Easter 4 B (April 21): Love is a doing word/Comfort for a Troubled World

 

Bible Readings: Acts 4:5-13, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24, John 10:11-18

About the images:

Upper Left: Another excellent image from www.imagebank.com

Upper Right: A grandfather and grandson, from a previous church which I served in,  working on fire recovery in the Victorian High country. Love is a doing word.

Middle Left and Right and Lower Right: Free images from Heartlight images.  See my links column at left.

Lower Left: An image from the Hermano Leon free clip art site - see my link column at left.

Bottom Left: A free clipart image from Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.

Listening Song: Love is a Verb

By dc Talk on their Free at Last album (pictured at left).  This song goes very well with the Acts reading.

Listening Song: The Lord is My Shepherd

By Sons of Korah on their album, Hand to the Plough (pictured at right).

Film Clip: Pleasantville

Show the scene where the girl asks the boy what it is like outside Pleasantville. He tells her that it is a lot noisier, kind of scary, and a lot more dangerous. She replies that it sounds wonderful and she smiles and you can see the wonder and the yearning in her eyes. This scene is optional. I would definitely show the court scene where everybody starts changing from being black and white to full and living colour.....

Discussion: Pleasantville

1. What made the difference so that the people changed from black and white to colour?

2. The disciples life was very black and white during the crucifixion and very colourful in the Acts story today. What made the difference?

3. What does our Christianity look like to the outside world? Is black and white or in colour ?

Film Clip: Horton Hears a Who
(pictured at left) Show the clip where Horton argues with kangaroo about whether there is anybody bigger than us looking out for us. It goes for about a minute and I got the clip from www.wingclips.com This goes well with the Acts reading, the Psalm and the Acts reading.

Discussion: Horton Hears a Who
1. Who wants to look out for us and love us?
2. What difference will it make to our lives?

Kids: The Velveteen Rabbit

by Margery Williams, Carousel, London, 1976 (pictured at left).  I used this with the adults as well.  The "real" conversation between the velveteen rabbit and the skin horse fits very well with the 1 John reading. 

Drama: Give Me a J

Based on Acts 12 and found in Let's Make a Scene for..... by Verena Johnson, Open Book, 1998, ISBN 0859108937, page 15 (pictured at right). This goes well with the Acts reading. 

Story: The Praying Hands

The story behind the famous Praying Hands picture which is found, among many other places, in Illustrations, Stories and Quotes to Hang Your Message On by Jim Burns and Greg McKinnon, Gospel Light, 1997, page 163 (pictured at left). This goes well with Acts reading.

Story: Changed Lives

Found in Illustrations, Stories and Quotes to Hang Your Message On by Jim Burns and Greg McKinnon, Gospel Light, 1997, page 163  (pictured at left). This goes well with 1 John reading.

Story: Phantom Pain
Found in Stories, Illustrations and Quotes by Robert J Morgan, Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville, 2000, ISBN 0785244794, page 306.  This story goes with the 1 John reading. 

Response Activity: Shepherding

From Bringing the Word to Life Together Year B by Andrew Collis and Dorothy McRae-McMahon, Mediacom, 2011, ISBN 9781921945038, page 77ff (pictured at right). This activity is based on the gospel reading and the New Testament readings.

Also:

Poem/Meditation: We are the Sheep
By Jan Sutch Pickard  in Dandelions and Thistles: Biblical Meditations from the Iona Community by Jan Sutch Pickard (ed.) Wild Goose Publications, 1999, ISBN 1901557146, page 59 (pictured at left). This goes well with the John reading and also with Easter 4 A

Kids: Cecil and Psalm 23

This is another brilliant book  by Andrew McDonough, Lost Sheep Resources, 2006 (pictured at right). This goes with the Psalm reading.  The great thing about these books is that they only around $A5 and for a further $A10 (or instead of) you can buy on line the story in any format you need to project the pictures in church.  There are also free activity sheets and for a cost activity books for both teachers and children.  Visit www.lostsheep.com.au to check out all the excellent resources.

Kids: Jesse

By Tim Winton, Penguin Books Australia (pictured at left),  with lots of ideas for a whole worship service found in Worship is For Everyone by Julie Pinazza, Openbook Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0859109259, page 49. This goes well with the John reading.

Kids: Let the Celebrations Begin

By Margaret Wild and Julie Vivas, Box Press,  with lots of ideas for a whole worship service found in Worship is For Everyone by Julie Pinazza, Openbook Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0859109259, page 55. This goes well with the 1 John reading.

Kids: Memorial

By Gary Crew and Shaun Tan, Thomas C Lothian,  with lots of ideas for a whole worship service found in Worship is For Everyone by Julie Pinazza, Openbook Publishers, 2000, ISBN 0859109259, page 59. This goes well with the John reading.

Opening or Closing Response 

By Ruth Burgess in Fire and Bread, Wild Goose Publications, 2006, ISBN 9781905010301, page 126. 

Beautiful Illustrations of John's Gospel  connected to the Australian Outback

Found in The Gospel According to John Illuminated by Fiona Pfennigwerth, Tien Wah Press, Singapore, 2013, ISBN 9780646912462, page 33.

Drama: Will They Know?

Found in Mega Drama 3 by Verona Johnson (ed), Openbook, 2002, ISBN 0859109178 (v.3), page 15 . This drama is based on the 1 John reading. 

Drama: ...And Then There Are Shepherds
Found in Let's Make a Scene Too by Verena Johnson, Lutheran Publishing House, 1991, ISBN 085910608X, page 24 and based on the gospel reading. 

Service Outline: The Lord is My Shepherd

Based on the Psalm reading this is found in The All-Age Service Annual Volume 4, published by Scripture Union, 2010, ISBN 9781844275199, page 82 (pictured at right).

Drama: The Employment Agency

Found in Let's Make Another Scene 3 by Verena Johnson, Open Book, 1995, ISBN 0859107620, page 43. This is based on the gospel reading. 

Psalm 23

Found in The Psalms: An Artist's Impression by Anneke Kaai and Eugene Peterson, Piquant, 1999, ISBN 0 9535757 0 5, page 12.    

Drama: Testify to Love

By Heather Kirk-Davidoff and Nancy Wood-Lyczak and found in Before the Amen by Maren C Tirabassi and Maria I. Tirrabassi (Eds), Pilgrim Press, Cleveland, 2007, ISBN 978 0 8298 1750 8, page 91-95. Based on the John reading.