Tag Archives: Easter

Children's Sermons

Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Jesus is Risen! Luke 24: 1-12 (or John 20: 1-18) Easter Year C 2016

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20130822-222604.jpg*Offer this children’s time near the beginning of your worship service. After the opening hymn or even prelude (depending on how your worship is structured) invite the children to come forward. Have someone from the congregation come running in toward the children (Idea: could be Mary Magdalene, or one of the disciples in costume!) saying: “The tomb is empty! Jesus is not there! He is raised from the dead like he said he would be!” (Or if you are using the John 20: 1-18 text change it to Mary saying, “I have seen the Lord!”) “Do you remember that just on Friday we laid him in the tomb but now-it’s empty! The stone was removed and there were men, like angels, saying that Jesus would rise from the dead! It’s true! We’re so happy! We could shout happy words all day long such as Hooray, Yippee, or I know Alleluia! Jesus is alive and now we can live with Jesus forever too! We need to  shout this to the whole world! Alleluia!

It would be fun to have a way to make the “Alleluia” even more exciting…let’s see I know! Every time you hear the word Alleluia today you can… (here is your choices from easiest to pull off to more planning: the children and adults can clap, ring jingle bells, wave a streamer, wave their hands, use a clapper, or if you have chime bells to hand out). We might be singing Alleluia or saying Alleluia, it doesn’t matter! Wave, clap, ring every time! Let’s practice! (Hand out the objects if you are choosing to do that.) “Alleluia!” Alleluia!” “Alleluia!” Listen for that word all morning!

*If your pastor can, add the word “Alleluia” into his/her sermon a couple of times at least to engage the children. And let’s face it, the adults too!

FaithCross_WorshipHave a large drawing of the tomb with the stone rolled away either hanging where it’s accessible to people, or on a large table.  Somewhere on the tomb or around the tomb have verse Luke 24: 5c “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen.” As people enter worship or during a dedicated worship station time, invite people to write in the empty space of the tomb where they look for and/or experience Jesus in their daily lives. Where do they see new life each day?

20130822-223749.jpgAlleluia! Christ is Risen! Living God, we look for you in our lives. We look for all of the ways that you give us life, hope and love. Like Peter, we are amazed and like the women at the tomb we can’t wait to share this good news! Alleluia! Jesus lives! Amen!

20130822-223908.jpg +You are made alive in Christ+

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon, May 3, 2015, Fifth Sunday of Easter – John 15:1-8

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Preparation: For the children’s sermon you will need a cut flower of some kind.  Doesn’t matter what it is.

For the Worship Station you will need a large piece of banner paper or art roll paper (white would be best), markers and/or crayons and a place to tape it to the wall. Prepare the banner paper by drawing a long vine down the middle of it and writing “Jesus, the true vine” on it.

20130822-223454.jpg As the children gather, ask them what they need everyday to live and grow. You are looking for things like water and food. Ask them also how they get that water and food, who provides it for them? Do they get it themselves or does someone get it for them?

20130822-223633.jpg Most of us depend on other people to help us get food and water, even adults!  If we live in a city we might depend on plumbers and engineers to design systems to bring water to our homes. If we are not farmers we rely on people to grow and harvest food for us. We rely on people to pack that food and ship it to stores, and other people to work in the stores! 

I thought about this because the story we hear from the Gospel of John today talks about Jesus as the true vine, and us as the branches. I was trying to figure out a way to understand how important the central vine of a plant really is, and then I through about food and water. We all need the plant needs food and water to live, and all of that passes through the central part of the plant. The water comes up through the roots to the leaves, and the leaves make food for the plant to grow (OK, that pretty simplified, but you get the idea). The central vine, or main stalk or trunk of a plant is essential to connect all the parts of a plant that need food and water. If any part of a plant gets cut off it cannot live for very long.

Like this flower here. Sure, it still looks nice now, but since it has been cut off of its plant it will only look this way for a few days, even if I put it in water. In needs the rest of the plant so that it can get food to live and grow.

Jesus is like that for our spirit and our community. Jesus is the center of our faith life and connects us to people that feed and nourish our lives so that we can grow in love for one another and be fruitful in the world.

20130822-223749.jpg Creative God, you are the true vine that brings us food for our souls and water for faith. Keep us refreshed and strong in our love for you so that we can help to share your love and mercy throughout our communities and our world.

20130822-223908.jpg You are precious to God.

