Category Archives: Children’s Sermons

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Epiphany Matthew 2:1-12

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ffjChildrenSermonPreparation: Stars cut out of paper and markers. Optional: tape or cut the stars out and add a piece of double sided tape or other way that they can ‘stick’ on to someone.

Faith+Gather: Gather the children with you and ask them if they know the part of the story about the wisemen. See how much they can tell. Use a picture or prop from your creche if you have one. Say, “The wisemen followed a star, which give light. Today we begin the season of epiphany and in this season of the church year we read scripture stories and think about how God’s being in the world brings us light.”

Faith+Connect: Say, “I know that God sends us star-like people in our lives to help show us the ways of Jesus. These people care about us, tell us about how they see Jesus in their lives, they help us know how to love one another and other people, things like that. Can you think of people who are stars for you?” Share a person who is a star for you and why. Take answers from the kids. Also ask, “How do show you about Jesus?”

Give each child the star piece of paper and a marker. Ask them to write down a name or a letter or a picture to say who is a star for them. Then tell them that if the person is here they can stick this star to them. If they person is not here they can mail it or give it to them when they see them. If the person has died they can put this star in their room or you could create a board or space somewhere in the worship space or church where all the stars can be placed. You can do this during this time or send them back to their seats for this part, or if you have an interactive time in worship such as an open space time you could have this as a station and let them know when they can do this activity.

Say, “Stars in our lives help us to remember about Jesus and help us to be stars for other people. We always have the light of Christ with us in so many ways. These stars can help you remember one way and one person today and this week.”

Faith+Prayer: Jesus, you were born to show us the way of love. We thank you for the lights of the stars in the sky and for the light of the people who are stars for us. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Make the sign of the cross and teach the children: God in my head, God in my heart, God on my left, God on my right.

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Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Christmas 1C Luke 2:41-52

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ffjChildrenSermonPreparation: Find three people to help you tell the gospel story: a man, a woman and a boy. Go to this link at Worshipping with Children for the reading: Jesus as boy in Temple

Faith+Gather: Invite the children forward. Ask, “What does the Christmas story tell us about Jesus?” Accept answers, “Right, that he was born as a baby, just like you and me! Today we here another story about Jesus growing up, this one he is older, maybe about 12. Are any of you 12? Well I have some people here to tell us the story. A father like Joseph, a mother like Mary, and Jesus as a boy.”

Faith+Share: Have the three people you found tell the story using the provided script or your own. Then ask, “How do you think it felt for Mary and Joseph when they couldn’t find Jesus? How do you think Jesus felt when he was found?” We don’t have many stories of Jesus growing up, in fact this is about it but what’s important here is that we remember that Jesus was born and he grew up like you and I do, he had experiences with his family and friends and community that were about being lost and found and happy and sad and all those human things. And it says here that Mary kept these things in her heart. What do you think that means? I think your moms and dads and people who love you keep things about you in their hearts, like remembering what you were like or when you teach them something about love or God just like Jesus as a boy taught his parents about the importance of being close to God. And I also know that God keeps you close to God’s heart because just like Jesus grew up like we do, Jesus is also God and able to know us and love us fully. This is why we keep stories of Jesus in our hearts and why we come to worship, so that we can remember all the time that we are loved and kept close to God’s heart.

Faith+Prayer: Jesus, we are glad for your birth, we are glad for you being a child, we are glad that you know us and keep us in your heart in love. Amen.

Faith+Blessing: God in our head, God in our heart, God on our left, God on our right. (say these words while making the sign of the cross and have the kids do this with you)

Children's Sermons

Christmas Day John 1:1-14

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ffjChildrenSermonPreparation: advertise that children are welcome to come in their pajamas and bring a gift they received. You can also ‘plant’ some children and encourage them to come with gifts or bring your own, A stocking or box or bag filled with small candles, a children’s Bible or this book is recommended: The Light of the World: The Life of Jesus for Children by Katherine Paterson 

Faith+Gather: Gather the children up front or near the tree or creche–where it makes sense in your setting. What gifts did you bring with you? Let the children share what gifts they have with them and ask about who they received the gift from.

