Tag Archives: Year A

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. +

Children's Sermons

Children’s sermon January 12th Baptism of Our Lord, Matthew 3: 13-17 Year A

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ffjChildrenSermon Preparation: You will need several balls of blue yarn or ribbon and a couple of pairs of scissors. Depending on the size of your congregation, you will want to be able for the yarn to stretch down aisles and rows. If you are too large for that, have enough for everyone to make a yarn bracelet. Be sure to have water in your baptismal font as well!

FaithCross_BibleALT Gather the children at the baptismal font if possible. Read the story of Matthew 3: 13-17 from a children’s Bible. Ask them if they know if they were baptized or if they have ever seen a baptism. What happens at a baptism? Do we do a baptism alone or in a group of people? Do we pray? Why do we baptize?

FaithCross_ConversationALTToday we heard the story of Jesus being baptized by John. Jesus went under the water and when he came out God said that this was God’s son and God loved Jesus very much. Jesus came to show us how much God loves us and wants to be with us. We baptize because the water reminds us that just as Jesus died and was raised so we too will be raised to live with God. Water also reminds us that nothing separates us from God and anything that might has been washed away. (Sprinkle them with water!) We baptize in a large gathering because in Jesus we are all connected to God and to one another. This is very important because when we gather together we can pray for each other, we can work together to show God’s love in the world and we can learn from one another. 

I have this big ball of blue yarn (or large spool of ribbon, have several). I want your help! Can you stretch all of this yarn all over the worship space so that everyone is holding a part of the yarn? Ok, go! When the yarn is stretched out and everyone can touch a strand say: “I am going to hand out these scissors. Everyone is to cut a piece of the yarn they are holding and tie that piece around their wrist.” (Allow time for this.)

We are all connected in the waters of baptism to God and to one another. Let this yarn remind you this week that you are connected to this community. 

FaithCross_PrayALT Let’s pray: Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to love us. Thank you for connecting us to you and to each other. Help us to connect everyone we meet to you. Amen.

FaithCross_BlessALT Make the sign of the cross on one another and say: You are God’s beloved child.

Children's Sermons

Children’s Sermon 2nd Sunday in Christmas, John 1:10:18, Ephesians 1:3-14, and/or Jeremiah 31:7-14 – January 5, 2014

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Prepare:  Bring a beautifully wrapped box.  There doesn’t need to be anything in it, it is just a visual aid. However, if you wanted to you could have a small baptismal remembrance in the box for each child.  Maybe a small shell, or a dove.  It would be a fun addition, but it is not necessary.

20130822-223454.jpg  Welcome the children with a big “Merry Christmas!”  You may get a few strange looks or “Christmas is over” comments, but that is exactly what you want.

FaithCross  What do you mean Christmas is over?  We still have one more day, today!  This is the last day of the Christmas season – it is the twelfth day of Christmas, just like that song, The Twelve Days of Christmas.  Do you know that song?  I can’t always remember all the gifts that were given in the song, but I do remember that a gift was given for each day of Christmas.  (This is where you would have the gift box out.)  I have a box here all wrapped up like a Christmas gift.  Maybe you got gifts on Christmas, I know that I got a few.

Maybe you are wondering why we are talking about Christmas gifts here?  Well, it’s because all of the readings from the Bible today talk about an amazing gift that God gives to each of us.  God adopts each one of us as God’s children.  Each of us are loved, forgiven, given God’s mercy, accepted by God for who we are.  God sets aside any and all bad things that we have done and loves us more than any of us could imagine.

Wow!  What a gift!  Now, what are you going to do with that gift?  Think about it – What did you do with your other Christmas gifts?  I, for example, got some new pants (ok, insert a gift that you got here) and I am going to wear them!  I might even point them out to people, “Hey, check out these great new pants!”  Well . . . maybe I won’t point them out to everybody, that might be a little weird . . .

Some of you might have gotten Legos, and I bet you will build them and show them to your parents and friends and aunts and uncles.  Some of you might have a new doll or toy truck – I bet you will play with that and take it with you friends houses.  Or maybe you got a new game or a bike!  You will probably play with all of them.

So, what will you do with God’s gift?  Will you keep it a secret?  Will you hide it and not let anyone know that God loves you?  Or will you share God’s amazing love and forgiveness with others?

(If you did bring a reminder for each child hand it out now)

Here is a little reminder that you are loved by God.  Take this with you and share God’s love with everyone you meet!

