Lectionary
Basic kids story idea: Have fun getting the children to imitate some people in the church (How Bill plays the bass guitar, how Nic plays the drums or how Bud probably drives his car. Explain that the apostle Paul said that we should all do our best to imitate Jesus Christ. (You might highlight the way he showed loved and made himself as servant.)
Full Children's sermon: Good morning Children! Do you know what it means to imitate someone? That’s right. It means doing the same things that another person in doing. We never want to imitate someone to make fun of them or embarrass them. That would be unkind. However, this morning I asked some people if it was alright for us to imitate them. Bill said it was ok for us to imitate him playing the bass guitar. Let’s do that now. (Have some fun with this.) Great! I also asked Nic if we could imitate him playing the drums. Ok, let’s see how you can imitate him playing the drums. That’s very good. I also asked Bud if we could imitate the way Bud probably drives his car. Let’s do that. That is very good children! You really are able to imitate different people well.
This morning we have an important Bible message from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He tells Christians that they should do their best to imitate Jesus Christ! We should do what we can to live the same way Jesus did. One of the most important things about Jesus was that he showed love to people. Even though he God’s son and was a King he spent his time serving others. He would even help and serve people that were very poor or were considered by others to be unimportant.
What are some of the ways we can imitate Jesus?(Have a short discussion about things that Jesus did that we can also do to others.) Yes, those are all good ways of imitating the life of Jesus.
Children’s prayer: Dear God, thank you for the many ways Jesus loved and served others. Help us to imitate him by showing love and kindness to others. In Jesus’ name – Amen!
Here is an idea for a children sermon or Bible lesson on the cost of following Jesus: It’s not a perfect analogy (and maybe a little convoluted) but it will allow the children to “see” visually the process of counting the cost of following Jesus. I think it can work. (Of course, the text says we need to give up everything, but this is a tangible way of considering some personal costs Christian kids face)
Object lesson idea: I’m thinking of using some balance scales or improvising a balance scale with a balance board sitting on a pivot point. Explain how weigh scales were used to measure the weight of money or something of worth. Load up on one side items representing the cost of following Jesus. Then on the other side place a big heavy item representing the value of following Jesus and being a child of God.
Object lesson props: Some small dark stones representing the costly weight of following Jesus. A big colorful rock representing the amazing love and life of Jesus. A board balance in the middle as a weigh scale.
Good morning children! Do you see this homemade balance weigh scale here? Many years ago they used to use these to weigh out gold, silver or perhaps some fool like wheat or corn. (Give a simple demonstration). Sometimes it’s very important to know the cost of things. In fact, Jesus said that if we want to follow him (be a Christian disciple) we need to count the cost. Following Jesus is wonderful but there is a cost, things we need to give up.
What are some costs of following Jesus – things we need to consider if we want to follow Jesus? Do you see these small items or stones? Let’s pretend they remind us of the “costs” of following Jesus.
1 Let’s pretend this stone reminds us of money. (or just use coins) If we want to follow Jesus he may want us to give some of our money to help the poor. (Place the stone of the left side of the balance – tipping it down.
2 What are some other costs of following Jesus? Let’s pretend this stone represents some people that might make fun of us because we go to church. (place the stone beside the other stone or money)
3 Instead of a rock, this time let’s put my watch on the scales. It reminds us that following Jesus means letting him plan out how we spend our time.
4. (Keep going – you get the idea)
Now children, it might seem that there are a lot of reasons that make following Jesus difficult. There are a lot of “costs” weighing down this side of the balance. However, compared to following Jesus and knowing his wonderful love these things are worth letting go of. (Reach over and pick up a large gold colored rock) This rock looks like a huge piece of Gold. It reminds me of the wonderful love and life of Jesus. Let’s place it on the other side of the balance. Wow! It outweighs all those other things. Knowing and following Jesus so important.
Kids, following Jesus is often hard. Showing love to our enemies, giving our money, sometime being made fun of, (point to the stones / items on the left) is difficult and costly. But it’s truly worth it! Jesus’ love is so amazing, precious, wonderful, and valuable. It’s of far more value than these things.
Kids closing prayer: Dear God, thankyou that knowing you and your son Jesus is the greatest thing in all the world. When we are finding it difficult following Jesus, remind us that your love and life is worth more than anything in the whole world. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
Copyright 2022 Sundaychildrensfocus.com Andrew Hewlett - Feel free to use this but please consider linking to this page or website Thank you! A.H.
