Category Archives: Children’s Sermons

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Easter 4B John 10:11-18

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Scripture: John 10:11-18 

Preparation: Secure a live sheep–Ha, ha! Just kidding! Highly recommended NOT to try this unless you can move kiddos outside whereby it’s a really cool idea and I have seen it done it well!

Real Preparation: 
Plant a few people the children might know to say loudly “follow me”. You might want to pick a parent of one of the children.
musical instruments or other ‘noise makers’

Faith+Open: Gather children to you and welcome them in. Ask, Do you think you can tell what things are by their sound? Ok, close your eyes (this will have to be the honor system!) and I am going to make some sounds and you say what they are: 
proceed to make sounds like a bell, spoons together, clapping, other instruments, kazoo, whatever you can find. Do just a few 2-3.

Faith+Share: Now about people’s voices? Do you think you can tell who someone is by the sound of their voice? Close your eyes again and see if you can guess. Have the people you planted shout “Follow me” You can be one of them because they will know it’s you most likely even if they don’t know you because you will be sitting closest to them.
Jesus says today that the he knows his own and they know him. He calls himself the shepherd and the people the sheep that follow the shepherd. One way that sheep know who to follow is that they know the sound of their shepherd’s voice. Then they can follow the person who they know will take care of them and protect them. How do you know who to follow or trust? (take answers) Yes, it might not be only their voice but I bet you know if your parent or grandparent or teacher is calling your name because you have a relationship with them and know that they care for you. Jesus promises that he cares for you too and that he will be known to us because he will never leave us. 

Faith+Prayer: Jesus, help me know you, help me know your voice and your love. Thank you Jesus for your life and your love, for your death and for your rising. Amen

Faith+Blessing:
Remember what Jesus says to his disciples: Do not be afraid and peace be with you. +

~LB

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Easter 3B Luke 24: 36b-48

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Scripture: Luke 24: 36b-48

Preparation: a physical wound or scar you can share about

Faith + Open: Gather children with you. Say, have any of you ever gotten a hurt that left a mark? (Careful, there will be a million stories!) Anyone have a scar they can point to easily? Sometimes the scars we have or the wounds we have show something about us or tell a story. For example, I have this little scar on my small finger that was from when I was small and didn’t listen to my mom when she told me not to pick up a sharp knife. (Use your own story or a story from someone you know)

Faith + Share: After Jesus rose from the dead on Easter, do you remember who discovered the empty tomb? Yes the women. Then Jesus did appear a few times to some people like Mary and other disciples. Today in our gospel Jesus appears to the disciples who are worried and scared and wondering what to do now that Jesus has risen from the dead. He comes to see them and one of the first things he does he show them his hands and feet because they had the wounds from dying on the cross. Then they knew it was him! I find that interesting because most of the time I recognize people by their faces. But Jesus showed them his hands and his feet as a way to say who he was and to tell the story of his death and resurrection. Just like the scar on my hand tells a story. Our hands and feet can tell other stories too, like when our fingers turn colors from dying egg or coloring with markers. Or when we get blisters from walking a long time in our shoes. Our hands and feet also help us to tell the story of Jesus because we use our hands to help others and our feet help us go new places. So when we are hurt or when we are with other people who are hurt we can remember that Jesus used his hands and feet to show us how much he loved us by dying on the cross and then rising from the dead to show the whole world God’s love.

Faith + Prayer: Jesus, Thank you for your love and for your scars. Help us to use our hands and feet to show people we know your love. Amen

Faith + Blessing: Remember what Jesus says to his disciples: Do not be afraid and peace be with you. +

~LB

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon 2nd Sunday of Easter, Year B John 20:19-31

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Preparation: Prepare an invitation to use as part of this children’s time. See below.

Faith+Open: Gather the children to where you hold children’s time. Tell them to come on up as you have a special invitation to show them. Ask them if they have ever received an invitation to something special: birthday party, confirmation/first communion party, wedding, baptism, Christmas or Valentine’s (whatever!)

Faith+Share:Show them the envelope that holds the invitation. Ask them if you should look inside. (Hopefully they will say yes!) Take the invitation out and read it: “Peace I give to you! Come and see that I am here and believe in me!” Ask the children: “Who do you think this invitation is from?” After accepting all answers say, “It’s from Jesus! In our gospel story today Jesus invites all of the disciples including one named Thomas to see Jesus and believe that God raised him! Jesus also invites the disciples to go and tell everyone about him so that they may believe too! Jesus knew that the disciples had been afraid after his death and not all of the disciples believed Mary when she said that she had seen Jesus risen. But Jesus didn’t mind and came to the disciples to show them that he had risen. But Thomas was not there, so Jesus came again to show Thomas! Jesus comes to us too again and again and invites us to believe, even when it is hard to believe, and to tell others about Jesus being alive and with us always! Jesus invites us every day with his love!

