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Weekly text: 2 Kings 6:8-23
Faith focus: Use words to make peace.
Other texts: Colossians 4:6; Psalm 19:14
Visuals: white (and/or blue) worship cloth; open Bible; symbols: heart, road sign, story figure, kazoo or party horn, footprint shape, feather
Suggested songs:
“Santo, Santo, Santo (Holy, Holy, Holy),” HWB 400
“Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me,” HWB 507
Children’s time: Give each pair of children an envelope with the five letters P-E-A-C-E (print each letter on a separate piece of paper). Or write “CEPAE” on paper for the children to see. Ask them to unscramble the letters to spell a word (peace). Talk about how words are very important. Say, “Words can hurt or help others. Words can bring peace. Think about kind words others say to you. What are they?” (I love you. I’m proud of you. I appreciate you. You are my friend.) Find today’s worship symbol (feather). It reminds us that words can land anywhere; words can bring peace. Drop the feather and see where it lands. Say, “Our words are like feathers. We never know where they will land. When we choose our words carefully, they may bring peace and not harm.”
Read “In the Middle” in Plant a Seed of Peace, by Rebecca Seiling (Herald Press, 2007), pages 58–59.
Play the “Telephone” game. Whisper a kind message like “God loves you,” and send it around the circle.
Sing “Peace Is the World Smiling” (Gather ’Round CD) with actions, if you wish. The lyrics are in Together, page 5.
Send the children with a blessing and a feather. Give each child a feather as you say, "____________ (child's name), may your words bring peace to others and may you hear God's kind words to you."
Scripture reading: 2 Kings 6:8–23 (or use the readers theater in Together, page 29).
Sermon seeds: In the story of 2 Kings 6, Elisha brings two enemies together and commands the one in power to send the other home in peace. Into the bloody history of Israel's interactions with its neighbors, Elisha speaks a word of peace. Words are very powerful. We learn who we are by the words our families and friends use to define us. Words spoken with care can do great good, as words spoken carelessly or in anger cause strife.
Song:
"The Peace of the Earth Be With You," SJ 77
"God to Enfold You," HS 1060
Benediction: May God's peaceful words flow through you. Go in peace and love. Amen.