Faith+Share: As they are sharing who gave them the gift, comment on those relationships and how part of the gift is that the person giving it to us is sharing themselves and what they have with us. When the kids are done sharing their gifts show them that you have a gift bag/stocking/ as well. There is something pretty simple in my bag but also an important part of Christmas. Last night you heard the story of Mary and Joseph and how they went to Bethlehem… do a quick retell or have kids help you. And the gift that was born was Jesus. Today in our Gospel we are also going to hear a story about how Jesus came into the world told in a different way from the Gospel of John. John says that in the beginning–the very beginning at creation Jesus was there as the word and as the light and then he came into the world to bring God’s word and God’s light to people. And do you know why God did this? You have received gifts from people who love you and care about you and want to share themselves with you. God loves you and cares about you and wants to share hope and love and joy and peace with you.

**here read part of the gospel or read from a children’s Bible or book. “The light of the World” book mentioned in preparation is a good one to use in this section to help tie the stories of Christ as light together. Adjust for your time and setting.

We know Jesus came as a baby to be with us and that he is the word of God come to bring love to us and that Jesus is the light–that no matter what happens in our lives Jesus is with us and promises that one day the light of God is stronger than any darkness that we might see or feel or hear. So can you guess what is in my bag? (let them guess, leading them to think of things that make light)

Yes! A candle, a very simple white candle because candles can help us remember that Jesus is with us all the time, even if it’s a just a little bit of light from this candle. we know that Christ is here. (option: Light one of the candles or point to the candles that are lit) Give each child a small candle. (option: you can also give them a label sticker and markers or a cross sticker to put on the candle. Or if you have an interactive time in your worship you can invite them to take their candle to that station and decorate it. I will be using label stickers and letting them draw on them and then wrap them around their candle.)

Faith+Prayer: Ask children to hold their candles as you prayer together: Jesus, light of the world, come be a light in my heart and help me see you everyday. Amen.

Faith+Blessing: Children of God, you are lights for the world today and always. Amen.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Christmas Eve (Or Christmas Day)

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Prepare: This one takes some preparation time. You will need about six 2×2 (or so) boxes and three large Christmas card sized envelopes, a large Christmas stocking and the supplies to make the below objects that tell the story of the Nativity. Disclaimer: This retelling combines the Matthew and the Luke narratives. It does not follow just one gospel.

Faith + Gather:  bring the children up to either the tree in your sanctuary or to the crèche. Show them the stocking and ask if they have one similar at home. What do they find in their stocking? Presents! Well in your stocking is a present as well, and a story about the best gift of all.

Faith + Connect: Have the boxes/envelopes marked #1-8 for ease of getting the order correct. Begin by pulling out

#1-Have a child open the box. Have a small scroll tied with a gold ribbon. The scroll can say something like-“Name: Joseph From: Nazareth Family Line: David Report to: Bethlehem. Tell this part of the story. Tell why Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem.

#2-Have a printed of picture of Bethlehem (a clipart version is available). Tell the children about how when they got to Bethlehem there was no room to be found at all! You can also use a picture of a stable if you prefer.

#3-I use a large envelope for this one. I made a “manger” by cutting a toilet paper tube in half the long way and stapling the two halves together-one is the base and the other holds (in #7) the baby Jesus. I glued yellow felt for hay an used small popsicle sticks for the base of the manger. Tell how Mary had to put her baby in a feeding trough. No crib, no hospital-just the animals and Mary and Joseph!

#4-I have use a picture of Mary, Joseph and the animals in the barn. You can have younger children name barn animals.

#5- Put a small candy cane in the box. This is to talk about the shepherds who were in their fields watching sheep (the candy cane is the shepherds hook.)

#6-I made an angel “halo” out of gold sparkle pipe cleaner. The angels appeared to the shepherds proclaiming the birth of Jesus. You could sing “Gloria” here.

#7-The shepherds go to the stable and find the baby Jesus in the manger. I made a baby Jesus out of a small clothes pin. I drew a face and just glued white felt around the “baby.” Have a child put the baby Jesus in the manger from #3.

#8-I have a cross ornament that says Love on it. (I also use and envelope for this one.) I then talk about how Jesus is God’s love that has come down to be with us and to make sure that nothing ever separates us from God. This the best gift that we will ever get. While we may get fun things in our stockings this year or from under the Christmas tree, Jesus is the only gift that we need.

