Prepare: You will need something to distract you at least a couple times. Be creative! It can be someone coming into the room to ask you a question, or an alert on your phone. Or you could just pull a “Dori” and keep losing track of what you were saying! Just make sure you have something set up ahead of time.
This is the part of the children’s message where you need the distractions. Welcome the children as you usually do, but make sure you are interrupted/distracted in the middle. the distraction should be enough that you feel the need to start over. Do this a couple times to get the point across (and because it’s fun to be silly!)
Wait! I’m getting distracted! You know what’s weird about that? Not getting distracted is exactly what the Gospel story is about today!
I would add that the little distractions that just happened to me are nothing like what Jesus is describing, but they did keep me from talking to you, and that’s what I’m here for right now. The disciples waiting for something big from God, and they figured that Jesus – being who he was – would have some inside knowledge about it. And maybe he did, but he basically says, “Don’t worry about it!” All kinds of crazy things are going to happen in your life. People will be mean, people will be nice. Good things will happen and bad things will happen. But none of these things is the end of world.
You just need to do your best to stay focused on the good things that are coming, and be working to help everyone be part of the good that is to come.
Maybe it wasn’t a satisfying answer for the disciples, or for us either, but it is an encouragement to us to keep spreading God’s love to everyone we meet. No matter how distracted we get by what is going on around us.
Good and patient God, We get so caught up in the distractions of life. Forgive us for missing out on things that we should have done, and help us to keep our hearts and minds focused on your love and our love for each other. Amen.
God is focused on you!
You are going to make a distraction cover-up wall!
Find a bunch of stickers that say, “God Loves You,” or that have other Christian images on them. (Look for a Christian Book store or check Hobby Lobby). Then hang a long piece of art paper on the wall, or put it over a table, whichever works if you space.
Put out some pens, crayons, markers, etc, and invite people to write or draw the thing that most distracts them from being engaged with God’s love.
Have a container of stickers our so that they can cover the distraction with God’s love!