Time. Do we have enough of it? We manage it and make the most of it. We love our one-click purchases, drive-through meals, and “snackable” news. Why wait? Ain’t nobody got time for that, right?
Yet, time is in God’s control.
It’s time to slow down, reflect, and view time through the lens of the Savior’s story. From its earliest days, the Christian Church has structured timing and worship around the events in the life of the Jesus—His birth, death, and resurrection. When we organize our lives around the Church Year, we discover what it’s like to forsake instant gratification. We discover what it means to live in the longing of Advent and the brokenness of Lent. But how do we relay this to our children? How do we help them watch, wait, and understand—on a heart level—what Jesus’ story is all about?
Connect Children with the Church Year
Church Year Connections helps children gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’ love and care for them. Easy-to-understand object lessons are organized around the church year—from the first Sunday in Advent to the Last Sunday of the Church Year—all correlating with the lectionary of Lutheran Service Book (LSB). Sometimes you need that children’s message for chapel at school or a children’s message at church. Church Year Connections is meant to fill that void. You can use this curriculum in a variety of settings:
- Opening for worship
- Congregation’s church service
- Children’s church experience
- Family devotions
- Chapel time at school
As your primary resource for Church Year Connections, the Leader Guide contains the basic resources for leading worship with children that links to the Church Year—an order for worship, readings, collects, songs and hymns, and object lessons—all tied to specific Sundays. Right now we are in Year A with enough children’s lessons through November of this year.
The Leader Guide includes two CDs, one for the festival half of the Church Year (the Time of Christmas and the Time of Easter) and one for the Time of the Church. On the CDs, you’ll find recordings of the suggested hymns and songs, reproducible melody-line scores and lyrics for children to use, PowerPoint presentations of the order for worship, and music for each Sunday. It also includes teaching points that can be used in other Christian education lessons to make further Church Year connections. Learn more here. [1]
As you take the time to carefully prepare the worship aspects of your program, know that you will be planting the seeds for active and meaningful worship on the part of children for years to come. May God bless your worship as you minister to His children.