RESOURCES FOR DISABILITY SUNDAY 2015 (1/25/2015 or any Sun. in Jan.)
** please also remember to fill out and return a disAbility Connection Award form by Feb. 14, 2015****
THEME: Let every detail in your lives—words, actions, whatever—be done in the name of the Master, Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way. Colossians 3:17
Congregational Song Suggestions:
UMH 89 Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee (written by Beethoven when he was totally deaf)
UMH 99 To God Be the Glory (written by Fanny Crosby who was blind)
UMH 378 Amazing Grace
UMH 560 Help us Accept Each Other
TFWS 2175 Together We Serve
TFWS 2240 We all are One in Mission
TFWS 2249 God Claims You
Special music:
We are the Body
In The Hands of God
How Great Is Our God
Bless The Lord Oh My Soul (10,000 Reasons)
Greeting:
Today we gather to celebrate God's people, created in His image. We are all different in various ways, but the same in the eyes of God. As the Church, it is our purpose to make the accessibility to the place of worship, prayer and study easy for those who are disabled. We welcome you all.
Opening prayer:
Oh God, we want to thank you for showing us how those who have a disability are valued members of your church. You used Moses to guide your people out of captivity and guide them to the Promise Land despite his speech impairment. For Paul who built your church and converted the Gentiles despite being visually impaired.
Today we see how you continue to use many people with a disability in the ministry through your church. We thank you for these great ministers of your Church. Amen.
Call to Worship:
Leader: Lord, you call us together in worship regardless of our skin color, personalities, physical and mental capabilities.
People: We come to worship you as one body in unity with all persons regardless of their skill, abilities, or disabilities.
Leader: You called us as the body of Christ to show compassion to all persons; just as you O God have been compassionate towards us.
People: Help us as the body of Christ to provide avenues of worship that welcome all persons to experience your compassion, love, mercy and your grace.
Leader: Open our hearts, minds, and souls to your spirit and remind us that the table is open to all person! Help us to be inclusive and open to the needs of all.
People: Amen.
Call to worship:
Come into the presence of the God who created us;
Each one unique, each one special, each one loved
Come and celebrate with joy this community of believers
Full of diversity; different callings, gifted in many ways
No one is without call or gift
Each person valuable and important to the life of the community
Rejoice and be glad, for though we are different
we are one body in Christ
Prayer of the People:
Gracious God, you who formed each of us and knew us before we were born, we give you thanks and praise for this day you have set before us; a day of wonder and beauty, potential and opportunity. We thank you that in your love of diversity you have given each of us different ways of approaching the day at hand. Help us to embrace this day in a way that is unique and enable us to seek you first, that the Kingdom of God might be made manifest on the earth. Amen.
Prayer of Confession:
God, at times we have failed to see that you love all persons and call us all to be children of God regardless of our abilities and our disabilities. We come here today as people who are separated by walls of fear, prejudices and an inability to reach beyond ourselves and explore the wonderful gift you have given us called community. Our language, actions, and even our facilities promote these walls of separation. Forgive us for the times that we have intentionally and unintentionally failed to be compassionate to the needs of our brothers and sisters who are different from us. May your spirit work within us that we may start tearing down the walls of separation and bring about true unity and community. Remind us that in Christ nothing is impossible! That you are a God of accessibility to all and therefore we must continually to strive to make our churches, our homes, and our hearts accessible to all. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Words of Assurance:
Leader: God makes it abundantly clear that all persons are welcomed and forgiven! Know this In the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven!
People: In the name of Jesus Christ you are forgiven!
Children’s Messages
Making Lives Better - Children’s Message
Collect the children on the steps of the chancel or at the front of the church in whatever way you can. HOLD UP A LARGE/WRAPPED BandAid for them to see,
Ask: WHAT IS THIS?? You ask……most of them will know the answer……
AND WHAT IS IT USED FOR…. Be prepared….it stops blood….your mom gives it to you….it makes you better…….( You’ll get a lot of wonderful answers)
SOOOOO ….a bandaid helps to heal….but it doesn’t do it alone…you need your mom, and sometimes some cream….and sometimes some soap and water…..all those things go together to help make things better…..