Faith+Prayer: Prayer: Dear God, thank you for your son Jesus who loves us and is always with us. Just as Jesus invites us to believe in him help us to share Jesus with everyone we meet. Amen.

Faith+Blessing: each child an envelope and say to them “Peace to you from Jesus!”

Please reference April 15th children’s time supplement for a sample invitation that can be printed out.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Easter Sunday: Letting Our Alleluias Rise to God!

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Faith+Open: You may want to change up the service order and do the Children’s + Time early in the service. Gather the children around you. Have the boxes that you buried the “alleluias” in nearby and have them decorated with Easter symbols. Ask the children what is different in the sanctuary this morning (lilies, white paraments, etc.) and why we are celebrating today. Jesus is Risen!

Faith+Share: ( Retell as much or as little of the gospel text as is fitting for your service.) This morning we heard the story of the tomb being empty and God raising Jesus from the dead! We know that because of what God did in Jesus that we don’t have to worry about death and we will live with God forever in God’s love. This makes us so happy! When you are happy what words do you use to let people know that you are happy? (Maybe a “woo hoo” or a “yippee” or a “yay”!) In the church, one of the happy words that we say to let God know that we are so thankful for God’s love is alleluia. Can you say “alleluia”? (Have the children repeat it several times LOUDLY! Invite the congregation to participate!!) Remember when we put that word in this (these) box (es)? Well, we have a lot of songs to sing this morning with alleluia in them I think that we should let the alleluias out! What do you think?

Open the boxes slowly, the helium balloons with the “alleluia” pieces of paper from Lent taped to them should (hopefully!) “rise” up to the ceiling.

Say: Because Jesus rose from the dead, our “alleluias” rise up to God to say thank you for Jesus! We can let our happiness go up to God!

Faith+Prayer: Sing “Hallelu, Hallelu, Halleuia, Praise Ye the Lord” song or another song with “alleluia” or “halleluia” in it that the children know before ending Children’s Time.

Prayer: God, we thank you for the empty tomb and that Jesus did not stay dead. We know that you love us and that we will live with you always. We thank you, God, for happy words like Alleluia that you always hear. Alleluia! Amen!

Faith+Blessing: Have the children raise their hands up in the air. Say: God always hears you! Raise your joy to God! Alleluia!

*Note: Depending on the size of your congregation, try to have a balloon for each child present. Put long strings on the balloon to make them accessible. The most cost efficient (as well as to ensure that the balloons have enough helium to float) is to buy a small tank at a party store or even a major retailer. Find a volunteer to do this Easter morning. Alternatively, if you are concerned about the balloons being a distraction… have only a few balloons at Children’s Time but have a volunteer to hand out balloons at the close of service. Balloons should not be given to children 3 years of age and under.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Easter Sunday Year B Mark 16:1-8-or-John 20:1-18

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Scriptures: Mark 16:1-8-or-John 20:1-18

Preparation:  Get a big piece of paper, like off an art roll, and write/paint/color “Alleluia” on it as big as you can.  Have it all rolled up so that no one can see what it says, but so that it will be easy to unroll like a banner.

Faith+Open:  Enter into the space as excited as you can.  Say things like, “Children, come quickly!  The most amazing thing has happened!  You’re never going to believe this!”

Faith+Share: : Do you know what has happened?  Have you heard the news?  Jesus isn’t dead!  He’s alive, ALLELUIA! 

Unroll your banner, you need to be really over the top about this, super excited, far beyond anything that the children are going to give back.

Wait, why am I so much more excited than you?  Have you heard this story before?  Oh, you have, well, it’s still exciting, don’t you think?  Maybe we need to look at this a different way.  Have you ever lost a special toy, and then found it again?  It’s pretty great when that happens.  Or, maybe more for your parents, putting on a pair of pants and finding $20 in the pocket.  It just makes your day so much better.  Now think about Jesus friends, they didn’t lose a toy, they lost their best friend, their teacher, the person they thought was God in human form.  He was gone.  Then, suddenly he’s not!  He’s alive and with them!  Now that would be an amazing day, don’t you think?

The story gets better, too.  Jesus came back with an unbelievable gift for everyone.  Jesus forgives us all for everything, and opens the gates of heaven.  So, when you think about it that way, even if you’ve heard the story before, it’s pretty exciting, isn’t it?

Ok, now that we’re all excited about the story, let’s try this again.  I’m going to shout, “Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!”  Then you say, “Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!”

