ANNA AND SIMEON – The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
Goodbye January, hello February! A new month = a new Raise and Praise service and the familiar tune of the opening song – ‘Be Happy’, set the tone for an energetic, action-packed, praiseful occasion.
Those gathered, talked about the goodness of God and His provision, before watching a video story of Mary and Joseph taking the infant Jesus to the Temple for dedication. Amongst the hustle, bustle and general chaos of the Temple scene, were two elderly worshippers – Anna and Simeon. They had devoted their whole lives to God and they had served Him faithfully and patiently. To their utter joy, they recognised the Christ-child; their faithfulness was rewarded.
Activities were themed around this story. Jigsaws were used to explore our need for connections. By trying to put one together, without a picture for guidance, would be like Simeon not knowing if, when or how he would meet Jesus. This led onto some chat about our need for patience when asking God for help. An answer to prayer, can take some time! We have to trust that one day, we will see God at work.
In the same way that the pieces of a jigsaw need to be connected to make a whole picture, we also need relationships with others to make us complete. Naturally, this idea led to prayers of thanks, for the people we are connected to and our relationships with all people we come across in life – even those who may be different to us.
The service ended as it had begun – with an action song, appropriately named the ‘Dollop Song’:
“I don’t just get a dollop or a splodge,
or a tiny little drop of God’s love, God’s love.
How cool that I get it all like a mighty waterfall,
splashing all over me!”
Adults and children left the service with much to ponder and give thanks for…perhaps a little like Anna and Simeon all those years ago.
