4th Sunday Ordinary Time C

4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time   Cycle C

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

             Explain: Today is the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time.

Ask:  Does anyone remember what we learned last Sunday?  We talked about how important it is to read the sacred Scripture just like Jesus did.

Introduce symbol

Say:  Today’s readings and all the readings until Lent are about when Jesus started teaching people about love, when He began His public ministry.  Jesus is all about LOVE!! 

Today’s symbol <hold up the symbol> is a ROCK.  What could a rock have to do with love?  <discuss>

Explain:  A rock is used often in Scripture as a symbol of strength.  God’s love is strong, so strong it can protect us from anything.  Today’s readings are about the strength of God’s love for us.

Say:  Let’s look at the poster.  What does it say? <I will sing of 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.

Ask:  Does anyone know what salvation means?  <being saved>  Who saves us?  <Jesus>.  God’s love for us is so strong that He sent Jesus to save us.  When it comes time to read the Responsorial Psalm, listen for references to the strength of God’s love for us. 

Introduce readings

Say:  Let’s light the candle to show that we are ready to listen to the Words of God.

Say: Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament, the book of the prophet Jeremiah. (Jer 1:4-5,17ab,18-19)  This reading is about God’s promises to Jeremiah and to us.  He promises to always take care of the people He chooses to do His work. 

Have the reader read the first reading.

Say: Now it is time for the Responsorial Psalm.  Your part is to say:

I will sing of your salvation.

Explain:  This psalm reminds us to always trust in God when we are confused.  Even when it’s hard, we should always try to do the right thing.  God promises to take care of us.

Say:  Today’s Gospel reading comes from the book of Luke.  (Lk 4:20b-24, 28-30) Do you remember last week we were pretending to be listening in the Temple in Nazareth as Jesus read the Scriptures?  Does anyone remember what happened?  Jesus read a passage from the prophet Isaiah.  He read that “the Lord’s Spirit has come to me because he has chosen me to tell the good news”.  When he finished, he closed the book and told everyone that this was true.  

Today we will finish the story and hear how the men in the temple reacted when Jesus said this.

Say:  Now we will stand and get ready to hear the Gospel

Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Have the reader begin: “a reading from the holy gospel.....”

Read:  Read the Gospel

Ask:  What actually happened?  <the people thought He was crazy.  They felt that He was making fun of God and they drove Him out of town.>  Why do you think it was so hard for the people of Nazareth to accept that Jesus might be the Son of God?  <They knew him as a child and watched him grow up>  It was confusing for them because they were all waiting for a king to come save them and it turned out to be little Jesus from next door.  The strength of God’s love and commitment was right in front of them and they could not recognize it.

Hand out the Offertory symbols to color. (The symbol is a rock)  Hand out the smaller poster symbols so that the children can write their names on them.  Collect the poster symbols and glue them on the poster.

Explain: Color this symbol of the rock and bring it to the altar (don’t forget to put your name on the back!)  to show that we have learned about how we can trust in God’s love for us.

If there is time, ask questions and go over the lessons one more time to help the children remember.

While they are coloring, explain how we will go back into the church, up to the front with our gifts and rejoin our families.

Count out the parent letters and hand-outs to go home.

Give out stickers and hand-outs as they leave.

Use this graphic for all 3 applications

Parent Letter

4^th Sunday Ordinary Time  C

                                                                 

                                                      

           Today your children heard a simplified version of the same readings that you heard: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17ab,18-19 and Luke 4:20b-24, 28-30

To reinforce at home:

Today’s Gospel reading from Luke continues from last week.  Remember that Jesus had stood up in his neighborhood temple to read Scripture.  This is a tradition that Jewish men follow.  The surprise in today’s readings was the reaction of the people of Nazareth when Jesus proclaimed himself the long-awaited Savior.  Can you imagine how you would feel if someone in your parish stood up and made that claim?  Especially when you were expecting someone to physically save your people from Roman domination?

Activities to do at home:

*Pray together to ask God for the wisdom to recognize His will in your life.

*Tell your child one thing God has done that has always amazed you.

* Talk about it.  Talk with your child about what the people expected from a Messiah.  What kind of deliverance did Jesus offer?  A few Sundays ago, we talked about being open to what God tells us.  How hard do you think it was for the people of Nazareth to imagine their next-door neighbor as the Messiah?

Thank you for sharing your children!