No Fooling! A Look At The Month Of April
Children's program
WHO - ME? DO A PROGRAM? Volume 2
Program Resources For Congregational Events
Leader's Helps
Optional Opening Devotion: A Dose Of Fun!
Across the screen saver came a message in bold print: Father, you are working too hard! Come home and have fun with your great son, Justin! Yes, the man agreed. He had been working too hard. His focus was on all the work he had yet to do. Here was a reminder from a loved one to go home and have some fun with his family.
We all need this reminder and permission to stop our busyness and have fun. Jesus took time with his friends to party at weddings, to dine in homes, to walk in the wheat fields. So we must have doses of fun in our lives so that we are balanced. Schedule events this month so that you can laugh and be fools with one another.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we take life and ourselves too seriously at times. Help us to relax and put our time in your hands. Bring smiles to our faces and put laughter in our hearts. Fill us with a joy that bursts our stuffy lives. In your Son's name we pray. Amen.
Program Helps
Props
A large flip chart on which to attach dates for an April calendar. Use different colored construction paper with dates of events printed: 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 23, 27, 28, 29.
Narrator
Leads program and arranges dates on an April calendar. Reads the Birth of the Alarm Clock on April twentieth.
Readers
May use twelve people to read or alternate.
Reader 1: April Fools' Day (holds up square 1)
Reader 2: Close Call Day (holds up square 3)
Reader 3: Feast of Noah (holds up square 5)
Reader 4: Feast of Hummingbird (holds up square 8)
Reader 5: Prince Hermenegild Martyred (holds up square 13)
Reader 6: Discovery of the Location of Happiness (holds up
square 14)
Reader 7: Sparrow Festival (holds up square 17)
Reader 8: Long Life Festival (holds up square 19)
Narrator: Birth of the Alarm Clock (holds up square 20)
Reader 9: Feast of Saint George (holds up square 23)
Reader 10: Natural Law Day (holds up square 27)
Reader 11: Festival of Easter Eggs (holds up square 28)
Reader 12: Festival of Tradition (holds up square 29)
Hymn "All Creatures Of Our God And King"
[LASST UNS ERFREVENT]
Program
No Fooling! A Look At The Month Of April
Narrator: We've all heard the line for what to expect in the month of April: "April showers bring May flowers." But did you know that the month of April celebrates a lot more than rain? Come with us as we march across the calendar looking at some of the festivities April offers.
Reader 1: Sorry, no program tonight! It's been canceled because of an epidemic! ... Gotcha! April Fool! (Hold up a colored paper with number 1 on it. Begin to build a calendar if you like by attaching the rest of the days to it.) Yes, on April 1st we have an "epidemic," a rash of foolishness that breaks out among people. This Feast of Fools helps us to remember our need for a little more fun and foolishness in our lives. In our now too busy lives, we need to set time aside for fun. This practice will help us to be more healthy and holy. Going deeper into our spiritual lives, we find Saint Paul telling us in 1 Corinthians to be "fools" for Christ's sake. Those who think they are so wise in the ways of the world will be caught in their craftiness. The wisdom of the world is foolishness in God's sight. As Christians, we are to be wise in Christ, thinking and acting as God wants us to. However, this appears foolish to those who do not understand God's thoughts or ways. Therefore, we appear like fools or clowns, but rejoice! Jesus is not a joke! What we preach is true, and that is no April Fools' joke!
Narrator: Moving along in the month we come to a screeching halt on April third. Put on the brakes! Wow! That was a "close call"!
Reader 2: (hold up #3) And April third is Close Call Day. The skies lately have been filled with eclipses, comets, shooting stars, and the like, but this day got its name in April of 1989 when an asteroid just missed the Earth. This half--mile piece of space rock was traveling at the speed of 46,000 miles an hour. Whew! Can you imagine the effect that a crash like that could have had on our planet? It would have been like 20,000 one--megaton hydrogen bombs exploding. Destruction would have been rampant. It may be back, so we hope and pray we have no more close calls!
Narrator: But the Book of Revelation describes this possibility in chapter eight. When the seventh seal is opened hail and fire mixed with blood is hurled down upon the earth. Something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, plummets into the sea. A great star, like a blazing torch, falls from the sky. Then a third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck and turned dark. "Woe! Woe!" the people of earth cry out as they see the earth being destroyed. Could that be another asteroid "close call"? Better break out the umbrellas.