Object lesson idea: Bring in some items that you enjoy but were paid for by someone else. (a good book, a warm jacket, tickets to a movie, etc.) You could also ask a young child, “Who paid for your coat?” Help them to see that some things we enjoy were paid by someone else. Other people paid the price. Then discuss the freedom and peace we enjoy in our country. Explain that other people paid the price so we could be free. Explain that this Memorial Day / Remembrance Day we give thanks to God for those who paid the price for the freedom and peace we enjoy today. Also include those alive who are paying the price for our freedom.
Object lesson items: Anything you value but was paid for by someone else
Complete Children’s lesson: Good morning children! This morning I want to show you some things that are very important to me. Here is my favorite painting that is in our house. Isn’t it nice! The best thing about this painting is that it was a gift to me. I get to enjoy it, but someone else paid the price. Here is my favorite sweater that keeps me nice and warm. I was given this on my birthday, and I think it cost a lot of money. I get to enjoy it, but someone else paid the price. (You get the idea – Also, if the children are very young it’s safe to assume they have their items of clothing paid for by their parents. The main thing is to highlight the face that many things we value were paid for by someone else.)
Kids, it’s wonderful that so many of the things we enjoy were paid for by someone else! There is also something else we that we have that was paid for by others. It’s the freedom and peace we enjoy in our country. Today we want to especially remember those paid for our freedom by giving their live in the Army, Navy, or Air Force. They paid the price for our freedom. Today we also give thanks for Veterans who are still alive, and also members of the armed forces who still serve our country today.
Children's Prayer: Dear God, we thank you this day (or weekend) for those who gave their lives and paid the price for our freedom. Thank you also for all those who continue to pay the price for our freedom in their service for God and country. In Jesus’ name – Amen!
Copyright Andrew Hewlett and Sunday Children’s Focus 2022 – Feel free to use this on Sunday. Please promote this site any way you can and if possible, make a link to your web site. Thank you. A.H.
A prophet without honor Mark 6: 1-13
Children’s sermon idea: Show the children some visual symbols we use to honor people. Explain how Jesus was not always honored by those around him. Help the children understand how we are not always honored or understood when we share the love of Jesus with others.
Props: Anything that we use to honor people. An Olympic medal, a fancy chair, large sign with the words “THANK YOU”.
*(As an alternative / addition you could have the congregation give a cheer of approval or a frown)
Full Children’s sermon: Good morning children! Do you see this medal? What sort of person would you give this to? That’s right, someone how won a race or did really well at some sports event. Who would you give a giant thank you card to? Yes, someone who did something that you really appreciated. Who might you get to sit in a really fancy chair like this? Sometimes people show their appreciation by cheering. I’m going to get the congregation to give you followers of Jesus a big cheer. (Prompt the congregation to rousing cheer.) Wow! That felt pretty good, didn’t it! We all like to be appreciated and we all like it when people say thank you for something we did. There is a word that explains how we might feel. It’s the word “honor” (You might want to unpack this a bit. You could also ask the congregation to frown as that look at the children.)
You probably know that Jesus travelled around doing good wherever he went. But did you know that not everyone was happy with him? Not everyone honored him. In fact, sometimes even those very close to him did not understand or honor him for the wonderful things he did. You might think that everybody would be happy with what he did but that is not what always happened.
As followers of Jesus, we will not always be appreciated or honored for the good things we do. In fact, sometimes close friends may make fun of us or get angry at us. This happened to Jesus, and it will sometimes happen to us. When that happens, it might make us sad, but we should not stop doing good and showing love to others! It’s nice when people honor us with a cheer or a word of thanks, but we need to keep following Jesus even when nobody seems to care.
(You might want to wrap up the message by getting the congregation to give a big cheer for the kids.)
Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you that Jesus kept on showing love to people even when some didn’t appreciate it. When people don’t say thank you (and honor) us, help us to know that YOU love us. That is the most important thing. In Jesus’ name – Amen!
Copyright SundayChildrensFocus.com Andrew Hewlett 2021
(Feel free to use this on Sunday morning but please give credit to this site and “Like” us on your social media platform. Thank you! A.H.)
Site Map