Children’s Ministry for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Curated children’s ministry resources and sermons (object lessons) for Sunday Readings from SermonWriter, Ministry-to-Children, Religion Teacher and other sources.
Curated children’s ministry resources and sermons (object lessons) for Sunday Readings from SermonWriter, Ministry-to-Children, Religion Teacher and other sources.
Objects suggested: A bouquet of flowers
Isn’t this a beautiful bouquet of flowers? Can you imagine what it must be like to be blind and never see the beauty of things such as these beautiful flowers? The gift of sight is one of the most precious of all of God’s gifts.
There is a story in the Bible of a man named Bartimaeus. He had never seen the beauty of a bouquet of flowers, because Bartimaeus was blind. One day as he sat begging beside the road, he heard the sound of a large crowd of people coming his way. He asked someone what was happening and they told him that Jesus was passing by. Bartimaeus had heard of Jesus and about how he had healed many who were blind. He began to call out to Jesus. Others in the crowd tried to get Bartimaeus to be quiet, but he would not be silent.
Jesus heard the voice of Bartimaeus calling out to him and he stopped and asked, “What do you want me to do for you?”
“Teacher, I want to see!” said Bartimaeus.
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” The Bible tells us that immediately, Bartimaeus received his sight.
That is a wonderful story, isn’t it? Unfortunately, stories about the blind don’t always end that way. There are many blind people who want to see, and yet they are never healed. Fanny Crosby was one of those people.
Crossword
Coloring Page
Word Search
Objects suggested: A baby doll
Have any of you seen a baby recently? Do you remember when you were a baby? (Cradle the baby doll.) One thing I know about babies is that they’re not shy when it comes to letting you know when they want something. They’ll let you know when they’re hungry, thirsty, sick, tired, or need a diaper change. Since little babies don’t know how to talk, how can they tell you what they need? (Pause for responses.)
Babies let you know what they need by crying. Babies don’t care if you’re in church, at a movie, or eating dinner in a fine restaurant; if they need something, they’ll tell you. As we get older, we learn to be more reserved about making our wants and wishes known. Or do we?
The Bible talks about a man who wasn’t scared to let Jesus know he needed something. As Jesus and His disciples were leaving a town called Jericho, a blind man named Bartimaeus was sitting beside the road. When he heard that Jesus was approaching, he began to cry out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
His crying out disturbed the people around him. “Be quiet!” they yelled at him. But he only shouted louder.
When Jesus heard Bartimaeus crying out, He stopped and said, “Tell him to come to me.”
Objects suggested: None
You all look like happy children, but I think we all, at some time, experience difficult things. Most adults can look back on their lives and remember hard times. Some adults have dealt with illness; some have had to work very hard to provide for their families. Others may have experienced the loss of a loved one. (The lesson could be expanded here by inviting someone who has overcome adversity to share an uplifting account of that experience.)
You may not have experienced those types of hard times, but perhaps you have felt frightened, sad or discouraged. Let’s see what we can find in today’s lesson that might be helpful when that happens.
The nation of Israel had experienced hard times and the prophet, Jeremiah, reminds them of God’s goodness. He tells them that they will be cared for like a “watered garden and they shall not sorrow any more…” (31:12). We also read that God will “turn their mourning (sadness) into joy and…comfort them…”(31:13).
Objects suggested: Drawing paper
How hard would it be to become a perfect kid? The correct answer is: Impossible! Because we are human we make mistakes, have bad thoughts, are tempted to do things we shouldn’t, and at times, become angry and hurtful to others.
Have you ever tried to draw a perfect picture, build a perfect birdhouse, or jump rope perfectly? People who want to be perfect are rarely satisfied because that is an impossible goal.
We should always try to do our best, but don’t be hard on yourself if you end up making an honest mistake. If you are working on a handmade project and find a mistake that is not easily corrected, look at the bright side. It shows that the object has been handmade instead of by a machine. Sometimes an error can be turned into a surprisingly creative part of the project. It can give you ideas you hadn’t thought of before.
Objects suggested: Megaphone, if available, or fashion one out of cardboard.
Have you ever had trouble getting someone’s attention? Even when you are in the same room with another person they may not hear you. Your dad may be talking on the phone, your mom may be reading a book, your brother or sister may be arguing or playing a noisy game. Sometimes is seems as if others are not interested in what you are saying; they may be thinking of other things.
