ASK (a.k.a The On-Ramp)
- Good morning!
- [ Show picture of the gift ]
- Can you tell me what this is? (a present!)
- That's right! Can you tell me some of the presents you would like to give to people,
if you had that gift to give? [listen to answers]
- Those are some really good gifts!
- And, if you had a lot of those gifts (like a lot of [give example of what one or
two people said]), would you then give that gift to lots and lots of people? [listen
to answers]
- Maybe even to people you didn't know?
TELL (a.k.a. The Freeway)
- I'm asking you about gifts because in today's scripture story, we hear about a lot
of the gifts that Jesus gave to others.
- We hear that he gives his disciples some time to rest.
- We hear that he gives the gift of compassion for the crowds of people.
- We hear that Jesus also gives gifts of instruction, interaction, and healing to the
crowd.
- At the very start of the story, we also hear of another gift Jesus gave. We hear
that Jesus had taught his disciples how to go out and do the same things that he,
Jesus, was doing in today’s story – he taught them how to share the good news and
heal others with God’s love and forgiveness.
- Those are some pretty good gifts, don't you think?
SHARE the Good News (a.k.a. The Destination)
- Jesus wouldn’t have these gifts to give, though, if Jesus hadn't first given a really
big gift to God.
- That really big gift that Jesus gave to God was his time.
- If Jesus had not given his time to God, then Jesus would not have been able to do
all those things he did in today's story.
- At some point, Jesus said to God, "Ok God, I’m going to give you my time. Tell me
how to spend that time that I give to you."
- And God said, "Thank you for giving me your time. I will help you use your time in
amazing ways that will help you and others know about me, my love, and my healing."
- And you know what? We can give our time to God in the same way that Jesus did.
- In fact, Jesus even helps us know the best ways to give time to God: By reading and
discussing the faith stories, by praying, and by worshipping together.
- The more of our time we give as a gift to God, the more God will help us know amazing
ways we can give gifts of God's love and healing to others-- just like Jesus did.
- And that's the good news for today. Let's pray.
CLOSING Prayer
- This is a repeat-after-me prayer.
Dear God,
Dear God,
Thank you for Jesus and his time...
Thank you for Jesus and his time...
Help us to learn from him…
Help us to learn from him…
...how to give our time to you...
...how to give our time to you...
…so that we can better share with others...
…so that we can better share with others...
…your gifts of love and healing…
…your gifts of love and healing…
…just like Jesus did.
…just like Jesus did.
Thank you and Amen
Originally posted July 1, 2018
Updated on June 22, 2024
Written and edited by Nathanael Vissia
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