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The Jesus MeetUp
"Happy Birthday Jesus!" Week #33
Baptism Instructions
Remembrance Supper
The Jesus MeetUp Happy Birthday Jesus! Week #33
As your group arrives be sure to have fun and festive music playing. After all – a birthday party is supposed be joyous and celebratory for the one you are honoring. If the JMU Kids have created a Happy Birthday Day Jesus! banner have it displayed in full sight. Be sure to have your greeters ready to welcome all and especially those who are new to the group. Be other’s oriented as Jesus is.
Leader: Today is a SPECIAL DAY! May we all say together a Happy Birthday to our Master.
All: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!”
He is here. He is now. He is before us. He is everywhere!
From one of our brightest and best:
“Life is never-ending. Love is self-revealing. Love is Jesus’ greatest revelation to you, now and forevermore. Love is abiding when all things earthly shall pass. Give each other your only true gift – love; show our little ones the path of love and truth. Commissioned are you all; take upon yourselves this solemn responsibility to our Master, Jesus.”
He says to our hearts, “My children, it is I. I am the Vine, you are my branches. Open, open your hearts. Allow, allow me to be with you. My dearest children, I wish to gather my disciples from across the land. You who will be my present-day workers, sow the seeds of your foundations well that you may be the planters for the generations to come on this sphere which has so long, too long, been cut off from direct input. This I know. I trust and have faith in your inner-beings, your true selves, your willingness to be the harvester of souls. I am deeply touched by all of you!
Open now your hearts. I will touch all of you with my love. [pause] I am always with you, always aware of your struggle. Do not ever feel that you have been forsaken. You will be the impetus for my rebirth.
I love you all. Reach out now. Hold my being close to you until you are with me in the Isle of Paradise. Sow your seeds deep; water them with spiritual waters and allow the rays of warmth from the Son – for that is who you gather your strength from. Yes, I am He, and will never fail you. My peace to you all. Carry on.”
Let us look closely at what Jesus has said previously to us about Himself.
182:1.9 The Master, during the course of this final prayer with his apostles, alluded to the fact that he had manifested the Father’s name to the world. And that is truly what he did by the revelation of God through his perfected life in the flesh. The Father in heaven had sought to reveal himself to Moses, but he could proceed no further than to cause it to be said, “I AM.” And when pressed for further revelation of himself, it was only disclosed, “I AM that I AM.”
But when Jesus had finished his earth life, this name of the Father had been so revealed that the Master, who was the Father incarnate, could truly say...
“I AM the living water”.
Spiritual water is real. It exists in the form of truth, of beauty, of goodness. It replenishes my soul. It rains down upon my soul, the soil of my heart, and awakens new growth. You see, the soul grows almost as an organic living reality-entity. This growth must be nurtured in time as all living things require time for growth. A tree begins its life as a seed, it is not a tree at all. It has no characteristics of its later maturity...and yes, from this small beginning, tiny beginning, magnificent beauteous and splendid results might occur. Many times, I have wondered about this, and yet, the ultimate secret lies, of course, with God: the ultimate truth of life and reality. I toiled in the gardens and thought on this subject deeply.
Yes, I tell you boldly—this absolute personality of pure love and life-energy, fragments himself and he dwells within you. His love for you is complete and pure; He truly needs nothing from you in return. But I tell you, the Father desires to know you, and for you to know him. He desires for you to give him back your love; and I say, the more you know our Father the easier it is to love him. I ask you each to take a short moment that we may thank our Father, together: [a few moments of silence.]
Our Father, you know us through and through, and we know that you love us no matter what. We need not hide from you. We stand in awe of your magnificence. We know of the great tasks you have performed. But we are here tonight to bid you thanks for your contribution to our individual personalities. We are small, we are young beings just recognizing your awesome love and strength. We who recognize your Indwelling Self are overflowing in your radiance and light. We extend to you our deepest gratitude and we send you our unending love. Amen.
Leader: At birthday parties oftentimes gifts are given. Let us take a look at what our Paradise Father considers a true gift. Ask another person to read.]
1:1.2 The Universal Father never imposes any form of arbitrary recognition, formal worship, or slavish service upon the intelligent will creatures of the universes. The evolutionary inhabitants of the worlds of time and space must of themselves — in their own hearts — recognize, love, and voluntarily worship him. The Creator refuses to coerce or compel the submission of the spiritual free wills of his material creatures. The affectionate dedication of the human will to the doing of the Father’s will is man’s choicest gift to God; in fact, such a consecration of creature will constitutes man’s only possible gift of true value to the Paradise Father. In God, man lives, moves, and has his being; there is nothing which man can give to God except this choosing to abide by the Father’s will, and such decisions, effected by the intelligent will creatures of the universes, constitute the reality of that true worship which is so satisfying to the love-dominated nature of the Creator Father.
