Tag Archives: pentecost season

Children’s Sermon–Distractions and Prayer Luke 10:38-42 July 17th 2016

July 14, 2016 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: get an assistant to either flash a light or make a small noise to distract you as you begin. Tell them to start out subtle before becoming more obvious to everyone.

Gather the children to you. Welcome them and start to tell them about the gospel story today. Prompt your assistance to start the light or noise distraction. As you start talking, fade off,lose your place, etc as you are distracted by the noise or light.

Say, “Wow I really want to focus on this Bible story but it’s hard, I keep getting distracted. Anyone else distracted?” Have the kids point out to you the distraction and then invite your assistant to join you. “This is like our bible story today. Jesus’s visiting sisters Mary and Martha. Martha is making dinner and trying to get this ready to be welcoming to her guest. Well she gets distracted by her sister Mary of helping her and she gets upset and tells Jesus to help her get Mary to come help. Jesus knows Martha is distracted by her worry and frustration and tells her that Mary is focusing in on Gods word and has also chosen a good thing. Jesus wants Martha to remember what the main focus is of being welcoming and that is to show care for others in Gods name.”

“Do you ever get distracted? What kinds of things distract you?” (Take answers, be prepared to prompt… Could mention the movie “Up” where the dog is always distracted by the squirrel or electronics, etc.). “Many things that are good and things that are not so good can distract us from remembering we are to focus on Jesus words and live our life based on his words and promises, even our thoughts and feelings can get in the way. I think I need that reminder to focus on Jesus and that many of us do. What are ways we can do this?” (Take answers, mention prayer and worship and reading scripture. If you use the inserts or other daily devotional in your congregation this is a great time to show it and teach again how to use it.)

Centering Prayer option: “All of these are good ways. And sometimes it good for us to take a little God time out. It can even be really short. It’s a time when we can just let our mind be open to listen for God. To do this we have to get pretty quiet, do you know how to be quiet? Let’s try. Good. Now I am going to set this time for just 30 seconds and we are going to try together to do a centering prayer. This means all we are going to breath in and think the word “Jesus” and breath out and think the words “Loves Me”. If other thoughts come just take a breath and remember your words. Let’s try together once and then we will set the timer.” Practice this together and see how it goes!

Jesus, you are our God. Help us focus on you. Thank you for your words of love for us. Amen

May your heart, hands, feet, head, words, and actions be surrounded in God’s peace.

Set up a centering prayer/meditation area. Put out some pillows to sit on or chairs that are set a part from the worship space. Or simply provide the resources in the pews. Provide card with different kinds of centering prayer. You can write some simple ones like the example of “Jesus loves me” or “Come Holy Spirit” and/or print up some other resources from here: Contemplative Outreach

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Matthew 18:21-35, Sept 14, 2014

September 8, 2014 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: You really don’t need any items for this, but you do need people! You are going to need about 6 people minimum to make this work. If you are in a place where that might be difficult to do with just children, make sure that you recruit a few helpers!

Ask the children if they know what forgiveness is and take a few answers.

Today Jesus is talking about forgiveness, but not just how often to forgive, but whom to forgive. The whole conversation starts with Peter asking how many times you should forgive, but Jesus takes it one step further . . . or maybe many, many steps further. Jesus tells a story about a king who forgives a servant, which is great for the servant! But that same servant won’t forgive a fellow servant in the same way. The king gets mad and punishes the servant. There are all kinds of things to talk about in this story, but the one that really catches my attention is that the servant stops the forgiveness. The king starts something good, he forgives the servant, but the servant doesn’t pass it on.

Let’s try to demonstrate this. First I need a helper. Now, all of you are going to raise your hands. When my helper touches your shoulder you can lower your hands, but if I touch your should you have to put them back up. Ready? Go!

Let this go on for a minute or so to demonstrate how the helper will never really get anywhere if you are working against her/him.

Ok, this is getting us nowhere! Just like in the story, the servant worked against the king’s forgiveness and everyone suffered. Let’s change the game so that when you get to put your hands down you then touch your neighbor’s shoulder so they can put their hands down. Ready? Go.

Wow, that when much faster! Now think about how nice it would be to live in a world where we all forgave each other and just let things go!

For the worship station, the idea above gets taken to the whole congregation. If you have time, have the congregation “forgive” each other one at a time just like the children did, then do the next step. If you don’t have much time just do the next step.

Next, have each person “forgive” two other people. Start with one person touching one person’s shoulder so they can lower their hands, then the person who just lowered their hands touches two shoulders. Then each of those people touch two shoulders and so on. See how much faster it is when we forgive many others, not just one other!