FaithCross_Worship Put your vine banner up somewhere, or lay it out on a table, and invite people to add their own little branch to the vine.  Encourage them to share branches with family and friends and to write something like, “I am feed by the true vine!”

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Easter 4B John 10:11-18 April 26, 2015

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Preparation: Get pictures of sheep-the ideas is that the flocks look the same and that often a ‘fold or flock’ of sheep will all look alike to one another, but you can show various flocks.  Also there are photos of flocks where one sheep is not the same, you can use that as well (try this link) Also get pictures of various types of people. You can google these images or use children’s book Faith put out by the Global Fund for Children (Click here for amazon link)

For the worship station you will need a camera and photo printer that prints wirelessly or a Polaroid camera.

20130822-223520.jpgGather the children to you. Show them the picture of the sheep. Ask them what they see and know about sheep (yes, that could get interesting!) Ask them to tell you what the word fold or flock means and help them define it as a group of sheep) Ask them to tell you what they notice about what the sheep look like. (they are all the same but not all the flocks are exactly the same) You can also show them a photo where one flock has a sheep that stands out.

20130822-223633.jpgJesus tells us today that he is the good shepherd who will take care of the sheep. He also says that he must bring in other sheep, all sheep to the fold or flock. Jesus is not just talking about sheep, he is talking about people, about us. Show them the pictures of various kinds of people. Ask them what they notice about the people. “Yes, not all the people are the same are they? Now which people is Jesus saying belong as part of his flock? Yes, all the people do. This can be difficult for us, because sometimes we don’t want to include other people. So Jesus sets a high standard here of telling us that all belong and that we can love and serve even those that might not be like us or even those we don’t always know or understand. This is also really good news for us because we know that we are part of the flock but also because we know that even those who look different or live differently or pray differently are still a part of the flock, they are still loved and given promises by Jesus to be with God. ”

20130822-224425.jpgLoving Jesus, thank you for promising to care for us and be our shepherd. Help us to see others as loved and cared for by you as well and to live your love. Amen

20130822-223908.jpg+ May you know Jesus in your heart and in your days. Alleluia!  +

 

FaithCross_WorshipHave a poloroid camera or a phone camera that connects to a small photo printer. Invite people to take selfies and post them on a poster board. Write the words “All belong in the Flock” on the poster or cut it into the shape of a cross or heart. Or create a background of a pasture on the poster board so all the people are the sheep.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon 3B April 19, 2015 Luke 24: 36b-48 and Acts 3: 12-19

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20130822-223520.jpgTwo week ago we heard a pretty good story in church about Jesus. Do you remember what that story was about on Easter? (Have the children “tell” the story. Have prompts available such as a rock, or something to resemble the empty tomb, etc. You may have to help them “wrap it up.”) Yes, we heard this great story about God raising Jesus from the dead! Do you know or remember why that is important? (Accept all answers.) It’s good news that we can be with God forever and loves us forever no matter what! Being told that you are loved is really important isn’t it? Who do you tell and show that you love them? (Accept all answers.) Ideally, we should with our words and actions tell people that we love them.
20130822-223633.jpgWe have two stories today about telling the whole world that God loves them. Jesus appears to the disciples and tells them that he is alive, God’s forgiveness and love is for everyone and the disciples need to tell everyone they meet that story. Everything that Jesus does points to God’s love for us. In Acts, we see the disciple Peter doing that too. A man with hurt legs couldn’t walk and when Peter told him to walk in name of Jesus the man did! Peter then tells the people gathered that God does amazing things and the most amazing thing that God does is love us all the time! Peter is pointing to God’s presence in everything! This is too good a story to not tell! All of you just told me the story of God’s love through Jesus and you did a really great job! Who else can you tell or have you told someone this story before? As people who know the story, Jesus invites us to tell it to everyone we meet!
20130822-224425.jpg Jesus, you come to us in our everyday lives. We are witnesses to your story of love, forgiveness and hope. May your story be heard, seen and experienced by all people and creation. Amen

FaithCross_WorshipApril 20th is Earth Day and one way to tie this good news of new life, hope and forgiveness for all of creation is through this worship station. New life springs up and God invites and calls us to nurture all life around us. Google clip art images of caterpillars, butterflies, birds, nests and eggs and have a couple of different images to choose from. Have a cross with tape available and invite people to place an image (decorated or not) on the cross. Invite people to write on the image how they can nurture new life around themselves or how “new life” has been nurtured in them by a person or an animal. You can add to this cross for the rest of the Easter season with images and words/prayers of new life.
20130822-223908.jpg+You bear the good news to the world+