March

March 7 – Jesus calms the storm.  Today, we heard about the time when Jesus and his disciples were oa boat.  Jesus had been teaching the crowds and was sleeping in the keel.  While out on the water, a storm came up and the disciples (remember, some of them had been fishermen), got scared.  They called for Jesus, and when he came onto the deck – he raised his hands and told the winds to be still…and they were!  And the disciples were amazed.

Can you imagine having a friend who can calm the winds, who can tell creation what to do?  Well, we do have that friend – Jesus is able to make things that seem very out of control, very calm.  Even when we are caught in a “storm” of our own, He is able to calm us and give us His peace.

Write a few words from Romans 8:39 “Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”, on plastic cups using permanent marker.   Then raid the freezer, and fill each cup with three or four ice cubes.  Set on a tray and head into the bath.  Fill the tub about 1/3 full and float your cups.  Take off your socks and shoes and step inside.  See if you can arrange the cups in the right order, and then keep them that way.   What happens when you help create a storm?  Can you still keep them in order?

Talk together about who you would want on a boat with you – in the middle of a stormy sea – besides Jesus, and why?

What is a special song that you can sing or hum the next time you are scared.  How can that help you remember that Jesus is with you?

March 21 – Today, Jesus was teaching the crowd.  Jesus taught alot in Parables – an earthly story with an eternal meaning.  He used situations and examples that the listeners could relate to, and then turned them into a lesson about God and his love.  The story of the Good Samaritan is one of the best know examples of that.  We learned today, that it wasn’t just the fact that the Priest and the Levite passed by the hurt man, they crossed the road, and then walked by – much more thought out than just missing what was laying in front of them.

The Samaritan stopped and didn’t just help the hurt man- he went much further than that.  He took him to an inn, provided money for his care, and promised to return to see if there was more that needed to be done.  Jesus holds him up to us as an example of how we are to treat our neighbours.  This story came about because some of the leaders wanted to catch Jesus with a trick question.  Jesus told them that we are all neighbours, and when we love God “with all of our heart and soul and mind”, we then “love our neighbours as we love ourselves”.

This week, think of a neighbour who doesn’t know that God loves them…and then, as a family, find something you can do for them.  Just because.  Take their dog for a walk, help rake the front lawn, make them some kind of Easter decoration…whatever would be kind to a neighbour.  Remember to thank God that you can show His love to others.

March 28 – Palm Sunday.  A day for Hosanna’s and celebrating the triumphant parade of One.  During our time together, we discussed fast forwarded a bit in the week leading up to Jesus’ death and the Truth of Easter.  Peter and John remind us of the confusion in the peaceful garden where Jesus had been praying.  When the soldiers arrive, Peter (being the one who reacted, often without thinking) grabs his sword and is ready to battle to keep Jesus safe.  Jesus tells him to put the sword away.

We learned talked about how important it is to trust God’s plan when all things appear to be confused.  When we are anxious, and want to take the solution in to our own hands, we need to step back and see how God wants us to handle it.  Jesus calmness in the garden reminds us that, although He could have stopped the soldiers, he knew God’s plan, and was ready to carry it out.

This week, talk about times when you have been anxious over situations – work, tests at school, waiting to be punished after doing something we shouldn’t have… – what would have been different if you had stopped to see what God wanted you to do.  Have you been able to trust Him in those times?  Come up with some things you can do as a family to help others remember that God has a plan, and that He will make everything happen as it should.