Kingdom Ways
This year, we use Echo as our storytelling to help us relate to God’s story to discover meaning and develop fresh insights. It is our prayer that you can engage with your family using creative writing, drawing, and conversation.
Each week, students will use an Echo Journal to complete the weekly activities. If you like an Echo Journal at home, please contact Heather.
Invocation
Find a Candle that you can light, and keep it with your Club 56 gear
Invocation: the act of inviting or welcoming or acknowledging that God is present in our space.
As you light your candle, say this invocation out loud: “I light this candle in the name of God, our Creator; Jesus, our Savior; and the Holy Spirit, our Inspirer. The three in one!”
Opening Question
What does it mean to you when you hear “Love your neighbor as yourself”?
Review
The material we are using is called Echo, so let us echo the last section 🙂 Review the previous sections with your student (Jesus’ birth, baptism, his followers, the Hope and Healing Jesus can give us, the Miracles of Jesus). Is there any new insight or questions that you have reflected on?
Prepare
Each story has its own symbol, it will help us remember the story. Right now, turn to page 88 and students will draw their own version of ‘Kingdom Ways’.
Parents and students, read together pages 90-91 from your journals.
What do you think of the word “Kingdom”? How is this word used and understood today?
Read and Imagine
Students, open your journal to pages 90-93, pull out your pens or markers, and doodle or sketch what comes to your mind as you listen. Once you have completed sketching the images, share what you’ve done with a parent.
Parents, this week you will read to your student, Kingdom Ways as you are reading they will be sketching.
Capture what you noticed
Use pages 94 and 95 in your journal. What stood out to you? What did you see or sense? What questions do you have about this story? ANYTHING (we mean anything) is okay to ask. A few that I have: Do you have to be suffering to be blessed by God? What were the disciples thinking – asking about who gets the important jobs? Why would the religious leaders pass the man who needed help?
Keep these questions handy, every so often, we’re inviting a Pastor to discuss with us! Send your questions to Heather and she’ll get them on our list.
In today’s stories, we had a read about the Beatitudes, a few parables, and The Good Samaritan. These are some of the best-known (and read) parts of Jesus’ teachings. Yet, they leave us still wondering about WHAT they mean and HOW we live these teachings out.
Why do you think these stories were saved for us? What do they say about the people that were there? … about us?
When you pray…
Maybe you’re inspired to write or speak your own, if so, please do so! If you’d rather, you can just read together with the following:
Creator God, thank you for these words that have been passed down to us. Show us love everyday. Help us explore, ask, and wonder about your creation, your story, and help us find our story too. AMEN
Thank you for joining us today! If you have a student in Grade 5 or 6, sign them up for Club 56 today! If you have questions about this resource or would like additional information, please contact Heather or Pastor Ben.