Liturgy Instructions
4th Sunday of Ordinary Time 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: Last week’s symbol was a fish. We talked about learning and teaching others about Jesus.
Say: Today is the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time. We still have 4 more Sundays until the next season. Does anyone remember what the next season is? <Lent>
Introduce symbol
Say: Today’s symbol is a mouth. Why do you think a mouth might be appropriate for our readings today? <let the children guess>
Say: The last few weeks we have been talking about God calling us and using us to do his work. Today we are going to see how God uses our voices to share his love.
Say: Let’s look at today’s poster. What does it say? <If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.> This is our Responsorial Psalm for today. The Responsorial Psalms also come from Scripture, from the Book of Psalms in the Old Testament.
Ask: What does the saying “harden your hearts” mean? <to ignore God, not to listen to God> Hard hearts are not full of love. God asks us to give him our love.
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 Deuteronomy. (Deuteronomy 18:18-19) In this reading, God talks to Moses. God tells Moses about how he will choose a prophet. Listen closely and see if you can hear what God expects from this prophet.
Have the reader read the first reading.
Ask: What did you hear? What did God expect from the prophet? <to hear his message and to tell it to the people> God expects us to tell the truth and to use our voices to be kind and good.
Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm. Your part is to say:
If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your hearts.
Say: Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Mark. (Mark 1:21-28). In this reading from the Gospel of Mark, we hear about the way Jesus taught people. Jesus spent his time on earth doing the things that God asked him to do. He taught people about God, he forgave sins, he told his followers how to live a good life. Today we hear about a time when he spoke with a very sick person. Pretend that you are one of the people who is following Jesus. Listen to what happened this day.
Say: Now we will 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: What happened? <discuss> If you were a person who watched Jesus heal a sick man, what would you do? <discuss> Probably you would do exactly like the others did – go tell everyone about this fantastic man, Jesus.
Say: We know now that Jesus is God and he came to show us the way to get to heaven. Jesus set us an example of how to use our voices to praise God and teach other people about him.
Hand out the poster cut-outs of a mouth so that the children can write their names on them for the poster.
Hand out the symbols to color. (The symbol is a mouth). Ask the older children to write one thing they can do this week to use their voices to share God’s love.
Explain: Color this symbol of a mouth and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!) to show that we have learned about using our voices to share God’s love.
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.
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| Use this graphic for all 3 symbols |
Parent Letter
4th Sunday Ordinary Time B
Dear Parents,
Today your children heard simplified versions of two of the same readings that you heard: Deuteronomy 18:18-19 and Mark 1:21-28.
Symbol: mouth
To reinforce at home:
The readings today tell us about using our voices to do God’s work and share his love. Jesus sets an example for us by teaching people about his father. He shows people how to live a good life. God asks us to follow Jesus’ example.
Activities to do at home:
*Sing God’s praises! Use your voice to sing a song praising God. Teach the song to your child and sing together.
*Praise each other! Use your voice to share God’s love with each other. Tell your child how happy you are to live with them.
*Be grateful! Together with your child, choose someone who makes a difference in your life and tell them thank you.
Thank you for sharing your children!
1 comment:
Thank you for sharing thiss
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