When we talk about children or even grownups who have challenges/who have a hard time walking/or wear braces/or hearing aids/or perhaps are blind….sometimes they are challenged to do everyday things…things you think are simple and easy…
BUT WE can be bandaids/helpers for people to make their lives better…..
Can you think of some ways we can be helpers? (wait for a few answers)
BUT YOU can be the Band-Aid that helps…….let’s pray together….
Dear Lord…help us to be Band-Aids for people who face challenges in life, every day. Help us to know what to do and what to say to make their lives easier and better. Help us to be friends….and to never be afraid to ask, tell me how can I help you? Let everything we do be done in Jesus name..AMEN
THEN BE SURE EACH CHILD GETS A BANDAID TO REMIND THEM
Everything Counts, Everyone Matters – a children’s sermon
Props: mixing bowl with following items on the side – flour, sugar, butter; set aside a plate of shortbread cookies
I’m thinking about making something good for my family to eat.
I have flour…do you think it will matter if I leave it out?
I have sugar…will it matter if I leave it out?
I have butter…will it matter if I leave it out?
Everything God has enabled us to do matters. He gives us words so that we can say nice things to others, encourage them, even warn them if they are in danger. How we use words matters because all people matter to God
God gives us the ability to do something – maybe play a game with others, to give a handshake or hug, or just sit and listen when someone is sad. How we use these actions matter because all people matter to God.
We are to be thankful for everything we have because when we use it to honor God, we show God’s love to others. …and in showing God’s love, we remind people they matter to us and to God. But too often, people who are seen as different are left out. There was a boy who used to love to play football but then he got sick and couldn’t see anymore. The team didn’t think he could play anymore so they left him out. All they could see was his disability.
Do you know what a disability is?
It is when a person either is unable to do something or has to do it in a different way than others. A person who is deaf may not be able to speak but he communicates in a different way.A person who is physically limited may not be able to run very well, but is able to give really good hugs.
A person who is blind may not able to see but can still play with others because he could hear and feel when others are near. The boy who was blind learned to play football again with his team – he played in a different position and trusted his team makes to guide him along. For the particular boy I’m talking about, he and his team went to the state playoffs that year. And he gave thanks for using all that he was given.
God gives everyone a way to give thanks and that includes people with disabilities you can see and people whose disabilities you don’t see . God gives everyone something to do so we ALL can welcome everyone to use what they have – words, actions, whatever – to honor God and thank him every moment of every day.
If I leave out part of my ingredients, I’m missing out on what is really good. The same goes for including all people in our community.--- like these shortbread cookies I made earlier with those three ingredients that you said were important.
Because everything we have counts , and all people matter – Thanks be to God.
SERMON STARTER; "Yes, We Can" - Colossians 3:17
“Sing thankfully in your hearts to God, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs…whatever you are doing, whether you speak or act, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. “
The challenge of discipleship is to realize that Jesus constantly surprised those around him, the disciples, and even his own family members, with his attitude and his love for all. Beginning with the concept of reducing the laws of Leviticus down from 600 something to one, Love God above all else and neighbor as self, through the journey of the BE-attitudes, Jesus constantly showed us the way of BEING in this world. And the journey was not to be taken alone. We are given as gift to one another in community…to love and care for, neighbor as self.
So the message in Paul’s letter to the church of the Colossians just reaffirms the message of Jesus…whatever you do…do it thankfully…an attitude of gratitude….and use that attitude to keep you focused on the things that are most important….care of one another…..
The amazing musical Sound of Music rings with the some “my favorite things.” But what makes the song so special and so implanted in our hearts is the fact that you realize favorite “things” aren’t things after all…..raindrops on roses/whiskers on kittens….belong to everyone. And so the attitude of gratitude that Paul suggests in his letter helps focus us, mind and heart, on one another…and one doing and being for one another in Jesus’ name.
**Thank you to the following for their submissions: Pastor Timothy Joseph Barth, Rev. Bill Downing, layperson James Turner, Rev. Rebecca Collison, Rev. Ruthann Simpson, Rev. Dr. Pat Laughlin