Jonquil's Daffodils
Children's Liturgy and Story
Call to Worship:
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." In our worship today, let us explore how it is possible to die but still continue to live.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I cannot understand your words.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I find your words hard to believe.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I am afraid of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
John 11:1-45 (NRSV)
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." [5] Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, [6] after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
[7] Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." [8] The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. [10] But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." [11] After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." [12] The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." [13] Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. [15] For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
[17] When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
[28] When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. [31] The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. [34] He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus began to weep. [36] So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
[38] Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." [43] When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Story:
This is a difficult story to understand in the context of today's modern living. Perhaps we need to be careful to avoid giving children the impression that if they pray to Jesus, Grandma who died last week will come back to life again. Today's story is therefore not about the death of a person, but is a story about coming back to life in a different way.
Jonquil's Daffodils
Jonquil lived in a tiny house surrounded by lots of other tiny houses, in a big city. None of the houses had a garden, but some of them had window boxes. Jonquil loved to see the flowers in the window boxes down the street and nagged at her mother to buy a window box for their house.
On her birthday early in March, Jonquil was thrilled to see that a window box had suddenly appeared outside their lounge window. It was only small, but it had three golden daffodils which waved at Jonquil in the breeze. Jonquil was fascinated by the daffodils. She spent hours just watching them dancing and waving, and marvelled at their bright colours and dainty faces.
Then one day she noticed that one of her daffodils looked a little sick. Its bright yellow colour was tinged with brown at the edges and its head hung as though it was in pain. Jonquil was horrified and ran to water the window box. But it didn't help. Next day, the other two daffodils looked sick as well, so that Jonquil was sure they had all caught some dreadful infection.
Jonquil prayed and prayed for her daffodils. "Please, Jesus," she cried, "make them better. Heal them and bring back their bright colours."
But Jesus can't have heard her, for the daffodils died there in the window box. Jonquil was heartbroken and sobbed and sobbed for her flowers. Their green leaves were brown and straggly and after a week or so, her mother cut them off. Jonquil was even more upset.
Jonquil's mother tried to console her. "They'll come again next year, you'll see. You just have to be patient."
Next Christmas, Jonquil was very excited. Not so much because it was Christmas Day, although that was of course very exciting, but more because she knew that the year ended soon after Christmas.
On New Year's Day, Jonquil was up early and raced down to look at her window box. But there was nothing there. It was empty apart from the brown soil which had been there since last Spring. Jonquil was deeply disappointed. It was next year now, but there were no daffodils to be seen.
Then, a week or two before her birthday, a miracle happened. Tiny green shoots appeared as if by magic in the window box. Jonquil knew she hadn't put them there. "Mum," she asked, "did you plant something in my window box?"
Jonquil's mother came to look. Then she hugged Jonquil. "The miracle is happening," she whispered. "Your daffodils are coming to life again. You'll see. By the time your birthday has come, they'll be bright and shining yellow."
And she was right. But even more amazing, the daffodils had somehow multiplied all by themselves. Now, instead of three daffodils there were six filling the window box.
Jonquil was delighted. "Life never really ends, does it?" she remarked to her mother. "Even though my flowers were dead, they were still alive. But now they're alive in even greater glory. And I know now that they will never die, even though I must do without them for a time." And she added softly, "Thank you, Jesus."
Activity:
You need:
A sheet of thick A4 paper for each child
Strips of thick paper for the handle
Crayons, felt tips or paints
Stapler with staples
Sticky tape
Tissue paper
Small gifts such as chocolate eggs
Make a simple Easter basket for an Easter gift. Start by colouring both sides of the paper. Then fold the paper into a paper hat and invert it to form a basket (or see below.) Add gifts and let the children take their baskets home for an Easter gift for Mum or Dad.
Fold the paper in half, top to bottom. Keeping the paper folded, now fold in half again, left to right. Open out this last fold, leaving a crease. Take the top right hand corner and fold down so that the top edge of the paper is level with the crease. Repeat with the top left hand corner. This should give you the shape of a triangle with a rectangle beneath it.
Take the bottom edge of the paper, ie the bottom edge of the rectangle, and fold upwards, over the bottom of the triangle. Turn the model over and repeat with the other side. Fold down any edges to make a neat triangle shape. Taking the middle of the long side of the triangle, pull gently to form a triangular basket. Attach the handle, making sure that the sharp ends of the staples are covered with sticky tape. Crumple tissue paper and put in the basket, and lay gifts on tissue paper.
Prayers:
God of life, when we despair because things go wrong, remind us that you breathe new life into people and projects.
God of life, when the world seems full of death and destruction, fill us all with your hope and enable us to pass that hope on to those who desperately need it.
God of life, if necessary help your church to face crucifixion, knowing that resurrection results from crucifixion faced in love and faith.
God of life, bring life to those who are sick and those who care for them. We name them now ...
Blessing:
May you be filled with eternal life,
May you live in eternal life
And may you look forward to eternal life.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always. Amen.
Jesus said, "Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." In our worship today, let us explore how it is possible to die but still continue to live.
Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I cannot understand your words.
Lord, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I find your words hard to believe.
Christ, have mercy.
Jesus, sometimes I am afraid of death.
Lord, have mercy.
Reading:
John 11:1-45 (NRSV)
Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. [2] Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. [3] So the sisters sent a message to Jesus, "Lord, he whom you love is ill." [4] But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God's glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." [5] Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, [6] after having heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.