Reader 3: I'm afraid umbrellas won't protect one from that terrible time, but we use umbrellas a lot in April. Rain in the spring is refreshing. It melts the snow, greens the grass, promotes the budding of trees, and cleans away the salt and sand from the roads. There was another rain that really cleaned up the earth. On April fifth (hold up #5) we celebrate the Feast of Noah. The rains poured upon Noah and the ark for forty days and nights. Today, oceans build up drop by drop, day by day. But then, the Lord was so displeased with the evil that existed in our world, that he wanted to destroy the earth. However, he saved Noah and his family and two of every creature. On this feast day, wear raincoats and look for rainbows, for the rainbow is a reminder to God never to destroy the earth by a flood again.
Narrator: Water flooding the earth. Fire from the sky. What a hum we are causing here as we march through the month of April.
Reader 4: Hummmm. Hummmm. Yes, we sure are, and that's not an April Fool joke. But let's pause on April eighth (hold up #8) to look at the Feast of the Hummingbird. The ancient Aztec Indians of Mexico believed that when a warrior died in battle or sacrificed his life to the sun, that man was given a new residence. He was allowed to live in the sun for four years. After that time, the warrior would return to the earth, not as he left it, but coming back in the form of a hummingbird! We do not follow the ways of ancient religions, but we are called as followers of Christ to sacrifice our lives to the Son - that is, the S -- O -- N. When we die to ourselves we become alive in Christ, and return to this world as warriors in the Kingdom of God. What a "hum" we make as we serve our God and look forward to our new residence, a heavenly abode, when we die.
Narrator: Yes, faith in Jesus is something that we are called not just to hum but shout.
Reader 5: Today we need to remember those who shouted and took a stand for their faith. April thirteenth (hold up #13) recognizes one such person: Prince Hermenegild, who was martyred on this day in 586 A.D. As the son of a Visigoth king, he chose to take the crown of glory, surrendering his life rather than denying his faith in the King of kings. This day calls to us to ask, "Could we do likewise?"
Narrator: The prince's faith brought him greater happiness than all that being a royal person could have given him.
Reader 6: And we continue our April journey by stopping on day fourteen (hold up #14). That day we celebrate the Discovery of the Location of Happiness. Hi Ling Su, a Chinese scholar, discovered in 2301 B.C. that happiness lies not in a specific place or in circumstances, but in one's heart. People still are looking everywhere but in the heart for happiness. When we have Christ in our hearts, we are truly happy. James tells us in chapter 5 that if we are happy, we should sing songs. We've talked about burning suns and moon, creatures being saved from the flood, and future kings dying, so let's sing a song praising the one who created all.
Hymn "All Creatures Of Our God And King"
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice with us and sing:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam
And silver moon with softer gleam:
Oh, praise him! Oh, praise him!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Narrator: Thanks for rendering unto God a hymn of praise. But I think we'll pass over April fifteenth, tax day, when we render unto Caesar our money, and look at a bird of a different feather.
Reader 7: On April seventeenth (hold up #17) we find the Sparrow Festival. Springtime is when the birds return. Sparrows are common in much of our country. But did you know Thomas Woodcock introduced the English or house sparrow to America in 1847? However, they died, and so in 1852 he brought them over again. The success can be seen today. There is a beautiful song we might have heard, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow," which reminds us what Jesus told us about these birds: not one sparrow falls to the ground that our Lord is not aware of. "So, don't be afraid," he reminds us, "you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 10: 31 NIV).
Narrator: Yes, and our worth and life are something to celebrate.
Reader 8: So let's celebrate on April nineteenth (hold up #19) with the Long Life Festival. It is predicted that by the year 2000, there will be 100,000 Americans who are over the age of 100. This day is a call to us to look at how we will fill all that time. Jesus told us that he came so that we would have abundant life. Saint Paul reminds us that the life we live in the body, we live by faith. So let us take time to choose to live fully to the glory of God.
Narrator: That truly is a wake--up call, and did you know that on April twentieth (hold up #20) we celebrate the Birth of the Alarm Clock? The ancient philosopher Plato is credited with inventing this most valuable item in 381 B.C. As it rings, remember that the earlier you rise, the more you will get out of life as you enjoy the day our Lord has prepared for you. For these are the days that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in them!
Reader 9: So get out there and slay those dragons. Moving on to April twenty--third (hold up #23), we celebrate the Feast of Saint George, the dragon slayer. The Crusaders were the ones responsible for making him the patron saint of England. Now we don't have any mythical dragons to kill today, but all of us can identify some dragons that might be lurking around in our home or community which need to be dealt with.
Narrator: It is only natural to be afraid of dragons, but we haven't come far from fear and superstition today.
