January 30, 2011 Epiphany 4 Children's Sermons

Scripture Focus: Matthew 5:1-12

 The beatitudes are a teaching moment with children especially when we can emphasize the grace and mercy that are present from God in these teachings. When we read the beatitudes are gospel, they show us how God is in the world, how God loves and cares for people, and how blessings are are promises of God's presence and love to be with us even in the most difficult times. 

Children’s Sermon #1 (Within Worship)

Option 1:

Gathering--Welcome children to gather with you.  Who are people who teach you? (invite short responses) Do you ever get to teach others? In our gospel reading today Jesus is gathering people together to teach them about blessings. To tell them about God and God’s love that is there for us even when things seem sad or lonely or scary.

Activity:  Read the Beatitudes from the Spark Storybook Bible (page 264) or other children’s Bible or retell them in your own words. Ask children to listen for the word ‘blessed or blessing’ and keep track on their fingers how many times they hear the word.

Tell how Jesus was gathering people to teach them and tell them about God is like and how God sees us, loves us, and cares for us. Emphasize that Jesus is teaching us that when something seems sad or poor or painful God desires for joy and riches and healing. The promise is that God is with us and even when it seems that we are not blessed or not happy, we are held in God’s arms as children of God and we will be restored by God.

Ask: How many times did you hear ‘blessing’ or ‘blessed’?  Why do you think this is what Jesus wants to teach us? Can we teach this to others? How? We can show others God’s love and blessings when we are caring and kind and when we see them as blessed by God. We also take care of ourselves when we remember that we are loved and we are blessings to God in this world.

Option 2:

Gathering—Do you have any people who teach you? Have you learned any math, like how to count? We could count to 5 together—1,2,3,4,5. How about counting by 5s, anyone know how to do that? 5, 10, 15, 20. Did you notice how quickly the numbers got bigger and bigger when we counted by 5s?

 Activity: Have you ever heard someone say ‘count your blessings’? Hhhmm, I wonder what they mean? Counting blessings seems like we would count things that we are thankful for or that make us happy? In our gospel story today did you hear the words Jesus was teaching? He was saying Blessed are… the poor, those who are sad, those who are hungry, those who are merciful and peaceful. Then Jesus is telling us how God’s blessings are in the world and how God loves and cares for us even when things in life are not perfect and maybe even sad or scary or hurtful. So I did some simple counting with these beatitudes and so count on your fingers with me the blessings that Jesus is teaching about God.

1.     Hope—God brings hope to us and to the world and promises to always be with us

2.     Love—when we are sad or hurt or in need, God promises to love us all the time

3.     Mercy—when we are lost or in need God will help us

4.     Kindness—that no matter what we do we God will love and forgive us

5.     Peace—we are God’s children all the time and everywhere.

These are all promises of God that Jesus teaches us and they are blessings we can count on! We also can be blessings in the world by using our fingers and remembering to bring hope, love, mercy, kindness, and peace to our families—even brothers and sisters who might bother us, our friends, our classmates, and even people we don’t know who need to experience God’s blessings. And just like when we counted by 5s, when we are blessings to each other, God’s love grows sand spreads and bigger and bigger and wider and wider.

Pray: Jesus, you are our teacher about hope, love, mercy, kindness, and peace. We are your children and we praise you. We are blessings in this world and we ask you to be with us. Amen

Children’s Sermon #2 (Children’s worship time)

Option 1:

Gathering--Welcome children to gather with you.  Who are people who teach you? (invite short responses) Do you ever get to teach others? In our gospel reading today Jesus is gathering people together to teach them about blessings. To tell them about God and God’s love that is there for us even when things seem sad or lonely or scary.

Activity:  Read the Beatitudes from the Spark Storybook Bible (page 264) or other children’s Bible or retell them in your own words. Ask children to listen for the word ‘blessed or blessing’ and keep track on their fingers how many times they hear the word. You can also ask them to stand up or sit down every time they hear the word.

Tell how Jesus was gathering people to teach them and tell them about God is like and how God sees us, loves us, and cares for us. Emphasize that Jesus is teaching us that when something seems sad or poor or painful God desires for joy and riches and healing. The promise is that God is with us and even when it seems that we are not blessed or not happy, we are held in God’s arms as children of God and we will be restored by God.

Discussion: Ask: How many times did you hear ‘blessing’ or ‘blessed’?  Why do you think this is what Jesus wants to teach us? Can we teach this to others? How? We can show others God’s love and blessings when we are caring and kind and when we see them as blessed by God. We also take care of ourselves when we remember that we are loved and we are blessings to God in this world.

Song: We can praise God for these blessings! Sing the song “Praise ye the Lord”  (if you don’t know this song, here is a link: http://www.biblestudycharts.com/CH_Praise_Ye_The_Lord.html

Divide the group in half. The “Hallelujahs” stand for their part and the ‘praise ye the Lord’s stand for theirs. Do the song a few times, getting faster and/or changing parts.

