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Children’s Sermon on Interpreting the Times – Luke 12: 49-57

Idea for the kids talk on Sunday morning:  Jesus talked about interpreting the weather and interpreting the times. Bring up various items related to different weather conditions. (ie Sun glasses, umbrella, rubber boots, sweater, etc)  Describe different weather conditions and ask the children tell you what item would be appropriate for each type of weather. Give a short overview of Luke 12:9-57 and explain that interpreting the weather is important but it is even more important to understand the times and seasons of life. Conclude by telling the children that it is always the right time and season to follow Jesus.

Object lesson props:  Unbrella, sweater, rubber boots, sun glasses, sun tan lotion, jacket.

Full Children’s sermon based on the Lectionary Gospel reading: Good morning Children! Look at some of these things I brought with me this morning. (Alternately, you could come out wearing some of the items!) Do you know what all these items are? Have you ever put on any of these items? Ok, now I want to see if you know when you would wear these items. What if it was a really sunny day with no clouds in the sky? What would be good to wear? That’s right. Putting on the suntan lotion would help prevent a sun burn. Yes, wearing the sun glasses would make it easier on your eyes. Now, what if it was a little bit of cloud with cold wind blowing? Yes, I think it would be a good idea to put on this sweater or wind breaker. Ok, what would I wear before going outside if I looked out and saw big, dark clouds? What should I wear with that type of weather? That’s right, it might be wise to put on a rain jacket because the dark clouds might be a sign that it is going to rain. Well done! You are all very good at interpreting the weather and knowing how to prepare.

In our bible lesson from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus talked about the importance of “understanding the times”. He said that people can look at the weather and understand how to prepare and what to do.  But for some reason the people didn’t understand Jesus and the need to follow him! They could understand what to do when the sun came out but they didn’t know what to do when God sent His son Jesus! God sent his son Jesus so we could know Him and discover his love. And we know that Jesus is alive and wants us to follow him and to discover his wonderful life.

So…When you go outside I hope you will remember to check the weather and put on the right clothing. I also hope you will remember that it is always the right time to follow Jesus (to live the way he wants us to live) and discover all we were meant to do and be!

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, help us to be wise and understand that it is always the right time and season to follow Jesus. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2016 Sunday Children's Focus - Andrew Hewlett.  Feel free to use this kids lesson on Sunday Morning / Sunday School but please give credit to SundayChildrensFocus.com and consider linking to this web site. Thank you! A.H.

Widow of Nain Luke7 - Waking up the dead -

Children’s sermon idea: Have a volunteer come up, sit on a chair and pretend to be asleep (They can have some fun snoring, talking in their sleep etc.) Have the children try and wake them up. We can wake up sleeping people by speaking loudly or by touching them. Read the passage about the widow of Nain. When Jesus walked on this earth he was able to wake up the dead!

Objects needed: Chair or recliner

Full interactive kid’s story:  Good morning children! Do you find it easy to wake up in the morning? Who makes sure you wake up? How do they wake you up? Let’s look at some of the ways to wake people up. I’ve asked Mr. Jones to come up and pretend he is sleeping the way he normally sleeps. So,  Mr. Jones, please just sit here, relax and show us how you sleep. (Give some time for him to doze off, snore, etc.) Wow kids!  Do you make noises like that when you sleep?! Let’s see how easy it is to wake him up. Betty, try whispering in his ear. No, that didn’t wake him up. Mike, try saying “wake up” loudly. Hmmm. Let’s give him a shake. (Mr. Jones wakes up – give him a cheer and thank him for helping out.)  

Well, he was certainly sound asleep. It was a little hard but we were able to wake him up. It’s usually easy to wake people up. But we can still awaken people who are sound asleep. Now, listen carefully because I’m going to tell you something truly amazing. When Jesus walked on this earth he could wake up people who were sleeping but he could also wake up people who had died! It’s almost impossible for us to do something like that. But Jesus was God’s son. He could do amazing things. He could even bring dead people back to life! Listen to this account in the Gospel of Luke. (Read the story of the Widow of Nain)   Jesus just said “get up” to the widows son and he got up.  To Jesus, bringing someone back to life was as easy as waking up a sleeping person.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you for sending Jesus to be the Saviour of the world. Thank you for the great love he has for each of us. Thank you that he even has the power to bring dead people back to life!  In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2016 SundayChildrensFocus  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.

 Hidden from the wise and learned and revealed to children:  Matthew 11: 25-30

Interactive object lesson for Sunday School, Children’s Church or Jr. Youth Group  

Children’s sermon /object lesson idea:

The basic idea is to have something that young children can see easily see but is difficult for older (wiser) adults to see. Find a very small table. Using duct tape or a hook with string and hang a fun object (perhaps faith related) under the table. The children can easily see it. Have a tall adult come forward. As they look down from on high they won’t be able to see the object. Explain that some things (like God’s amazing love) seem to be easily understood by young children. To understand and see older and wiser people need to humble themselves and get down on their knees (Making themselves like small children).
 

