Faith Formation Resources for the

Fifth Sunday of Lent

© 2020 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.comMay be reproduced for congregational and personal use only, provided each copy carries this notice.

Resources provided by Illustrated Ministry, LLC. illustratedministry.com

Contributors: Arianne Braithwaite Lehn, Corby Ortmann Concept & Editing: Rebekah Lowe Founder: Adam Walker Cleaveland

Unless otherwise noted, scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).

Published by Illustrated Ministry, LLC, Racine, Wisconsin.

illustratedministry.cominfo@illustratedministry.com

© 2020 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.comMay be reproduced for congregational and personal use only, provided each copy carries this notice.

RESOURCES FROM ILLUSTRATED MINISTRY

As the world struggles to adjust to life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, necessary disruptions are affecting

all aspects of our lives. Schools are closing, places of worship are canceling services, sports seasons are

being suspended, and we are all adjusting to this new way of life. Illustrated Ministry hopes that these faith

formation resources are meaningful and helpful to you.

We will be sending a weekly email during the COVID-19 pandemic which will include faith formation resources

for all ages. We will be following the Revised Common Lectionary, and most of the resources will line up with

the appropriate texts for each of the Sundays. If this resource was forwarded to you, and you would like to

sign up to receive the weekly email in your inbox, you can sign up at: illustratedministry.com/flattenthecurve

The weekly resource consists of a variety of resources, including children’s worship bulletins, devotionals,

and coloring pages. There are a variety of different ways you could use these resources at home:

• As a family, put together an order of worship. You can use this as an interactive piece to the scripture

reading and message/sermon.

• Use this as an individual or family devotional to reflect on throughout the week.

• Get a group of friends together, virtually, and color the coloring page and reflect on the scripture

passage.

• While you watch your church’s virtual worship service, your children can color the coloring page or

do the activities in the children’s worship bulletin.

We hope you enjoy this resource, and if you have any questions about it, you can always reach us at

info@illustratedministry.com. If you want to connect with others and see how they are using our resources,

you can also follow us on social media:

Facebook: fb.com/illustratedminInstagram: instagram.com/illustratedminTwitter: twitter.com/illustratedminPinterest: pinterest.com/illustratedmin

Peace,

The Illustrated Ministry Team

Our Facebook Group is a growing community. If you’re looking for ideas and suggestions for using

this resource, you can request to join here: fb.com/groups/illustratedmin

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Describe a recent time you were upset about something and what made you feel better. Note: If you are with a group, have each person take a turn sharing.

Scripture Reading: Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice!Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications!

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?But there is forgiveness with you, so that you may be revered.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in God’s word I hope;my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with God is great power to redeem.It is God who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

ReflectionThis morning’s scripture is from the book of Psalms, which is an entire book of songs and prayers written to God. Some of the psalms are really happy, but not all of them. In this song, the psalmist is deeply upset and looking for comfort and hope by crying out to God.

The psalmist cries out to God from the depths - a place of grief, despair, and deep worry. But as we read on, we can hear how the psalmist has faith things won’t stay that way. The psalmist trusts God will listen to their cries and bring them up from the depths. It won’t be immediate, though. There will be waiting.

Waiting is a hard thing to do. The psalmist tells us while they waited, they used that time to repent. Repentance means changing your mind. It’s letting how you see yourself and the world be transformed. It can involve saying good-bye to old things or old ways of living and being. Like the psalmist who wrote this whole song with hope from the depths of pain, we too are waiting.

FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT - MARCH 29FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT - MARCH 29

© 2020 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.comMay be reproduced for congregational and personal use only, provided each copy carries this notice.

When we’re struggling with the many challenges we are experiencing with COVID-19, we may feel different kinds of emotions. One thing we can do is pray — that is, talk to God and share all of what we feel like the psalmist did. God welcomes all of our emotions. God hears us when we’re upset, scared, sad, or mad, as much as when we’re happy, proud, and joyful.

Take a moment to think about how you feel when someone you care about is hurting. If you’re in a group, share your responses. Just like you care when someone you love is hurting, happy, or scared, remember God also loves us and cares about how we feel. God feels it with us.

Discussion Questions1. What is the hardest thing about waiting?2. What do you do when you’re really, really happy?3. What do you do when you feel upset? What makes you feel better? 4. Who do you talk to when you need to share how you feel?

PrayerDear God, thank you for always being with us and caring about us and our feelings. Thank you for always listening when we pray. Amen.

