Category Archives: Christian Education Archive

A Devotion Booklet for Lent: Reading Through the Book of Mark

Are you thinking of adding something new to your daily life this Lent?

Lent is a wonderful season to begin a new faith practice; the practice of reading an entire book of the bible, day-by-day, is one members of your church might like to participate in.

This year, if your congregation follows the lectionary, the Gospel of Mark will be featured most weeks of our year. Journeying through this very readable gospel as a individual or a congregation early in the season offers all ages the opportunity to hear this gospel first as a complete story before they return to its individual texts through the year in worship, study and Sunday school.

To help everyone with this faith practice, here is a free, downloadable devotional booklet for individual or churches to use this Lent.

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The Interactive Lent Gardens Are On Their Way

Did you ask to receive the links to the six Interactive Lent Gardens?

I hope so.

I just want to let everyone know that I just emailed out the links to the six interactive Lent Gardens to everyone who asked to receive them. But, I don’t want anyone to slip through the cracks. With entering well over a hundred email addresses into the BCC, I’m just a little bit worried.

So, if you asked to receive the Interactive Lent Gardens and have not yet received an email that includes the six links, six garden screen shots, a materials shopping list and instructions for uploading all of this onto your website, facebook page or include in your weekly email – PLEASE EMAIL ME AND LET ME KNOW. I want to make sure you get them. My email is torismit@gmail.com.

If you didn’t ask to receive them, and you’d like to, email me too.

And, if you asked for them, and you got them. I’m thankful. I hope these enhance your church’s journey through Lent in wonder-filled ways.

Peace, Tori

Come Play in the Garden

A couple of weeks ago I invited you to ‘Save the Space’ for an exciting new interactive Lent resource being created for your church. I teased you with a picture of a Lent Garden wall beautifully decorated with flowers, a garden gnome and a picnic basket filled with tasty treats. I said every item in the garden would unlock a collection of bible readings, videoed stories, crafts, music, and other garden adventures for your congregation to explore every week of Lent.

And then I said, “but not quite yet.”

Well today is the day! Today is the day I want to unlock the first two of six Lent Gardens for you to explore for yourself.

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You Are the Light of the World

Gift Habeshaw, unsplash.com

A number of years ago, my then minister, Rev. Dr. Karen Dimock, preached a sermon in which she talked about light. She reminded us that the light of Jesus’ time was the light of an oil lamp not the light of a light bulb and certainly not the light of a spot light. Her point was simple, the light Jesus describes does not usually allow us to see the end of our journey or even the whole picture; often it only allows us to see the next step.

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An Interactive Christmas Living Room

Merry Christmas!

Welcome to our Christmas Living Room; a place to hear and read the amazing story of Christmas, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet a newborn baby, cuddled and loved by his parents Mary and Joseph. This baby, Jesus, has come to change the world as Isaiah told us he would over 500 years before Jesus’ birth. On the road to Bethlehem there are travellers rushing to see this baby; shepherds and Magi. Let’s join them in the celebration. 

To access the Christmas Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our Christmas story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Enjoy your Christmas. And then, like the shepherds, go out and share all that you have seen and heard this day. Merry Christmas!

Click here to enter into the Christmas Living Room

Free Resources From Illustrated Ministry for Your Church and Church Families

Are you looking to take a short break from your regular Sunday school lessons to keep everyone engaged? Would you like to give your Sunday school teachers a bit of a planning break? Perhaps you’d like to supplement your Sunday school lessons with a mid-week email to help build a bridge between one Sunday and the next by providing additional, related materials. Or, perhaps you’ve been sending out devotions and activities over Advent and want to assist your families in keeping up their newly established practice of reading bible stories together and doing fun activities at home.

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Advent Four: An Interactive Living Room

Welcome to your Advent Four Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet the Magi on the road to Bethlehem. They have the longest journey of all, coming all the way from the East.

To access the Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our Advent story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Come back on Christmas Eve, December 24th, for the Christmas Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent Four Living Room.

Fear Not!

What’s your favourite Christmas movie?

I love to watch The Polar Express, and I’ve just finished binge-watching the new Netflix series Dash & Lily, but truth be told, my absolute favourite Christmas movie is A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I was already a committed Peanuts fan when the movie came out in 1965. I would grab the newspaper each day and delight in the wisdom of Charles M. Schultz shared through his Peanuts characters. It was no surprise that A Charlie Brown Christmas leapt to the top of my list when I saw it for the very first time. It has consistently remained there ever since I lay down on the living room floor in my pyjamas that first time and became mesmerized by the story shared so many years ago.

Won’t you watch it with me again. 

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Advent Three: An Interactive Living Room

Welcome to your Advent Three Living Room; a place to hear and read the stories of Advent, sing a song, make a tasty treat, do a craft, and have an outdoor adventure.

This week we meet the shepherds on the road to Bethlehem. They’ve just left their sheep in the hills and are heading to Bethlehem because an angel told them too. They are curious, excited and filled with anticipation for what they might find. 

To access the Living Room click on the link at the end of this article. This will take you to an interactive version of the picture you see at the beginning of this article. Once there, click on the candle first to hear and see our Advent story. After that click on the other objects you find in the room. Each will open up a new, fun thing to do. Check out the nativity scene, the mixing bowl, the musical instrument and papers, the cup of crayons, and the window to the outdoors. Have fun!

Then, don’t forget to come back next week for the Advent Four Living Room waiting for you filled with new adventures.

Click here to enter into the Advent Three Living Room