FaithCross_PrayALT  Loving God, we praise you for your generous gift of love and forgiveness.  We thank you for the grace that gives us another chance when we don’t get things right, and we thank you for the love that surrounds us when we are sad or afraid.  Help us to share your love and grace throughout our lives.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT  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 1st Sunday in Christmas, Matthew 2:13-23, December 29, 2013

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Prepare:  Bring a pillow, you are going to talk about dreams!

20130822-223520.jpg  Welcome the children and then tell them that you are going to take a little nap.  Make a big show of getting the pillow just right and talk about how you are trying to figure out what to do next with a big project, or wondering about what advice to give to a friend, and you are hoping for a good dream to help you out.  This might get a reaction of “no, that’s silly” or it might not.  Work with whatever you get to start talking about dreams.

FaithCross  So, you don’t think that I will figure out what to do by waiting for a dream?  Maybe you’re right.  I mean, dreams don’t usually mean too much.  It seems like most of the time they are just our brains replaying some of the things that happened during the day.  I mean, even dogs dream!  Or at least they seem to.  Have you ever seen a dog dream?  Sometimes they bark a little, or they look like they are running.  Maybe they are dreaming about chasing a squirrel or cat that they saw.  I know that most of my dreams seem to be about the things I did during the day.  (Tell a quick dream story here.  I will give an example)  I remember I always used to have dreams about work when I used to be a waiter at a restaurant, especially after a really busy night.  I would have dreams that I was running around the restaurant trying to keep up with all the people.  I would wake up more tired than when I went to sleep!

Ok, so if dreams are usually about things that we did during the day, why would I think that I could go to bed to figure out how to help my friend?  In the story we hear from the Gospel today that is exactly what happens!  When Jesus was born there was a king named Herod who heard about a powerful king being born in Bethlehem – that’s was Jesus.  He thought that Jesus was going to take over his kingdom and he didn’t want that to happen.  He was willing to do anything to make sure that Jesus would never get old enough to be king.  Mary and Joseph had no idea what was being planned, until one night when Joseph had a dream where an angel told him to get up and take Mary and Jesus to Egypt, far away from Herod and danger.  That was a pretty special dream.  What’s even more amazing is that Joseph had another dream when it was safe to bring Jesus back home!

God used something as normal and common as a dream to tell Joseph what to do to keep Jesus safe.  That is pretty cool!  Think about all the things that happen to you every day.  All those boring normal things that you just don’t think about.  Could God use those boring things to tell you something?  Keep your eyes and ears ready, you never know when God will tell you something important in an unexpected place!

 FaithCross_PrayALT  God of everything and everywhere, help us to be open to hearing and seeing you in every little thing that happens.  Fill our days with the wonder of your love and grace.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT  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 Christmas Day, John 1:1-14, December 25, 2013

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Prepare:  You will need a nativity set with all the pieces!

20130822-223520.jpg  Tell them that today we get to hear the Christmas story from the Gospel of John, then read John 1:1-5.  Feel free to make the language a little more “child friendly,” like changing “testify” to “talk about,” or something like that.

FaithCross  Huh.  That’s a funny Christmas story.  Let’s see here, I brought a Nativity set to help me tell the story, but I’m not sure that any of these pieces are in the story that I just read.  (Take the pieces out of the nativity scene as you mention them.)  I didn’t hear about wise men, or shepherds.  There wasn’t an angel, either.  Mary and Joseph weren’t there.  I didn’t even hear about a baby!  Well, I guess I brought the wrong things to tell the story today . . . wait, let’s read a little further in the story.  (Read John 1:6-14)

Did you hear that?  The Word of God became flesh and lived among us!  That sounds like a baby to me!  Let’s put the baby back then.  When we talk about the Word of God we often think of stories.  Well, before we had so many books people had to remember stories so that they wouldn’t get lost.  And babies need people to remember them so that they can get food and be taken care of and not get lost, so let’s put Mary and Joseph back.

What good is a story if it doesn’t get told?  That’s the best way to learn a story, right?  To hear someone tell it and then tell it back?  Just like the angels told the story with their song!  And who did they tell?  A story needs to be heard, right?  That’s right, they told the shepherds.  So I guess we should put the angel and the shepherds back, too!

Alright, now all the people here know the story, but they all live here.  What this story needs is someone to help spread it around.  I wonder who we could find to come hear the story and then take it with them?  The wise men!  That’s it!  Three people from a far away land who came to see and hear and who will take the story with them to their homes.

Look!  Out Nativity set is complete again!  And you thought that this wasn’t a Christmas story!

20130822-223749.jpg  Word of God, teach us the stories of our faith, be always on lips and always burning in our hearts.  Be with as we hear the story again and again, and give us the courage to tell the story again and again.  Amen

FaithCross_BlessALT  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.