Children’s sermon idea: Jesus saw Simon for what he could and would become. Use a seed, acorn or small plant as an object lesson of show how God can make us into so much more than we are now. In the same way Jesus planned for Simon to become Peter (rock / stone) he also wants to help us to become all that he created us to be.

 

Object lesson items: An acorn, some seeds, a small plant / tree that is just pushing through the soil in a pot.

 

Children’s Sermon: Good morning children! In our Bible reading today from John’s gospel we read about how Jesus and Simon first met. When Jesus saw Simon he said that he was to have a new name. He was to be called Peter the rock. Now Simon – Peter was not like a strong rock at first. He kept changing his mind and he was afraid to follow Jesus when things got tough. But Jesus saw what Simon could become if he followed him and was filled by the Holy Spirit.

 

Look at this little plant in this small pot. It doesn’t look very big or strong. But believe it or not, this little shoot may one day become a huge fir tree this big around and over a hundred feet tall!

Do you see this little acorn? It’s very small but one day it might become a big oak tree. The exciting thing about this little plant or this little acorn is what they can become one day.

 

Jesus knew that Simon would one day become a Peter, strong and solid as a rock. You might think that you are very young and small. But God knows that one day you will probably be a strong follower of Jesus doing wonderful things for his Kingdom. So remember, if we truly follow Jesus he will make us into the “strong as a rock” people of God. He sees us for what we are but also what we can become.

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God. Thank you for making Simon into Peter the rock. Thank you that if we follow Jesus, you’ll make us into strong followers and Christian disciples. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

 

Copyright 2011 Sundaychildrensfocus.com Andrew Hewlett Feel free to use this on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this web site. Thank you! A.H.

 

Luke 21:5-19 “Watch out that you are not deceived. For many will come in my name claiming, “I am He, “…do not follow them.”

 

Children’s Sermon idea: Have three people hidden behind a partition. Have the children listen to various responses and have them pick the real Jesus. The real Jesus would respond with well know bible texts and the other two imposters would answer with “worldly wisdom.” (Have fun with the answers.)

 

Object Lesson preparation: Three individuals seated behind a partition or other barrier out of site from the children. Prepare a simple script for each individual. Have the real Jesus answer the question with scripture. You may need to ask the children to hide their eyes as your actors get into place.

 

Children’s Sermon / Sunday school lesson introduction:

Good morning children! In the bible reading that we have for today Jesus warned his disciples that there would be many people that would pretend to be Jesus. He warned his disciples not to be fooled by them. I’ve made a little game to see if you are good at telling the difference between the real Jesus and people just pretending to be Jesus. I’m going to ask some questions to the people behind that barrier over there and I want you to guess which one sounds like the real Jesus. (Of course we don’t have Jesus actually behind the curtain but I want you to pick out which one sound closest to the real Jesus.)

 

Jesus number 1. If I’m feeling worried and upset what should I do?

ANS: “Sorry Bud. I can’t do much for you there. Life’s just like that sometimes. Just take some pills or something.”

 

Jesus number 2. If I’m feeling worried and upset what should I do?

Good question. The key is making more money. If you make more money you’ll be happy and then you won’t worry so much.

 

Jesus number 3. If I’m worried and upset what do you think I should do?

Trust in me. Come unto me all you who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest

 

Well children. You’ve heard the responses. Put up your hand if you think Jesus number 1 was the real Jesus. Put up your hand if you think Jesus number 2 sounded like the real Jesus. Put up your hand if you think Jesus number 3 sounds like the real Jesus.

 

Let ask one more question…. (You get the idea)

 

Conclusion: You were pretty good at picking out the real Jesus. Let’s have the congregation give you a cheer! Jesus warned his followers that there would be people that would claim to be a saviour but were really just fooling people. We need to be careful not to believe everyone who claims to be sent from God. On way to help us recognize the voice of the real Jesus is to read the bible. As we read about the real Jesus in the Bible we will be able to recognize people that are trying to fool us and lead us astray.

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, help us to know your son Jesus more and more each day as we read your Word, the bible and fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we would have your wisdom and understanding. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

 

Copyright Sundaychildrensfocus 2019   Feel free to use this on Sunday - Please share this link and do whaterver you can to support this work. Thank you - A.H.

 

Children’s sermon idea: Discuss and / or act out searching for someone who is lost. Explain how Jesus came to “seek and save the lost.”

