Monthly Archives: May 2013

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon 3rd Sunday After Pentecost (Lec. 10), Luke 7:11-17 – June 9, 2013

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Prepare:  The best possible set up for this is to find some “Pied Pipers,” Maybe a group of youth who are willing to follow you first and help call some of the children along.  The idea is to generate excitement about something that has yet to be seen.  You will also need something fun at the other end, like a Martin Luther bobble-head, or a cool poster of Jesus, or a beautiful cross, or . . .  It almost doesn’t matter, as long as it’s something unexpected.  Hide it somewhere so that you can lead the children around for a little while.

20130520-224945.jpg  Start in a different spot than you usually would, and call for the children to follow you.  Make sure that you “Pied Pipers” are ready to get up and encourage the children to come along, too.  When you find the object, be excited about it and show the children what you found as you head the usual spot.

FaithCross_ConversationALT  Well, that wasn’t what I expected to find!  What did you think we were looking for? (take a few answers)  I think that we were a little like the crowd in the Gospel story today.  See, they were following Jesus even though they didn’t know where he was going or what he was planning to do.  They were just following to see what would happen – kind of like you following me!  Now I have to admit that what we found was fun, but it was nothing compared to what Jesus showed them.

The story goes like this, Jesus had just healed a slave that belonged to a Centurion (a Roman soldier) and the people were amazed that Jesus could heal him, and that Jesus would help a Roman soldier!  So they all started to follow him.  Then, as people saw the crowd, more people started to follow, even though they didn’t know what they would see.  When they got to the next town they saw something amazing and unbelievable!  Jesus talked to a widow!  Yeah, I know what you’re thinking, why is that amazing?  Well, a widow is a woman whose husband has died, and when Jesus was teaching widows were worse to talk to than Roman soldiers!  People couldn’t believe that Jesus would talk to her.  To make things worse, Jesus was interrupting a funeral – the widow’s son had also just died.  Jesus, seeing how hard this was for the woman raised her son from the dead!  Now the crowd was blown away by the things they had seen.  So much better than the (whatever your object was) that we found.

I think that this is still true for us today.  We often try to follow Jesus, even though we don’t know where Jesus is leading us.  But, it we do our best to follow, and keep our eyes and ears open, we might hear and see some amazing things!

FaithCross_PrayALT  Amazing God, we do our best to follow you and see the things that you do in the world.  Teach us to rejoice in the work that you do.  Teach us to not just follow you, but to help you do the work that needs to be done.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT  In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are loved by God. (have children repeat this)

~GB

Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon 2nd Sunday After Pentecost (Year C, Lec. 9), Luke 7:1-10 – June 2, 2013

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Prepare:  Find several action figure toys, some that are inherently good and some that are inherently bad, and two boxes or baskets to sort them into.

FaithCross_ConnectALT  Have the action figures out for the children to see as they gather (yes, this will be “dangerous” in terms of distraction).  Ask them if they have a favorite superhero (or whatever relates to what you have with you)

FaithCross_ConversationALT  It sounds like you guys have some good favorite heroes!  I have some here with me, and I think that I have some good guys and some bad guys, but I’m not sure.  Can you help me sort them out?

(Take some time to sort the good guys and the bad guys into the baskets or boxes)

Wow, thanks!  So, I’m going to guess that we all like the good guys, right?  Those are the ones that we want to play with most of the time, right?  I like having some bad guys around so that the good guys can be heroes and save people, but I always want the good guys when I play.  But, which box do you think belongs to God, the good guys or the bad guys?  We will get back to that question later.

That makes me think of the Gospel story that we hear today.  Jesus is walking through a town when a Roman soldier comes to him and asks Jesus to heal his servant, who is really sick.  Well, really the Roman soldier sends some of the Jews in the town to talk to Jesus, because the soldier thinks that he is not good enough to talk to Jesus!  When Jesus goes to his house, the soldier says that Jesus should not come in because he is not worthy to have the Lord in his house, Jesus needs only to speak the work and his servant will be well.  Jesus is amazed by the soldier’s faith and heals the servant with a word.

