Some of our Sunday school youth decorated cookies one day, sugar cookies with white icing, that we created snowman faces on, with assorted candies strategically placed. What a range of expressions can be conveyed on a cookie face with a simple piece of strawberry licorice for a mouth! The children had fun eating the candy and getting some of the candy on the cookies as well. The cookies were given to the shut ins when our church went caroling during the Christmas season. There were plenty of these wonderful confections left over and put in the freezer for after church on Sunday.
But, aah, the after service refreshment break.....
Romans 12:10-13 " Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor , not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality." In practising hospitality we give preference to one another in love, modeling this so our children can see it in action and learn how it is to be done. We need to be mindful of children to see the teachable moment when children are trying to get to the refreshment table at the end of the worship service, and in doing so, are pushing slower elderly people aside. Adults should be ready to assist children in the selection of the appropriate amount of refreshments and in the appropriate manner. I wonder if there was this much ruckus at the feeding of the 5,000 with the loaves and fishes as there is with the social time at our churches some Sunday's? In this time of fast food we need to be proactive about teaching our children the art of hospitality.
