NOTE: please have colored pencils and paper available for the second reading if possible.
Welcome
Invite various persons to bring a designated item and use this liturgy as a way to begin your time of learning together.
One: Come, let us gather around and see how the Spirit will nurture our faith today
All: Who is with us?
One: Christ, the light of the world.
(Place a candle on a table in your gathering place and light it.)
All: Who is with us?
One: The Love of God, who came to meet us in the world.
(Place a cross on a table in your gathering place)
All: Who is with us?
One: The Wisdom of God, who speaks through the Scriptures
(Place an open Bible on a table in your gathering place.)
All: Who is with us?
One: The Grace of God, who proclaims we are children of God
(Place a symbol of baptism – a bowl of water, a seashell – on a table in your gathering space.)
All: Who is with us?
One: Our risen Lord, who meets us at the table. (A symbol of Communion)
(Place a symbol of communion – a plate and cup, a loaf of bread and grapes – on a table in your gathering space.)
One: We are here, Holy Spirit, ready for your leading
God sightings and prayer offerings
Invite each person to share where they saw or experienced God this week. Invite each person to share something – a person, community, experience, event, etc. – for which they want to offer prayer.
Good and gracious God, we thank you for all the ways you were and are present in our lives and in the world…[invite each person to say aloud the sighting they named earlier]. We bring our prayers to you, prayers for…[invite each person to say aloud the prayer need they named earlier]. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
Connecting with Scripture — Galatians 5:1, 13-25 (NRSV, CEB)
Read the Scripture aloud the first time using the New Revised Standard Version or the Common English Bible.
Give each person a piece of paper and have colored pencils (or markers/crayons) available in the center of the table. As today’s text is read a second time slowly, pause after each section (between verses 15-16 then again between verses 21-22) and invite each person to choose colors to represent their response to the text. They can doodle, create abstract colors, use symbols or literal illustrations. The key is to explore the color evoked in response to the text.
Connecting through story
Watch this clip from the movie “Wonder:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYH5urNq1Ao
- Why do you think Julian thought it was okay to make fun of Auggie?
- Deep down what was the source of Julian’s actions?
- What could he have done differently and why should he?
- What do you think Julian was trying to convey to Mr. Tushman at the end of the scene and why?
Connecting with our lives
Engage in dialogue
- What is needed for a peach, lemon, apple or any other tree to grow and produce fruit? (Good soil, seeds, watering, sun, the right climate and context, pruning, tending…)
- What do you think Paul means when he says we can “bear fruit?” How are we like trees?
- What are our soil and seeds? What feeds, waters and tends to us so that we can live into the gift God has given us?
- What will our “fruit” be — or how will we live in ways that reflect God’s goodness?
- Why do you think Paul calls love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control fruits?
- How do our abilities to love, joy, peace and the other fruits of the Spirit, grow stronger?
- How can we choose to act, and respond, differently than what the world expects or values? Why should we?
- How can these fruits of the Spirit change our relationships at home, school, work, in neighborhoods and in our families?
- How can these fruits of the Spirit change us?
Teaching points that can be incorporated into your discussion
- Today’s passage from Galatians may be familiar and is where we find the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
- However, to get to the positive influence of the Holy Spirit, Paul takes us through the things we shouldn’t do. If you have children or younger youth participating, you may want to be ready to explain some of these negative behaviors and focus on those which are more likely to connect with young lives — jealousy, anger, quarrels, envy, etc.
- The root of this list is living in a way that displeases and dishonors God.
- At the core of Paul’s argument is the belief that God, through Jesus Christ, has set us free from the bondage of sin and the need to earn our way into God’s good graces. What makes grace so compelling is it is God’s freely given gift to us — even when we don’t deserve it. With God in control of that which matters, we can live in ways that embody God’s life-giving love rather than the death-dealing behaviors that tear apart community and relationships.
- It is the gift of the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus and enlivened on Pentecost, that sustains and empowers us each day as we intentionally choose to honor and glorify God through our lives of gratitude.
- The use of agricultural metaphors in Scripture is abundant. Paul continues that tradition with one of bearing fruit. Just as plants and trees need good soil, sunshine and rain, tending and pruning, our faith and the practices of our faith need nurturing. Our faith bears fruit – and our life of faith matures – through studying and taking Scripture seriously, worshipping and being in community with other Christians, participating in God’s ongoing work in the world, and the Holy Spirit’s nurturing of all this will allow deep roots to grow so that we can resist destructiveness, pettiness, and downright meanness and instead embrace that which builds up others, communities and promotes love of God and neighbor.
- As we grow in grace and gratitude, our ability to give love, find joy, work for peace, practice patience, show kindness, continue in faithfulness, share gentleness and find self-control increases. These are the outcomes of our commitment to live according to Christ’s ways rather than the world’s ways.
Gather paper, fabric or other materials and make a banner with symbols that represent the fruits of the Spirit to hand where your family will see it each day as a means of reminding and encouraging each person, and each other, to live into these faithful characteristics. If your family enjoys learning things through song, you may want to explore this video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-hrxEjWxkE
Prayer
Close your time together by praying for one another, your neighbor, community, and the world.