I think that everyone would agree that most of the Roman soldiers were the “bad guys” where Jesus lived.  People were afraid of the soldiers and would do what they were told to do.  So, why would Jesus help this soldier?  (See if you get some answers – but steer them to – ) Because God loves everybody!  So, back to our heroes and villains.  Which box belongs to God?  (Steer them toward both boxes!)

Yes!  Both boxes belong to God, because God loves everybody.

FaithCross_PrayALT  God of Love, we rejoice in the love that you shower on us!  Teach us to rejoice with you in loving the people we would call our enemies.  Help us to share your amazing love throughout all our days and with all people.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT  In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are loved by God. (have children repeat this)

~GB (thank you to Pastor Michael Stadtmueller for the great idea!)

Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.

Faith + Home Connection

Faith + Home Connection Luke 7:36-8:3

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20130520-224945.jpgGather the household around the dining table. Jesus was dining at a Pharisee’s house in this passage. Have some perfume or scented bath oil available. Share highs and lows for the day with each other and pray about them together.

FaithCross_BibleALTRead Luke 7: 36-8:3 The story of the woman forgiven and the women who traveled with Jesus.

FaithCross_ConversationALTFor children: When was a time that you had to tell a friend that you were sorry for something that you had said or done to them that wasn’t very nice? What did they say to you?Have you ever had someone tell you that they were sorry for being mean or not nice to you? What did you tell them when they said “I’m sorry”?  Did you forgive them? God loves us so much that God sent Jesus to tell us that God forgives us all the time, no matter what! That doesn’t mean that we can do whatever we want and it’s ok, we should try to love like Jesus loves us. But what that does mean is that when we mess up, we get to try again!

For youth/adults: The woman in the this story is so compelled by what she has heard about God through Jesus, that she seeks him out in order to show her gratitude. We don’t know if she has ever had any real contact with Jesus personally but we do know that she fully believes that Jesus reconciles her past and gives her a hopeful future where she is no longer in shame. Forgiveness is tricky, God forgives all sins and sinners, even people that WE may not think deserve it. We may lie a bit, or just innocuously cheat a little but other people who kill or steal large amounts or worse….do they also get the same forgiveness? Jesus is saying here, yes. That is difficult for us many days. What would it mean for our society if we really lived the way that Jesus forgives and reconciled? What would it mean for us personally? What would it mean to be able to go about our days “in peace”?

FaithCross_PrayALTForgiving Lord, your gifts of faith and forgiveness are freely given to us all and yet can be hard for us to accept. Help us to show great love to all people and for all of creation. Allow us to live our lives in the peace that only you can offer us. In Jesus name, amen.

FaithCross_BlessALTUse the perfume or the scented oil and make the sign of the cross on each other’s forehead or hand. Say, “Your sins are forgiven; go in peace.”

FaithCross_ConnectALTThe woman cleansed Jesus feet in response of God cleansing her whole being. Let’s focus on collecting toiletries for a local food pantry or shelter for the month of June.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Trinity Sunday Year C Romans 5:1-5

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Guest writer–Pastor Michael Stadtmueller

Scripture: Romans 5:1-5

Prep: On Facebook or through other social media ask your members to share some ways that they have experienced God in the world this week.   Let them know you maybe using some of their answers in this weeks upcoming worship.  Make sure you can share a few different short stories collected in one sentence answers.

FaithCross_ConnectALTGather the children. Welcome them to worship

 

FaithCross_BibleALTRead from verse 5 of Romans, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.” Tell them that we believe that God is revealed to us in many ways through the Holy Spirit, and that today we celebrate the 3 separate ways in which God has been made revealed to the church.

FaithCross_ConversationALT(Trinity Sunday can be difficult to grasp when we get caught in the doctrine, so instead speak through the ways we experience God.) Share the images of how God has been revealed to your congregation members.  And ask the children to share where they have seen God.  Then ask the kids… which one was the right answer?  Remind them that God is most certainly revealed through the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and that we know this means that all of these answers are ways in which God has been revealed.

Remind them that a joy for a Christian is seeking to find how God is being revealed in their own lives and sharing that joy with others.

FaithCross_PrayALTGod the Father, Son and Holy Spirit we know that you are active and present in our world today.  We pray that you would help us to point others to your ever present Grace by revealing yourself to us.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALTIn the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit you are loved by God. (have children repeat this)

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost Year C May 19, 2013

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Scripture Acts 2:1-21

Preparation: optional–streamers or ribbons or pom poms in red/orange/yellow colors like fire.

