2nd Sunday Advent Cycle B
Welcome children to their worship space.
Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.
Introduce yourself and your helpers.
Introduce
Ask: Today is the 2nd Sunday in the season of Advent. Can anyone tell me what color candle we light today in the Advent wreath? <purple>
Explain: There are 4 Sundays in Advent. We use this time to think about God and try to be as good as we can to get ready for the birth of Jesus.
Ask: Does anyone remember what last Sunday was? <show the heart> It was the 1st Sunday of Advent. We talked about how to get ready for Jesus to come into our lives.
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a footprint. What do you think the footprint might represent? <walking>
Explain: Today we are talking some more about getting ready for Jesus. We are using a different idea. We are going to hear about preparing the way for Jesus – like a path or a road. We are going to hear about a special prophet who told people that Jesus was coming.
Ask: Can anyone guess who that special person might be? <a hint might be…. He was Jesus’ cousin….. John the Baptist>
Say: Let’s look at today’s poster. What does it say? <Lord, show us your mercy and love, and grant us your salvation.> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
Introduce readings
We have two readings today.
Say: Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Word of God.
Say: Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 40:3-5) Many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah talked about preparing the way for the Lord. Listen to the words of Isaiah and try to think of what it might mean in your life.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: What does this scripture reading mean to you? <discuss with the children how they might “flatten mountains” or “level rough road” by doing good things for others>
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
Lord, show us your mercy, and grant us your salvation.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Mark. (Mark 1:1-8) During the time when Jesus was alive, most people were used to hearing the words of the prophet Isaiah. This reading in the New Testament begins with the words of Isaiah that you just heard. Then we hear about the prophet John, known as the Baptist. John came to tell about someone who was coming. Listen to John’s words and see if you can understand who John is talking about.
Say: Let’s stand and get ready to hear the Gospel
(hold up card) Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: Do you know who John was talking about? <Jesus> Does anyone remember how John was described in the Gospel reading? <clothes of camel’s hair, leather strap around his waist, ate grasshoppers> If you were a person in the crowd, do you think you would have figured out what he was talking about? Do you even think you would have listened to such a man? <maybe – maybe not>
Hand out the cut-outs (footprints) and ask the children to put their names on them for the poster. Collect them as the children finish.
Hand out the symbols to color (The symbol is a footprint).
Explain: Color this symbol of the footprint and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show what we have learned about being on the path to Jesus.
Ask the older children to write one thing that they will do this week to show that they are on the path to be with Jesus.
If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.
Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.
 |
| Use this graphic for all 3 symbols.... small for the group project, medium for the banner symbol and large for the Offertory gift |
2nd Sunday Advent Cycle B
Welcome children to their worship space.
Ask them to get their carpet squares and sit down in a circle.
Introduce yourself and your helpers.
Introduce
Ask: Today is the 2nd Sunday in the season of Advent. Can anyone tell me what color candle we light today in the Advent wreath? <purple>
Explain: There are 4 Sundays in Advent. We use this time to think about God and try to be as good as we can to get ready for the birth of Jesus.
Ask: Does anyone remember what last Sunday was? <show the heart> It was the 1st Sunday of Advent. We talked about how to get ready for Jesus to come into our lives.
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a footprint. What do you think the footprint might represent? <walking>
Explain: Today we are talking some more about getting ready for Jesus. We are using a different idea. We are going to hear about preparing the way for Jesus – like a path or a road. We are going to hear about a special prophet who told people that Jesus was coming.
Ask: Can anyone guess who that special person might be? <a hint might be…. He was Jesus’ cousin….. John the Baptist>
Say: Let’s look at today’s poster. What does it say? <Lord, show us your mercy and love, and grant us your salvation.> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
Introduce readings
We have two readings today.
Say: Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Word of God.
Say: Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament book of the prophet Isaiah. (Isa 40:3-5) Many years before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah talked about preparing the way for the Lord. Listen to the words of Isaiah and try to think of what it might mean in your life.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: What does this scripture reading mean to you? <discuss with the children how they might “flatten mountains” or “level rough road” by doing good things for others>
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
Lord, show us your mercy, and grant us your salvation.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Mark. (Mark 1:1-8) During the time when Jesus was alive, most people were used to hearing the words of the prophet Isaiah. This reading in the New Testament begins with the words of Isaiah that you just heard. Then we hear about the prophet John, known as the Baptist. John came to tell about someone who was coming. Listen to John’s words and see if you can understand who John is talking about.
Say: Let’s stand and get ready to hear the Gospel
(hold up card) Glory and praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”
Read: Read the Gospel
Ask: Do you know who John was talking about? <Jesus> Does anyone remember how John was described in the Gospel reading? <clothes of camel’s hair, leather strap around his waist, ate grasshoppers> If you were a person in the crowd, do you think you would have figured out what he was talking about? Do you even think you would have listened to such a man? <maybe – maybe not>
Hand out the cut-outs (footprints) and ask the children to put their names on them for the poster. Collect them as the children finish.
Hand out the symbols to color (The symbol is a footprint).
Explain: Color this symbol of the footprint and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show what we have learned about being on the path to Jesus.
Ask the older children to write one thing that they will do this week to show that they are on the path to be with Jesus.
If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.
Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.
Parent Letter
2nd Sunday Advent B
Dear parents,
Today is the Second Sunday in
Advent. The children listened to
simplified versions of two of the same readings you heard: Isaiah 40:3-5 and Mark
1:1-8.
Symbol: Footprint
To reinforce at home:
Today we discussed staying on the path
to Jesus’ coming. We talked about John
the Baptist and how he told people about Jesus’ coming. We tied together the Old Testament reading in
Isaiah to Mark’s telling about John in the desert.
We discussed again about the things we
need to do to keep trying to stay close to God during this Advent season.
Activities to do at home:
*With your child, make a list of things you think are important for your family to do
this holiday season. Prioritize
everyone’s favorite activity and make the season as hassle-free and enjoyable
as you can.
*Many organizations have drives during
the holidays to give gifts or food
to those less fortunate. With your
child, choose one or two drives that you would like to participate in together.
*Weather permitting, take a walk outside together. Experience first-hand the “rough and rugged
ground” of a path. Talk about things you
could do to smooth out the path and compare this to things you can do to help
your life run more smoothly.
Thank you for
sharing your children!
No comments:
Post a Comment