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| Help yourself to these great children's sermons! We've written special sermons for the upcoming months, but you'll find many ideas that will work well on any given Sunday. Enjoy! |
Wonderful Words
Joshua 1:8
I like books. I have a lot of books. (Show some of your favorite books.) However, the most important book I own is this one right here: My Bible.
The Bible is the most important book because:
- it tells me about God
- it tells me about Jesus, and His love and forgiveness
- it tells me important things about how Jesus wants me to live and how I can be pleasing to Him
These books (show your books again) are filled with all kinds of wonderful ideas that can entertain us and make us better people. But the Bible is filled with wonderful truths that can help us get to know God and be better followers of Jesus. That makes it the most important book in the world!
Listen to this verse from the book of Joshua. (Read Joshua 1:8.)
I hope you and your family will take time to read the Bible together each day, and I hope you will learn to obey its teachings.
Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the Bible that tells us about you and helps us know you in a special way. Help us take time to read our Bibles, and help us learn to obey your teaching. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
APRIL 13 - The Bible
The Bible is a Treasure Book
Psalm 19:7-10a
(Find or borrow a small treasure chest. A jewelry box will work. Put several things in the chest that are special and valuable to you, including a Bible. Begin by showing the treasure chest and commenting on the contents. Show the Bible last.)
Why do you think I have a Bible in my treasure chest? Did you know that God’s Word is like treasure? Listen to what our Bible friend David said. (Read Psalm 19:7-8, 10a.)
The Bible really is a special book! It tells us about God and His love for us. It tells us how to live. The Bible tells about Jesus and how He came to earth to be our friend. It tells how Jesus loved us enough to die on a cross so we can have forgiveness when we do wrong.
(Read Psalm 19:10a again.)
God’s word was like a treasure to David. It was important. It was valuable--more valuable than a pile of gold! I hope you and I will always feel the same way about the Bible.
APRIL 20 - Easter Sunday
He is Risen!
Luke 24:1-6
I want to read you a story this morning. As I read, I want you to listen for some special words. The words I want you to listen for are candy, Easter eggs and bunny rabbits.
(Read Luke 24:1-6)
Did you hear any of those words in our story? You didn’t? I don’t understand. I just read you the Easter story. No candy? No Easter eggs? No bunnies? Why not? (Allow for answers.)
Easter is not about candy. It’s not about colored eggs or bunny rabbits. It’s not even about new clothes, although the Bible tells us that the angels who appeared to Mary were wearing “bright shining clothes.” These things have become part of our celebration of Easter, but Easter is about Jesus, and the wonderful good news that He is alive!
When Mary and her friends finally realized that Jesus was alive, do you know what they did? They hurried and told their friends! That’s what I want us to do this morning. I want you to hurry back to your seats and when you get there, I want you to turn to the people sitting around you and tell them, “Jesus is alive! Jesus is alive!”
Ready? Go!
APRIL 27 - The Bible
The Good Part is Inside!
Psalm 119:16
(Buy a small bag of sunflower seeds.)
(Open the bag and hold up one of the seeds.) This is what a sunflower seed looks like. The good part, the part you can eat, is inside. The trick is getting it out. It takes a little practice.
First, you put the seed in your mouth. If they're salted, you suck all the salt off. Then you hold the seed in your mouth for a minute. That softens up the shell. Next, you work the seed around until you can get it between your teeth. You bite down, breaking the shell. You use your tongue to work the seed out of the shell. Then you spit the shell out and enjoy the seed!
When it comes to sunflower seeds, it's important to remember that the good part is inside.
Sunflower seeds remind me of the Bible! There are many different kinds of Bibles. Some have hard backs, other have soft leather covers. Some have pictures and red letters and maps. Some are big; some are small. That's how Bibles look on the outside, but where's the good stuff? That's right! The good stuff is inside, just like with a sunflower seed!
Before you can enjoy a sunflower seed, you have to open it up. That's the way it is with the Bible. Before we can learn from the Bible and understand what it is trying to teach us about God, we have to open it up. We have to read it and study it. If it stays closed, it doesn't do us any good.
(Give each child a sunflower seed.) Let this sunflower seed remind you to open, read and study your Bible this week.
God’s Greatest Gift
John 1:17b
(Give a piece of candy to a few children, but not to everyone. The children should complain, “That’s not fair!!”) If you will listen carefully, I will give everyone a piece of candy when we finish.