(An alternative to this would be to paraphrase the story while children act out the key events. Appoint someone to be Jesus who walks through the crowd (the congregation). Have someone act out Zacchaeus. He could jump up on a platform beside a tree (a person with their arms outstretched) and look for Jesus coming. Jesus would call out to him and tell him he is coming to his house.) 

 

Object lesson items: None. For extra effect have a child pretend that he / she is lost by having them hide in the congregation before you start your message.

 

Good morning children! Have you ever been lost? Have you ever helped look for someone who was lost? (Discuss) Well, I’ve just realized that Billy is not up front with us this morning. I saw him at the beginning of the service. Perhaps he’s lost! Will you help me go and find Billy? Great. Why don’t you two go down that isle and I’ll take the rest of the kids and search at the back of the church.

(When you “find” the lost person give a big cheer.) That’s great. Come and join the rest of us up at the front of the church.

(Have the children sit down.)

Thanks for helping find the lost person. What we did reminds me of a bible reading from the gospel of Luke chapter 19. In that bible story Jesus surprised some religious leaders by staying at the house of a nasty tax collector. In those days everybody hated tax collectors because they would often steal money –even from poor people. He was someone who seemed very far away from God. It was like he was lost to God. But the good news is that Jesus found him, called him by name and even went over to his house! Some of the religious people couldn’t understand why Jesus would stay at the house of such a bad person. But Jesus said that he wanted to “seek and save” people who were lost. He didn’t want to stay away from bad people, he wanted to show love to them and have them come home to God. I think that is what Jesus wants us to do too. He wants us to go and find people who are lost and far away from God and bring them home!

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, help us to follow Jesus’ example by showing love to all those people who seem lost and far away from God.

Copyright 2010 Andrew Hewlett Sundaychildrensfocus.com  Feel free to use this story on Sunday morning but please give credit to sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this site.  A.H.

Fun Short Sermon for kids - The Pharisee and the Tax Collector: Who went away justified? 

Sunday School lesson: Luke 18:9-14  

Copyright 2010 Sundaychildrensfocus.com Feel free to use this children’s talk but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this site. Thank you. A.H.







 

 

 

(Note: Although I would normally talk about the elements of the text, the concept of the unjust judge is rather complex. My understanding is that it is a rabbinic “from the lesser to the greater” form of argument that westerners find hard to grasp.)

 

 

Full Children’s talk: Good morning children. Look what I have here. (Hold up the binoculars.) Does anyone know what these are? That’s right, they are binoculars and they are used for looking at things far away. It makes far away things look bigger. I like to use these for bird watching. Perhaps I want to find a beautiful bird like an eagle. I take up my binoculars (demonstrate to the kids) and slowly look around in the sky and through the tree tops. Sometimes I find one right away but most of the time I have to wait a while. I have to be patient and not give up. Often I make a cup of tea and sit in chair and then I wait and watch. Usually after a while I find what I was looking for. Sometimes though, I don’t find my eagle but I do see some other beautiful bird I didn’t expect! The most important thing with bird watching is that you have to wait and not give up. If you just picked up the binoculars, looked for five seconds and then gave up you would probably be disappointed. I’m telling you this because in our bible reading for today Jesus tells the disciples that they should always pray and not give up. That’s important to learn because answers to prayer don’t always happen right away. We don’t want to give up. God wants us to keep talking to him even if our prayers are not answered right away or are not answered in the way we expect.

 

Children’s prayer: Dear God, we know that you can hear us when we pray. When there is something we are asking for help us not to give up but to keep on praying. We know that you love us and will answer our prayers in your time and in the way that is best for us. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2010 Sundaychildrensfocus.com  Andrew Hewlett    Feel free to use this lesson on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus and consider linking to this site. Thank you.   A.H.



 

 

Children’s Story idea: Discuss with the children the importance of saying thank you. With a helper demonstrate various ways we do that; giving pat on the back, shaking a hand, giving a hug, and giving a thank you card. Explain that it is important to give thanks to God. (Give a short paraphrased account of the ten lepers mentioned in Luke’s gospel.) Suggest that the easiest way to give thanks to God is to simple say “Thank you” in prayer.

 

Object lesson items : Have another person help you so you can demonstration the ways of saying “thank you.” Bring a thank you card.