Reader 10: (hold up #27) On April 27, 1417, a chicken in Basel, Switzerland, laid a brightly colored egg. This was not natural! The chicken was accused of being the devil in disguise, put on trial, found guilty, and roasted at the stake. On this Natural Law Day, let us remember how easy it is to condemn others who are not like us, and who do not conform to our ways. Saint Paul tells us that Christians are not to conform to the ways of the world, but are to be transformed by a renewing of our minds. This is the "natural" way of God so that we will all be able to live in peace and harmony with one another.
Narrator: That is unbelievable! A chicken condemned for laying a colored egg.
Reader 11: And during this time of the year, we color eggs in celebration of Easter, be it in March or April. In the year 700 European Christians made their use widespread as home sacraments. Our Lord is not just to be worshipped in church. It is in the home that Christ is honored and worshipped as well. Let this April twenty--eighth (hold up #28) be a day not just to celebrate the Festival of Easter Eggs, but a time for you as a family to develop a holy day with a special food, decoration, or symbol.
Narrator: The Old Testament reminds us of the importance of talking about God and his ways. We find in Deuteronomy 6 that we are to be impressing upon our children's hearts and minds the ways of God, talking about them as we sit around our table at home, walking down the street, or when we rise and when we go to sleep, and using them as symbols, placing them on the door frames of our houses, our hearts today. Establishing certain traditions in our lives and homes is a gift we can give to others, especially our children.
Reader 12: And so we close our program by celebrating April twenty--ninth (hold up #29), the Festival of Tradition. We are bombarded today with the advance of technology. Everywhere we look there is change. Things are moving so fast that if we aren't "on line" we will be passed by. But on this day we recall how important personal and family traditions are. God called his people to celebrate certain religious festivals so they would remember how he delivered them from their bondage. Our Lord Jesus established the tradition of observing Holy Communion so that we would recall his death for the forgiveness of our sins. It is through the rituals of the church that we move into the divine mystery of the knowledge of how much we are loved and cared for by God. May we always be mindful of this, not just this April but every day and every month and every year of our life.
Narrator: And we fool no one but ourselves if we are not right with God. The community of faith is built up as we gather and proclaim God's presence and lordship in all areas of our lives. So to that end we join our hearts in the prayer that our Lord taught us to pray.
All: Recite the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Narrator: And all God's people rejoice and say, "Amen."
Optional Opening Devotion: A Dose Of Fun!
Across the screen saver came a message in bold print: Father, you are working too hard! Come home and have fun with your great son, Justin! Yes, the man agreed. He had been working too hard. His focus was on all the work he had yet to do. Here was a reminder from a loved one to go home and have some fun with his family.
We all need this reminder and permission to stop our busyness and have fun. Jesus took time with his friends to party at weddings, to dine in homes, to walk in the wheat fields. So we must have doses of fun in our lives so that we are balanced. Schedule events this month so that you can laugh and be fools with one another.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, we take life and ourselves too seriously at times. Help us to relax and put our time in your hands. Bring smiles to our faces and put laughter in our hearts. Fill us with a joy that bursts our stuffy lives. In your Son's name we pray. Amen.
Program Helps
Props
A large flip chart on which to attach dates for an April calendar. Use different colored construction paper with dates of events printed: 1, 3, 5, 8, 13, 14, 17, 19, 20, 23, 27, 28, 29.
Narrator
Leads program and arranges dates on an April calendar. Reads the Birth of the Alarm Clock on April twentieth.
Readers
May use twelve people to read or alternate.
Reader 1: April Fools' Day (holds up square 1)
Reader 2: Close Call Day (holds up square 3)
Reader 3: Feast of Noah (holds up square 5)
Reader 4: Feast of Hummingbird (holds up square 8)
Reader 5: Prince Hermenegild Martyred (holds up square 13)
Reader 6: Discovery of the Location of Happiness (holds up
square 14)
Reader 7: Sparrow Festival (holds up square 17)
Reader 8: Long Life Festival (holds up square 19)
Narrator: Birth of the Alarm Clock (holds up square 20)
Reader 9: Feast of Saint George (holds up square 23)
Reader 10: Natural Law Day (holds up square 27)
Reader 11: Festival of Easter Eggs (holds up square 28)
Reader 12: Festival of Tradition (holds up square 29)
Hymn "All Creatures Of Our God And King"
[LASST UNS ERFREVENT]
Program
No Fooling! A Look At The Month Of April
Narrator: We've all heard the line for what to expect in the month of April: "April showers bring May flowers." But did you know that the month of April celebrates a lot more than rain? Come with us as we march across the calendar looking at some of the festivities April offers.
