Simeon and Anna

 Read Luke 2:22-40.

Today we hear about Mary and Joseph taking baby Jesus to the temple, the place where God was worshipped and praised, like our church.  When they got to the temple, there were two older people who saw Jesus and were very excited.  One was named Simeon and the other was named Anna.  They were waiting to see the one who God was sending to save the whole world.  Let’s watch the video and hear what happened.

Watch this video together:

Read:

Simeon loved God and believed God’s promises.  God had promised Simeon that he would not die until he saw the one whom God had sent to save the entire world.  That day when he saw Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in the temple, Simeon knew that God’s promise was complete.  Simeon knew that Jesus was the one.  Simeon said, “Lord, now let me go in peace.  I have seen the salvation you have prepared for the whole world.”  Simeon was talking about Jesus.  Simeon had waited so many years and now he saw Jesus.

Anna was also old and she, too, knew that Jesus was special.  She also knew that Jesus was the one God had promised to send to save the world.

Mary and Joseph took Jesus home to Nazareth where he grew up.  We know that one day he would die on the cross and then rise to new life to save the whole world, including you and me from our sins, because of God’s love for us and for the whole world.

Discuss

• What did God promise Simeon?
• How do you think it felt to have waited for years and years for God’s promise to come true and then it did on this day in the temple?
• What promise do you need from God?

Song

Open the Eyes of My Heart.  Christian Faith Fellowship Family Church.

Activity

Play this silly game together.  Have someone place a stuffed animal on your back as you crawl around on all fours.  Don’t let the stuff animal fall off.  When you were a baby, you couldn’t walk.  First, you learned to crawl and then you learned to walk.  When you were first born you didn’t know much about Jesus.  What have you learned about Jesus as you have gotten older?

Activity

Mary and Joseph took Jesus to the temple where he was seen by Simeon and Anna.  The temple was a place of worship and prayer.  Here are some ways to pray together at home.

Get a stone for each person and one clear glass or bowl partially filled with water for your family.  Ask each person to hold their stone and pray silently about the things that worry them or make them afraid.  After everyone has prayed, put the stone in the water and have someone read from Isaiah 41:  “So do not be afraid.  I am with you.  Do not be terrified.  I am your God.  I will make you strong and help you.”

Give each person a half sheet of paper.  Have someone read this verse twice.  “Turn all your worries over to God.  God cares about you.”  1 Peter 5:7.  Have each person write a poem or prayer on their half sheet of paper.  This paper becomes your prayer card.  Read it when you are feeling lonely or afraid and remember that God cares for you.

Lastly, spray air freshener or release some pleasant smell and say aloud “Let my prayer arise before you, O God, as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.”  Lift up your hands and pray silently or aloud to God.

Prayer

God, Simeon and Anna waited years for your promise to be complete.  They saw Jesus in the temple and knew he was the one who would save the entire world.  Open our eyes so that we might see signs of your presence among us here and now.  Amen.

Pastor Dan Fugate, Assistant to the Bishop for Discipleship in the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA, put this lesson together for Sunday School @ Home.  There will be a new one for each Sunday while we are unable to gather together physically in our congregational buildings.  Contact him at dfugate@iksynod.org.