FaithCross_ConnectALTGather the children–If you have streamers or pom poms, hand them out. Hey kids! Look around, what colors do you see? What colors are you holding in your hands now? Does anyone know why I would pick those colors?

FaithCross_BibleALTToday is Pentecost! It’s a day in the church that we do a little celebrating and remembering of the first Pentecost. Anyone know what happened on the first Pentecost? (take answers or move on if no one answers) When he went to heave, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to be with us. Peter and the disciples had no idea what this would look like, they just knew that Jesus was gone and they were not sure what to look for in a coming Holy Spirit–they felt sad and maybe scared so they stayed all together and they did a lot of praying. Well, Pentecost was a festival day and so they were doing their festival prayers and not sure what to think about Jesus not being there with them and then–the Holy Spirit came! It came as a big wind and flames were dancing above their heads but not hurting them and people spoke different languages but could also understand one another.  Has that happened to you before? No? Yeah… it’s an amazing story that is why we want to remember it each year–but did you know that the Holy Spirit did not just come once and go away? Do you know where the Holy Spirit went?  Yes–it went EVERYWHERE! And it’s still moving and talking to people and the Holy Spirit is here with us and in us.

FaithCross_ConversationALTI think that’s pretty exciting so I thought we could use our ribbons and say a cheer for the Holy Spirit–do you know any cheers? One we used to do a lot when I was in High School and we were cheering for our team at a sport event goes like this–We’ve got Spirit yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how about you? and then the other people in the stand on the other side would yell the same thing back. I am thinking we can change it just a little and say We’ve got Holy Spirit, yes we do, we’ve got Holy Spirit how about you? –Let’s try it.  Try out the cheer. Great job! (or do it again if it wasn’t great!) Ok, so now we are going to try it again, but this time we are going to stand up and look at all those people and see if we can get them to say the cheer back to us. You can wave your ribbons in the air while you are doing this.

Have kids do the cheer and have the assembly cheer back to them!

FaithCross_PrayALTHoly Spirit–we praise you for being here with us and in us. Help us to remember we always have your spirit and that we can share this spirit with others through our cheers, shouts, prayers and actions. Amen

FaithCross_BlessALTGod the Holy Spirit is in your head, in your heart, on your left and on your right. Amen

Children's Sermons

May 12, 2013 John 17:20-26 Easter 7C

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FaithCross_ConnectALTPrep: carnations for each woman in your congregation–or you could do a paper heart or leave out this part.

Gather the children. Welcome them to worship

 

FaithCross_BibleALTRead them verse 26, “I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Jesus says these words to his disciples–do you know who disciples are? (take answers)

FaithCross_ConversationALTJesus is talking to the first disciples who were with him but Jesus is also talking to all of us! Disciples are those who follow Jesus and here Jesus wants us to know that we are all a part of God’s children and that we are all made one in God’s love. This verse also got me to thinking about how it’s mother’s day and that God gives us mothers of all kinds. Sometimes they are the mothers who are the ones who gave birth to us or take care of us everyday or maybe sometimes they are our grandmothers too, but because Jesus says we are all one, we have other mothers too. Jesus is praying in this verse that we may know the love of God that he has shown us and that we can show it to others. So really, that means that all of us need to work together to show God’s love to eachother and to the world. When you are baptized all the people promise to help you raise you in God’s love and promises–so all the women and all the men who are here today and who are in our lives showing us about faith are like our Christian parents. Today we are going to share a special blessing for all the women because it’s mother’s days and we want to say thank you to all women–old and young, those who have children here today and those who do not–because they are a part of the oneness in God’s love that Jesus prays for and God promises.

So after we pray, we will say a blessing together to all the women here and then you can each take a few carnations and hand them out to all the women.

FaithCross_PrayALTGod-thank you for making us one, for giving us Christian adults in our lives to help us know your love and grace. We pray especially for all the gifts the women of our community bring to us your children. Grant them love, peace, and joy in you. Amen

FaithCross_BlessALTMay you know God’s love today and always. (have children repeat this and then hand out carnations if you have them)