  5. How are we impacted by Jesus’ death on the cross? How does this make you feel? How do we share that time and those feelings with others?
  6. What is different about Easter morning? How do we feel then? How do we share those feelings?
  7. How can we support those in our lives who are suffering? How can we share in their joy?
After rolling away the “stone” (chair), the stuffed animals were “resurrected” from the grave.

Table Talk: Week of September 25, 2016

PK-K and 3rd-5th Grade

The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus from today’s Gospel is one of the many times Jesus spoke to his followers about what God wants from us.

Lazarus, a poor man, begs outside the gates of a rich man, who does not help him. When Lazarus and the rich man both die, Lazarus, who suffered on earth, is found by Abraham’s side in Heaven, while the rich man, who thought only of himself, is found in hell.

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