 

Full Children’s Story / Sunday School lesson starter:

Good morning children! Do you know what special time of year it is? That’s right. It’s thanksgiving. Although we always want to give thanks to God this is a special time of remembering all the wonderful things God has provided for us. (You could ask the children to suggest things they are thankful for.) There are many ways we give thanks to other people. Jonathan, please come up front with me. If I was very thankful to Jonathan I could give him a slap or pat on the back. (Give a demonstration as you say thank you.) You could say thank you and give a big hug (Demonstrate). You could shake their hand and say thank you (Demonstrate). Or, you could give then a card or a little gift as a way of saying thank you. (Demonstrate).  But how do we give thanks to God? (Let the children suggest some creative ways of giving thanks.) Those are some wonderful ideas. I’ll tell you what I think is the easiest say to give thanks to God. I think the easiest way is simply to say “Thank you God.” We can’t actually shake God’s hand or send him a card. However, we know God hears our prayers so we can always say “thank you” in prayer. In the Bible the gospel of Luke tells us that one day Jesus healed 10 lepers (people who were very sick). He did a wonderful miracle and healed them all. But do you know how many came back and said thank you to Jesus? (Let them guess.) That’s right, there was only one!

You would have thought the other nine would have at least said “thank you” to Jesus.

Boy and girls, God has provided so many things for us in life. We have friends, family, food to eat, houses to live and a wonderful country to live in. We have so much to be thankful for. Let’s take the time right now to thank God for all that we have.

 

 

 

Idea for the Children’s Sermon / Sunday school lesson introduction: Here’s my angle on this text: Even little children with “small sized” faith in God can still do big and wonderful things. To illustrate this have a big and strong person go over to your church lighting switch and show how they can turn all the big lights on and off. Then bring a very young child over and show how they can do the same thing. Even “little sized” strength can turn the big lights on and off. It is the same with our faith / trust in God. Even if we are a young child with “little sized faith” God hears our small prayers and will help us to do great things for Him.

 

Object Lesson props:  Some small seed to be “mustard seed.” Light switches that turn on and off your church lighting system. (Alternatively, any switch where a small action with have a big effect: Hitting a note on the piano, speaking into a microphone, etc.) -- Another alternative would be to use a small (mustard seed size) door key and demonstrate how it can unlock doors.

 

Full Children’s Talk / Sermon: Good morning children! (Hold up your “mustard seed.”) Do you see this? You’ll have to look very hard. It’s mustard seed. In our bible reading from Luke 17:5-10 Jesus told his disciples that even if they had faith in God the size of this little mustard seed they would be able to do big and wonderful things with God’s help. I’ll try to show you how this might work. I want you all to follow me over to this spot in the wall where we have the light switches to our church. Did you know that these little switches / buttons can turn on and off all those big lights up there? I’ll get someone to help me out. There are a lot of big lights up there so I’d better get someone big and strong. Mr. Jones, you are very big and strong so I would like you to come and help me turn these big lights on. (Just for fun you could suggest he do some isometrics to pump up his muscles for the big job of turning on the lights. Then have Mr. Jones demonstrate how he can turn the lights on and off.) That’s pretty amazing that you can do that! However, I want to show you something that is even more amazing. I need someone who is very small to help me out. Yes, thank you Judith. Now, I’m going to hold you up in the air and I want you to see if you can turn these big lights on and off. You did it! That’s great. That’s pretty amazing. Even though you are very young and not strong like Mr. Jones, you can still turn all these big lights on and off. Let’s give Judith a cheer. Let’s go back to the front of the church. What Judith just did reminds me of what Jesus taught about faith and prayer. Jesus said that even if our faith was a very “small child faith” like this mustard seed (hold it up) we could still do big and wonderful things. God wants to do big and wonderful things through “little faith” people like you and me. We don’t have to wait until we have a big strong faith.

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God. We know that you have all the power in the world and in the universe.

Thank you that even though we are small people, you hear our prayers, and together we can do amazing things. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

 

Copyright 2010 SundayChildrensFocus.com   Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this on Sunday morning by please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus and consider bookmarking and / or linking your web page to this site. Blessings, A.H.

 

(Note: Theologians are divided on the central meaning of the Rich Man and Lazarus. For this reason and because I’m speaking to a very young audience I’m avoiding a discussion about heaven and hell. Please forgive me for using more theological leeway than usual.)

