Faith Formation Journeys

Walking Together in Grace

Author: gb

  • Children Sermon Pentecost 19A Matthew 22:34-46

    Preparation: Ten commandments written into the categories of Love God and Love Neighbor and index cards or pieces of paper rolled up with the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 written on them)

    Faith+Open: Gather children with you. Have you heard of the ten commandments? Can you tell me what they are? Respond as appropriate, if they know them Yay! If not, respond encouragingly that there are two commands they can learn (or maybe three, I’m partial to Honor father and mother 🙂

    Faith+Share: Good, we know that there are ten commandments given to Moses and actually there are a lot more than 10 in the Bible. There are 613! So we are going to learn them today… pause… just kidding! What rules do you have at home or school? Do you think there is one that is the most important? yay, it might be hard to decide what is most important. Jesus was asked by some leaders who knew all the 613 laws very well which one was the most important. And they might have been surprised because he had an answer for them. He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. If you think about it,(show ten commandments divided into these categories) when we talk about how to live as Christians these two commands cover all the other commandments. Go briefly through list. 

    When Jesus said to love God and neighbor he was not actually saying something new. He was telling them what scripture said in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus. In fact this was such important part about being Jewish that it has a special name, the Shema. Have them repeat the word Shema. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and explain that this tells us to love God and live in God’s word all the time, everyday and everywhere. Show them a mezuzah or the rolled up paper. The Shema would be in the mezuzah which would go on the doorposts of people’s homes so that would remember that God’s word was on their hearts at home and whenever they left home. Hand out the index cards or scrolls that you have prepared and encourage the children to take them home and put them on their table or by their door or in a special place. Tell them to try to read and say the Shema as a family every day this week.

    Faith+Prayer and Blessing: 
    God, you love us all the time. Thank you for the gift of your words and your love for us. Help us to show our love for you and our love for others by the way we act and live. In the name of the Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit. Amen.

    Extension Ideas: 
    1. Have kids repeat the Shema or parts of it.
    2. Make mezuzahs or scrolls together instead of handing them out
    3. use chart paper and have the kids come up with which category each commandment goes into
    4. Teach them the song “Love the Lord your God”  Here is a link to a youtube so you can hear the music

    Lyrics:
    Love the lord your God
    With all your heart and
    All your soul
    And all your mind
    And love all humankind
    As you would love
    Yourself and…

    Love the lord your God
    With all your heart
    And all your
    Soul and mind
    And love all humankind

    We’ve got Christian
    Lives to live
    We’ve got Jesus’
    Love to give
    We’ve got
    Nothing to hide
    Because in God we abide

    Love the lord your God
    With all your heart
    And all your soul
    And all your mind
    And love all humankind
    As you would love
    Yourself and…

    Love the lord your God
    With all your heart
    And all your
    Soul and mind
    And love all humankind

    We’ve got Christian
    Lives to live
    We’ve got Jesus’
    Love to give
    We’ve got
    Nothing to hide
    Because in God we abide  LOVE

    ~LB

  • Children Sermon Pentecost 18A Matthew 22:15-22

    Children Sermon Pentecost 18A Matthew 22:15-22

    Preparation: offering plate

    Faith+Open: Gather children to you. Hold up the offering plate. Do you know what this is used for?

    Yes for offering. What goes in offering? Yep mostly money, although you know sometimes a picture or note comes in the offering and that is wonderful too! 

    Faith+Share: Why do you suppose we collect an offering during worship? Take some answers and see what they have to say. You can also ask if they put anything in the offering plate.

    We do take offering as a part of worship because it is a way for us to be in ministry together, to put our money together and use it to help others, to teach people, to have a building to gather in, to have a place for people to pray, and sing, and worship, and get help, and talk to God, and all of the things that we do here together. Our gospel story today is Jesus telling the leaders of the synagogue and the people listening to him that we ‘give to God what is God’s’. What do you think is God’s? Take some answers. Is money God’s? Are we God’s? 

    Yes, really it’s an interesting answer because everything is God’s. So when we give to God what is God’s we are saying that we offer what we have in money, time, in our prayers, in who we are. And we are all children of God. We can offer what we have and ourselves to God everyday, not just in worship but in worship we do come all together to share and to give and to praise God for everything.

    Faith+Prayer: God, thank you for all that you have given us (list some things the kids brought up). Help us to know how to offer what we have to you and how to share what we have with others. Amen

    Faith+Blessing: Remember that you are God’s child all the time and everywhere. 

    Extended Idea: 

    1. Talk about saying ‘It’s Mine” and then say how God says YOU ARE MINE all the time!

    2. Offering is a time that kids can participate in worship, even without money. They can add drawings or notes or coins that they have. Consider having a basket up front (on a stand or held by an acolyte) where kids can come during the offering time of worship and bring their own offering. This has been a delightful experience for many churches and they do it every week!

    3. If you have a children’s church time, kids could draw pictures of their offering–something they are good at or draw/write a prayer, etc. and when they come back to worship they could be welcomed to put it in the offering basket.