Faith+Share Monthly: November

Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-46

Faith + Open:  Gather together and light a candle. Ask someone to pray. If you would like use this prayer: Gracious God, you pour out your love to us in so many ways. We want to share that love with those around us. May we be a fountain showering the love and grace of your son Jesus Christ to those we know and those we don’t know, amen.

Faith + Share: Read Matthew 25: 31-46 or on page 318 in the Spark Bible. Have someone read the narration, Jesus’ part and the part of the disciples.

For adults: This text is challenging as it seems to indicate that some people will get into the flock (sheep) and some won’t (goats). But this passage is not about who is in and who is out. Jesus is pointing out to the disciples that yes, they have clothed the naked, fed the hungry and visited the lonely, but just as many times they have not. We have the capacity to be both a sheep and a goat. In the Lutheran tradition we explain this as being both saint and sinner simultaneously. Jesus redeems us and we have he ability to follow God and serve God’s world, yet, we sometimes do not do what we know we should. Jesus wants the disciples and us to be aware of our need for God in our lives and our ability to be either a sheep or a goat! How might it change you to see everyone around you, neighbor and stranger as Jesus? Would your actions/thoughts/feelings about them change? What would be one thing that you could add this month to reflect serving your neighbor as if they were Jesus?

For children/youth: Have you ever forgotten your lunch money for school or maybe a coat on day that turned out to be cold? Did someone help you by giving you lunch money (or the school letting you eat) or by giving you a jacket or sweater to borrow? How did that make you feel? They were serving you or taking care of you the way that Jesus would! When we help someone who is hungry or cold or lonely, Jesus says that we are taking care of people the way we would take care of Jesus if Jesus were right here right now needing something. God wants us to be as nice to each other as we would to Jesus!

Faith + Serve: There are many hungry and lonely people in our communities. Here at Bethel we collect food for the holidays to help people who cannot afford to buy enough to feed their family. Please consider donating food items so that we can serve even more families than last year! BUT let’s also let them know that we are praying for them and care for them as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Christmas cards will be available on November 20^th at both services for you to write a note of Christian love and encouragement to those who will receive a food basket from us. Children are welcome to write a card or draw a picture as well! There will be a basket to collect the cards for a couple of weeks following. Please only sign with your first name.

Faith + Close: As you gather for a meal remember in your prayers those who do not have enough to eat both in this country and all over the world. Sing as a family “This little light of mine” to help us to remember to be the light of Jesus in the world!

Words: This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.

All around my world, I’m going to let it shine, All around my world, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine let it shine, shine!

Everywhere I go, I’m going to let it shine, Everywhere I go, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine let it shine, let it shine!

Children Sermon Reign of Christ Sunday November 20, 2011

Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-46

Preparation: pitcher of water, small cups

Faith+Open: Gather the children with you. Have a pitcher of water and enough cups for each child (don’t worry you are not giving them much water!) I have some water here to pass out to all of you. Today we are we are celebrating that Jesus is the one we call Lord and that he has shown us how to follow him and to know God. When you get water, hold on to it and don't drink it quite yet. 

Starting with some older children fill their cups fairly full. Share your water out of the pitcher until it is empty. Then have them share with other children until their cups are empty. (If you have a very large amount of children ask for a few volunteers for this activity.) 

Faith+Share: God pours all of God’s love into you and wants you like a fountain, to pour it out to others. When you think that you have run out God keeps pouring (pull an extra pitcher of water out from a hiding spot or have someone from the congregation bring up another full one) What are some ways that we can pour God’s love into other people? (Accept all answers--emphasize that when we give food, water, shelter, clothes or help of any kind we are helping others and we are serving God. This is how we show and act in love) 

We are so blessed that God loves us so much and give us all of God’s love every day. Let’s tell everyone we know about this love! 

Go ahead and drink your water imagining God filling you up with love. 

Faith+Prayer:

God, thank you for filling us with your love. Be with us as we share our love with others. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Remember God is with us always.  Make sign of cross together saying:

God in my head

God in my heart

God on my left

God on my right

And remember your high fives and hugs on the way back! 

