Bible Study – Sixth Sunday After Epiphany “Blessings”
Share: Your highs (something that made you happy) and lows (something that made you sad) this week with others around you or write them down.
Epiphany: Shimmering glimpses of the abundance of the Kingdom of God. Perhaps we, too, noticed a star and followed it. Or maybe someone led us to the gift of faith. Now we take the Light – the Good News – out into the world. Will others see the light shimmering in us? Will they risk taking a journey into faith with us?
Today, Jesus introduces new teachings to his disciples and those who are gathered around him. In Luke 6:12-16, Jesus chooses and names his 12 disciples, so this is his first teaching directly to them. A teaching of blessing the poor, a teaching of reversals.
Opening Prayer: Good and gracious God, thank you for the blessings we have in this life. Help us to be a blessing to others and live as you have taught us. Amen.
Please open your Bibles to Luke 6:17-26 and read or read the scriptures below.
Luke 6:17-26
Blessings and Woes
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil,
because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,
for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.
Reflection Questions:
- What stands out for you in this reading?
- What questions do you have?
- What blessings have you received?
- What does the “woes” in the reading say to you?
- How are Jesus’ blessings and woes different than how the world is today?
- What blessings can you give?
Click her for the young learner’s lesson
Videos (Click on the words or url)
Epiphany 6C, Luke 6:17-11 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnheN8pIPJE
Gospel of Luke Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 1) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIb_dCIxzr0
Song: I Have Decided to Follow Jesus - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_fZfiuONi0
Activities
Think about how you might be able to bless others and thus live into what Jesus is teaching about today.
Blessing Boxes: Create boxes that will hold the blessings you can give to others. You can use shoe boxes, small cardboard boxes or create boxes from a box folding pattern from the following website - https://www.printablee.com/post_rectangular-box-template-printable_428080/
Decorate the outside of your box. Take a 3x5 cards and write or draw different kinds of blessings you can give to the people around you. Each week, you can draw a card from the box and do what the blessing card says. (Ideas: donate items to a homeless shelter, visit a homeless shelter and give out blessing bags to those who are there, write a note to someone who is feeling sad, give someone flowers if they are having a hard time, tell someone you love them, etc.)
Blessing Bags: Create blessing bags for a local homeless shelter or women’s shelter. Blessing bags can include snacks, hygiene products, personal care items, etc. You can contact local shelters to see what might be helpful to include.
Blessing Notes: Create notes for people in the community to pass on words of blessing and love.
Happy Hearts Poster: find or cut out 15 various sizes and red hearts. They can be cut out hearts or stickers. Write or find letters “HAPPY ARE THE PURE IN HEART” in large letters in the center of the 8 by 10 inch poster. All the hearts and stickers will be placed around the edge of the poster to form a heart border.
Sermon on the Plain - Crossword: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-1
Sermon on the Plain – Fill in the Blank: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-2
Sermon on the Plain – Multiple Choice: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-4
Sermon on the Plain - Word Search: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-5
Sermon on the Plain – Decoder: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-3
Sermon on the Plain - Word Shape: https://sermons4kids.com/activities/the-sermon-on-the-plain-6
Prayer: God of many blessings, as we go forth into the world, guide us in our ways so we can be a blessing for others in this world and so that we can see your blessings all around us. Amen.
