Preparation: a chalice filled with stickers or small candies or something that the kids can have.

Gather the children together and welcome them. Hold up the chalice and say: Anyone know what I have here? (take answers) Yes, this is called a chalice, it’s the cup that we can hold wine or grape juice in for communion.

So I was thinking about this cup and what we usually put in it. And our gospel story today tells about a master, a rich man with people working for him, who rewarded a manager who was not really honest with this money. **Use the Spark Storybook Bible to tell the story in a simple fashion. “Well, it’s an interesting story because it does not seem like the master should reward the manager; it seems like he should punish him instead. But he offers him what we would call grace instead. It certainly seems like a strange way to show grace–would you show grace if your brother or sister gave a way part of your allowance? No probably not, so that is where the chalice comes in.”

“See in this story it’s like God is saying grace is everywhere, really and truly everywhere even when it has no business being there. And this chalice is something that shows us grace every week by being here and being full”–now act like you are going to spill the wine and make show of it and let it start to spill out the stickers or small candies. “Uh-oh, if the wine spills it has no business being on the carpet, what will do, I will be in trouble with… (name janitor or pastor or whoever)”. Then let the other things spill and say, “What, these stickers/candies aren’t supposed to be in the chalice! Well, I guess I am glad that they were instead of wine! Grace shows up in all kinds of ways, even where we think that maybe it should not be and for that we can be grateful because God’s grace shows up for us.”

God, thank you for your grace that is surprising and present and for us in all ways. Amen

God in your head, God in your heart, God on your left, God on your right +