Sunday, November 19th
The Prince of Peace Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace are easily recognisable titles especially as we move towards Advent and rehearse various performances of Handel’s Messiah. Most of us would place these titles easily on Jesus. This tradition however only comes about after the early Fathers and Handel’s Messiah have firmly put them there, reinterpreting the passage where they are first encountered in Isaiah. There is no great issue with this happening of course: we cannot help but read the Hebrew Bible through Christological eyes and who are we to dispute what the early followers found and interpreted in the most ancient texts they had, but it is perhaps important also to hear these titles and the surrounding text in the context of those who first heard them and for whose ears it was first written. Historically the country we now call Israel, more or less, was divided into two kingdoms. Israel was to the north and Judah to the south, Judah included the capital city of Jerusalem. Ten tribes made up the northern part and two the southern. It is in the southern part, Judah, where Isaiah lives and prophesies. The northern kingdom, Israel, was at this time at war with Assyria and Judah refused to get involved. Judah was then invaded by Israel so Judah asked help from Assyria (Israel’s enemy) who came to their aid and beat off Israel. Yup, it’s complicated. To pay for all of this, Ahaz paid the Assyrian king money from Judah’s coffers along with giving him holy items from the Temple. He also let the Assyrians build idols in the holy places of Judah. Isaiah was none too pleased with this turn of events. Earlier in chapter seven Isaiah had already told Ahaz not to fear Israel’s aggression because it would not be successful and to prove this prophecy he should seek a sign from God. Ahaz refused so Isaiah said he would get one anyway. This is now the famous sign of a virgin conceiving and a son being called Immanuel. The prophecy concerns a young woman in the court of Ahaz who was pregnant (not so much a virgin but a young woman already pregnant) who would bear a son and before the child knew right from wrong the invaders would be defeated. The chapter we read today offers a further prophecy about a child. Firstly he says that lands taken will be lands returned and describes the oppression that will be overcome by God then contrasts the terrible invasion with words about the birth of a child. This is a new era shaped by peace and justice and will be found in and symbolised by a child who shall bear those portents. Of course, Ahaz failed to listen. A child was of no interest to him. He needed a warrior so he put all his eggs into Assyria’s basket and became subservient to Assyria, who took their money and replaced their religion with foreign gods. Now you can see why this passage and surrounding passages have been reinterpreted as a sign of Jesus. It is the topsy-turvy world of the kingdom of God once more where children ascend the throne and are more powerful than all the invading armies. It was a prophecy for those days, of course, but still speaks to us. The ethics of God offering a radically new way to live in the world, and a different understanding of where power lies, is equally as relevant today when so many leaders look towards a profitable culture of war rather than a child of peace.
Sunday, November 19th
Isaiah 9:1-7
Small Groups (about 10 min)
Gathering Activity: Spark Story Bible pages: 168-171. Play a game, color, sing the Christmas Songs, or just catch up with how kids are doing until the bell.
Large Group (about 10-15 min)
Christmas Music Practice
Tell the Story Activity
Small Groups (Sun: 30 min, Wed: 25 min)
Main Point for PreK and other little kids: Jesus is Immanuel, which means, “God is With Us.” Jesus’ birth was promised by God hundreds of years before he was even born. Jesus as Immanuel brings light to our faith by showing us more who God is.
o Highs & Lows from everyone for the week
o Tell me what happened in the story?
*King Ahaz was scared about a foreign country who was growing stronger and bigger. He thought that perhaps he should befriend them to keep his own country, Judah, safe from them.
*God tried telling him over and over not to do this but instead to trust that God would protect them. The prophet, Isaiah, told King Ahaz that God would give him a sign that a baby would be born who would be a person who would show the people how much God loved them and could trust in God. That child was Immanuel (Which means, “God with Us”)
*King Ahaz said, “no thanks!” and went ahead with his own plans and they weren’t strong enough without working with God and Judah was taken over by invaders.
*People still remembered God’s promise about Immanuel and waited for him through the generations.
o What did we learn about who God is?
*God wants to help and protect us.
o What did we learn about what people can be like?
*We find that it can be more tempting to find security and trust in our own plans and ideas, more than in just trusting that God is with us and will help us.
o What did we learn about the relationship between God & people?
*It can frustrating. God wants to be with us and help us and for us to know this and trust God, but that we often go our own directions and not follow God, and that doing this can often hurt us (not because God is punishing us for not following us, but that the way of following God naturally brings life and goodness because that’s what God wants for us).
o Connect Highs & Lows to the Story
*Teacher example: God is still with us today (Immanuel) in the form of the Holy Spirit, who is in each of us. I find that this story plays out in my own life every time I think I know the best way to do something and just try to go off and do it. I then realize it wasn’t the best way to go. I find that the more I talk about things with other people (where the Holy Spirit lives), the more I’m able to make better choices that are healthier and more life giving. FOR EXAMPLE, a while back I was helping to volunteer with a group that was going to make baskets that would have little gifts in them for new moms who didn’t have a lot of money. When we started I had this whole plan for what we should do and how we should do it and I was super excited. I came to the group and told them all about it and I expected them to all jump on board and we would all do my plan. They really liked it, but then someone else had an idea that added to my ideas and it made it even better, then another person did the same and then by the end of our hour and half together of planning, what we created together was going to help so many more people with so many more things.
Activities to Help Make the Point
Grades PreK-5th: LIGHT VS DARK – Main Point: Jesus is like turning a light on in our faith lives. We can understand (“See”) our faith and what God is like more clearly through Jesus.
You will Need: Envelope with different color papers, pen, windows covered
Turn the lights off, then take the pieces of colored paper out of the envelope. Have the kids guess which colors the papers are (write their guesses on each piece of paper). Turn the lights back on and see if they were correct.
*When the lights were off you could still see the paper, right? Was it hard to guess the colors? Light helps us see things more clearly! Jesus is the light of our faith and helps us see our faith more clearly (helps us connect with it and understand it better).
Grades PreK – 5th Craft! IMMANUEL IS THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD: You will need: a plastic cup for each kid, tissue paper color pieces, glue/paintbrushes, “Immanuel” papers.
Main Point: Lanterns to remind kids that Immanuel is the light of our world and helps us see our faith more clearly.
Pray
Bless
Last Activity Options:
1. PreK-K: Coloring Pages
2. Continue your conversations
3. 1st – 5th: Coloring Pages or play a game: Take turns blindfolding each kid (who wants to) and place a different object in front of them (from the little bin) and have them try to figure out what it is in the dark.