Extension Ideas: 

1. Talk about what a king looks like--how is that like or unlike what we know about Jesus? What do Christians look like?

2. Sing the Song Grace Flows Down (lyrics below, go to your favorite music source to hear song--comes up on youtube)

Amazing Grace 

How sweet the sound 

Amazing Love 

Now flowing down 

From hands and feet 

That were nailed to the tree 

As Grace flows down and covers me 

Chorus 

It covers me 

It covers me 

It covers me 

And covers me

~LB/BW

Children Sermon Pentecost 22A Matthew 25:14-30

Scripture: Matthew 25: 14-30

Faith+Open: Gather the children with you. Have children line up smallest to tallest. Then take the smallest child and the tallest child and put them side by side. Ask the kids, “who do you think can jump the highest? Who do you think can run the fastest? Snap their fingers? Stand on one foot?  Do some experiments and have them try out those things.

Faith+Share: What about serve God?  (Both!) Yes! In today’s Gospel story, we hear that it doesn’t matter how big or small or if you can do a lot or a little, the important thing is that you use what you are good at to share God’s love! Who can give a smile? A hug? A high five? Help a friend tie a shoe? Read a Bible story? You are each important to God and important to everyone here. When you go back to your seats today give a hug or high five to those that you walk by. 

Faith+Prayer:

Jesus, we are tall and small, big and little, all different sizes and ages. We are all your children and we praise you for this gift. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Remember God is with us always.  Make sign of cross together saying:

God in my head

God in my heart

God on my left

God on my right

And remember your high fives and hugs on the way back! 

Extension Ideas: 

1. Read one of the lectionary link stories from Children's Literature for this week. 

2. Do more experiments of things that kids can do

3. List many ways kids can serve God. Have a project ready for them to do.

Children Sermon All Saints Matthew 5:1-12

Scripture: Matthew 5: 1-12 (for Proper text Matthew 25 click here)

Preparation: visual aids of a Bible and a map

Faith+Open: Gather the children with you. Have you ever been lost? I have! One time I took a wrong turn going home and ended up on the wrong road. I knew that I had to find the right road to get home. I was by myself too so I didn’t have anyone to help me. It was a little scary but I was able to find the right road after looking for a while. I did have a map with me so that I could read it and find the right way to go. (or tell a story of time YOU really were Lost!) Show them the map and say this might have helped you! 

Faith+Share: We heard the word “blessed” a lot in this story this morning (or we will hear when we read the Gospel) and one meaning of that word is “you are on the right road.” (From the Hebrew)  When we follow Jesus we know that we are on the right road. But how can we know that we are on the right road? Or what happens if we don’t know how to follow Jesus? Well, God gave us a kind of map to help us. When we read the Bible we can learn about God and this can help us follow Jesus. And even better God gave us family and friends to be on the journey with us. When we are all together we can help each other follow Jesus. When we pray together, read the Bible together, sing, play, work together, in all of those things we can follow Jesus! 

Show the Bible during this part of relating it to being a map

Today we spend time remembering those who have died this year. We do this as a way to remember their life and their walk with God. They are people who we love and we miss and we remember today in the ways that they showed us God and lived following Jesus. (you may want to take time here to hear from the children about anyone or a pet they have lost and invite them to pray for or remember them today in worship through lighting a candle or whatever your ritual may be)

Faith+Prayer:

Jesus, you have come so that we can know God and know how to follow you. Help us on our paths each day to see and show your love. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Remember God is with us always.  Make sign of cross together saying:

God in my head

God in my heart

God on my left

God on my right

Extension Ideas: 

1. Have children share someone or a pet they have lost. Listen to their stories and pray for their remembrances

2. Including children in a lighting of candles ritual

Children Sermon Pentecost 21A Matthew 25:1-13

Scripture: Matthew 25: 1-13 (for All Saints text click here)
Preparation: another adult or youth to participate

Faith+Open: Gather the children with you. Welcome them and have your volunteer adult enter walking up either with or after the children. Have the volunteer plop down and look bored.

