Bible Passage
Fifthteen Sunday after Pentecost (1 Timothy 2:1-7)
Today is the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost. During the season of Pentecost we learn about Jesus and the early church
Today we read from a New Testament letter written by St. Paul or one of his students to Timothy, a newer Christian who was leading the church in Ephesus. St. Paul wrote the letter to Timothy in order to encourage him.
Watch the video to learn more:
St. Paul told Timothy to pray. He told Timothy to pray for friends, for family, for other Christians, for kings, for queens, for those who are rich, for those who are poor, for people who agreed with him, for people who didn’t agree with him – to pray for everyone. St. Paul reminded Timothy that Jesus gave him for everyone when he died on the cross and then because of the power of God’s love he rose from death to new life conquering death and the grave forever. Because Jesus died for everyone, St. Paul said, we should pray for everyone. We remember that as God’s baptized children, we have died with Jesus and we have also risen with him in the waters of Holy Baptism and we have been given the gift of new life both here and now and forever in heaven.
St. Paul’s advice to Timothy to pray for everyone is advice for us as well. We should pray for everyone as well. We should pray for the needs of others, for those things that concern them, but also the things for which they give thanks and praise to God. We should also pray for ourselves and our whole world!
Remember we can pray at any time. We can pray when it is quiet, when we are walking, when we are singing, when we are by ourselves, when we are in a group. We can pray anytime, anywhere!
Discuss
- Who wrote Timothy?
- What did St. Paul tell Timothy to do?
- Who do you pray for?
Song
Cast Your Burden Unto Jesus. This words to this song “Cast Your Burdens Unto Jesus” mean that we should pray and give our burdens and concerns to Jesus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebueSaN9thQ
Activity
Download the sheet below and follow the instructions for praying in color.
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Activity
Find your congregation’s prayer list and pray for the people who are on it. You might want to see if your congregation has a prayer chain. Ask how it works. Maybe you could be added to the prayer chain. You might also consider starting a prayer chain for students.
Closing Prayer
Loving God, we give you thanks for all that you have given us. Thank you that you listen to us whenever we pray. Help us to pray for everyone always. Amen.
Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home. Contact him at [email protected].