Here we go:

Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!

Faith+Prayer:  Amazing God, WOW!  Your live and with us!  Help us to celebrate the good news of Christ risen and share the Easter blessing with everyone we meet.  Amen.

Faith+Blessing::  You say, “Alleluia!  Christ is Risen!”

They say, “Christ is risen indeed!  Alleluia!”

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Maundy Thursday Year B John 13:1-17

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Scriptures: John 13:1-17

Preparation:  Find a crown, or some other object that will make the children think of a classic fairy tale king, and a towel.  Put both the crown and towel into a bag with crown on top so you can get it out first, without showing the towel.

Faith+Open:  Start by reminding the children of the Palm Sunday chant, “Hosanna! Hosanna!”  Remember that great king we welcomed into Jerusalem on Sunday?  Now pull out the crown.

Faith+Share: :  I was thinking about that king, too, so I brought a crown.  What do you think about when you see a crown, or hear about a king? (wait for a few answers – since you are in “church mode” you might get a few answers of “Jesus!”  Try to get them to talk about the more fairy tale image of a mighty king.)  Yeah, kings are powerful and proud!  Do you think a king like that would come to your house and make your bed? Clean your room?  What about cleaning your bathroom for you?  No, probably not.

Well, listen to this, I know a story where a king sat down with his friends, then he washed their feet!  No kidding, he got a towel and a bowl of water and washed a bunch of stinky, dirty feet.  How would you feel about that?  A king washing your feet?  Well, by now you’ve probably figured out that I’m talking about Jesus.  That might be even more strange, don’t you think?  Jesus washing your feet!?!  I mean, he’s God’s son, he can do anything, and he chooses to wash a bunch of feet!  One of his friends, Simon Peter, feels the same way, he tried to get Jesus to stop, but Jesus says you must let me wash your feet, the smelliest, dirtiest part of you so that you can be really clean.  I think Jesus is talking about more than feet here.  Jesus cleans out all the bad things that we do, all the stinky parts of our life and forgives and loves us, even when we have stinky feet.  Come back on Sunday to hear the rest of the story!

Faith+Prayer:  Loving God, we thank you for washing away the stinky things that we do, and for forgiving us when we make mistakes.  Keep us ever in your love and forgiveness. Amen.

Faith+Blessing: Make the sign of the cross and say:

God be in my head
God be in my heart
God be on my left
God be on my right

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Palm Sunday B Mark 11:1-11-or-John 12:12-16

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Scriptures: Mark 11:1-11-or-John 12:12-16

Option 1: If your Palm Sunday Worship does not include a procession you can use children’s time to celebrate the story of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.  With or without palms, have the children gather into a parade and walk around the sanctuary shouting “Hosanna! Hosanna!  Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna!”  Get them to make some noise!  Talk about how exciting it must have been to have see Jesus coming into the city, let them dance and shout.  Gather them together and use the prayer at the end.

Option 2:

Faith+Open:  As the children gather, make a significant change in your ritual.  For example, if you always have the children sit in a specific place, tell them that they can no longer sit there because someone spilled some really sticky glue on the floor and they would be stuck there forever.  Really ham it up.  Once you have a few of them going say “April Fool!”

Faith+Share: Do you guys know what an April fool’s joke is?  It’s what I just did to you, you try to convince people of something that’s just crazy or silly, then you say “April Fool!”  It’s one of my favorite days of the year, and this year it happens right on Palm Sunday, which I think is fantastic!  See, a really good April Fool’s joke makes people believe one thing, then surprises them with something else. 

NOTE:  This is where it is really important to make sure that you don’t make Holy Week into a joke.  Use the April Fool’s idea to get into the story, but don’t take it too far!

Today is the beginning of the greatest story in the Bible, the story of Holy Week.  I love it when Palm Sunday and April Fool’s Day are the same because the people in the story are expecting something when Jesus comes into Jerusalem.  The people who are cheering for Jesus are Israelites, and they are looking for the next great king to help them.  They imagine Jesus to be a king who will build an army, kick the Romans out of Jerusalem and save them from their enemies, but that’s not where the story goes.  Jesus certainly has come to save them, but not from the Romans, and not from any enemy that we can see.  Over the course of this next week, Jesus goes from being the crowd favorite to being the one person that everyone seems to hate.  His closest friends turn their backs on them, and the crowds that cheered for Jesus call for his crucifixion, call for Jesus to be killed.  The story doesn’t go the way they expect.

But there’s one more twist.  This craziest thing happens, something that people in the Bible even describe foolish or silly.  Jesus . . .well, you have to come back next week to hear the rest!