Faith+Share: 
Dialogue follows:
Leader: “Hey____ what’s wrong? What are you doing?”
2nd person: “I’m waiting”
Leader: “What are you waiting for?”
2nd Person: “Jesus. Isn’t that what our story is about?”
Leader: “Well, kind of.  Jesus says that he will come back one day but we don’t know when so it could be a long time from now. But we know that God is with us always now. You know, when I have to wait I like to do something to pass the time. It makes the time that I am waiting seem productive.”
2nd Person: “Like what?”
Leader: "Well, Jesus says that we will have to wait for him to come back but we should be sure to tell other people about him and help people while we wait.”
2nd Person:  “Oh. That’s a good idea, it’s better than just sitting here and doing nothing. Very boring.” Leader: “Right! We shouldn’t be bored so God has things for us to do while we wait. Let’s see what could we do while we wait for Jesus?”
2nd person: Name some missions and ministries of your congregation. Ask the children what they could do while they wait for Jesus. “Jesus loves us very much and wants us to share that love! What a fun thing to do while we wait!”

Faith+Prayer:
God we wait for you and we also live for you. Teach us to see you today in our world and to reach out to those who need to know your love. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Remember God is with us always.  Make sign of cross together saying:
God in my head
God in my heart
God on my left
God on my right

Extension Ideas: 
1. Do a service project like making cards for those who have lost loved ones this year.
2. Read one of the stories from Children's Literature for November 6

Children Sermon Pentecost 19A Matthew 22:34-46

Preparation: Ten commandments written into the categories of Love God and Love Neighbor and index cards or pieces of paper rolled up with the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4-9 written on them)

Faith+Open: Gather children with you. Have you heard of the ten commandments? Can you tell me what they are? Respond as appropriate, if they know them Yay! If not, respond encouragingly that there are two commands they can learn (or maybe three, I'm partial to Honor father and mother :-)

Faith+Share: Good, we know that there are ten commandments given to Moses and actually there are a lot more than 10 in the Bible. There are 613! So we are going to learn them today... pause... just kidding! What rules do you have at home or school? Do you think there is one that is the most important? yay, it might be hard to decide what is most important. Jesus was asked by some leaders who knew all the 613 laws very well which one was the most important. And they might have been surprised because he had an answer for them. He said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and soul and mind and Love your neighbor as yourself. If you think about it, (show ten commandments divided into these categories) when we talk about how to live as Christians these two commands cover all the other commandments. Go briefly through list. 

When Jesus said to love God and neighbor he was not actually saying something new. He was telling them what scripture said in Deuteronomy and in Leviticus. In fact this was such important part about being Jewish that it has a special name, the Shema. Have them repeat the word Shema. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and explain that this tells us to love God and live in God's word all the time, everyday and everywhere. Show them a mezuzah or the rolled up paper. The Shema would be in the mezuzah which would go on the doorposts of people's homes so that would remember that God's word was on their hearts at home and whenever they left home. Hand out the index cards or scrolls that you have prepared and encourage the children to take them home and put them on their table or by their door or in a special place. Tell them to try to read and say the Shema as a family every day this week.

Faith+Prayer and Blessing: 
God, you love us all the time. Thank you for the gift of your words and your love for us. Help us to show our love for you and our love for others by the way we act and live. In the name of the Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Extension Ideas: 
1. Have kids repeat the Shema or parts of it.
2. Make mezuzahs or scrolls together instead of handing them out
3. use chart paper and have the kids come up with which category each commandment goes into
4. Teach them the song "Love the Lord your God"  Here is a link to a youtube so you can hear the music
Lyrics:
Love the lord your God
With all your heart and
All your soul
And all your mind
And love all humankind
As you would love
Yourself and...

Love the lord your God
With all your heart
And all your
Soul and mind
And love all humankind

We've got Christian
Lives to live
We've got Jesus'
Love to give
We've got
Nothing to hide
Because in God we abide

Love the lord your God
With all your heart
And all your soul
And all your mind
And love all humankind
As you would love
Yourself and...

