Beatitudes. Childrens Address

Megan and I are helping with church today.  The children's address is part of it.
The bible reading today is Matthew 5:3-10.  The Beatitudes.
Mind you I am not quite sure why Sherwood is a week behind.  Anyway we will try to catch up another day.


"The message of Jesus was one of humility, charity, and brotherly love. He taught transformation of the inner person. Jesus presents the Beatitudes in a positive sense, virtues in life which will ultimately lead to reward. Love becomes the motivation for the Christian. All of the Beatitudes have an eschatological meaning, that is, they promise us salvation - not in this world, but in the next. The Beatitudes initiate one of the main themes of Matthew's Gospel, that the Kingdom so long awaited in the Old Testament is not of this world, but of the next, the Kingdom of Heaven.

While the Beatitudes of Jesus provide a way of life that promises salvation, they also provide peace in the midst of our trials and tribulations on this earth."[1]

Matthew 5:3-10.  The Beatitudes
1  Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

2  Blessed are they who mourn,  for they shall be comforted.

3  Blessed are the meek,  for they shall inherit the earth.

4  Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,  for they shall be satisfied.

5  Blessed are the merciful,  for they shall obtain mercy.

6  Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.

7  Blessed are the peacemakers,  for they shall be called children of God.

8  Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Almost all translations of the bible use "Blessed".  The "Good News" translation uses "Happy".

In my opinion, "Happy" is not appropriate and significantly different.  "Happy" are those who mourn just does not do it for me.  La de dah my xyz has just died.  I am mouning.  I doubt that I am happy.  But I am "blessed" because I have experienced something -> "Mourning" and from that I grow.  At the very least, through the process of mourning, I will let go somewhat of the person or thing I am mourning for.  However more importantly, I will most probably develop a sense of empathy toward someone who them selves is mourning so in the future I will be able to comfort someone who is mourning.

We will have to make sure the bible reader reads from a version that is "Blessed are ...."

CHILDRENS ADDRESS
Part 1 - Discuss Beatitudes
Part 2 - Climb over the wall.

Part 1 - Discuss Beatitudes
1
 Before the bible reading. Kids sit down the front.               [Megan]
Point out that we are going to hear in the bible reading some sentences that start with "Blessed are....".  You need to listen very carefully because there is going to be a quizz after.  Hint for the littlies count the number of times he says "blessed are.."
2
Explain "Blessed"                                                               [Megan]
2
Bible reading by                                                                  [Grant]
3
Quizz                                                                                 [Frank]
Who knows how many "blessed are..." statements there were?  (The answer is 8 by the way.  :)  )

Put your hand up if you can remember one of the "blessed are ..." statements.
Start from the littlest.
As each statement is remembered we will explain its meaning

And stick it up around the church somewhere.


poor in spirit - This means sad.  If you are sad today then you are blessed because when you see someone who is sad you will understand and be able to comfort them.  Maybe give them a hug.

mourn - What does mourn mean?  Its when a person or animal dies.  We feel sad in a big way.
Again when we mourn, we learn what it is like to loose someone and we can help some one else who is mourning.  We also understand in a small way that life goes on.

meek - This means not being a bully or being a pain.  Sometimes it is very hard to just sit and let something happen and not jump up and sort of help out.  Do you ever have a brother or a friend say "here I will show you" and they jump in and do it for you.  Sometimes you wish that they would just let you work it out for your self.  You wnat them to me meek.

hunger and thirst for righteousness, - This is when we see something not right like someone stealing in a shop or bashing up someone at school.  We see it and we want to put it right.  We learn from that feeling of wanting to put it right.

merciful - This is when you accept an apology.  When someone does you wrong and you do not make them pay.

pure of heart - This is when you are right with God.

peacemakers - This is like when you can stop two people fighting or arguing.  but remember you have to do it in a way where they do not feel like you are fighting with them.

persecuted - Have you ever gotten into trouble for something you did not do?  It happens in families and it sure happens at school.  You learn


Part 2 - Climb over the wall.

Set up the big office partition on the dais.  Need a couple of adults to hold it up.
Little kids challenge is to climb over it.  They will need to help each other.  Push and maybe even one sits at the top and pulls.  Adults to spot.  When you get over, you can go round and help others get over.

Big kids help but make sure you let the little kids help too.

Remember you can be a helper and you can be helped too.

REFERENCES
[1] http://www.jesuschristsavior.net/Beatitudes.html