Lent: Lesson 1

Lent: Lesson 1

Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)

Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,

With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,

Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns. 

Sharing
Say: Do any of you remember a few months ago when we learned about the church seasons? (Yes we ate grapes, we learned about colors, etc.) Today we are in a new church season. We had Advent, Christmas time, and ordinary time. Can anyone tell me what we are in now? We are in the season of Lent. Does anyone remember anything about lent? I will tell you!

Listening
  Say:  Lent is a forty day period before Easter when we prepare ourselves. During that time we remember Christ and the changes that he made in our world, and we try to better ourselves as followers of Christ. Many people follow the custom of giving up something during lent to remind them of Christ’s suffering. Some people decide to make some sort of change in their lives during this time in order to be a better follower of Christ. Lent gives us time to learn about prayer, sacrifice and showing kindness to others. During Lent we grow closer to God and better understand the Love that God has for everyone. We then use the Love God gives us to love others.

Exploring
Today we will be handing out the Lenten Pledge papers. They are just going to put their names on these and take them home. Read the top of the sheets and explain what they will be doing with them.

Next take the painters tape and make a pathway around the room. It doesn’t have to be a circle or a line, it can be anything. Have the children follow you on the makeshift labyrinth. Explain to them that a labyrinth is a tool for meditation and prayer. There were first placed on the floors of the medieval churches in Europe, and people walked the path focusing on God. Since Lent is a time when we prayer and renew our faith, invite the children to walk the path with you and say silent prayers and then say the following closing prayer together on the path.

Benediction
Say: Wonderful God, thank you for wanting to be closer to us. Help us to grow closer to you during Lent. Amen.