Then, there are times when you are too far away from the person you want to talk with and your voice is not loud enough to carry the words. There are other times when you are in a crowd and there is so much commotion around you that it is difficult to get someone’s attention.
There are many reasons why we have trouble being heard. Have you ever felt like you needed a megaphone? A megaphone makes your voice much louder. Would you like to try it? It works quite well. Perhaps we could say something from the Bible. There is a story in the Bible about a man who called to Jesus and he said, “Jesus … have mercy on me” (10:47). Let’s try that. (Let the children speak into the megaphone if appropriate to the setting and situation.)
The man was blind, sitting by the roadside when he heard a large crowd of people coming along the road and he was told that Jesus was in the crowd. He began to shout and he said, “Jesus… have mercy on me!” (10:47). (He didn’t use a megaphone.)
Objects suggested: None
We see light and color and shapes with our miraculous eyes. Our eyes allow us to see the faces of our friends and family, our pets, trees, flowers, lakes, streams, and mountains. They allow us to read wonderful books and we use our eyes to make things such as sewing, art or woodworking projects. We could go on and on about all the things our eyes enable us to see and do.
There is also a different way of seeing that has to do with what we feel and understand. Do you ever find your self saying, “Oh, I see. Now I understand.”
You may experience this when you see and believe that someone loves you. Or when you realize that the world is a beautiful place – God’s creation. Or you may use this different way of seeing to realize you have choices about what you do and that certain things make you happy. This is a different way of seeing and knowing.
There is a Bible story about a blind man who was sitting by the roadside hoping that the many people who were passing by would help him by giving him money. Although he couldn’t see with his eyes, he somehow knew that Jesus was coming and he began to shout saying, “Jesus, you son of David, have mercy on me!” (10:47).
This Week’s Curated Ministry Resources
SDC is a society of lay catechists that started in Malta in 1907. Worksheets can be downloaded and printed for use during Sunday Mass or handed out to children at school prior to the weekend. They are also used by parents who download them to use with their children at home.
Feel free to copy and paste it into your parish publications.
Clipart © McCrimmons used with permission. All rights reserved; Text © 2018 Diocese of Salford Office for Liturgy
Gospel Reading, Sunday Coloring Page,Lesson Plans, Mass Worksheets, Crossword Puzzle, Word Search
This Week’s Curated Ministry Resources
ST AUGUSTINE EVANGELICAL BIBLE CHURCH (15:23)
GRACE POINT CHURCH (10:12) – Today’s lesson is about how Jesus showed his power by healing a blind man. Don’t miss the craft time with Dr. Carlson!
Choose one of the following activities as a way to further reflect on the Sunday readings:
Reflection: Jesus continues to ask: “What do you want of me?” Bartimaeus is a reminder to us that each of us has a need to trust! The phrase Bartimaeus uses as his prayer is based on an ancient tradition called: The Jesus Prayer. Bartimaeus reminds us that “seeing” is more than just physical sight. Seeing is about relating to God and others with trust. In his ‘blindness’ Bartimaeus ‘sees’ an opportunity to trust in Jesus — ‘to see.’ How do we learn to trust? Just like Bartimaeus, we call out for help—to parents, siblings and teachers to guide us and help us SEE the right way, the right thing to do.
Activities: Make blindfolds. Have the children put them on one child at a time or in twos. Have a person lead them around. When we can’t SEE, we learn to trust. Sometimes, we have to trust that others know best how to keep us safe. We don’t SEE why but we must trust. We celebrate All Saints and All Souls Day. Saints and those who have died and gone before us know how to TRUST in all that God offers. Saints and those who have gone before us SEE God face to face. Growing in holiness is really trusting God and ourselves to be all we are created to be. Make a pair of glasses. Talk a little on how we have to ‘see’ things differently when we trust God, Jesus and each other. Ask: What you can practice seeing in a new way this week?
Opening Question: What is your favorite place to be? Close you eyes and imagine that place. Describe that place. What are you doing there? (Ask for people to share).
In the story for the first reading, Sarah looked forward to visiting her Grandmother’s house, because it meant good times. Jeremiah prophesied the return of the exiles in Babylon, so they looked forward to good times.
Bridging Question: Has anyone taken you on a walk or obstacle course blindfolded? What happened?