Reader 1: Sorry, no program tonight! It's been canceled because of an epidemic! ... Gotcha! April Fool! (Hold up a colored paper with number 1 on it. Begin to build a calendar if you like by attaching the rest of the days to it.) Yes, on April 1st we have an "epidemic," a rash of foolishness that breaks out among people. This Feast of Fools helps us to remember our need for a little more fun and foolishness in our lives. In our now too busy lives, we need to set time aside for fun. This practice will help us to be more healthy and holy. Going deeper into our spiritual lives, we find Saint Paul telling us in 1 Corinthians to be "fools" for Christ's sake. Those who think they are so wise in the ways of the world will be caught in their craftiness. The wisdom of the world is foolishness in God's sight. As Christians, we are to be wise in Christ, thinking and acting as God wants us to. However, this appears foolish to those who do not understand God's thoughts or ways. Therefore, we appear like fools or clowns, but rejoice! Jesus is not a joke! What we preach is true, and that is no April Fools' joke!
Narrator: Moving along in the month we come to a screeching halt on April third. Put on the brakes! Wow! That was a "close call"!
Reader 2: (hold up #3) And April third is Close Call Day. The skies lately have been filled with eclipses, comets, shooting stars, and the like, but this day got its name in April of 1989 when an asteroid just missed the Earth. This half--mile piece of space rock was traveling at the speed of 46,000 miles an hour. Whew! Can you imagine the effect that a crash like that could have had on our planet? It would have been like 20,000 one--megaton hydrogen bombs exploding. Destruction would have been rampant. It may be back, so we hope and pray we have no more close calls!
Narrator: But the Book of Revelation describes this possibility in chapter eight. When the seventh seal is opened hail and fire mixed with blood is hurled down upon the earth. Something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, plummets into the sea. A great star, like a blazing torch, falls from the sky. Then a third of the sun, moon, and stars are struck and turned dark. "Woe! Woe!" the people of earth cry out as they see the earth being destroyed. Could that be another asteroid "close call"? Better break out the umbrellas.
Reader 3: I'm afraid umbrellas won't protect one from that terrible time, but we use umbrellas a lot in April. Rain in the spring is refreshing. It melts the snow, greens the grass, promotes the budding of trees, and cleans away the salt and sand from the roads. There was another rain that really cleaned up the earth. On April fifth (hold up #5) we celebrate the Feast of Noah. The rains poured upon Noah and the ark for forty days and nights. Today, oceans build up drop by drop, day by day. But then, the Lord was so displeased with the evil that existed in our world, that he wanted to destroy the earth. However, he saved Noah and his family and two of every creature. On this feast day, wear raincoats and look for rainbows, for the rainbow is a reminder to God never to destroy the earth by a flood again.
Narrator: Water flooding the earth. Fire from the sky. What a hum we are causing here as we march through the month of April.
Reader 4: Hummmm. Hummmm. Yes, we sure are, and that's not an April Fool joke. But let's pause on April eighth (hold up #8) to look at the Feast of the Hummingbird. The ancient Aztec Indians of Mexico believed that when a warrior died in battle or sacrificed his life to the sun, that man was given a new residence. He was allowed to live in the sun for four years. After that time, the warrior would return to the earth, not as he left it, but coming back in the form of a hummingbird! We do not follow the ways of ancient religions, but we are called as followers of Christ to sacrifice our lives to the Son - that is, the S -- O -- N. When we die to ourselves we become alive in Christ, and return to this world as warriors in the Kingdom of God. What a "hum" we make as we serve our God and look forward to our new residence, a heavenly abode, when we die.
Narrator: Yes, faith in Jesus is something that we are called not just to hum but shout.
Reader 5: Today we need to remember those who shouted and took a stand for their faith. April thirteenth (hold up #13) recognizes one such person: Prince Hermenegild, who was martyred on this day in 586 A.D. As the son of a Visigoth king, he chose to take the crown of glory, surrendering his life rather than denying his faith in the King of kings. This day calls to us to ask, "Could we do likewise?"
Narrator: The prince's faith brought him greater happiness than all that being a royal person could have given him.
Reader 6: And we continue our April journey by stopping on day fourteen (hold up #14). That day we celebrate the Discovery of the Location of Happiness. Hi Ling Su, a Chinese scholar, discovered in 2301 B.C. that happiness lies not in a specific place or in circumstances, but in one's heart. People still are looking everywhere but in the heart for happiness. When we have Christ in our hearts, we are truly happy. James tells us in chapter 5 that if we are happy, we should sing songs. We've talked about burning suns and moon, creatures being saved from the flood, and future kings dying, so let's sing a song praising the one who created all.
Hymn "All Creatures Of Our God And King"
All creatures of our God and King
Lift up your voice with us and sing:
Alleluia! Alleluia!
