We are changing things up a bit this week! This Sunday is Palm Sunday, and that always takes a bit of preparation. Please engage with the lessons below now – don’t wait till Sunday. We will need to have the photos by Thursday night so that they can be uploaded to the website on Friday morning. We are really looking forward to seeing what you will create for our Palm Sunday Virtual Parade!
Beginners to Junior
Please watch the video below to see a short and fun version of this week’s scripture reading.
This week we celebrate Palm Sunday! It’s a familiar story for many of you, I’m sure. Usually on Palm Sunday, we have a parade at the beginning of our church service. All the children and youth come in to the sanctuary singing and waving their palm leaves. We won’t be able to have our parade this year, though. I wonder what we could do instead…
When we think about the time when Jesus lived and about the place where this first Palm Sunday parade took place, we realize that the reason the people waved palm branches was because there were lots of them around. Now, we know that palm trees don’t grow in Ottawa, right? So, take a look around you. If Jesus was coming to your street, what would you wave? Maybe it would be a branch from a cedar tree, or maybe you would make a sign to hold up, like the ones people take to hockey games… or maybe you have another idea.
Here's what I would like you to do…
Please think about what you can create to celebrate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem – and make it! Then have Mom or Dad take a picture of you holding up your creation and send it to Lorrie (lorrielowes12@gmail.com). I would love to make a collage to share with the congregation on our website Sunday morning.
You might also want to put your creation in the window of your house for people to see when they walk or drive by. We will have a “virtual” Palm Sunday parade. Don’t forget to check the website on Sunday morning to see what all your friends have created!
(Parents: We understand if you would prefer not to have your child’s face in the photo for the website, but we also know that the congregation would love to see them! Use your judgement on this.)
Intermediate and UP Group
Here is a paraphrase of the Palm Sunday story done in poetry. Please take a read!
THE STORY OF PALM SUNDAY
(As told for the young)
by Andrew King
Jerusalem’s past had been quite a blast
when David was monarch and splendid.
But centuries had gone since David passed on,
and God’s blessing seemed to have ended.
Jerusalem’s streets had seen happy feet
taking people to great holy places.
A place it was now of deep-furrowed brows,
on saddened and wearisome faces.
Rome, you recall, had control of it all,
and its soldiers could be pretty scary.
A grumbling noise might upset Caesar’s boys,
so the people had learned to be wary.
How Jerusalem longed to sing happy songs
that would celebrate their story;
They dreamed and they prayed to give a parade
for a new David marching in glory.
Then came a year when they got some cheer:
there was a man to whom people pointed.
Of him it was said he could raise the dead
– he just might be God’s anointed!
A carpenter’s son, he’d become someone
with words that could set hearts singing;
His caring stand for woman and man
had the title “Messiah” now ringing.
“He’s coming straight to Jerusalem’s gate,”
the folks were excitedly saying;
“Let’s get out there in the open air
and show the Romans for what we’ve been praying.”
They cut branches down and handed them round,
a symbol of joy and praising.
And they lined the way for Jesus that day,
palms and voices ready for raising.
Jesus, meantime, had his followers find
a young donkey on which he could ride.
He’d come to that place to show God’s saving grace,
that God’s on the sufferer’s side.
Loving and meek, no power would he seek,
as he sat on the donkey so humble.
Soon enough on that road he’d be bearing a load:
a cross that would cause him to stumble.
So in Jesus came, and the strong and the lame
tossed their palm leaves and shouted their praise.
“Hosanna!” they cried. “The King has come by!
Hosanna! God grant us new days!”
Hosanna’s like “God save us”, and what Jesus gave was
the way that God’s love makes that happen.
So lift your up your palms, get your happy smile on,
and be ready for singin’ and clappin’,
Because every day can be Palm Sunday
when you know that Jesus is near you:
Give praise to God, from the sky to the sod;
shout “God saves!” so all folks can hear you!
Hosanna!
The story of Palm Sunday is familiar to most of us. We look forward to the Palm Sunday parade at church. It’s a signal that the long days of Lent are coming to a close and Easter is just around the corner. This year, it all seems a bit different however. There will be no church service in the sanctuary and parades are certainly not permitted. So, how can we mark this special day in the church year during this time of pandemic?
One of the things that strikes me when I read Andrew King’s poem is the way the people in Jesus’ time and place were feeling before the parade. They were being oppressed by the roman Empire. People were living under strict laws and they had little opportunity to make money or even buy food for their families. Life was really difficult. I imagine they were feeling hopeless – much like many people are feeling today. This isn’t the life we want to be living – and it was the same for the people of Jesus’ time.
They saw Jesus as the answer to their problems and their prayers. Here was the one who could save them! Here was the one who could make things like the “good old days” when King David was the ruler of the land. They were excited and hopeful – and ready to celebrate! They grabbed whatever was close to wave at the roadside. Our stories tell us that was mostly palm leaves. They made a royal carpet for Jesus by laying down their own cloaks in the road. And they shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!”
I want you to think about that word, “Hosanna!”. We sometimes treat it like “Hallelujah!” – but that isn’t what it means at all. It translates as “God saves!” The people saw Jesus as God’s answer to their prayers.
What do you think people need saving from today, especially in this time of Covid19? What Prayers is God hearing from the people of the planet in our time?
In past years, we have created protest signs that we thought the people who lined the streets on that first Palm Sunday might have held.
This year, I’d like you to create a sign that we might hold if Jesus came riding in triumph today
Maybe something like this:
HOSANNA!
God save us from…
BLESSED IS THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!
I am hoping that you will create a sign (be creative!) and then take a picture of you holding it. (You can stay out of the picture if you wish, but I know that people in the congregation would love to see your faces!) Then email it to me (lorrielowes12@gmail.com) I hope to make a collage or a “parade” of our pictures for the website.
You might also want to display it in your window to remind people walking by that this is Palm Sunday!