Faith+Prayer:  Hosanna!  Amazing God, we praise you for your love and mercy.  Travel with us through this Holy Week and be with us when the story doesn’t go the way we expect.  Amen.

Faith+Blessing: Make the sign of the cross and say:

God be in my head
God be in my heart
God be on my left
God be on my right

Children's Sermons

Childrens Sermon Lent 5B John 12:20-33 or Jeremiah 31:31-34

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Scriptures: John 12:20-33 or Jeremiah 31: 31-34

Supplies: a cross magnet (this can be made by attaching a magnet to any sort of cross-but make sure it is a strong magnet!) a large plastic tray and metal nails (be sure that they are have iron in them)

Faith +Open: gather the children to the space where you hold children’s time. Ask them if they know what a magnet does. Accept all answers. Show them the cross magnet and the nails. Ask them what they think will happen if the magnet comes close to the nails. Accept all answers then show them!

Faith + Share: The nails should have stuck to the magnet (practice this one before worship!). Say: “In our Bible readings today we hear about how God loves us and wants us to be close. God calls this being God’s people and Jesus said that all people will be drawn to him. Just like this magnet “draws” the nails to it so does Jesus on the cross. Because Jesus died on the cross for us we are now as close to God as these nails are to the magnet. Does the magnet let go of the nails? NO! And God never lets go of us either! God’s love is a very strong bond!”

Faith + Blessing: today as you go back to your families I am going to make the sign of the cross on your forehead and say “God never lets you go.” So this week you can bless your family and friends with these same words! We all need to hear that God is always with us!

Faith + Close: Prayer: Dear God, we are so grateful that you never let us go! Remind us that you are with us always. We thank you for Jesus who keeps us close to you! Amen.

Additional idea: have a cross magnet for each child OR even each person/ family in your congregation.

BW 3/16/2012

Children's Sermons

Lent 4B John 3:14-21 March 18, 2012

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Scripture: John 3:14-21

Preparation: Get the book Mama do you Love Me orPapa Do You Love Me by Barbara M. Joosse
**other books you could use: Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown, Guess How Much I love Youby Sam McBratney

Faith+Open: Gather children to you. Today we are reminded how much God loves the world and that Jesus came not to condemn us–not to tell us all how bad we are but to save us, to make everyone children of God. Sometimes we think about God as a mom or a dad or grandparent or someone who takes care of us and shows us love even when do do things to frustrate them. Does that ever happen in your house? I have a story to share with you today to help us think about God’s love. 

Faith+Share: Read the story you have chosen. All these books use images to help explain unconditional love. You can shorten the story and pick favorite pages as well. End with summary statement and/or saying John 3: 16-17

Faith+Prayer: Jesus, you came to the world to show us that your love is high, wide, deep, long, and never ending. Hold us in your big love always. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Make sign of cross and say:
God in my head
God in my heart
God on my left
God on my right

~LB

Children's Sermons

Lent 3B John 2:13-25 March 11, 2012

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Scripture: John 2: 13-25

Preparation: Pictures of the temple and a very large heart

Faith+Open: Gather children to you. Say, today in our Gospel reading Jesus goes into the temple, do you know what the temple was? Take answers and show your picture/s of the temple.

Faith+Share: The temple was a place that people went to worship God, but it was also a place where all the rituals took place and where people could gather together. People at that time would bring animals and food and money to the temple to give to God. They needed a way to have the animals checked and a way to exchange money so they had the right kind for the temple. In order to do the rituals the best way it took a lot work. Jesus today goes into the temple and gets very angry at what is going on there. He says that the people have forgotten what it was that God meant to do by giving them a temple, a place to worship. He says that now that God is doing a new thing with Jesus. God is not just in the temple but is in Jesus and in the world. This story shows us not only that Jesus was very human and could get very angry like we get angry sometimes but that also God’s love was bigger than any temple or any building or any gift or sacrifice could ever hold. God’s love is so big that it bigger than anger and bigger than all the sins, all the things we can do wrong. So even though Jesus is angry with people in this story, Jesus is also declaring God’ love to be so very huge. 

I have here a very big heart so show God’s love. Do you think it’s even bigger than this heart? It sure is! I am going ask that all of you write your name on this heart because God’s love is big enough to hold us all. You can have children write their names during this time or tell them it will be in the back of the church or it will be out during the offering time for them to write one–whatever works best in your setting.

Faith+Prayer: Jesus, we know that you lived like we do. We know that you live in the world and that you are here with us in worship but that you are also everywhere and always with us. Help us to remember how big your love is and to share that big love with others. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Make the sign of the cross saying:
God in my head
God in my heart
God on my left
God on my right

~LB