Children's sermon - Jesus is rejected by his friends and family at Nazareth    

Children, it was so sad that even his friends and some members of his family rejected him. How do you think Jesus felt? (Allow the children to respond) That’s right. Jesus would have been so sad to be rejected by people in his home town. Jesus knows what it’s like to be insulted and hurt. Sometimes people say things to us that make us sad. Perhaps they say something unkind or hurtful. Perhaps they just say they don’t want to play with us. That hurts us inside and can make us sad. If that ever happens to you I want you to remember that Jesus knows what it feels like. He knows what you are feeling inside because he was treated that way too. The good news is that He loves us all the time. He will never leave us or forsake us. 

Lectionary

4^th of July Children’s sermon Independence Day

(I am from Canada so I don’t have a full appreciation of the 4^th of July and it’s historical meaning for those in the United States. That being said, if I did live in the United States here is a possible angle that might go along with the Lectionary reading of Mark 6:1-13:)

1. Show various symbols or objects used to honor people. (You could use a medal, a trophy or a big fancy chair etc.) You could also have the kids give a big cheer to demonstrate another way of honoring people.

2. Explain how Jesus (Mark 6:1-13) was not always honored. As followers of Jesus, we too will not always be honored. Nevertheless, we keep serving Jesus no matter what comes our way. You could also explain how others may not understand our faith in Jesus and make fun of us.

3. Explain to the children how in some countries Christians don’t have the freedom to openly express their faith. In some countries Christians are persecuted.

4. Highlight how thankful we are that we (those in the United States on this 4^th of July) have the freedom and liberty to live a Christians. We are not under the control of another country and all people have the freedom to practice our faith. That is what we celebrate with fireworks and cheers on the July the fourth.

Idea: Get the children and the congregation to give a big cheer to show honor to Jesus and his disciples. Lead the children in a prayer of thanksgiving for the freedom experienced in our country. (And perhaps lead in a cheer of thanksgiving)

Peace – Andrew Hewlett

Children’s sermon idea teaching about the cost of following Jesus Luke 14 25-33   

(Ministry idea - work in progress!)

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. 

Children's sermon - Behold I stand at the door and knock - Rev 3:20 -

Basic idea: Use a door knocker (or knock on a small door or piece of wood) and explain how Jesus said he was standing at the  door of our hearts, knocking, and wanting to come in. 

Full children's sermon: Good morning children! I'm so happy to see all your smiling faces today. Today, we're going to talk about something really special—a door knocker! Have you ever seen a door knocker before? It's that cool thing on doors that you can knock to let someone inside know that you're there! Many houses just have a button and buzzer or bell, but many houses still have a knocker like this.

Now, I want to tell you about an amazing Bible verse. It's from the book of Revelation, which is kind of like the last part of the Bible. The verse is Revelation 3:20, and it says something very interesting. It says that Jesus is like a friend who knocks on the door of our hearts. Isn't that awesome?

Let me show you this door knocker I brought. (Show them the door knocker) See, just like this door knocker, Jesus is always knocking on the door of our hearts. He wants to come into our lives. But here's the thing—he doesn't force his way in. No way! Jesus is like the best friend ever, and he waits for us to open the door and invite him into our lives.

You see, Jesus wants to be a part of everything we do—when we play, when we learn, when we're happy, and even when we're a bit sad. He loves us so much that he wants to be with us all the time. He loves us so much. How amazing is that?

Now, let's imagine our lives are like houses, and Jesus is standing at the door, knocking. Can you pretend to knock on a door with me? Knock, knock, knock! Great job!

So, when we share love with our friends, when we're kind to others, when open our lives to Jesus in prayer, and when we do what we know God wants us to do, it's like we're opening the door to Jesus. We're saying, "Come on in, Jesus! Be a part of my day!" Lets go through this day together!

And you know what? Jesus is always there, ready to join us. He loves us so much, and being with us makes him really happy.

So, my friends, let's always be sensitive to Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts. We may not hear a sound like this (bang on the door knocker) but we can sense that Jesus is wanting to come in and be a big part of our lives. Let's welcome him in every part of our lives—when we play, when we eat, when we learn, and when we rest, when we are happy and when we are sad. Jesus is the best friend we could ever have, and having him with us makes everything even more wonderful!

I hope you remember this the next time you see a door knocker or hear a knock on the door. Jesus is always ready to come in and be a part of our lives because he loves us so, so much!