O burning sun with golden beam
And silver moon with softer gleam:
Oh, praise him! Oh, praise him!
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
Narrator: Thanks for rendering unto God a hymn of praise. But I think we'll pass over April fifteenth, tax day, when we render unto Caesar our money, and look at a bird of a different feather.
Reader 7: On April seventeenth (hold up #17) we find the Sparrow Festival. Springtime is when the birds return. Sparrows are common in much of our country. But did you know Thomas Woodcock introduced the English or house sparrow to America in 1847? However, they died, and so in 1852 he brought them over again. The success can be seen today. There is a beautiful song we might have heard, "His Eye Is On The Sparrow," which reminds us what Jesus told us about these birds: not one sparrow falls to the ground that our Lord is not aware of. "So, don't be afraid," he reminds us, "you are worth more than many sparrows" (Matthew 10: 31 NIV).
Narrator: Yes, and our worth and life are something to celebrate.
Reader 8: So let's celebrate on April nineteenth (hold up #19) with the Long Life Festival. It is predicted that by the year 2000, there will be 100,000 Americans who are over the age of 100. This day is a call to us to look at how we will fill all that time. Jesus told us that he came so that we would have abundant life. Saint Paul reminds us that the life we live in the body, we live by faith. So let us take time to choose to live fully to the glory of God.
Narrator: That truly is a wake--up call, and did you know that on April twentieth (hold up #20) we celebrate the Birth of the Alarm Clock? The ancient philosopher Plato is credited with inventing this most valuable item in 381 B.C. As it rings, remember that the earlier you rise, the more you will get out of life as you enjoy the day our Lord has prepared for you. For these are the days that the Lord has made; let us be glad and rejoice in them!
Reader 9: So get out there and slay those dragons. Moving on to April twenty--third (hold up #23), we celebrate the Feast of Saint George, the dragon slayer. The Crusaders were the ones responsible for making him the patron saint of England. Now we don't have any mythical dragons to kill today, but all of us can identify some dragons that might be lurking around in our home or community which need to be dealt with.
Narrator: It is only natural to be afraid of dragons, but we haven't come far from fear and superstition today.
Reader 10: (hold up #27) On April 27, 1417, a chicken in Basel, Switzerland, laid a brightly colored egg. This was not natural! The chicken was accused of being the devil in disguise, put on trial, found guilty, and roasted at the stake. On this Natural Law Day, let us remember how easy it is to condemn others who are not like us, and who do not conform to our ways. Saint Paul tells us that Christians are not to conform to the ways of the world, but are to be transformed by a renewing of our minds. This is the "natural" way of God so that we will all be able to live in peace and harmony with one another.
Narrator: That is unbelievable! A chicken condemned for laying a colored egg.
Reader 11: And during this time of the year, we color eggs in celebration of Easter, be it in March or April. In the year 700 European Christians made their use widespread as home sacraments. Our Lord is not just to be worshipped in church. It is in the home that Christ is honored and worshipped as well. Let this April twenty--eighth (hold up #28) be a day not just to celebrate the Festival of Easter Eggs, but a time for you as a family to develop a holy day with a special food, decoration, or symbol.
Narrator: The Old Testament reminds us of the importance of talking about God and his ways. We find in Deuteronomy 6 that we are to be impressing upon our children's hearts and minds the ways of God, talking about them as we sit around our table at home, walking down the street, or when we rise and when we go to sleep, and using them as symbols, placing them on the door frames of our houses, our hearts today. Establishing certain traditions in our lives and homes is a gift we can give to others, especially our children.
Reader 12: And so we close our program by celebrating April twenty--ninth (hold up #29), the Festival of Tradition. We are bombarded today with the advance of technology. Everywhere we look there is change. Things are moving so fast that if we aren't "on line" we will be passed by. But on this day we recall how important personal and family traditions are. God called his people to celebrate certain religious festivals so they would remember how he delivered them from their bondage. Our Lord Jesus established the tradition of observing Holy Communion so that we would recall his death for the forgiveness of our sins. It is through the rituals of the church that we move into the divine mystery of the knowledge of how much we are loved and cared for by God. May we always be mindful of this, not just this April but every day and every month and every year of our life.
Narrator: And we fool no one but ourselves if we are not right with God. The community of faith is built up as we gather and proclaim God's presence and lordship in all areas of our lives. So to that end we join our hearts in the prayer that our Lord taught us to pray.
All: Recite the Lord's Prayer.
Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread;
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us;
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever and ever. Amen.
Narrator: And all God's people rejoice and say, "Amen."