How many of you want things to always be fair? Most of us complain when things are not fair . . . like when someone cuts in front of us in line, or when someone gets two turns and we only get one, or when something bad happens to us, or when the candy doesn’t get divided evenly. We want things to be fair, and so we say, “That’s not fair!” How many of you have said that?
But there are other times when we don’t want what is fair . . . like when we do something wrong. When we do something wrong, we don’t want what is fair, which might be some kind of punishment. We want forgiveness! Jesus came to give us just that . . . a forgiveness we certainly don’t deserve, but that we certainly need.
Sooner or later, all of us do things and say things and think things that are bad and not pleasing to God. The good news is, God still loves us. Instead of getting what we deserve, we get love and forgiveness. The Bible calls that “grace,” and grace is God’s great gift to all of us. God sent Jesus so we could have grace. Listen to what the Bible says. (Read John 1:17b).
Most of the time, I want things to be fair, but I’m glad God’s gives grace when I make mistakes, and I hope you are, too!
MAY 11 - Mother’s Day
Honor your Mother
Exodus 20:12
Are you enjoying Mother’s Day? I hope you have told your mother how much you love her. Maybe before the day is over you will have a chance to do something special for her
I want to read you a Bible verse about mothers. (Read Exodus 20:12 in the NIV.) This is a familiar verse--one of the 10 commandments God gave Moses. What does it mean to “honor” your mother?
give her special respect and importance
treat her with courtesy and politeness
treat her like she is someone special
yield, or give in to her and her wishes (could this mean “obey?”)
If we had to put this verse into our own words, it might read like this: “Value or treasure your mother . . .”
Today is a special day to be thankful for our moms. I hope you will honor your mother, show her respect; treat her like someone special and treasure her . . . and not just today, but every day. And remember . . . when we honor our mothers, we are also showing honor and respect to God.
May 18 - The Christian Life
Watch Your Words!
Psalm 19:14
Our children’s sermon this morning is about words. The Bible has a lot to say about our words.
Ephesians 4:29 tells us to speak words that are helpful, not hurtful. Ephesians 5:4 says that obscenity, foolish talk and dirty jokes are out of place and should not come out of our mouths. Matthew 5:34-37 tells us not to swear, but to simply answer “yes” or “no.” Exodus 20:7 reminds us not to misuse God’s name. Hebrews 10:25 tells us to encourage one another.
I hope you and I will remember these verses, and I hope we will pray this prayer that our Bible friend David prayed: “May the words of my mouth . . . be pleasing to you O Lord . . .” (Psalm 19:14)
MAY 25 - Memorial Day Weekend
Helping Us Remember
John 14:26
Preparation: Tie a string around your finger. Prepare a piece of string or yarn, tied in a bow knot for each child.
(As you begin, show the string tied around your finger. Then give each child a piece of string or yarn and tell them to put it on one of their fingers.)
Sometimes we tie a string around our finger to help us remember something important. I hope your string will help you remember what we talk about this morning
Tomorrow is Memorial Day--a special time for remembering the many men and women who have given their lives for our country--those who died so we can be free. It is a weekend for remembering.
Listen to this verse from the gospel of John. (Read John 14:26.) The Bible tells us that one of the reasons God sent the Holy Spirit, was to help us remember the many things Jesus said and did.
On this Memorial Day weekend, the string around our fingers can remind us that God sent the Holy Spirit to help us remember all the important things Jesus said and did so that we can be more like Jesus every day.
JUNE 1 - God
Our God is an Awesome God!
Psalm 8:1
Look at your hands. Move your fingers. Wiggle your thumbs. Aren't hands special? Think of all the things they do. Isn't it wonderful how all the different parts of our body work together? We have eyes to see, ears to hear, muscles that help us move, a brain to think . . . Our bodies are pretty special and pretty wonderful, aren't they? Whoever figured them out must be pretty special and wonderful, too.
Think about nature. There's warm sunshine and bright stars. There are trees and flowers, mountains and oceans, and all kinds of animals. There are pretty rainbows . . . Our world is pretty special and pretty wonderful, don't you think? Whoever figured it out must be pretty special and wonderful, too.
Who did make us? Who created our world? That's right. God did, and our bodies and our world remind us of how great He is. Listen to this verse from the book of Psalms. (Read 8:1, TEV.)
Let's talk to God, and thank Him for being such a wonderful God, and for loving us so much.
Prayer - Thank you, God, for making us. Thank you for making such a wonderful world. David was right. Your greatness is seen all around us. Thank you for loving us. Help us love you, too. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
JUNE 8 - Worship
Stop! Look! Listen!