You can sing one verse of Away in a Manger here or Jesus Loves me.

Faith + Pray: Dear God, thank you for this story of love. You love us so much and all of the time and it is the best gift that we could ever get. Amen.

Faith + Bless: (Make the sign of the cross on one another): You are a gift from God. 

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon December 24th , 2012 First Sunday of Christmas Luke 2:1-20

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Prepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home. Please see the attached sheet.  The sheet has an ornament to print and the devotion to print on the back of it. The devotion will change each week. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and household.

Faith + Gather: gather the children by the Advent wreath. Perhaps at a “children’s worship service” you could read the gospel from a children’s story Bible. Spark Story Book Bible and the Jesus Story Book Bible are two of my favorite.

Faith + Connect: (If you have been following the children’s sermon series from this blog this will be a natural continuation. If not, please feel free to alter as needed!) So we lit one candle a week for four weeks on our Advent wreath. Here it is Christmas Eve! We are gathered to hear the story of Jesus’ birth and to celebrate that day. What do you see that is added to the wreath? That’s right a white candle in the middle. It is called the Christ Candle. It’s kind of like Jesus’ birthday candle.

Besides being fun, why do we celebrate Jesus’ birthday? (Accept all answers) We celebrate Jesus’ birthday not just for presents but to remember that Jesus was a gift from God to us! It’s Jesus’ birthday but we get the gifts!! God wants to give us what we need. Do we NEED new toys? No,but it’s special when we get them. Do we NEED new clothes? Sometimes  we do but not all the time.  Do we NEED candy? No, but candy is a nice treat isn’t it? God wants us to have what we need which is to be close to God. By sending Jesus as a baby, God tells us that God is with us always, forever and ever. God know that this is what we really need. God does want us to have clothes, food, toys, candy (just a little), friends, and family-Just like your parents want you to have all that you want and need so does God. But most of all God knows that you need love and gives that to us all the time. How are some ways that you know that you are loved by God?

The shepherds heard the angels sing of God’s love. They went and found the baby Jesus and then when they left they praised God telling people of God’s love. Let’s make sure that everyone we talk to knows God’s love too!

Faith + Prayer: God, we are amazed at the great love you                                         

have for us. Let us, like the shepherds, praise you all the

time for the gift of Jesus, amen.                                                              

Faith + Blessing: : (make the sign of the cross on each other)

Child of God, do not be afraid. Jesus is with you.

 

 

 

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Dec. 23rd 2012, Fourth Sunday of Advent Luke 1: 46-55

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Prepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home. Please see the attached sheet.  The sheet has an ornament to print and the devotion to print on the back of it. The devotion will change each week. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and household.

Faith +Open: Gather the children to the Advent wreath. Say, Last week we talked about joy and how we can share the joy of God’s love with everyone we meet. Who remembers why we light a candle each week? (Accept all answers) That’s right to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and that Jesus will come again to us. Last week we lit the candle of Joy , this week we light the candle of Peace. How many candles do we have left to light? Yes they are all lit! Christmas Eve is tomorrow! Who’s excited? (Have an acolyte, or an older child light the four candles.)

Faith +Connect: We are so excited for tomorrow! We heard in today’s Bible story about Mary going to visit her relative Elizabeth. They were both going to have a baby! Elizabeth would have a son named John and Mary’s baby name was….(have the children guess! J ). That’s right Jesus! They were both so happy! Mary was so happy that she sang a song that we call the Magnificat-it means magnify. Mary’s song is about God bringing peace to the world. Who knows what peace is? (No fighting, quiet, calm, getting along, etc.) Yes, peace can be all of those things but God says that peace is more than that. Peace is also when everyone has a enough to eat, when everyone has a place to live, clothes, and friends. Can we bring God’s peace to people? Yes! We can help build houses, we give clothes to the Action center, we can give hugs and be a friend. We are part of God’s peace! How cool is that?

Each of you will get this candle ornament that you can take home and color blue (or purple if you do purple in Advent). You can hang it on your Christmas tree and now you will have four for the four weeks of Advent. On the back is a Bible passage from Luke 1 to read, a prayer and a blessing. You can do this at dinner, in the car or before bed. Let’s practice it now.