Words: Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Option 2:

Gathering—Do you have any people who teach you? Have you learned any math, like how to count? We could count to 5 together—1,2,3,4,5. How about counting by 5s, anyone know how to do that? 5, 10, 15, 20. Did you notice how quickly the numbers got bigger and bigger when we counted by 5s?

 Activity: Have you ever heard someone say ‘count your blessings’? Hhhmm, I wonder what they mean? Counting blessings seems like we would count things that we are thankful for or that make us happy? In our gospel story today did you hear the words Jesus was teaching?

Read the beatitudes from the a Bible. Have kids count the number of times they hear the word ‘Blessed or blessing’ See how many you get.

Discussion: Jesus was saying Blessed are… the poor, those who are sad, those who are hungry, those who are merciful and peaceful. Then Jesus is telling us how God’s blessings are in the world and how God loves and cares for us even when things in life are not perfect and maybe even sad or scary or hurtful. So I did some simple counting with these beatitudes and so count on your fingers with me the blessings that Jesus is teaching about God.

1.     Hope—God brings hope to us and to the world and promises to always be with us

2.     Love—when we are sad or hurt or in need, God promises to love us all the time

3.     Mercy—when we are lost or in need God will help us

4.     Kindness—that no matter what we do we God will love and forgive us

5.     Peace—we are God’s children all the time and everywhere.

These are all promises of God that Jesus teaches us and they are blessings we can count on! We also can be blessings in the world by using our fingers and remembering to bring hope, love, mercy, kindness, and peace to our families—even brothers and sisters who might bother us, our friends, our classmates, and even people we don’t know who need to experience God’s blessings. And just like when we counted by 5s, when we are blessings to each other, God’s love grows sand spreads and bigger and bigger and wider and wider.

Song: We can praise God for these blessings! Sing the song “Praise ye the Lord”  (if you don’t know this song, here is a link: http://www.biblestudycharts.com/CH_Praise_Ye_The_Lord.html

Divide the group in half. The “Hallelujahs” stand for their part and the ‘praise ye the Lord’s stand for theirs. Do the song a few times, getting faster and/or changing parts.

Words: Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelu, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord, Hallelujah,

Praise ye the Lord!

Pray: Jesus, you are our teacher about hope, love, mercy, kindness, and peace. We are your children and we praise you. We are blessings in this world and we ask you to be with us. Amen

Materials: Children’s Bible, list of beatitudes

Children's Sermon Epiphany 3C January 23, 2011

Scripture Focus: Matthew 4:12-23

In Worship Children’s Time:

Gather—

Good morning! Do you remember that word we have used in worship/Sunday school for the season of the church year we are in? Epiphany! It’s winter outside and in the church year we are talking about Jesus bringing light to the world. There was a verse read today in our Gospel from Matthew it said, “¹⁶the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.” (or The Message says People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up)

Have you ever SAT in darkness? Or been in complete dark? Maybe camping or going down in a basement? Let’s try something, everyone kind of cover your eyes. Are you sitting in darkness? Ok, now peek through your fingers and what do you see—

Here shine a flashlight gently on their hands so they can see the light peeking through.

Yeah, you see light coming through! Ok, now uncover your eyes. Have you ever used a flashlight? How did it help you? We know that Jesus is like a light because he promises to be with us no matter if it’s dark or if we feel scared or lonely. Jesus promises to love us and always be with us.  And in our Gospel story he even starts asking people to come and follow him and learn about being a light and sharing God’s love with others. So we have been given the light of Jesus and asked to follow him telling others of his love.

If you have time and are brave you can hand out a flashlight to each child and ask them to turn it on while you pray or ask them to go around in a circle, each praying for someone who might need Jesus Love today.

Pray: God thank you for Jesus and for promising to love us always. Send your love to all throughout the world today and help us to remember your love for us. Amen

Children’s Worship during Sermon:

Gather—Good morning! Do you remember that word we have used in worship, Epiphany? It’s the season of the church that we are in. So it’s winter outside, but in the church year we are celebrating light and how Jesus came into darkness.

Our gospel reading today is from Matthew. I want to read a verse and then let’s try an experiment.

Story Experience:  Read Matthew 4:16 ¹⁶the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”  (or The Message says People sitting out their lives in the dark saw a huge light; Sitting in that dark, dark country of death, they watched the sun come up)

Did hear that? They SAT in darkness. Hmmm, do you think we could try that? Let’s turn off the lights and close your eyes if you want to and let’s see how it feels to sit in darkness. (Careful with little ones not to scare them. Depending on your room you may not want it completely dark).  Keep talking—oh my it’s interesting in the dark. Anyone hear something they didn’t hear before? How does it feel to be in the dark?

Turn on a flashlight, the brighter the better. How does this light look in the darkness? Have you ever been camping or someplace where you needed a flashlight? How did it help you? What else can you use flashlights for (finding something, when electricity goes out, etc)

Jesus in our gospel is telling us how he is a light when we feel like we are alone or in the dark or sad. Have you ever felt that way? How can you see the light of Jesus when you feel that way? Talk about this idea further, building on their responses. Remind them that the promise of Jesus for the whole world is that he will always be with us, even when it’s dark and we aren’t sure he is there, he is holding us and loving us.

