Tag Archives: worship station

In the Shelter of God’s Love Feb. 21st, 2016 Lent 2, Year C

February 26, 2016 bw Leave a comment

Have a tent or a make shift canopy where you can gather the children under. Ask them if they remember what prayer we talked about last week (or last time you worshiped). Yes, the Lord’s Prayer! The Lord’s Prayer is important not just because Jesus taught his disciples to pray it but because it reminds us that we can talk to God about everything in our lives, even hard, sad or scary stuff, not just happy things. Have you ever been sad or afraid? *Share a time that you were afraid.

You just heard a Psalm (or a song) that is all about God being with us when life is sad or scary. We will have times when we are afraid or sad and that’s ok. Life is not always happy but do you know what? The person who wrote this song wants you to know something: God is with you always and forever. Forever! No matter what! Jesus wants you to know that too! There is one sentence in the Lord’s Prayer that says: “Deliver us from evil.” Evil sounds very scary but Jesus says don’t forget that you are never alone no matter how afraid you are. It might sound as if we are asking God to deliver us-as if God didn’t know that we are afraid but Jesus is saying that God knows and will cover you like a tent with God’s love! We are always under God’s shelter no matter what. Even if we can’t feel it or see it. It’s hard to understand that but it’s true! We gather here at church, in a special space to remind us that God is our shelter. We can bring all of our fears, questions and worries here to church and know that God is with us and that all of these people are with us too!

Have a table with a large piece of canvas (tenting type material) and have some permanent markers available. Invite people to write their fears on the canvas and hang it in the worship space in Lent as a reminder that God shelters us in our fear.

God you are our shelter and safety. Thank you for delivering us from evil and for your son Jesus who shows us your love. May all people feel your love, presence and shelter. Amen.

+God is your shelter+

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon – 3rd Sunday after Epiphany, year C – Luke 4:14-21 (and Isaiah 61:1-2)

January 20, 2016 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: You will need a bandage of some kind, like an ACE bandage, for the children’s sermon. And bring a Bible with Isaiah 61:1-2 marked.

For the worship station you will need the mission statement of your congregation. If you do not have one you can use the mission statement of your wider church organization. Here is a link the ELCA Mission Statement page.

Gather the children and show them the bandage, asking them if they know what it is for. Once they answer ask if any of them have ever had to have a bandage?

We will get back to the bandage in just a minute, but first I wanted to talk a little about what Jesus says in the Gospel story we hear today. Jesus is in his hometown synagogue (you might want to take a minute to explain that word – for most the children, equating it to a church will be enough!) and he decides that he is going to read from the scriptures. He chooses a couple of passages from a book called Isaiah and reads them. My favorite of the two passages he reads is Isaiah 61:1-2, which says this – (read)

Then he does a crazy thing, he says, “That person that Isaiah is describing? That’s me!”

Well, this makes the people who are there a little uncomfortable and upset, but we are going to save that part for next week! This week we are going to look at what Jesus said – remember that bandage?

One of the things that is in Isaiah, but not in the Gospel reading is that Jesus will, “Bind up the brokenhearted.” I love that phrase! It’s such a wonderful image of comfort and care. If i hurt my wrist I can use a bandage to bind it up and support it until it heals and is strong again. If I cut my finger I can bind it up with a bandage until the skin grows back and it can protect me again. But if my heart is broken what can I do? Jesus says that He is here to bind up our broken hearts so that they can heal and be strong again. He wraps them up and protects and comforts our hearts when we are brokenhearted! I love it!

Jesus comforts and protects your heart.

Loving God, bind up our brokenness with you love and care. Help our hearts to heal and be strong so that we can help bind up other hearts that are broken. Amen.

Sometimes this passage in John is called “Jesus’ Mission Statement.” Invite your congregation to read it again, and then read your church’s mission statement. Open up a little time for interactive discussion about what is important in each statement. How is your church’s mission similar or different from Jesus? Should they be the same? Should they be different?

If your congregation is using the Weekly Devotion Inserts (here is a link to the one for this week!) ask them to get them out and work through the exercise on the back – make a mission statement for the week and post it somewhere it will be seen!