112:0.9 7. Personality [our personal gift from our Paradise Father] is changeless in the presence of change.
112:0.10 8. It can make a gift to God — dedication of the free will to the doing of the will of God.
My gift to God!
You have paper and pens before you. Each one of us has the opportunity right now to make our own personal gift to God. In your heart, in this moment, go to God and tell Him what your gift to Him will be. Place your gift in the box/basket. [silent pause]
[After pause begin to play some softer music signifying the next activity.]
Leader: Discuss with those around you some ideas you may have for future service projects that could be done for your community, friends or families. Place those ideas in the box. Read the service project ideas and briefly discuss in the large group which projects have potential and why.
JMU Kids presentation
This is a time for the children to express their love for Jesus and develop leadership skills by play-acting this beautiful passage from Jesus’ teachings. [This skit should be prepared and practiced prior to this meeting.]
“Persist”
Read this passage:
144:2.3 "Prayer is the breath of the soul and should lead you to be persistent in your attempt to ascertain the Father's will. If any one of you has a neighbor, and you go to him at midnight and say: 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine on a journey has come to see me, and I have nothing to set before him'; and if your neighbor answers, 'Trouble me not, for the door is now shut and the children and I are in bed; therefore I cannot rise and give you bread,' you will persist, explaining that your friend hungers, and that you have no food to offer him. I say to you, though your neighbor will not rise and give you bread because he is your friend, yet because of your importunity he will get up and give you as many loaves as you need. If, then, persistence will win favors even from mortal man, how much more will your persistence in the spirit win the bread of life for you from the willing hands of the Father in heaven. Again I say to you: Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you. For every one who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks the door of salvation will be opened.
>>> Be sure that all children come forward at the end to take their bows to demonstrative applause!!! Allowing the children a time to perform in front of the group develops within them the beginnings of the leadership experience. Resist minimizing this in terms of ‘they are just kids’. No! You are beginning their training for leadership. These are HUGE events in a child’s life. Don’t stifle them. ENCOURAGE THEM!
Baptism/s
Leader: [If you have some baptisms this is the time to make your way there.] Let us now go to the baptism area. As the baptism/s conclude someone begins a Lovesong. [pass out the Remembrance Supper elements during this singing time. Utilizing music as the perfect transition tool, begin to play music as you encourage everyone to think upon what is next: Remembrance Supper]
Remembrance Supper
Conclude the Remembrance Supper time with a last song of CELEBRATION to prepare for Jesus’ Birthday Cake, if you have one. [have a trash can/bag nearby for disposal of Remembrance Supper cups etc…]
Leader: We have talked about some service projects – Jesus’ mother, Mary, performed quite an act of service as she labored and delivered the Sovereign Master of our Universe, Joshua ben Joseph – our Jesus. Here’s what happened.
122:8.1-2 All that night Mary was restless so that neither of them slept much. By the break of day the pangs of childbirth were well in evidence, and at noon, August 21, 7 B.C., with the help and kind ministrations of women fellow travelers, Mary was delivered of a male child. Jesus of Nazareth was born into the world, was wrapped in the clothes which Mary had brought along for such a possible contingency, and laid in a near-by manger. In just the same manner as all babies before that day and since have come into the world, the promised child was born; and on the eighth day, according to the Jewish practice, he was circumcised and formally named Joshua (Jesus).
122:8.5 At the noontide birth of Jesus the seraphim of Urantia, assembled under their directors, did sing anthems of glory over the Bethlehem manger, but these utterances of praise were not heard by human ears. No shepherds nor any other mortal creatures came to pay homage to the babe of Bethlehem until the day of the arrival of certain priests from Ur, who were sent down from Jerusalem by Zacharias.
Birthday Cake
If you have chosen to have a Jesus Birthday cake now is a great time to sing Happy Birthday to Him and continue to celebrate. JMU Kids suggestion: Previously help the JMU Kids decorate Jesus’ Birthday Cake. Make a big deal out of presenting their cake creation to the group resulting in huge applause and praise. Then >>> DIG INTO CAKE!]
End
Items needed for this event [Jesus Birthday Team can prepare these to help you]:
paper/pens or pencils for Best Gift to Jesus
box/basket in center of the room [this could be a box decorated like a big gift with a lid that can be removed. People put their ‘gifts to Jesus’ in the box.
Music
food
drink
Happy Birthday Jesus! banner [possibly created by the JMU Kids]
Jesus Birthday cake [ideas posted below or get creative with another new idea...and please TELL US YOUR IDEA!]
Lovesong song sheets [possibly instrumentalists to play music or use Karaoke tunes to sing by]
The Lord’s Prayer sheets
Remind the JMU Kids leaders to prepare everything for their kid’s presentation.