Love the lord your God
With all your heart
And all your
Soul and mind
And love all humankind

We've got Christian
Lives to live
We've got Jesus'
Love to give
We've got
Nothing to hide
Because in God we abide  LOVE

~LB

Children Sermon Pentecost 18A Matthew 22:15-22

Preparation: offering plate

Faith+Open: Gather children to you. Hold up the offering plate. Do you know what this is used for?
Yes for offering. What goes in offering? Yep mostly money, although you know sometimes a picture or note comes in the offering and that is wonderful too! 

Faith+Share: Why do you suppose we collect an offering during worship? Take some answers and see what they have to say. You can also ask if they put anything in the offering plate.
We do take offering as a part of worship because it is a way for us to be in ministry together, to put our money together and use it to help others, to teach people, to have a building to gather in, to have a place for people to pray, and sing, and worship, and get help, and talk to God, and all of the things that we do here together. Our gospel story today is Jesus telling the leaders of the synagogue and the people listening to him that we 'give to God what is God's'. What do you think is God's? Take some answers. Is money God's? Are we God's? 
Yes, really it's an interesting answer because everything is God's. So when we give to God what is God's we are saying that we offer what we have in money, time, in our prayers, in who we are. And we are all children of God. We can offer what we have and ourselves to God everyday, not just in worship but in worship we do come all together to share and to give and to praise God for everything.

Faith+Prayer: God, thank you for all that you have given us (list some things the kids brought up). Help us to know how to offer what we have to you and how to share what we have with others. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Remember that you are God's child all the time and everywhere. 


Extended Idea: 
1. Talk about saying 'It's Mine" and then say how God says YOU ARE MINE all the time!
2. Offering is a time that kids can participate in worship, even without money. They can add drawings or notes or coins that they have. Consider having a basket up front (on a stand or held by an acolyte) where kids can come during the offering time of worship and bring their own offering. This has been a delightful experience for many churches and they do it every week!
3. If you have a children's church time, kids could draw pictures of their offering--something they are good at or draw/write a prayer, etc. and when they come back to worship they could be welcomed to put it in the offering basket.

Children Sermon Pentecost 17A Matthew 22:1-14

Preparation: cross or heart stickers--enough for each child to have 5

Faith+Open: Invite the children to come for children’s time. Begin by showing them a party hat and talking about the last birthday party for a friend that you went to. Read “The Wedding Banquet” parable from the Spark Bible (Augsburg Fortress) or another children’s Bible.

Faith+Share: How many of you have been to a special party? When you go to a special party how do you dress? How do you act? Are you on good behavior? Why? (Accept all answers. If they need prompting talk how when we are at a friend’s house or a family members house (like grandma and grandpa) 

We want our friends and family to know by how we act that we love them and care about them. Our story from the Bible this morning tells us that God wants everyone to be in God’s family. God invites everyone all over the world to God’s party! That is really special. We are all included because God loves us. How do you think we should act being a part of God’s family? Just as we may put on nice clothes for a party for a friend, some people wear a cross either as a necklace, bracelet, pin or even ring so that God’s love can been seen by everyone.  God puts love in our hearts to share with everyone so that everyone knows that we are in God’s family and they are too!  How can we show God’s love and that everyone is invited into God’s family? (We can be nice to friends and siblings, we can help people, we can tell them about Jesus and God’s love, write cards to neighbors, collect food for the hungry, etc.) I have some cross stickers that I want you to give to friends and family members to share God’s love with them. When you give them a sticker you can tell them that God loves them and so do you! (Have enough stickers so that each child can have one of their own and three or four to give away.)

Faith+Close: Prayer: Dear loving God, you want all of your children to be included in your love. Help us to share your love with everyone we meet. Your love is like a joyous party that we all can come to! Thank you for the best gift of all your Son Jesus! Amen

~BW

Faith+Share Monthly: October

Scripture Focus: Matthew 22: 34-46

Faith+Open: Begin your family/household devotion time by lighting a candle and prayer. Read Psalm 1: 2 “But their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.” God’s law is love! Write on a piece of paper: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

Place this on your mirror or on your refrigerator or anywhere where you will see it a few time a day to remind you that God is love, God loves you and we love God!