[7] Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let us go to Judea again." [8] The disciples said to him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?" [9] Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. [10] But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them." [11] After saying this, he told them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him." [12] The disciples said to him, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right." [13] Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. [14] Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. [15] For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him." [16] Thomas, who was called the Twin, said to his fellow disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die with him."
[17] When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. [18] Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, [19] and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. [20] When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. [21] Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. [22] But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him." [23] Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." [24] Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." [25] Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, [26] and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" [27] She said to him, "Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one coming into the world."
[28] When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, "The Teacher is here and is calling for you." [29] And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. [30] Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. [31] The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. [32] When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." [33] When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. [34] He said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." [35] Jesus began to weep. [36] So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!" [37] But some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?"
[38] Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. [39] Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days." [40] Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" [41] So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, "Father, I thank you for having heard me. [42] I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me." [43] When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" [44] The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."
[45] Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
Story:
This is a difficult story to understand in the context of today's modern living. Perhaps we need to be careful to avoid giving children the impression that if they pray to Jesus, Grandma who died last week will come back to life again. Today's story is therefore not about the death of a person, but is a story about coming back to life in a different way.
Jonquil's Daffodils
Jonquil lived in a tiny house surrounded by lots of other tiny houses, in a big city. None of the houses had a garden, but some of them had window boxes. Jonquil loved to see the flowers in the window boxes down the street and nagged at her mother to buy a window box for their house.
On her birthday early in March, Jonquil was thrilled to see that a window box had suddenly appeared outside their lounge window. It was only small, but it had three golden daffodils which waved at Jonquil in the breeze. Jonquil was fascinated by the daffodils. She spent hours just watching them dancing and waving, and marvelled at their bright colours and dainty faces.
Then one day she noticed that one of her daffodils looked a little sick. Its bright yellow colour was tinged with brown at the edges and its head hung as though it was in pain. Jonquil was horrified and ran to water the window box. But it didn't help. Next day, the other two daffodils looked sick as well, so that Jonquil was sure they had all caught some dreadful infection.
Jonquil prayed and prayed for her daffodils. "Please, Jesus," she cried, "make them better. Heal them and bring back their bright colours."
But Jesus can't have heard her, for the daffodils died there in the window box. Jonquil was heartbroken and sobbed and sobbed for her flowers. Their green leaves were brown and straggly and after a week or so, her mother cut them off. Jonquil was even more upset.
Jonquil's mother tried to console her. "They'll come again next year, you'll see. You just have to be patient."
Next Christmas, Jonquil was very excited. Not so much because it was Christmas Day, although that was of course very exciting, but more because she knew that the year ended soon after Christmas.
On New Year's Day, Jonquil was up early and raced down to look at her window box. But there was nothing there. It was empty apart from the brown soil which had been there since last Spring. Jonquil was deeply disappointed. It was next year now, but there were no daffodils to be seen.
Then, a week or two before her birthday, a miracle happened. Tiny green shoots appeared as if by magic in the window box. Jonquil knew she hadn't put them there. "Mum," she asked, "did you plant something in my window box?"
Jonquil's mother came to look. Then she hugged Jonquil. "The miracle is happening," she whispered. "Your daffodils are coming to life again. You'll see. By the time your birthday has come, they'll be bright and shining yellow."
And she was right. But even more amazing, the daffodils had somehow multiplied all by themselves. Now, instead of three daffodils there were six filling the window box.
Jonquil was delighted. "Life never really ends, does it?" she remarked to her mother. "Even though my flowers were dead, they were still alive. But now they're alive in even greater glory. And I know now that they will never die, even though I must do without them for a time." And she added softly, "Thank you, Jesus."
Activity:
You need:
A sheet of thick A4 paper for each child
Strips of thick paper for the handle
Crayons, felt tips or paints
Stapler with staples
Sticky tape
Tissue paper
Small gifts such as chocolate eggs
Make a simple Easter basket for an Easter gift. Start by colouring both sides of the paper. Then fold the paper into a paper hat and invert it to form a basket (or see below.) Add gifts and let the children take their baskets home for an Easter gift for Mum or Dad.
Fold the paper in half, top to bottom. Keeping the paper folded, now fold in half again, left to right. Open out this last fold, leaving a crease. Take the top right hand corner and fold down so that the top edge of the paper is level with the crease. Repeat with the top left hand corner. This should give you the shape of a triangle with a rectangle beneath it.
Take the bottom edge of the paper, ie the bottom edge of the rectangle, and fold upwards, over the bottom of the triangle. Turn the model over and repeat with the other side. Fold down any edges to make a neat triangle shape. Taking the middle of the long side of the triangle, pull gently to form a triangular basket. Attach the handle, making sure that the sharp ends of the staples are covered with sticky tape. Crumple tissue paper and put in the basket, and lay gifts on tissue paper.
Prayers:
God of life, when we despair because things go wrong, remind us that you breathe new life into people and projects.
God of life, when the world seems full of death and destruction, fill us all with your hope and enable us to pass that hope on to those who desperately need it.
God of life, if necessary help your church to face crucifixion, knowing that resurrection results from crucifixion faced in love and faith.
God of life, bring life to those who are sick and those who care for them. We name them now ...
Blessing:
May you be filled with eternal life,
May you live in eternal life
And may you look forward to eternal life.
And may the blessing of God Almighty,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Be with you, be in your homes
And in your families,
With those whom you love
And with those for whom you pray,
Both now and always. Amen.