Faith +Pray: God of Joy, we sing for joy that you love us. We will sing your love to the whole world, amen.

Faith+ Bless: Have everyone in the congregation turn to one another and say this blessing while making the sign of the cross on their forehead or hand: “Child of God you are free in God’s love.” 

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Dec. 16th 2012, Third Sunday of Advent Isaiah 12: 1-6

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ffjChildrenSermonPrepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home. Please see the attached sheet.  The sheet has an ornament to print and the devotion to print on the back of it. The devotion will change each week. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and household.

FaithCross_ConnectALT Gather the children to the Advent wreath. Say, Last week we talked about how much God loves us. God love us so much that God sent Jesus to show God’s love for the whole world. Who remembers why we light a candle each week? (Accept all answers) That’s right to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and that Jesus will come again to us. Last week we lit the candle of Love, this week we light the candle of Joy. How many candles do we have left to light? (Have an acolyte, or an older child light the three candles.)

 FaithCross_ConversationALTWhat is joy? What things do you do or say when you are so happy that you can’t contain it? Who show me how they act when they are joyful or really happy? Did you know that God loves being joyful with you and about you? God rejoices everyday for you and God showed that joy by sending Jesus to us. Do you think that God wants us to share joy with people around us like our friends, brothers or sisters, mom or dad, aunts or uncles, grandmas and grandpas etc.? How can we do that? (By helping to feed hungry people, hugs, helping a friend or sibling, singing songs together, etc.) Yes, there are so many ways to show God’s joy to other people.

Each of you will get this candle ornament that you can take home and color blue (or purple if you do purple in Advent). You can hang it on your Christmas tree and each week you will get another one to add to the tree. So now you will have three. On the back is a Bible passage from Isaiah 12 to read, a prayer and a blessing. Look for all the ways that you see God’s joy in the world and tell your mom, dad, sister or brother about how shared God’s joy that day. You can do this at dinner, in the car or before bed. Let’s practice it now.

FaithCross_PrayALTGod of Joy, we sing for joy that you love us. We will sing your love to the whole world, amen.

 

 

FaithCross_BlessALTHave everyone in the congregation turn to one another and say this blessing while making the sign of the cross on their forehead or hand: “Child of God you are free in God’s love.” 

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Dec. 9th 2012, Second Sunday of Advent Luke 1:68-79

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Scripture: Luke 1:68-79

Prepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home. Please see the attached sheet. The sheet has an ornament to print and the devotion to print on the back of it. The devotion will change each week. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and household.

Faith +Open: Gather the children to the Advent wreath. Say, Last week we talked about the Advent wreath, the color, the number of candles, and what Advent means. Who remembers why we light a candle each week? (Accept all answers) That’s right to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world and that Jesus will come again to us. Last week we lit the candle of Hope, this week we light the candle of Love. (Have an acolyte, or an older child light both candles.)

Faith +Connect: What is love to you? This week in our Bible stories we hear about how much God has loved us-all people from the very beginning of time. When you love someone, some place or something you want to be with that person, that place or that thing (like a doll or blanket) all the time don’t you? Well God also wants to be with us and everyone all the time. And God wants us-all of God’s people whom God loves-love to be together too. We hear in Luke 1 a blessing from Zechariah-John the Baptist’s father-to his son John, and the blessing is that John will tell the world about God’s love and that God will make all of us peaceful with one another.

How can we show our family, brothers, sister, neighbors God’s love and peace?

Each of you will get this candle ornament that you can take home and color blue (or purple if you do purple in Advent). You can hang it on your Christmas tree and each week you will get another one to add to the tree. So now you will have two. On the back is a Bible passage from Luke 1 to read, a prayer and a blessing. You can do this at dinner, in the car or before bed. Let’s practice it now!

Faith +Pray: God of Hope, you free us from whatever keeps us from you. Thank you for being with us always, amen.

Faith+Bless: Have everyone in the congregation turn to one another and say this blessing while making the sign of the cross on their forehead or hand: “Child of God you are free in God’s love.”

