Children's Sermon Pentecost 5A Psalm 139

 Scripture Focus: Psalm 139

Supplies—something knit

Faith+Open— After welcoming the children, tell them about the Psalm for today. If your service doesn’t use the Psalm this week or if they have not heard it, read either all or parts of it to them. Ask them to close their eyes and imagine God creating them and knowing them. Be sure to read the part about being knit together in the womb.

OR: use the book Before you Were Born by Nancy White Carlstrom.   It is a beautiful children’s book based on this Psalm and could be read, or parts read, to engage children in the psalm in a way that relates to them on a personal level. You could simply read this book or read parts and continue with the rest of the elements following.

Faith+Share: When you hear the words that you were knit together in your mother’s womb what does that make you imagine or how does that feel? Show them the knit item or items you have. If you can knit or if you know someone who does, you could also show them what it looks like when the person is knitting. Explain that to knit is to carefully bring yarn together to make it into something new. Another thing about knitting is that it creates warmth that stays with us. A knit scarf is meant to be warm, to keep out the cold and to keep the heat in and close to our necks.

God knit each of you together in a careful and loving way. You were created with God’s heart and hands and God knows you in this way as well. Psalm 139 is praising and thanking God for being a God that is will us from the beginning and all throughout our lives. Just like a knit scarf will keep the warmth on you, God will stay with you in your heart. They can remember this when they wear something knit or when they use water to remember their baptism or when they come to the table for the communion meal. Ask the children to think of ways they can remember how they are loved by God.

Faith+Prayer: God you know me, God you love me. Thank you for knitting me together. Thank you for your love that stays with me. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Making the sign of the cross say this another way to help us remember God is with us—God in my head, God in my heart, God on my left, God on my right.

Extended activities: If you meet with children for a longer period of time outside of the worship space here are some ideas:

1.    have some knit samples the kids can put on and play with

2.    older kids can braid or twist yarn together in a bracelet to simulate knitting together

3.    create pictures of what life was like before they were born

 ~ Leta Behrens, July 2011