Psa

lm 13

0 ⋅ illustra

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inistry.com

© 2020 Illustrated M

inistry, LLC. A

ll rights reserved. illustratedministry.com

. May be reproduced for congregational and personal use only, provided each copy carries this notice.

FE

EL

ING

S A

CT

IVIT

Y P

AG

EF

EE

LIN

GS

AC

TIV

ITY

PA

GE

Use this page to draw

or write about w

hat you’re feeling. Whether you draw

or write, both

are ways to pray to G

od and share how you’re feeling.

When

we

talk about

compassion,

we

usually do so in terms of having com

passion for som

eone other than ourselves. But it is essential to have com

passion for ourselves. Especially now, w

hen CO

VID-19

has entirely disrupted our daily life.

One act of com

passion you can practice this w

eek is naming your em

otions. When

we nam

e our feelings, we becom

e aware

of how a situation is affecting us and how

w

e can have compassion for ourselves and

others. When w

e’ve caused hurt, we m

ake the necessary repairs in our relationships.

Do an internet search for “feelings w

heel” or “em

otion wheel.” Find one you like, and if

you can, print it out and place it somew

here visible in your hom

e.

Check in w

ith yourself or your family/

group a few tim

es a day. Using the em

otion w

heel, ask, “what are you feeling right now,”

and identify the emotion on the w

heel. Rem

ember, there are no right or w

rong feelings. It can also be an excellent tim

e to rem

ember no feeling is final.

Sugge

sted fo

r use o

n Ma

rch 29, 2

02

0 b

ase

d on the

RC

L.C

op

yright ©️ 20

20 Illustrate

d Ministry, LLC

. All rights re

serve

d. May b

e re

pro

duced fo

r co

ngregatio

nal use p

rovide

d each co

py carrie

s this notice

. illustratedm

inistry.com

Activitie

s base

d on E

zekie

l 37:1-14, Psalm

130, Ro

mans 8:6-11, Jo

hn 11:1-45.

“I wa

it for yo

u, Go

d, my

soul w

aits, a

nd in Go

d’s w

ord I ho

pe

…”

- Psa

lm 13

0:5

John 11 sha

res the

am

az

ing sto

ry of Je

sus bring

ing

one

of his frie

nds, Laz

arus, b

ack to

life. La

za

rus had

died a

nd wa

s in a to

mb

, and Je

sus calle

d him to

com

e

out o

f the to

mb

. Ima

gine yo

u are

wa

tching this m

iracle

hap

pe

n. Dra

w w

hat yo

u see

.

The

pro

phe

t Ez

ekie

l wa

s sent b

y Go

d to p

rop

hesy

in ma

ny pla

ces, including

a va

lley o

f dry bo

nes. H

elp

E

ze

kiel find his w

ay.

© 2020 Illustrated Ministry, LLC. All rights reserved. illustratedministry.comMay be reproduced for congregational and personal use only, provided each copy carries this notice.

ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

ARIANNE BRAITHWAITE LEHN is a mother, one half of a clergy couple, writer, and ordained minister with

the Presbyterian Church (USA). As a South Dakota native, Arianne originally planned on Law School until

God called her to Taiwan where everything changed. She later graduated from McCormick Theological

Seminary (Chicago). She and her family live in Wilmette, Illinois. Arianne is the author of Ash and Starlight:

Prayers for the Chaos and Grace of Daily Life. You can connect with Arianne and her writing at her website

ariannebraithwaitelehn.com.

CORBY ORTMANN is a digital illustrator and animator, whose work includes caricatures, graphic design,

children’s books, and animated commercials/music videos. He currently lives in Fargo, North Dakota with his

wife and daughter, who help him to step away from the art table every so often. You can find more of his work

at www.corbyortmann.com.

ABOUT THE EDITOR

REBEKAH LOWE, a local of Kansas City, Southern California, and Austin, Texas, earned a B.A. in Biblical

Studies with a minor in Leadership Studies and a minor in Hebrew at Azusa Pacific University and served as

the Director of Children’s Ministry at Brentwood Presbyterian Church (USA) in Los Angeles, California, for

over five years. She resides in Austin, Texas with her husband and their two daughters.

ABOUT ILLUSTRATED MINISTRY’S FOUNDER + CEO

ADAM WALKER CLEAVELAND is an artist, pastor, pastor’s spouse, and father of four (two living). Adam is an

ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA), and after doing youth ministry for over 15 years,

he founded Illustrated Ministry, LLC. He resides in Racine, Wisconsin with his wife and children.