In the story for the gospel, Tom lost his sight due to an accident. His impatience to regain his sight caused him to cry out to the Lord, just like Bartimaeus.
Closing Question: If we could see our world as God sees it, what would we learn?
The story of the blind Bartimaeus parallels that of deaf man seven weeks ago. You played “Stuffed Ears” for that Sunday’s activity. Now lead your family members on a trust walk. Blindfold several family members and tie them together with a rope. Lead one around while the others follow. Take turns to allow others to lead and others to follow. (You could even set up an obstacle course!) After the game, discuss the importance of sight. Read the story of Bartimaeus. Imagine how happy he was to have his sight. Imagine how happy he was to see Jesus as he really was, God’s Son. Pray that like Bartimaeus, we, too, can see Jesus and follow him.
RECOMMENDED: Resources for Catholic Educators
This Week’s Curated Ministry Resources
GRADES 4-6
Materials Needed: None
8-12 Year Olds
Suggested Beginning: A good place to begin is with the question: What did you hear? Allow children the opportunity to respond in their own words to hearing the Word of God. When each has had an opportunity to speak you might begin general discussion by building on to their responses, perhaps using some prepared questions, like the following, to stimulate ideas: Today’s Gospel is the story of the blind man whom Jesus healed. Do you have any children among your group who are visually impaired? They may be able to enrich this discussion. Alternatively, one or two children may volunteer to experience being blindfolded while you have this discussion?
Try to lead the children to see that there are different kinds of blindness – sometimes we can see things but not understand, or we can ‘refuse’ to see some things at all (use the different ways the people behaved around Bartimaeus to help this discussion). Explain that this is a story about faith and we can ask Jesus to help us to ‘see’ how we can live the new way of life as one of his followers.
This Week’s Curated Ministry Resources
Stick and Stone is a simply written story that talks about bullying and that shows how a true friend is called to be a source of hope in the midst of distress. Given the current challenges that bullying pose to children, this book offers a way to think about and deal with bullying. When Stick rescues Stone from a prickly situation with Pinecone, the pair become fast friends. As the story progresses, themes of friendship, kindness, and hope are seen through friends that are able to support each other.
This passage from the prophet Jeremiah speaks about the restoration of God’s people in a future of renewed life. It is a message of hope in the midst of the final dissolution of the kingdom of Judah. Jeremiah proclaims that beyond destruction and exile lies a recreated people. As other prophets have also said, in God’s future age of salvation, peace and hope will reign.
The writer of the Book of Hebrews speaks of Jesus as the perfect mediator between humanity and God. Jesus, having known human trial and weakness through his own experiences, wishes to bring hope to all. Called by the Father to do so, Jesus brings all of humanity with him to the Father for healing and restoration. Christ continues to encourage us as the mediator between us and God, and in doing so, fills all people with hope.
When listening to Saint Mark’s Gospel, it is important to remember that it is written for a community that is undergoing great confusion, loss, and persecution. Because of this, Jesus is emphasized as the Messiah, the ultimate hope, who will bring God’s final rule to the people. This healing account, like so many other miracles in the Gospels, serves to demonstrate and emphasize that the Kingdom of God has truly begun in Jesus. It is through him that God overcomes the evil of every illness and all suffering. Jesus is God’s revelation of a hope for a people who are in great turmoil. This Jesus is also our hope when we are struggling with our own trials.
Step One: Write the following two statements on the board: Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names will never hurt me! Sticks and stones can break my bones, but names can really hurt me! Invite the students to read and think about each of the statements. Ask them which one of the two is truer.
Step Two: Ask the students to think about what it was like when someone called them a name or said something unkind to them, or about them.
Step Three: As the teacher, you might wish to share with the students a story that illustrates the hurt that you may have experienced because of someone’s unkindness.
Step Four: Give each student a light gray paper “stone” on which they can write a behavior that could hurt someone or make them feel bad. They could also draw on the stone instead of write.
Step Five: Have the students crumple up the gray stone and then try to smooth it out again. Explain to the students that once something hurtful has been said, it is hard for it to be forgotten.
Step Six: Have each of the students speak about the hurt that they put on their stone and ask the class to think about how they can bring hope for the person who has been hurt. Create a class list of ideas of how to prevent bullying and bring hope to all students.
This Week’s Curated Ministry Resources