Children's Sermons

“Jesus Looks at You and Loves You” Children’s Sermon Pentecost 20B Mark 10:17-31

October 9, 2015 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: a needle and thread–use a larger one if possible so that they can see, a sign that says Go in Peace, Serve the Lord (optional as you can do this verbally as well) Worship station supplies are a coloring page with cross–click here for a pdf of that page.

Gather the children up front with you and greet them. “Well, I heard Jesus saying some interesting things today about camels and needles and other things that sound just impossible. What are some things that you think are impossible?” (take answers, you will likely get some crazy ones like flying, etc) Yes those sound pretty impossible and some of them truly are not things we do as humans (like flying–careful not to encourage dangerous things!)

Today Jesus talks about it being more difficult for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get their own way into heaven. I brought this sewing needle with me to show you, can you see it here. This is the eye of the needle, the part where the thread goes (put the thread through or did it ahead of time.) Now, let’s use our imagination–how big is a camel? Yep this big, huge (spread out your arms) and how will a camel walk through this needle like the thread? Sounds crazy right? Well Jesus is using some big imagination there! Even exaggeration–talking about something that is not really possible. There was also this man, who asked Jesus a big question–what do I DO to have eternal life. And Jesus tells him to give away all that he has –everything and then he will know what it is to have eternal life. How do you think the man felt? Yep, he felt pretty gloomy because he just did not think he could do that-it sounded impossible. Does that sound impossible to you? What are some ways that we do give away we have and share? (talk about some things they do and any project you are working on together)

I also noticed that it says Jesus looked at the man with love–Jesus sees him and us with love! Then Jesus says, it is not possible for you to DO anything on your own but with God all things are possible. You can give things away and you can share with others even when it is difficult. And no matter what you do God’s love is there and Jesus going to the cross and rising again is what gives us eternal life, so there is nothing you can do to make it happen on your own.

Do this activity as the prayer and blessing:

What we DO matters, how we go out and share God’s love. AND God will be with us and gives us eternal life no matter we have or do not have or do or do not do. So yes we need to care for others and we need to know that Jesus is the one who saves us. We say something at the end of each service-Go in Peace and serve and the Lord. Do you know what that means? Go out of this place, knowing God is with you and do things that show God loves you and everyone else.

I have a sign here and so let’s have two people make an arch with their hands and I will hold this sign up for you. Now before we go back to our seats you will walk through this arch and sign and hear the words, Go in peace and serve the Lord and you can say thanks be to God as you go to your seat. As you hear these words remember that God goes with you no matter what you do in this world.
Option: Have two kids make these arches as people leave the sanctuary and encourage them to go through that tight space and hear the words that God loves you as you go in peace.

Have a cross coloring outline on a sheet of paper and the words Jesus looks at you and Loves you (paraphrase of verse 21)–Here is one made for you, click here! Inside the cross write the things that we struggle to give away to God and need to lay on the cross. Around the cross write or draw the ways God loves comes to you.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon – Mark 9:38-50, September 27, 2015

September 20, 2015 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: Bring a small, clear container of sea salt – even better if you can find something fancy!

The worship station will need a box of unsalted rice crackers, and a box of salted rice crackers (you can use whatever you like here, really, but rice crackers generally avoid most food allergies).

Have the children gather around you so that they can all see the salt. Ask them if they know what it is.

After a few guesses (right or wrong) confirm that it is salt, and ask if anyone would be willing to try some. Ask what it is like to have salt all by itself? Does it taste good?

Today, in the Gospel story, Jesus says some very strange things, and most of them are exaggerations to get our attention. Jesus wants us to think about who we are and what it means for us to be following him. One of the things he says is that we should be “Salted with fire.” I’m not sure that I like the sound of that! When I salt something, that means I sprinkle salt on it, I don’t think that I want to be sprinkled with fire. But, did you know that salting something has a different meaning? Salt was, and still is, used to keep food from going bad. People use salt to make sure that meat does not get moldy. Pickles are kept in a salty liquid called brine.

So we can hear the end of this story a couple different ways. Salt, in small amounts, can add flavor to the foods that we eat. In fact, most of the foods we like have at least some salt in them or on them to make them taste better. Salt is also necessary for baking things! Bread without salt is dry and crumbly, it just doesn’t work. So Jesus might be saying that we need to be flavored with fire – that we are made better when we deal with difficult things and learn from them.