Faith+Share: Read Matthew 22: 34-46: This passage has two parts to it. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 to the lawyer who asks what the greatest commandment is and then Jesus asks a question back: Who is the Messiah? Jewish tradition held that the messiah would be a descendant of David the response of “son of David” would make sense. Jesus does come from the lineage of David yet is more than just “son of David.” Jesus quotes Psalm 110:1 to explain that he is from the Davidic line but is the Messiah, Son of God. If Jesus were David’s son then David would not call Jesus “Lord” since one did not call a son a greater title than oneself. But Jesus, as the long awaited Messiah, is not David’s son but Son of God. This quieted all the questions of Jesus for the time being! Jesus used the question from the lawyer to not only explain the law but to proclaim the gospel! Jesus is the Messiah from God for the salvation of all!

Adults: Jesus proclaims that the most important facet of the law is that it orients our whole live to God. Questions are a good thing as they deepen our understanding and relationship with God. Jesus’ answer to the lawyer in verses37-39 begs us to ponder what does it mean to love God “whole-lifedly”? To use verses 41-46 to ask this: How do we love God so that everyone we meet knows whom Jesus Christ the Messiah is for us and in our lives? Loving God and loving the neighbor are not equal things but our love for God should overflow to the love of our neighbor. How can we respond when people ask us questions about our belief in God?

Children: Jesus tells us in this story that people will try to ask you hard questions about God but that the most important thing to remember is to love God with your whole self. When you sing, dance, play with a friend, read a story or anything else you can love God! What else can you do everyday that shows you love God? (Pray, share with a friend, tell a friend about Jesus, send a card to someone who is sick, etc.) Jesus wants us to remember that God loves all of us the same and we should love all people as much as we love ourselves, our brothers or sisters and mom and dad.

Faith+Serve: Get a list of the people from your church whom cannot come to church because of ill health or other reasons. (Contact your pastor or someone else who may know this information.) Make (or buy if you want!) cards that tell them that God loves them and so do you! You could also make extra cards and give them out anonymously (or put your name on them, it’s up to you!) to neighbors in your neighborhood. Find out who in your neighborhood could really use some help with some outdoor work (raking leaves or pulling weeds) or other tasks and volunteer to do so. 

Children Sermon Pentecost 15A: Matthew 21:23-32

Faith+Open: Gather the children. If they have not heard the gospel story yet, recap it. If they have remind them of what was said along the lines that a father had two children and one said he would do something and didn't and the other said he wouldn't but did.

Faith+Share: Say, "Hhhhmmm... this sounds familiar to me! I think I hear this at home a lot from my own two kids. But you know, I can remember times that I have said I would do something for another person and then either forgot or got busy and didn't do it. One time I told my son that I would help him out by sewing his cub scout badge onto his uniform shirt and then it was time for the meeting and guess what, I hadn't done it yet. Or another time, I told a friend I would pray for her when I got him but then I just plain forgot. Has this ever happened to you? Where you said you would do something but then didn't do it?" Take some answers.
"I am thinking that one of the things that Jesus wants us to know is that what we say AND what we do matter. It is another way for us to think about being in service to one another. Once my daughter told me she WAS NOT going to move the clothes from the washer to the dryer and I was pretty tired and didn't want to fight with her so I sighed and walked away. But then I came upstairs and she had done what I had asked. That meant a lot to me. It was a way for her to help me out in a busy day."

Now get quiet and whisper and make a deal out of this being a 'secret surprise"
"Let's think of some kind of act of service you can do at home for someone you live with. Any ideas?"
Get their ideas and then challenge them to go home and do a mystery act of service for someone in their family.

An extra idea would be to have little "mystery service" cards to hand out to them so they could leave the card wherever they had helped out.

Faith+Prayer: God, help us to remember to talk about you and be in service to others, showing them our love and your love. Amen

Faith+Blessing: God in my head, God in my heart, God on my left, God on my right Amen.

Children Sermon Matthew 20:1-16

Summary: The parable of the labors in the field could be summed up by saying "that's not fair," a familiar phrase in households with children. They will understand the idea of something not being fair so we emphasize living in God's grace means that mercy trumps being fair in the kingdom of God. 

