If your Small Church is gathering again for the first time since the summer:
This is your opportunity to catch up—feel free to spend most of your time on Conversation Starters below, plus the Small Church Startup Questions.
If your Small Church has been gathering all summer:
Feel free to spend a bit of time checking in with one another by sharing consolations/desolations, or use a few of the Conversation Starters, then discuss the Small Church Startup Questions, and engage with one of the Jeremiah Resources provided below.
While lighting a candle to remind you of God’s Presence, have someone read the candle prayer.
Share two verbal “summer snapshots”:
Do you want to try anything new/invite in anyone new this year?
Please let Kim know if you might have space for new people.
How will you actively embody God’s love as a group this year?
In June, at a Small Church Leaders meeting, Kim mentioned she would like each Small Church to choose an active, practical, outward and preferably local expression of God’s love your group could engage in or learn more about this year. It doesn’t need to be a grand project’, or even be overtly ‘Christian’—there are any number of ways to practice God’s shalom in the world. Ideally you will find ways to learn/serve/explore consistently all year, and occasionally invite others from the wider church to join in.
Some ideas:
Learning more about walking the road of reconciliation with First Nations through watching movies or reading books together, attending a workshop, participating in a service project, supporting our friends in Gitsegukla, attending a First Nations craft sale…
Learning more about caring for God’s Creation through watching movies or reading books together, attending a workshop, doing a neighbourhood garbage walk, doing an ivy pull, volunteering at an animal shelter…
Become informed about what is being done to create housing for the vulnerable in our community. Attend meetings, write letters…
Coming alongside ministries like the Harvest, Lookout Shelter, Youth Unlimited, Shelter to Home and finding out what some practical helps/ongoing needs might be…
These are only a few examples to get your minds going! Please communicate with Kim about how this conversation went.
A 7-minute video overview of the the Book of Jeremiah:
A portion of the text Todd taught from last Sunday:
Jeremiah 1:4-10
4 The word of the Lord came to me, saying,
5 ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’
6 ‘Alas, Sovereign Lord,’ I said, ‘I do not know how to speak; I am too young.’
7 But the Lord said to me, ‘Do not say, “I am too young.” You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the Lord.
9 Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, ‘I have put my words in your mouth. 10 See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant.’
Possible Discussion Questions
A Song
In light of our series theme “Hope in Uncertain Times”, here is a song about having hope in the midst of challenge and darkness.
“My Hope Lives On” by Andrew Peterson
I am weary with the pain of Jacob’s wrestling
In the darkness with the fear, in the darkness with the fear
But he met the morning wounded with a blessing
So in the night, my hope lives on
And when Elisha woke surrounded by the forces
Of the enemies of God, the enemies of God
He saw the hills aflame with angels on their horses
So in the night, my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
My hope lives on
I see the slave that toils beneath the yoke unyielding
And I can hear the captive groan, hear the captive groan
For some hand to stay the whip his foe is wielding
Still in the night, my hope lives on
I see the armies of the enemy approaching
And the people driven, trembling, to the shore
But a doorway through the waters now is opening
So in the night, my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
My hope lives on
Like the son who thought he’d gone beyond forgiveness
Too ashamed to lift his head–but if he could lift his head
He would see his father running from a distance
In the night, my hope lives on
And I can see the crowd of men retreating
As he stands between the woman and their stones
And if mercy in his holy heart is beating
Then in the night, my hope lives on
Well, I remember how they scorned the son of Mary
He was gentle as a lamb, gentle as a lamb
He was beaten, He was crucified, and buried
And in the night, my hope was gone
But the rulers of earth could not control Him
No, they did not take His life–He laid it down
All the chains of death could never hope to hold Him
So in the night, my hope lives on
And I can see the Son of Man descending
And the sword He swings is brighter than the dawn
And the gates of Hell will never stand against Him
So in the night my hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
My hope lives on
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
Oh, in the night
My hope lives on
Lyrics available here https://www.newreleasetoday.com/lyricsdetail.php?lyrics_id=64882
As one person reads the final blessing, let it be something you all offer and receive from one another as the candle is blown out.
This fall CapKids will be learning all about the Psalms in a series called “Make a Joyful Noise”. Click here to download the guide for this week or scroll down.
Read Psalm 100:
A psalm of thanksgiving.
Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! God made us,
And we are all his people.
Worship the LORD with gladness. So we should sing
Come before him, singing with joy. Songs of happiness!
Let’s celebrate God’s goodness
Acknowledge that the LORD is God! His love that will last forever!
He made us, and we are his.
We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Psalm 100
Enter his gates with thanksgiving; (From Psalms for Young Children)
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the LORD is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.
Wonder Questions
This can be a great opportunity to explain there are different ways we can express our
love, gratitude and praise to God. Singing is one way we do this, but there are others. I
think something to highlight with our kids is how expressing ourselves through song can
feel, especially when we do it with others. Singing together is a special part of church
and something we don’t experience in many other parts of life. This could be a great time
to share a meaningful experience you had at a concert or singing with others and what
that experience was like for you. What do you enjoy or not about singing with others?
See what type of questions your child engages with and follow their curiosity.
Activities
This week discuss the Wonder Questions and read Psalm 100. We are also making a
Spotify playlist for this series that you can listen to at home with your family. Each week
we will be adding 5 new songs that fit the theme of the Psalm from that week. They will
be a mix of worship and popular music. Please share with us via email or in person if
you have a song you think fits the theme of the week. So give the playlist a listen this
week with your family, this week we focused on “Shouting for Joy”.
Some other fun activities you could try:
Resources
Reading the Psalms can be a great way to incorporate prayer into bedtime routines or include
some bible reading into your daily life with your kids. The Psalms are written as prayers, so they
can help give us language that can inform how our kids pray and what topics we can bring to
God (spoiler: it’s everything!). I think we can tend to lean towards gratitude prayers with our kids,
but the Psalms remind us and our kids that sharing our fears, angers, hopes, dreams, joys,
wonders, and disappointments are also important. God wants us to show up as we are and
these books can be a great launching point for teaching our children how to pray. We also will
be diving in a bit more in depth with five Psalms this fall at church, so if you want to have access
to your own age appropriate translations these books could be a great resource. Keep in mind
that some children’s bibles will have some of the Psalms included but not all will, especially if
they are more story focused.
Looking for some music to enjoy with your kids! Check out this curated playlist that Janine and Mikaila have put together. Each week they’ll be adding more songs to the list.