Psalm 95:6
(Make three simple cardboard signs. Print the word “stop” on one; the word “look” on another, and the word “listen” on the third.)
Can you read these signs with me? I think these words and the Bible verses that go with them can teach us how to worship God better.
STOP
Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God." That means be still and think about me. Let God be an important part of your life. Sometimes we have to stop what we're doing in order to remember who God is and how He wants us to live. You have done that today by being here for worship.
LOOK
Isaiah 40:28 says, "The Lord is the everlasting God. He created all the world." When we look around our world, we see rocks, trees, sky, seas--all kinds of wonderful things, and all made by God. When we look at them closely and thoughtfully, they can remind us of Him, and help us realize how wonderful He is, too!
LISTEN
Jesus said, "If you have ears, listen!" (Matthew 13:43). God not only made our world. He also filled it with many wonderful sounds: Birds, water, animals sounds, the wind, laughter, music . . . There are many sounds around us that can remind us of God, but we have to listen in order to hear them.
I hope this week you will take time to stop, look and listen for reminders of God. When you think of Him, remember He's thinking of you, too, because He loves you very much.
JUNE 15 - Sharing
Learning to Share
Luke 3:11; 1 Timothy 6:18; Hebrews 13:16
(Obtain a Monopoly game.)
This is a game called Monopoly. The game has lots of interesting pieces and parts, including a playing board, tokens, houses, hotels, deeds and money. The object of the game is "to become the wealthiest player through buying, renting and selling property.” The game ends when one player has all the money and owns all the property.
It starts off as lots of fun, but in the end it's usually only fun for the person who has all the money and property. It's not much fun when one person has it all and you don't have anything!
Playing Monopoly reminds me how important it is to learn to share--especially if we want to live together and be happy. Listen to what the Bible says about sharing:
- Luke 3:11
- 1 Timothy 6:18
- Hebrews 13:16
Monopoly is a good game. It is kind of fun to own all the property and have all the money. But in real life, I hope you'll always be willing to share--especially if you have more than others. Sharing is one way we can show other people that we care about them . . . and that God does, too.
JUNE 22 - Following Jesus
Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 12:2a
(Show a baseball.) Some people say that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in sports. The ball travels a short distance extremely fast and the batter has only a split-second to see the ball and decide whether or not to swing. To be a good hitter, you have to learn to keep your eye on the ball. If you take your eye off the ball or look away, even for a moment, you are in big trouble.
There are lots of things that can distract a baseball player: Fans, the sun, flags, a hot dog wrapper blowing across the field . . . A good hitter learns how to shut out any distractions and concentrate and focus on the ball.
That reminds me of a Bible story found in Matthew. (Read Matthew 4:25-30.)
Peter took his eyes off Jesus and the next thing you know, he was in big trouble sinking in the water. Do you remember what distracted him?
Lots of things can distract us from following Jesus: Things we own, sports, friends, television, work . . . These are all good things, but if we’re not careful, they can distract us and make us forget about Jesus, and how He wants us to live.
I want you to remember this story, and I want you to remember one more verse from the book of Hebrews. (Read Hebrews 12:2a.)
If you ever try to hit a baseball, remember to keep your eye on the ball . . . and remember, too, to keep your eyes on Jesus. Learn His words and His ways and try to be like Him. Don’t let anything distract you from following Him.
JUNE 29 - Kindness
Being Kind
Ephesians 4:32a
This morning I want to tell you a story about kindness. This story is found in the Bible in the book of John. (Open your Bible to John 8.)
One morning, Jesus got up early and went to the temple. When he arrived, many people gathered around and Jesus began to teach. While Jesus was teaching, a group of men called Pharisees brought a woman and made her stand in front of the group. The woman had done something wrong. The men wanted Jesus to decide whether or not she should be punished.
What the woman did was wrong, but what the men did was mean. Jesus was different. Jesus was kind. He forgave the woman. He told her to go home and try to do better.
Sometimes people can be mean--just like the men in this story. Sometimes even our friends do things and say things that are unkind. We can be like that, too, if we're not careful. Jesus wants us to be different. He wants us to be gentle. He wants us to be kind . . . like Him. Listen to this verse from the book of Ephesians. (Read Ephesians 4:32a)
Jesus was gentle. Jesus was kind. Let's do our best to be like Him.
Sermons prepared by David Garrard, children's minister, St. Matthews Baptist Church, Louisville. |
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