04/04/2020
Park Hill UMC
Children
Baptism is a big part of the Christian identity. Do you/children know what Baptism means? Listen to this story, and also take time to hear from a few people about how/why they were baptized. Maybe even a grandparent?
*Read along in pgs. 178-185 of Whirl Kids Story Bible, and you can also email tory@phumc.org if you need help following along in a different Story Bible.
Youth/Students
While this is not a video on Baptism, this is a video on the hopes Mary had for her son. For me, this is one of the highlights of Advent. Can you name any part of Mary's song? We'll be talking more about this passage in the future.
Parents/Adults
Jesus Coming of Age (Chapt. 19 in We Make the Road by Walking)
This is the same chapter as yesterday, as McLaren talks about Jesus as a boy, as well as John the baptist. Here's an excerpt:
"Baptisms were essential, because pilgrims who came from distant lands to the Temple were understood to be 'unclean' as a result of their contact with people of other religions and cultures. Several special baths had been constructed around the Temple so that worshipers could ceremonially was off that contamination and present themselves to God as 'clean people' again. It was another way to preserve religious identity during a time of occupation and domination by 'unclean foreigners.'" pg. 87
When John moved these baptism 80 miles north-east (multiple day walk from Jerusalem) he was really challenging some key aspects of the Judaism of his time (and his priestly family). Today, when we talk about Baptism, do we give enough back ground to the Jewish meaning before we jump to the Christian meaning? I'll keep working to make sure our youth understand United Methodists today, as well as the history that led to up to our Wesleyan tradition.
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