Preparation: a small something to give away (i.e., candy, small crosses, pencils)

Faith+Open: Gather the children with you. Have the line up from oldest to youngest (or tallest to shortest if that is easier. You can also do a just a few kids if you have too many to do it with all of them) and spend some time examining them in this order making sure it's right.

Faith+Share: "Let's see here. We have the oldest/tallest here at this end of the line and the youngest/shortest here at this end of the line. I have here these (candy or small crosses or some small giveaway) to give out but who should go first?" If you don't get kids vying to go first right away then prompt them a bit by asking should oldest go first? Or tallest? Or those who got up her first?, etc.

"Do you have line leaders at school? And what is the line leaders job? So they go first for the day? Hhmmm. Well if this is my line leader then it means the kid at the very end is very last right?" (You may want to have the kids sit at this point, but stay in their line)

"Well we heard/will hear this gospel story from Jesus that there were workers in a field and some worked from the beginning of the day and some didn't work until the end of the day but they all got paid the same. Do you know what the workers who got their first said? Yep, they said, 'That's not Fair!' we worked longer and harder and we should get more. But they were given what they were promised, it was just the same as what the workers who came later were promised. Have you ever had something be not fair? So we know what it feels like think that we didn't get treated the same. BUT Jesus tells this story to teach us about GRACE. See the workers who were hired later still had families to bring home food to and the landowner did not want anyone to go hungry so they were all paid the same. Jesus says that God is like this. God gives us what we need and loves us all so much that we don't get what we deserve, we get GRACE. Jesus said the last will be first and the first last! This might sound unfair to let the last go first but with God we are all included and we are all a part of God's GRACE and we are all God's Children."
"We are going to say a prayer of thanks and then I will hand these out. Can you guess which way I will hand them out? The last shall be first!"

Faith+Prayer: God, you give us grace and love. Thank you for your love for us and for all people. Help us to remember that no matter whether we are first or last we are your children. Amen

~LB

Children's Sermon Pentecost 13A: Matthew 18:21-35

Scripture: Matthew 18-21-35

Faith + Open: Welcome the children to children’s time. Begin by asking them how school is going and about their friends.

Faith + Share: (If you have an object that perhaps was damaged by a friend or sibling bring it in to show the children. You can use it to talk about how it reminds you that your relationship with your friend/sibling is more important than the object.) 

Say: “you know one time my friend/sibling broke something that was mine. I really liked this thing and I was so mad when I found out that they broke it! I didn’t want to talk to that person for a really long time. They said that they were sorry, but I didn’t believe them. I even told them back “I forgive you” but I didn’t really mean it. I wanted them to be sad like I was and I even thought about breaking something of theirs! Has that ever happened to you where you were that mad at someone who broke or took something that was yours? Well, even though I felt that way for a while, I began to be sad that I was having fun with my friend anymore. They knew that I was still mad so they did not play with me at school or after school. I wanted to be friends again so I had to really mean the words “I forgive you” and act like a friend again. This is so hard isn’t it?? But have you ever accidently broken a toy of a friend or sibling? Yeah, I have too, you feel really bad don’t you and the only thing you can say is “I’m sorry.” We feel really good when that friend forgives us and still wants to play with us though, right! Right!

God loves us very much and in our Bible story today Jesus says that we are to forgive people over and over to be a good friend and show God’s love to them. God forgives us over and over and over and over….and so we should love our friends and everyone we meet that much too!" (You may need or want to say at this point that if someone is hurting you that you, forgiving them doesn’t mean you have to hang out with them and let them hurt you again.)

When we forgive, we are praying that we want everyone to be the kind of friend who helps each other and not hurt each other. This is very hard and we have to ask God to help us every day! Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer which talks about forgiveness for this reason! We will mess up, which is why we ask God and our friends to forgive us! God does not want us to be hurt or to hurt anyone so we have to talk to each other to get along! This is why learning the Lord’s Prayer can help us with this.

Faith + Prayer:  Lead the children in a short prayer followed by the Lord’s Prayer:

Dear forgiving God, we thank you that you love and forgive us when we mess up. Please help us to be kind to one another too! Thank you for sending Jesus to show us how to love people. Jesus taught us to pray…Lord’s Prayer

Children's Sermon Matthew 18:15-20 Pentecost 12A

Faith+Open: Gather children with you and a copy of the 10 commandments with you. Show them what you have and explain what it is.