Then there is salt used to keep food from spoiling. Jesus could also be saying that we should be salty so that we can survive the trials of life. We should be salty so that we can preserve the Good News of Jesus and have it ready to feed to anyone who needs to hear it!

Loving God, preserve us and keeps us so that we can be your “salty” people. Make us ready to share your good news and love with the world around us.

Amen.

Have a table set out with the two kinds of crackers (or whatever you choose). Invite people to try one of each and reflect on what they taste. Which one do they like better? What makes it better?

Find a way to join in prayer – either a pop-corn prayer, or collect slips of paper with prayer requests, etc. Ask for prayers where about places and people that need a little, or a lot of salt. Things that need to be flavored with God’s love, or preserved from the destructive forces of this world.

You are salty, go add flavor to the world!

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon/Worship Station, August 16 – 12th Sunday after Pentecost – John 6:51-58

August 7, 2015 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: Bring an apple and some apple candy, or a banana and some banana candy, etc. For the worship station you will just need the people in the room and maybe a white board or a good computer operator to throw ideas up onto the screen, unless you are an ELCA church that is participating in the ELCA Day of Service on September 13, 2015. If this is the case, you will need some sign-up sheets!

As that children gather, ask them what looks better, the fruit or the candy? I imagine that most of them will go for the candy, but you might have a few who want the fruit, ask them why?

OK, candy tastes really good to most of us, but what does it really do? If you eat to much all at once you get a stomach ache. If you eat candy every day you might rot your teeth. If ALL you eat is candy you won’t be very healthy!

What about this fruit? It tastes good, too. I suppose if you eat too much all at once you might not feel too good either, but that might be because you are full of food! Eating fruit every day isn’t bad for your teeth, really (you still need to brush), and if ALL you ate was fruit you might be OK, certainly better than only candy!

Jesus is talking about food again this week, but this time he s saying things that might make us think about communion. He is talking about flesh and blood and the true food and drink. He has been talking about himself as the true bread from heaven and his blood as the true drink. Which is really why I brought the candy and the apple. The candy tastes like an apple, but it really isn’t an apple. The candy is mostly just sugar. It tastes good and is a nice treat sometimes, but it really doesn’t do us any good. The apple, on the other hand, is sweet, but also full of good vitamins and fiber, things that help us to be healthy!

Jesus is saying kind of the same thing – if you want your spirit to be healthy you need to feed it with real spiritual food, you need to feed it with the words and actions of Christ. Communion is part of that, so is worship, and so is service to others! This whole conversation that Jesus is having today started when he and his disciples feed all of these people with a few fish and loaves, and now Jesus is offering a completely different kind of meal. He is offering a meal for their spirits, encouraging them to listen to the good news, spread the word and to help each other!

Jesus feeds your spirit today and everyday. Eat and be full!

Jesus, Bread from Heaven, fill us with your good news, with you love, and with your grace. Send us out to be your hands and feet in the world so that we may find ways to feed those in need of real food, in need of real shelter and in need of real grace. Amen.

ELCA Day of Service – if you are doing a day of service event in September take some time to highlight the event. Maybe even have someone from whatever organization you plan to work with come and talk for a couple minutes. Encourage people to sign up, or put it on their calendar. If you have the means you can even show Bishop Eaton’s video!

If you are not an ELCA congregation, or you are not doing the Day of Service – take a few minutes for a whole congregation brainstorming session! I have found that it is good to have a few “plants” in the congregation when you do this. Talk to one or two people ahead of time about what you are going to do, then have them speak up first from where they are to get the ball rolling. Ask them about needs in your wider community (outside your church), things that the church should be doing, or could be doing. See if you can get a spark going for creating your own service day for you congregation to go out and help in your community!

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon/Worship Station – 9th Sunday after Pentecost, John 6:1-21

July 20, 2015 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: For the children’s sermon – have some of the wafers or bread that you use for communion. Ideally, refer to what is on the altar for communion for the service that you are in, but if that is not possible, then have enough wafers/bread to serve communion to the whole congregation.

For the worship station – have some information about hunger/homelessness in or near your community. Even better if you have information about a year-round shelter. (Example of this below!)

Have the children gather around the altar table, or at a table where you have set up some wafers/bread to look a little like communion. Ask them if they know what is set up there and why? This could be a good time to get people talking about communion with their children!