~BW

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Dec. 2nd 2012, First Sunday of Advent Psalm 25

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Scripture: Psalm 25

Prepare: This series of children’s sermons in Advent will utilize your Advent wreath in your worship space. Each week the as the candle is lit (ask an older child to help with lighting the wreath) you will explain what the candle means and then give them a take home devotion. Download it here! The idea is for the devotion to be copied on the back of the candle ornament to be used as a family devotion. Have a copy made on card stock for each child and/or household.

Faith+Open: Gather the children to the Advent wreath. Say, “Does anyone know what day today is in the Church?” Accept all answers. Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are gathered here at this wreath with candles on it, we call this an Advent Wreath, and we are going to light just one candle today. Each week of Advent we will light another candle until all of the candles are lit. How many candles do you see here? That’s right four! There are four weeks of Advent; four weeks until we celebrate Jesus’ birthday, Christmas. We light a candle to remind us that Jesus is the light of the world!

Faith+Share: Did you know that each candle has a name? This week’s candle’s name is the Hope candle. What is hope? Accept all answers. Hope is expecting something wonderful to happen. We know that something wonderful happened when Jesus was born and also when Jesus died and rose again. This wonderful thing is that God loves us so much and we expect God to be with us always because God promised this to us! Nothing keeps us from God and we are free to love God and everyone around us!

Each of you will get this candle ornament that you can take home and color blue (or purple if you do purple in Advent). You can hang it on your Christmas tree and each week you will get another one to add to the tree. On the back is a Bible passage to read, a prayer and a blessing. You can do this at dinner, in the car or before bed. Let’s practice it now!

Faith+Pray:  God of Hope, you free us from whatever keeps us from you. Thank you for being with us always, amen.

Faith+Bless: Have everyone in the congregation turn to one another and say this blessing while making the sign of the cross on their forehead or hand: “You are free in God’s love.”

As you distribute the ornaments with the devotion on the back, have them sing “This Little Light of Mine” as they go back to their seats.

~BW

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon for November 25, 2012, Christ the King, year B, John 18:33-37

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Scripture Focus: John 18:33-37

Prepare: Find a fancy crown, a crown of thorns, a wash basin, a towel, and a palm branch or palm cross (if you can find one). Put everything but the fancy crown in a box or bag to keep it out of sight.

Faith+Open: Have the fancy crown out as the children gather. Ask them what the crown makes them think of.

Faith+Share: When I see a crown like this, I think of kings and queens, and knights and princesses, too! And today is Christ the King Sunday, they day that we celebrate Christ as King of everything. Except, do you think about Jesus when you see a crown like this? Yeah, me neither. What about this crown (pull the crown of thorns out)? What story about Jesus does this make you think of? Right! This is a reminder of Good Friday, but that wasn’t really a great day for Jesus, was it? I mean, he was arrested, he was yelled at and hurt, and things just got worse. Not exactly the glorious kind of day that we usually hear about with kings.

What about this (pull out the palm branch or palm cross)? Yeah, I think of Palm Sunday. That was a much more kingly day for Jesus, don’t you think? People where lining the street and cheering for him, and putting palm branches and cloaks on the ground in front of him. He was riding on a donkey, though, not a big powerful horse like I would imagine in a “king” story.

Or what about these things (the basin and the towel)? Remember when Jesus used things like these to wash his disciple’s feet? Well that’s not a kingly thing at all! They should have been washing his feet.

It seems like Jesus is not the kind of king that we typically think of. He rides on a donkey, he washes other people’s feet, and he wears a really painful looking crown. His kingdom isn’t really the same either. In Jesus’ kingdom the special people are the people who serve others. The important things in Jesus’ kingdom are not wealth and power, but love and mercy. In that kingdom Jesus makes the perfect king. Jesus is even the king over death! Yes, he died on Good Friday, but he was raised to life on Easter! So, on this Christ the King Sunday we celebrate the Kingdom of God, and the promise of mercy and love for all.

Faith+Prayer: King Jesus, teach us to serve others as you served your disciples. Teach us to be humble like you were when you rode a donkey. Teach us to show love and mercy to all, in Jesus name we pray. Amen

Faith+Blessing: May God’s grace and mercy be with you all.

~GB

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