Faith Formation Journeys

Walking Together in Grace

Tag: Children’s sermon

  • Love One Another John 15: 9-17 Children’s Sermon Easter 6B Mother’s Day

    Love One Another John 15: 9-17 Children’s Sermon Easter 6B Mother’s Day

    20130822-223315.jpg Have the children come forward. Have them stand in a line and join hands. Tell them that they are going to play a game of electricity. You will start it. When they feel their hand get squeezed, they squeeze the hand of the person to their right. So you will stand on the far left of the line. Start the “electric” chain. Have the person at the end of the line say “We love each other!” After a time or two of the game, pull someone out of the middle and leave the gap. Start the game again. What happens? Half of the chain doesn’t get the “electrical” flow. Have the children sit down right where they are.

    20130822-223633.jpg In our story from John today, Jesus is talking about how God is with us in our lives and we are also part of God’s life. Because of this, the love of God is in us all and we are to share it with everyone. This is kind of like the game of electricity. It flows from person to person, and we need each other to transmit God’s love. What happened when we pulled someone out of the game? The flow stopped! God needs each and every one of us to spread God’s love! What are ways that we can share God’s love? (Accept all answers) Yes! Those are all good ways!

    Do you know what day today is? Mother’s day! We have many women in our lives who show us love! Moms, aunts, grandmas, teachers, friends, SS teachers, pastors, mentors, all kinds of women who love us. We can show all of those women love too! In our worship station this morning we can all make a chain of love! (See Faith + Worship for instructions) We are all needed to show God’s love to one another.

    20130822-224425.jpg Loving Jesus, you connect us together with your love. You tell us that love is the most important part of all of our lives. May we show all people your love. Amen.

    FaithCross_WorshipHave construction paper hearts cut out and available (about 2×3 inches would be a good size). Have markers and tape available. Invite people to write names of women who they love and show them the love of God on a heart. Connect the hearts together to create a chain of hearts. Have a table top cross to drape the “heart chain” on or find a place to hang it. Depending on the size of your congregation, pray for the names on the hearts or invite people to pray as part of the worship station.

    20130822-223908.jpg +Live in the love of Jesus+

  • New life in Christ John 12: 20-33

    New life in Christ John 12: 20-33

    ffjChildrenSermonHave some flower seeds, a tulip and tulip bulb, (or a poinsettia,) soil, small pots, and markers, etc. to decorate the pots if you desire as part of a worship station.

    20130715-113716.jpg Have a tulip, a tulip bulb (or some other bulb flower) or the poinsettia. Gather the children around the tulip/poinsettia. If using the poinsettia ask the children when they last saw this plant. Christmas! The cool thing about poinsettia’s is that they “bloom” (red leaves) when it’s cold and actually need to stay in a dark closet with no light for much of the year. We bring them out in the fall when there is less sunlight and that is when they thrive. In the dark the poinsettias are renewing and getting ready to grow!

    If using a tulip and bulb ask the children if they have every planted bulbs before. Does this bulb look like it could become a flower right now? No. It doesn’t. It just looks dead and pretty useless right now. But we plant the bulb in the fall about 6-8 inches underground so that no sunlight gets to them. All winter they stay a bulb in the ground, dead and not doing much. And then when the weather gets warmer and the ground unfreezes and becomes softer and warmer, the bulb begins to grow a stem. And a couple of weeks later you get these beautiful tulips that grow! This dead bulb will stay just the way it is unless we bury it in the dark and let it sit for a while. Beautiful things can come from the dark!

    20130822-223633.jpg In our Bible story from John today Jesus talks about how new life can come from things that look dead and useless. In nature, tress, flowers and plants have parts of them that die, these become seeds that grow into new life. Jesus was trying to explain to his disciples that he too will die, but it’s not what they think. Jesus will die, they will be sad, but God will bring new life from Jesus’ death-like this flower. Jesus’ death and God raising him to life means that we have new life too! Each and every day God makes us new and we can grow like this flower to share God’s beauty and love with the whole world. When we die, we go to be with God in new life after we die. Jesus gathers us all up in this life and in the next and we are never alone! God brings life from EVERYTHING NO MATTER WHAT! Pretty cool, huh! We have new life and we are never alone.

    FaithCross_Worship For a worship station have soil, (small cup for scooping the soil), small terra cotta pots, and seeds. Permanent markers are the best way to draw on the pots so warn parents and have supervision. Have people draw symbols of new life on their pot and then plant a seed. You can have them take them home for the plants to grow during the Easter season, or give them away to an assisted living facility, half-way house or other places where your congregation can share the good news of new life and community forever in Jesus.

    20130822-224425.jpgGod, you bring new life from everything around us. You promise that we are with you always, even when we’re in the dark and can’t see the sunlight. Gather all your people so that the whole world will know your presence and love. Amen.

    20130822-223908.jpg +Grow in God’s love+