Tag Archives: Year A

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon John 3: 1-17, March 16th, 2014, Year A-Second Sunday in Lent

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20130822-223520.jpg Gather the children where there is a little space. Read the story of Nicodemus from a children’s Bible or paraphrase in your own words.

20130822-223633.jpg In the story about Nicodemus and Jesus in John, Jesus is explaining to Nicodemus that God’s love is everywhere and God works in the world in many and mysterious ways. An example that Jesus uses is that the “spirit blows where it wants.” God’s love and grace goes all kinds of unpredictable ways!

FaithCross I have this fan here with paper shaped like hearts. Where do you think these hearts will go when we turn the fan on? (Alternatively, you could give the kids small hearts of tissue paper and have them blow them around. Just as unpredictable. J ) Turn on the fan and have the pieces of paper blow around for a bit. Turn off the fan and say: “Look at where all of these pieces of paper went! I never would have thought that they would blow to all of these places!” (Point out some specific places and maybe people the paper blew to.) “God’s love is just like that! God’s love goes everywhere to everyone! Can we help to move God’s love around the world like wind? Yes! What are some ways we can do that?” (Accept all answers.) Those are all good ways! Take one of these hearts with you and take some extras to give away!

20130822-223749.jpg “God of all, thank you for blowing your love into our lives and into our world. Help us to share your love with everyone. Amen.”

20130822-223908.jpg “God’s spirit is with you.”

Open Space Worship Station suggestion: If you do Open Space or worship stations have a table covered with butcher paper and the words “Where God’s Spirit Moves.” Have magazines, crayons, markers, tape and glue sticks available. Ask people to cut out of the magazines or draw where they see God’s work and love in the world. Hang the mural in your worship space and add to it in the coming weeks in Lent.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Transfiguration, Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9; March 2, 2014

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Prepare:  Gather some hiking gear.  If you can go all out with a big backpack, tent and sleeping bag, even better!  You will not need to set anything up.

20130822-223520.jpg  Come in from a different place than usual, and make a big show of carrying so much stuff.  Talk to the children gathered about heading out for a long hike up into the hills or mountains or just out into the “wild.”

FaithCross  I was reading the scriptures for today, and it seems like the place to see God is out in the wild, or up on the hills, so I heading out!  I’ve got some water, and a tent (just go through your gear a little to show how ready you are), with all this stuff I should be able to stay out there for a long time.  I’m sure to see God if I just stay there.

Then, once I find God I can just hang out there and always be in with God.  So, if you want me, I’m going to be out in the middle of nowhere, hanging out with God.

But, you know, there’s a problem.  In the Bible stories we read today the people who went to the mountains to be with God came back down!  When they found God on the mountain they were given something.  Moses got the 10 Commandments, and the disciples with Jesus learned who he really was.  They had to come back so they could share the things that they learned with the rest of us.  What would our world be like without the 10 Commandments?  Or what would it be like if we never learned about who Jesus is?

You know what else? I don’t really even need to leave to find God.  god is here with us right now!  We can learn about God’s love right here with each other, and we can share the good news of God’s love with everyone we meet.  It is great to hang out with God, and with the rest of God’s people, but we can’t stay there, we have to take the good news out to everyone.

So, maybe what I should do with all the gear is go out and help people learn about God!  I’m going to go do that, but let’s pray first.

FaithCross_PrayALT   God of the mountains and valleys and everywhere in between, give us the strength to be your hands and voice in the world, and the courage to not just hide in the places where our faith feels safe.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT May God go with you wherever you are.

~GB

Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Seventh Sunday After Epiphany, Year A, Matthew 5:38-48, February 23, 2014

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Prepare:  Find a picture of Baljeet and Buford from “Phineas and Ferb” (and if you have not watched any “Phineas and Ferb” go watch some!)

20130822-223454.jpg  As the children gather have your picture of Buford and Baljeet out for them to look at.  Some of them will probably know these two characters, so ask them to describe their relationship.

FaithCross  Yeah, Baljeet and Buford!  Buford is a bully and Baljeet is his usual target, right?  Buford picks on him all the time.  So, I imagine that Baljeet is always plotting a way to get back at Buford, right?  Baljeet is smart and has a good reason to find some way to embarrass or hurt Buford.  He probably has secret plans and is building a Doofenshmirtz-style ‘Inator (if this doesn’t make sense – go watch the show!), like an anti-bullyinator.

That’s not true though, is it?  Baljeet and Buford actually care about each other.  Buford protects Baljeet, and Baljeet stands up for Buford when people say mean things about him.  They have even saved each other’s lives several times!  Isn’t that a little strange?  Buford is a bully!  Why would Baljeet stand up for him?

I think that Baljeet and Buford have gotten to know each other, and understand how the other person feels.  They know what really hurts the other person, and they know how to help each other feel better.  This is something that is easy in a cartoon, but how well can we do that?

Alright, this next part is just in your head, don’t say anything out loud!  I want you to just think about someone that you might call an enemy.  This is probably someone who is hard for you to love, right?  What do you think would happen if you acted with love around them?  I don’t mean that you should try to give them a hug right away or anything, but what if you treated them like a friend?  What if you got to know them and let them get to know you?  It’s harder to really not like someone when work hard to understand them better.  You might never be good friends, like Baljeet and Buford, but maybe you can find ways to be more caring.

Let’s listen to what Jesus has to say about this, too.  (Either read the Gospel text here – or re-read Matthew 5:42-48 if it has already been read).

20130822-223749.jpg    God of love and kindness, give us the courage to act with love even when we want to be mean and cruel to others.  Help us to love everyone we meet with the same love that you give to us.  Amen

20130822-223908.jpg  May God’s Word shine a light into your life today and always.