Forgiving God, through the grace of Jesus you forgive us no matter what we do! Help us to be forgiving people, even when it is difficult to do. Amen

Be at peace in God’s forgiveness.

~GB

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Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Year A Pentecost 1 Matthew 28:16-20 June 15, 2014

June 12, 2014 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: a kite–you can make a kite or buy one or have a picture of a kite
(if you choose to do the worship station you will want a kite and cloth for prayer ties along with markers)

Gather the children up front with you. Say, in our reading from Matthew today we heard Jesus say to Go! Do you remember where we are to go? Yes, Go and tell people about Jesus and about God’s love. And then he also said to baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Have you heard those words before? We say them a lot in worship and they are one of the ways we can try to celebrate how we have seen God in scriptures and in our world. That God created and Jesus came as God to be with people and go to the cross and rise again and that the Holy Spirit is given to us as well.

What do you think of when you think of God? How would you describe God? (take a couple of answers) Well there are many ways to describe God and try to celebrate God and it is all kind of a mystery, but sometimes our words and images can help us to connect with God in new ways. Today I have with me a kite because it is a way that I think about God connects us and also how God sends out–tells us to go into the world. See the frame of the kite–the part holds it together is in the shape of the cross which reminds me of Jesus and how Jesus love is big and wide and holds us all. And the string here–it is a part of Jesus too and connects us to the word of God in the bible and it also is the part we hold onto so that the kite can fly. The colorful part here that makes up the fabric of the kite reminds me of God because it is colorful and creative and it is how God made us all and all of creation unique. And then what does the kite need to fly? yes wind! So as the wind moves the kite around I think of the Holy Spirit moving us to be in the world. We are still connected to Jesus and God even as we go and in many different ways through life, up and and down and all around and as we are caught in the Holy Spirit we can tell of God’s love and presence all the time.

Worship Station: Have colored cloth and markers. Explain that we are connected to God in another way too–our prayers. Invite the whole congregation to write a prayer on a colored piece of cloth and then tie it to the kite string. Another way would be to collect the cloth in a basket at your station time or at offering and the have the prayers on the altar during the prayers of the people–then have some volunteers tie the prayers on after worship.

Addition to worship station–have three kites and ask people to draw or write their images of God, Son, Holy Spirit (you could also do this on one kite) Then add the prayers to all the kites and hang them up from the ceiling in a hallway or worship space!

God father, Son, and Holy Spirit–we know you are mysterious in many ways. Connect us to you and help our spirits soar as we share your love. Amen

Go! and know that you are held in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Luke 15:1-10 Pentecost 17C September 15, 2013

September 13, 2013 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: create a memory game or use one that you have. Either put some simple pictures on index cards or get small boxes you can hid objects under. Have one object missing purposely without a match. You will want to only have 3-5 object sets for time constraints.

Gather children up front with you. Have the memory game ready and welcome them. Say, I have this game with me today–anyone every played ‘memory’ before? Let’s try it.

Have one child help you with the turning the cards or lifting the boxes. If you have a small number of kids they can take turns, a large number you will want them to just point while you or one child turns items over. Play until you have the matches all but one.

Hmm, where is the match for this one? Anyone able to find it? I wonder where it went? Should we look for it? Start looking in places close to you. You can make this as long or as short as you want. Find the match in your pocket or someplace near you. Oh, there it is! I wonder how it got there? I am so glad we found this match! We can finish the game! Phew, the game would have been ruined if we didn’t find the match! I do not like it when things are lost.. do you? Have you every been lost? (take answers briefly).

Jesus tells us a story today about a lost sheep and a lost coin. The people who lost them, looked everywhere until they were able to find them. And the ones that were lost, well they couldn’t do much of anything to be found just like our card (or whichever object you had lost) could make a noise or cry out or move to be found, could it? Well that is what this story is about–that God loves you SO MUCH that even if you are lost or even if you aren’t sure about God or have questions about your faith, God will find you. God promises you are always one of her children and that you are found because you belong to God. And I was pretty happy I found that piece, so I could finish the game. Well God is so happy to have you as a child that God throws a party and rejoices and does a happy dance and promises to never leave you.

Jesus, you are always looking for us and we thank you for your love that finds us. Amen

God rejoices over you!

Let us walk with you on the journey of faith. Whether your feet are big or small, fresh or worn, running or crawling, God's love goes with you and you stand on holy ground.