Today’s story is not about communion, but it made me think about communion. It made me think about communion because of how we celebrate communion. Communion is an amazing feast where everyone gets fed and filled up, but not filled with food. See this little amount of bread? This is enough for all of the people here to have some, and to be filled with God’s good gifts of mercy, grace, love and forgiveness – and there are leftovers!

This story is about abundance from nothing! There thousands of hungry people and just a few small loaves, like these, and a few small fish, and Jesus decided that everyone could just share. Everyone ate, everyone was full and there were leftovers! More leftover than they started with!

Even when we think that God is far away, or that we don’t deserve God’s love, there is always more than enough of God’s love for all of us, and then even more!

May God’s abundance fill you up!

God of abundance, You fill us with good things and raise us to new life. Help us to accept the gifts of you love and to fill up the people around us. Amen.

The worship station could go a few ways. One way would be to have some information out about people who need help. You could focus on homeless in your community, or on people facing drought or war or other natural disasters. Offer a chance for people to do something. It can be as simple as a prayer station, or you can set up a basket for donations, or you could have a sign-up sheet to help at a soup kitchen, or for a habitat build. You could have blank cards out for children (or adults) to make cards for people.

Another way you could go is to show a video, or if that is not possible tell a story, about something that is happening in your community. Below is an example from my community about an organization here that is helping people get back on their feet. After the video/story, open a chance for conversation about in small groups about what it means to have your needs met, or not met. Create a space for people to offer public prayers.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon/Worship Station – 6th Sunday After Pentecost, Mark 6:1-13 – July 5, 2015

June 28, 2015 gb Leave a comment

Prepare: You don’t need to prepare anything specific, but be ready to lead the children’s sermon from a new place, or at a different time, or . . .

The idea is to do something different so people cannot just be on “autopilot” during the children’s sermon and worship station.

Invite the children to join you in you new location or time, etc. Ask them how they feel about it. Is it good to be doing something new? Does it make them feel uncomfortable?

Jesus is changing things around in the story today, too. He goes into his hometown and tries to change how they understand the Bible. He tries to show the people who have known him his whole life a new way to understand the healing power of God. He tries to show them something new and they just don’t like it!

This happens to us, too. Maybe we show up at work or at school and our schedule is not what we thought it was going to be. Or maybe you get served your favorite food but it has a spice or flavor that you are not used to and you don’t like it. It can be really hard to try something different, especially when we like it just fine the old way, and sometimes even more if the NEW way is somehow better!

We like things the way they are often because it is comfortable and safe. We don’t like to take risks and change things. Jesus calls on us to look at the world a different way. Jesus wants us to see the good news and share God’s hope and healing, even when it is difficult to do, and even when people might reject the news we have. Jesus has advice for that, too! He tells his disciples to spread the good news and offer healing wherever the go. If the people there don’t want to hear what they have to say, then they should just shake it off and move on.

A little church camp mixer! Encourage people (demand?) to get up and move around the sanctuary and find someone that they don’t know very well. Sit down with them and find out something new about them.

Then have those groups of two people join into a group of four people and introduce their new friends to each other.

The last piece is to create a small prayer group from those four people. Invite them to share a prayer request with the group of four and ask them to commit to praying for each other throughout the week.

Ideally, you have these groups of four check in the next week!

God goes with you!

God of healing and hope, give us the wisdom to welcome your presence. Give us the patience to listen to your good news. Give us glad and grateful heats for your abundance in our lives. Amen.

Children's Sermons, Resources

Children’s Sermon Mark 5:21-43 5th Sunday after Pentecost Year B June 28,2015

June 22, 2015 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: There are two options here.
A) fill a bag with different things to touch–a soft stuffed animal, baggie of dirt, something prickly (but not too sharp!), silly putty or something kind of slimy or sticky. You can either keep these in the bag and have them reach in and guess or you can take them out one by one to so they can see as well.
B) prepare several small bags with the same items in them, just one per bag so that kids can reach in and try to guess what they feel.

Gather the children with you. Show them the bag you have brought and prepared. “I have brought some things with me today that I want to explore what you think about how they feel.” Proceed to either have one or two children reach into the bag without peeking or bring the items out one by one and have them feel them and talk about what they feel like.