 

Object lesson items: Suggestions: Guitar, toothbrush, money (bills and coins)

 
5 Minute Kids Sermon:

 

Good morning children. This morning I brought in some things to show you. I have a guitar, a toothbrush and some money. A guitar is very good a making a nice sound. (Play some chords.) But what if I wanted to use it to hammer a nail into the wall like this. (Pretend to hold the guitar and use it like a hammer.) That wouldn’t work at all! It’s good for playing music but it doesn’t work at all for hammering in nails. Look at this toothbrush. It works well for brushing my teeth. (Give a short demo.) However, what if I wanted to use it for a microphone? (Give a demon and pretend to speak into the toothbrush) Do you think it would work well? No! Of course it wouldn’t work. Now look what I have in this little bag. It’s money! Money is very useful because we can use it to buy things we need. We can use it to buy clothes, food, and gasoline for our cars. But what if I tried to use it to buy my way into heaven. Do you think it would work for that? No, of course not.

In our bible reading today Jesus told a story about a rich man who had so much money he could buy anything he wanted. The sad part about the story is that he seemed to think that his money would get him into heaven. He was very wrong and he ended up far away from God. Money can buy all kinds of good things but it won’t get you into heaven. It just doesn’t work for that.

 

Children’s Prayer: Thank you for the money that we have that can buy food, clothing and other important things, but help us always to remember that money can’t get us into heaven. Help us always to trust in your son Jesus for that.

 

Copyright Sundaychildrensfocus.com Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this story on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus and consider linking your church web site to this site. A.H.

 

Children’s Sermon / Lesson idea: Show some familiar items (eg: socks and shoes / putting on toothpaste then brushing, batteries and a flashlight) to the children and ask them “what comes first?” Stress the importance of putting things in the right order. Discuss God and Money and explain how Jesus said it was important to put God first in life.

 

Object lesson items: Shoes and socks, toothbrush and toothpaste, flashlight and some batteries, etc. (Use your imagination) Finally bring in some money and something to represent God (Perhaps a cross, a bible, etc.) 

 

Good morning children! I brought some things in this morning that you may have seen before. Look at this. I’ve got a sock and a shoe. What would you say if I put the shoe on first and then tried to put the sock on after? That’s right. That’s a silly thing to do. It doesn’t work. You have to get the order right. You need to know what comes first. Here is something else I brought with me this morning. I’ve got a toothbrush and some toothpaste. Do you brush your teeth in the morning? Good. That’s important to do. What if you brushed your teeth and then put on the tooth paste? Would that be a good idea? Of course not. It’s important to put the toothpaste on before you brush you teeth. You have to know what comes first. I have two other things with me this morning. I’ve got a flashlight and some batteries. If it was dark and I was in a hurry to get some light would it work to take the flashlight and leave the batteries behind? No, of course not. You have to put the batteries in the flashlight or else it won’t shine the light. The batteries have to go inside first. You have to get things in the right order and know what comes first. Now, I brought in two other things this morning. I’ve have a Cross that reminds us of God / Jesus and I’ve got this pot of money (Give it a jingle so they hear the money). Jesus said that it was very important to get these in the right order if life is going to work right. If we put money first in life we end up in all kinds of trouble. Jesus said that it was important to put God first and not worry too much about money. He wanted us to make sure we put things in the right order!

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, help us to always put you ahead of money or anything else in life. Thank you that life will work when we put you first. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

 

 

 

Object Lesson items: A silver dollar or other expensive looking coin. A small plush toy sheep.

 

Full Children’s Story: Good Morning Children! How many of you have ever lost something? Wow – most of you. What do you do when you loose something? Right! When something is lost you always go and look for it. Many years ago people wondered why Jesus was always heading off to look for people who were far away and had lost God. To explain why he was always looking for lost people he told a story about a person who had lost a very expensive coin and how that person looked very hard to find it because it was so valuable. Now this morning I lost a coin around the front of the church here. Would you please help me find it? (Have the children search for the lost coin and give them some hints if necessary.) When someone finds the lost coin give a big cheer and celebrate. (If you have the time, do the same with the toy sheep.) Jesus was saying that lost people were very valuable and that it was important to look for them when they were far away from God and lost. A person who had lost a valuable coin would look for it and be very happy when they found it. A shepherd who had lost a sheep would look for it and rejoice when it was found. And Jesus would always look for people who were lost a far away from God. He also said that when the person was found and came back to God there was great cheering and rejoicing in heaven.

 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you that Jesus was always looking for lost people. We need Jesus and lost people need him just as much. – In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2010 Sundaychildrensfocus.com  Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this story on Sunday Morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus and consider linking this web page to you church web site. Blessings, A.H.