Activity: We have lights

Hand out small flashlights to the kids. Depending on numbers they may need to share or take turns. If you have a lot of kids, put them in small groups first, sitting in a circle so they can pass the light around. Depending on your time/number of kids you can have them play a little with the flashlights on the wall or carpet, etc.

Pray:  We are going to pray with our lights today.  Sit in a circle. Have everyone turn off their flashlights. Explain that each person can pray either for someone they know or for a part of the world or anything they want to pray for that might need to know, see, and feel Jesus’ love today. When it’s your turn  you will turn on your light and say your prayer. By the time we get around the circle we will all have prayer lights on. If you don’t want to say anything and just turn on your light, that works too.

**modification if you don’t have enough flashlights, kids can pray in partners or you can simply pass one flashlight around or if sharing lights then simply turn it off and back on with the next person.

Materials: Bible, flashlights—several, best one per child, one large flashlight for leader.

Children's Sermon Jan 16 Isaiah 49:5-6

The texts this week reflect a Big God that dreams big for the world. Isaiah, for a few weeks now, has been talking about a promised presence and light to the nations and Jesus' is bringing the same message of salvation in his time and in ours. One of my favorite blogs is out of Union Presbyterian Seminary that is a resource on Children's Literature Biblically and theologically (here's the link http://storypath.wordpress.com). For this week the suggested picture book is God's Dream by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Douglas Carlton Abrams. It's a simple, yet well done message about God's love and care for the world and our call in it. Here is my children's sermon for this week using and adapting this resource. The first one is a children's sermon for 'in worship' time so it is brief. The second one is for a children's time where kids leave the worship space during the sermon for their own sermon time. Feel free to use in your worship setting! I found the picture book at my local library. If you can't find it, print photos of children from around the world and talk about how God has promised a light to all nations--to al the world and what that might look like.

Children's Sermon #1 (within in Worship)
Gather—
Do you ever daydream? Or remember night dreams?
What do you dream about?
What do you think Jesus dreamt about while he was here on earth?

Book Experience— I found the picture book at my local library. If you can't find it, print photos of children from around the world and talk about how God has promised a light to all nations--to al the world and what that might look like. 

Share a few pages from the God’s Dream book. It is the time of Epiphany, the season in the church where we talk about God's light being in the world and our call to be a light in the world. Did you hear our scripture for today from Isaiah? He is speaking for God and says, "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth."  God loves the world and sent Jesus to be a light showing that God’s love is for all. We are called by God to be lights too in how we treat one another and how we share the story of Jesus coming to the world. What are ways we show this or do this? 

Accept answers and highlight our call in the world. Explain to children that offering our prayers for others is one way we can love and care for the world anytime, anywhere. Hand out pieces of paper (could be shaped like clouds to symbolize dreams) and tell kids that they can write a prayer for the world or their dream for the world on the paper. Invite them to place this is the offering later in the service. You could also use their prayers for the prayers of the people time. Get creative!

Pray--God your dreams of peace and love for the world offer us hope. Thank you for loving us and being with us always. Thank you for being our light and help us to be lights for others. Amen

Children's Sermon #2 (Children's worship time)
Gather—
Do you ever daydream? Or remember night dreams?
What do you dream about?
What do you think Jesus dreamt about while he was here on earth?

Reading Experience--God’s Dream by Desmond Tutu and Douglas Abrams
Introduce book and tell a little bit about Tutu then read story
Reflection Questions:
What did you notice about what the other believes God dreams about?
How do you feel about God’s dreams?
Do you think the author left any out?
How do you know who loves you?
What would it be like if we could really hold hands with people from all over the world?
How do we learn about people in different parts of the world?
How do we reach out to those who may need to hear about God or experience love and care from other people?
Relate this also back to the offering our prayers up as a way of showing God's love and care in the world anytime and anywhere.

Bible Verse-- Read Isaiah 49:5-6
And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— (6) he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
**option here is to work on memorizing the second part of verse 6 or Isaiah 42:6 which is similar.

"God’s Dream is about a world in which all of God’s children join hands in peace, reconciliation and unity. Even though we come from different lands, have different eyes and skin, and talk to God in different ways, we are still brothers and sisters. By “sharing, loving, caring” and “knowing we are family” we can “make God’s dream come true.”  We have been called to be light to others, to care for them and share our lives with them." (quote from Children's Literature: A Resource; above link).

Activity--Prayers for the world…
Hand out pieces of paper (could be shaped like clouds to symbolize dreams) and tell kids that they can write a prayer for the world or their dream for the world on the paper. Invite them to place this is the offering later in the service. You could also use their prayers for the prayers of the people time. Get creative!

Pray-- God your dreams of peace and love for the world offer us hope. Thank you for loving us and being with us always. Thank you for being our light and help us to be lights for others. Amen

Materials: cut up slips of paper, colored pencils or markers, Bible, God’s Dream book

**use and adapt as needed for your setting giving credit where credit is due and not duplicating for profit purposes.