“I brought these items today because as I heard the gospel read I noticed that the word touch was used quite a lot. Do you remember what the story said about touch?” See what they recall, help them remember the places in the story that Jesus was touched or touched someone. “Touch is one of our five senses, and it’s an important one. Touch helps us know when something is too hot or too cold right? Touch also tells us what something is and helps us know our surroundings. In the Bible today we hear about Jesus and his healing touch–that he is able to heal the woman and the daughter with his touch and his words. This tells me that not only does Jesus care for us in words and by listening, but Jesus also cares for us in all the ways that we feel, either with our hands or with our hearts. You know, when I get a hug from one of my kids or a friend, that is a touch that can warm my heart and make me feel loved. Or when I get to curl up in my bed with favorite pillow that is a sense of touch that makes me feel warm and safe. And when we hold hands to pray or bless one another by putting our hands on one another’s head or shoulder that is touch that makes me feel connected to you and to God. So even though my touch may not make a disease go away or heal all their hurts, our touch of prayer and blessing and love can bring the presence of God and hope to another person.”

Let’s pray together this way–let’s hold hands but first look at your thumbs. Let’s make both our thumbs go to the left and then hold hands with the people next to us. When we do this we have one hand supporting one person next to us and another hand being supported, or held up by the other person. (show them this with the people next to you) Lets pray–Loving Jesus, you give us hands to feel and hearts to love. Help us to use kind touch to bring your healing to others. Amen

+May you know the healing touch of God today+

For a worship station you can either have the same items from your bag set up at the station and have people feel them and then write something that makes them feel and prayer on paper below each item.
OR
Go to this link from the Still Waters website and scroll down to the station on making hot chocolate as a fun way to have people make a gift for someone they love or who needs a healing prayer.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Mark 3:20-35 Pentecost 2B

June 5, 2015 lb Leave a comment

Preparation: a big chart with two columns for Yes and No

Gather the children with you up front. Show them your chart and say, “So this week I was thinking about things that Jesus taught and how in our life we have lots of choices to make-lots of things and ideas and experiences and people that we can say yes or no to. Now I know that sometimes you have choices between other things too–like maybe mom or dad or grandparents ask if you want broccoli or green beans for dinner or how about this– raise your hand if you would like chocolate ice cream better and raise your foot if you would like ice cream better. So yes sometimes choices are for things but you know you are saying yes to chocolate or vanilla and not to the other even when you have these choices.

So I made this chart thinking about the things, people, ideas, ways to live that we can say yes or no to and I thought I would ask you what you thought. So let’s think deeply together, what are some things or ideas or people that we say yes or no to? I’ll go first. Yes things are things that connect us to love, to God, to other people, to helping the world. I needed help mowing my yard the other day and the neighbor boy came over to help–I said yes to accepting help. Do you have other ideas?

Knowing what we say yes to helps us know what we say no to. Like because I accepted help, I was able to say no to having a lot of pride and trying to do everything all alone. Other ideas?

Jesus today in the Gospel and throughout scripture is saying yes to people, to being in a community, to worshipping God. He is teaching to say no to separation from God, to evil, to being a part of things that do not show love. He tells us that we are all his brothers and sisters when we are saying yes to God. This reminds me of what happens in a baptism. Together we say we renounce, which is a big word for saying No. And we say no to the devil, empty promises, and anything that goes against God. (add these to the chart if they are not there or circle them) And in baptism we say Yes to remembering we are God’s children, helping other people and creation, yes to loving God and loving one another. Jesus promises to be with us everyday and all the ways we try to do this and to love us even we say yes to things that need a no.

Let us pray, Jesus-help us to say yes to living as your children. Yes to loving others. Yes to your promises. Help us to say no to all the things that separate us from you. Amen+

+May you walk in the yes with Jesus. +

Have a chart at your worship station for people to add their yes and no to. You could also have smaller pieces of paper with the same columns for people to take home. On this table also have a bowl of water with a remembrance of baptism or the blessing above. You can also put this station near the baptismal font if your space allows.

Children's Sermons

New life in Christ John 12: 20-33

March 18, 2015 bw Leave a comment

Have 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.

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!

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.

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.

God, 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.

+Grow in God’s love+

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.