~GB

Permission to use for nonprofit. When printing give credit to Faith Formation Journeys. Intellectual property rights apply.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Epiphany 6A Deuteronomy 30: 15-20, Matthew 5:21-37

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Preparation: Take the  biggest paper or sheet that you have and make a BIG heart, markers or crayons, and a Valentine you received if you did receive one(and if you did not receive one, I am sorry and God loves you and so do I)
optional–smaller hearts cut out of paper

20130822-223520.jpgGather the children up front. “So, did any of you get or give a Valentine this week?” (take answers) “Me too, I especially like the one my dad (or whoever) gave me because even though I know he loves me it was really nice to get this card as a reminder.”

20130822-223633.jpg“We heard some difficult to understand readings from the Bible today. I heard a lot of words about how we can live together as a community and what things not to do. One part that stuck out for me is that it says in Deuteronomy that all these ways of living out the commandments God gives us are ways that we can walk with God and live with one another. It can be difficult to figure that out sometimes–do you every problems with the people you live with? Me too, sometimes I get frustrated or sad or angry, these things we all feel sometimes. We can also remember though that the commandments from God and the rules we live with in a home or at school or work or daycare come from a place of hope that love will be the first thing we are about.”

“So how big of love do you think God has for us? This much? (put your fingers a little bit a part) or this much? (put your hands a part) No? This much? put your arms wide. I know that God’s love is so big and wide that we can’t even imagine it because it stretches over the whole world holding all people. I thought I’d try though and I made this God sized Valentine (bring out your large Valentine). Now I know that it can’t find the actually whole world in it but I would like us to imagine it does and that all the ways that we help other people or show love to those that we even have a difficult time with can fit in this heart. Especially I want you to know that YOU fit in this heart and that God’s commandments and love are for you.”

Have each child put their name in the heart–You could also have smaller cut out hearts that you hand out for them to put their name on and then stick to the big heart. You could have them do this right then or if you have a sacred space time or a prayer time or even at offering have the children come up and put their hearts in God’s heart.

20130822-223749.jpgLoving God, thank you for your commandments of love. Help us to love one another as we walk with you.

 

20130822-223908.jpgYou are loved child of God

 

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Epiphany 5A Matthew 5:13-20

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Preparation: you will need salt and a candle

20130822-223520.jpgGather the children with you. Ask, “Did you notice anything in the gospel reading today?” (or if they have not heard it, summarize for them) Take answers. “I noticed that Jesus was talking to us about how to be in the world and he used two things that I think are pretty common…. salt and light.”

20130822-223633.jpgRead or summarize how Jesus uses salt and light to give examples of how we are to be in the world. Show them the salt and say, “So, what is it about salt that it does that makes it special? Well nothing really, salt is just being salt, being what it was made to me. How about this candle? (light the candle) what is it doing to be special in the world? Right, it’s shining light–it’s just doing what it was made to do too. Jesus is saying the same thing to us–that being who we are, and being in the world as God made us is giving light and life and saltiness to the world. God claims us as children and says that everything we are is precious to God and we can use our gifts and our love and our hearts to show the world what God is like. That God is love and opens this gift to everyone.”

You can also teach the song “If I were a Butterfly” by Brian Howard
For time you can even just teach one verse and the chorus.

20130822-223749.jpgHoly God, thank you for making us your children and help us to show your love. Amen

 

20130822-223908.jpgYou are a precious child of God made to light up the world with Jesus’ love +

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon Epiphany 4A Micah 6:8 and Matthew 5:1-12 February 2, 2014

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Preparation: create blocks either by writing on ones you have, labeling them or using big boxes or shoe size boxes. On the largest ones–the foundational blocks–write words like love, kindness, mercy, blessed, peacemaker, etc (depending on what you want to highlight and how many blocks you want to use) One largest block should say love or God’s love.
On the smaller blocks write action words like ‘serve’, ‘feed’, ‘give money’, ‘help at home’, ‘care for sick’, etc. Decide which scripture or which parts of each you want to emphasize and adjust the children sermon accordingly.

20130822-223520.jpgGather the children around you and have the blocks out. Say–“We have just heard two places in scripture where God is letting us know how to be followers of Jesus in the world. Do you remember in key words? (they likely won’t….) Well, what do you think it is that God asks us to DO because we are Christians?” (take answers, when they say a word you have written on a block show it to them.)

20130822-223633.jpgI have all these blocks here because I was thinking of way to show what the scripture is saying. You are right there are many things we can do like (share the examples they have said and/or what you have on the blocks.) These are all good and important things to do. And I also heard words like blessed, happy, mercy, love, (share the foundational blocks). I often wonder about how to be a good follower of Jesus and sometimes I get caught up in the details of all the little blocks and what kind of decisions I should make and how I should spend my time. I heard the prophet Micah ask a question and answer it today–He said, “what does the Lord require of you?” and then the answer is “to do justice, love kinds, and walk humbly with God.” Those are the words on my biggest blocks here. Whenever I am not sure exactly what God is asking of me, I can go back to the big words like love and justice and words like Jesus said to the people that were to be peacemakers and act merciful. If we begin with love and mercy, begin with caring about others and showing them compassion, then we have our foundation for making all those other decisions about how to be in the world.
Build your tower of blocks starting with the foundational words as you are talking to demonstrate–Starting with the one that says love.

FaithCrossMy biggest block says love–that reminds me that God’s love is first and then comes to us and sends us to love others through all the things we do in the world.

20130822-224425.jpgLoving God, be with us today as we love others and walk with you in serving the world. Amen

20130822-223908.jpgGod calls you to love, serve, and care. +