Object lesson items needed:

-A small children’s table (preferably with legs shorter than a card table)
- A Christian symbol, toy, or picture on a string that you can hang down underneath the table
 
(I would recommend prepping your (older, wise) adult so they work with you well.)

Complete Children's sermon on Humility

Good morning children! 
In our gospel reading this morning from Matthew chapter 11 Jesus says that some things (like the amazing love of Jesus) are “Hidden from the wise and learned but revealed to children.” I thought I would bring someone forward this morning who I think is very wise and learned. Mr. Johnson, would you come forward this morning? Now Mr. Johnson, I think you are pretty smart. You are a scientist who works at the university. How many years did you go to school / university? Wow! That is a long time. Well, this morning I’m going to show you something and I want to know what you see. Ask the children not to say anything and bring out the table with the object hidden underneath. Now Mr. Johnson, I’d like you to look down at this and tell me what you see. (He will just see a blank table top. Encourage him to use all his highly scientific brainpower!) (Now ask the children, who can see under the table, if they see anything that tall and wise Mr. Johnson can’t see.) That’s right! There is a wonderful picture of Jesus with his arms outstretched in love. You could see it because you are not too tall. Mr. Johnson, you still can’t see what they see. Children, what would he need to do if he wanted to see what you see? (They will suggest that he bends down.) That’s right. If he wants to see he is going to have to get down on his knees and make himself small. Encourage Mr. Johnson to do this. (He can moan and groan a bit for effect.)
 
Jesus said that his teaching was sometimes hidden from the wise and learned but revealed to little children. Going to school and learning is important. However, you could go to school for 20 years and be the smartest person in the world and still not understand Jesus and God’s wonderful love. God will show his love to anybody who simply opens up his or her heart and turns to him. Young children sometimes understand God’s great love more than adults do!
 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you that we don’t have to be really old or really smart to understand Jesus and his wonderful love. In Jesus’ name – Amen! 

Copyright 2014 Andrew Hewlett and Sundaychildrensfocus.com  Feel free to use this kids talk but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus and consider linking your church to this sight.  Thank you! A.H.




 Children's Sermon about the Earthquake in Nepal  

 

Showing the compassion of Jesus

 

Object lesson idea:(Overview -Adapted from a story I used when there was an earthquake in Haiti) 

Display two “houses” made of small blocks of wood or perhaps marshmallows. Have one house represent a typical house in Canada or United States. This “house” could be glued together if made by wood and if made with marshmallows it could be sewed together or held together with nails or toothpicks. The other “house” would look the same but have nothing binding the blocks together. Shake the structure like an earthquake and let the children observe what happens. Explain how poor countries like Nepal can’t afford to build houses with expensive reinforcing and other safety features. Pray for the people of Nepal and involve the children in some relief or development project.
 
Objects: Two small houses made with building blocks or marshmallows (see above). Reinforce one of the structures with tape, thread, toothpicks etc. (You could also drive reinforcing nail up through the piece of plywood and place marshmallows over the nails. Place the “houses” on a tray ready for an “earthquake.” A small world map or globe.
 
Full Children’s Sermon: Good morning Children. In our church this morning we are praying for the people who live in a country called Nepal. It is a small country and most of the people who live there are very poor. It’s this small country here on this map. (Use a globe or projected map)  Do you know what happened there recently? Yes. That’s right. There was a very big earthquake that destroyed many buildings and homes. It may be hard to understand how this happened. I want to show you one reason so many people were hurt or killed. Do you see this tray here? I made two little houses out of marshmallows. I’m pretending the marshmallows are like building blocks of cements. This house on the left will represent a typical house in the Canada / USA/ etc. I’m pretending that this house on the left is a house in Kathmandu, the main city of Nepal.
Let’s see what might happen if there was an earthquake. (Shake the try up a down, back and forth until the unsecured “building blocks” of the Nepal house fall down.) What happened here? Yes, this house that has a steel nail through the centre is standing strong. However, this house here fell completely down. This building was not nearly as strong as this building. This building is like many of the buildings in Kathmandu. The people are strong and hard working but they are very poor and they cannot afford to build houses as strong as our houses. When an earthquake shakes the country many of the houses fall down and many people are injured our killed. It’s very sad. As followers of Jesus we need to think of ways that we can help the people in Nepal as they try to recover from this tragedy. How could we possibly help out and support them in this time of need? (Let the children respond.) Those are all very good ideas. We can send doctors to help, we can send food and clothing, and we can send money so they can buy the things they don’t have. Later on we might be able to be involved in helping them rebuild some to the homes that have been destroyed. (Consider presenting a specific project that the church is involved with.
 

Children’s Prayer: Dear God. We know that there are many people who need help in the country of Nepal. Please send many doctors and other helpers to support the people. And show us what we can do to put the love of Jesus into action and help these people in need. In Jesus’ name – Amen! 

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