Develop a Discipleship System
Each week during this series, an emoji (yellow-faced emotions) will be presented as the feeling or emotion of the scripture text that children and families can wonder and discuss every week. Display your own version of the emoji in creative ways. Cut a big poster-sized emoji each week or display the emoji on the screen in your worship space.
Joel 2: 12-13, NIRV
12 The Lord announces to his people,
“Return to me with all your heart.
There is still time.
Do not eat any food.
Weep and mourn.”
13 Don’t just tear your clothes to show how sad you are.
Let your hearts be broken.
Return to the Lord your God.
He is gracious.
He is tender and kind.
He is slow to get angry.
He is full of love.
He won’t bring his judgment.
He won’t destroy you.
Symbol: Emoji of crying face
Children’s Message
You can tell when people are feeling sorry for something that they have done. You can usually see it on their faces. Often, they will cry. They may not eat because they have lost their appetite. In the days of the Old Testament, people would often tear their clothes as a sign of humility and grief. What would happen if you tore your clothes? Would your parents be upset? The tearing of clothes was expensive, as people in biblical times didn’t have as many clothes as we do; but it was a visible sign of the tearing of the hearts with sadness. All these are outward signs of how bad someone feels on the inside.
The people of Israel were feeling sorry because they had disobeyed God. Bad things were happening to them, but Joel brought them good news! God loved them and was waiting for them to come back. God told the people of Israel to show on the outside how sorry they felt. But how they felt on the inside was even more important. If their hearts were broken, God would know that they were sorry and ready to change.
Today is Ash Wednesday. Many people place ashes on their forehead or sometimes the hand, in the shape of a cross, to show an outward sign of how they feel inside. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of Lent. Lent is the forty days, not counting Sundays, before Easter. We spend this time preparing our hearts for Easter by making changes in our lives to bring us closer to God. Lent shouldn’t be a countdown to Easter or something that we must “get through”; instead, it should be a chance to remove things that distract us in life so we can focus on Jesus.
Each week during Lent, we will have a different emoji to suggest the emotions that we feel during this time of the year in the church. Today’s emoji is a crying face. Crying is an outward sign of hurting on the inside. When we get hurt, we cry. When our hearts break, we cry. The tears tell others that we are perhaps sorry. The ashes on our forehead also tell others and God that we are sorry and ready to change. Oftentimes during Lent, people “give up” something to remind themselves of change. What is something that you could give up to remind yourself that you are sorry and ready to change? (Let children respond.)
Prayer: Forgiving God, we know that you are full of love for us. We are thankful that you let us come to you, no matter how we feel. When we do wrong, help us to show how sorry we are and that we are ready to return to following you. Amen.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture verses are from the New International Reader's Version (NIRV), Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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