Faith+Share: I am going to tell you a commandment and I want you to tell me if it's about loving God or loving people. Read all or some of the commandments and have them respond with God or People. The commandments are there for us to know that loving God and loving people are the most important ways we live together. Now, we may know this is important but let me see... raise your hand if you ever have a disagreement with someone during the day. Think of all the people you see in a day and if you ever have times that you don't get along.... I can tell you that I am remember that my brother and I argued probably a lot when we were kids. And we would often go and run and tell our mom--how many of you do that? We wanted her to pick one person to be right, but you know, she never really did--even when I KNEW that of course I was right! Instead she wanted us to work out. Do you ever hear those words to 'work it out'?   Today our Gospel story Jesus tells us how to work things out with other people. It's not always easy but first we need to tell the person why what they are doing is not okay with us. Then if that doesn't work we can go get help to work it out. And you know what--we are asked to do this with love. Wow. That's hard. I remember one time my brother and I had to hold hands while we were arguing, that sure made us want to figure it out quickly! Jesus asks us to work things out and to remember that the other person is a loved child of God just like we are--and Jesus promises to be with us even when we are angry or in a fight with someone else. You can take anytime in your life and Jesus promises to be there with you and with the other person. 


Faith+Prayer: God, we don't always like everybody. We don't always get along. Be with us when we argue and help us to remember to love. Thank you for your promise to be with us all of the time. Amen

Faith+Blessing: Make the sign of the cross together and say
God in my head
God in my heart
God on left
God on my right

Make the sign a second time together saying
God in my highs
God in my lows
God with me today
God with me wherever I go

***idea for using the 10 commandments is modified from Worshiping with Children

Extended resources: Worshiping with Children Year A Proper 18 has some excellent ideas and refers to two books that would work well to read for children's sermon instead of using the 10 commandments.

Children's Sermon Matthew 16:21-28 Pentecost 11A

Follow Me... (not me, Jesus)...


Faith+Open: Before the service enlist a couple of older children who will come up and follow you wherever you go. Think about how they could follow you as you go to the front, etc.
Gather the kids. Have the 2-3 children who are trailing you stick close and walk around a bit.

Introduce the story by saying something like, "Today we are going to hear readings about love and following. Jesus in Matthew tells his disciples to follow him and Paul in Romans is talking about how to love one another...''

Now, 'notice' the children following you. Ask, "What are you doing?" Prompt them to respond, "Following you"
"Oh is this kind of following we are to do when we follow Jesus? So you are just going to follow me whatever I do... So if I do this.. (jump, or skip or hop or do some silly things--end with sitting down and having the kids sit with you."

Faith+Share: How many of you have followed someone or played follow the leader? How about when you are not playing a game, can you think of people that you follow or that follow you? (get answers about teachers, or parents, siblings, etc). When we follow other people we sometimes are trying to be like them. Which if they are teaching us good things about living in the world that is a great thing! What about following Jesus, how do we follow Jesus when we can't walk right behind him and jump when he jumps?
(get answers)
We can read scripture and stories about Jesus to know how to follow and we can remember that Jesus asked us to follow him with love. We love the people around us and we love those we don't even know. We love people by being kind, helping them, and praying for them. Is it always easy to do this? Is it easy to love or pray for people that aren't nice to you or that are difficult? Do you know people at school or in your neighborhood that it might be hard to love? Jesus even wants us to love those people, we don't have to play with them all the time or hang around them if they are mean but we do follow Jesus by praying for them and by showing that we care about people. This is not always easy but the good news is that Jesus is with us and loves us and all people first so we can follow Jesus.

Faith+Prayer: God, help us to love and care about people. Thank you for your words and your love that we can follow. Amen

Extended: 
1. There is children's book called Miss Tizzy that is review on Children's Literature blog. This could be read as the children's sermon or used in children's church or another time.
2. Have a simple service project, like filling backpacks with school supplies or baggies with health care items for a local shelter.