Children’s Prayer: Dear God – thankyou that Jesus loves us so and wants to be a central part of our lives. Help us always to “open the door” of our hearts and welcome him in. That way we can know that he will guide us and lead us into the wonderful life that he has for us. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Jesus withdrew to a quiet place to pray: A Lesson on the Importance of spending time with God - Mark 1

No objects needed – Just one child to come up front.

(Start with a child standing up front of the other kids, ready to participate in the interactive exercise.)

Good morning children! I'm so excited to talk to you today about something very special – the importance of finding quiet time alone with God. But first, let's try something together.

(Point to the child standing up front.)

I need your help, everyone. On the count of three, let's all call out to our friend here with lots of demands and requests. Take 10 seconds to think of what you want the to do. Ready?

(Count to three, and have the group call out loudly to the child.) This should be fun.

Now, how do you feel? (Allow the child to share their feelings.)

It can be overwhelming when everyone is demanding our attention, right? Sometime you can’t even think properly. Just like in our game, life can get really noisy with school, friends, chores, and activities. But guess what? We have a special friend who knows exactly how we feel – Jesus!

In the Bible, in the book of Mark, it says that Jesus often withdrew to lonely or quiet places to pray. You see, Jesus understood the importance of finding a quiet spot away from the noise and pressure. So many people wanted to talk to him, to be healed, or to get something from him.

Imagine if Jesus were here with us today. (In fact He is here because he said “I am with you always”. He might say, "Hey, friends, sometimes you need to step away from all the noise and find a quiet place to talk to God. It's like having a special meeting with your best friend."

Just like we need a break from the demands of our noisy game, we also need a break from the demands of life. When we spend quiet time with God, it's a chance to share our thoughts, dreams, worries, and joys. God loves hearing from us, and it helps us feel more at peace.

Here are a few reasons why finding quiet time with God is so important:

1. Peace in the Noise:
   • When life gets noisy and busy, spending time alone with God helps us find peace in the midst of it all.
2. Guidance and Wisdom:
   • Sometimes we don’t know what to do. God can give us guidance and wisdom when we take the time to listen to Him. It's like having the best GPS for our lives!
3. Sharing Our Hearts:
   • Just like we share things with our friends, God wants us to share our hearts with Him. He cares about everything we feel and think.

So, kids, let's remember the lesson from our game. Just as we gave our friend a break from all the noise and demands, we too need a break sometimes. Jesus showed us the way by withdrawing to pray, and we can do the same.

  Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thankyou that when we are busy and upset we can always come away to a quiet place and meet you in prayer. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

The Good Samaritan - Children's Object lesson idea: Check it out! 

There are a number of different angles one could take on the parable of the Good Samaritan. 1. Who is my neighbour? (2) Authentic love (3) The risk and cost of showing genuine love. (4) Don't be suprised of where we might find examples of true love. (5) How we can be very busy but loose sight of the command to love. (6) How we can easily seek to justify ourselves ie "Who is my neighbour?" Etc. 

Kids sermon - A new commandment love (John 13)

By this shall all know you are my disciples

Children’s sermon: John 13:31-35 The commandment to love one another

Children’s sermon idea: (Have on hand items of clothing, hats or badges that represent various occupations and people.) Discuss with the children how they can recognize various people by what they wear. Discuss how we might recognize a group of Christians. Jesus said “By this shall all know that you are my disciples.” It’s our love for one another that should show that we are Christians.

Object lesson items: Clothing items worn by various people / professions. You might need to borrow some clothing items from members of your congregation.

Children’s sermon: Good morning children. In this box I have various garments that people wear. (Bring out a hard hat.) What person might wear a hat like this? That’s right. If you saw someone wearing this they might be a workman or a carpenter. (Hold up a fireman’s coat and hat.) What kind of person would wear this clothing? Right – a firefighter. (Continue with some more items of clothing that are easily identifiable.) You did very well. I have one more question. How can you recognize that someone is a Christian? If you saw a group of people how would you know they were Christians?

That’s right. Christians wear different kinds of clothing. It’s not that easy to tell right away. However, in our bible reading today from the gospel of John, Jesus said that there was one thing that would let others know we are Christians. Jesus said that if we had love for one another other people in the world would be able to tell that we are Christians. Others can’t tell that we follow Jesus by looking at what we wear. However, they should be able to tell that we follow Jesus by how we love each other. Jesus said, “by this shall all know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Let’s pray and ask God to help us love each other so that other would recognize us as Christians and want to know about Jesus and his love.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, please give us power through the Holy Spirit to grow in our love for each other. In that way others might be able to see that we follow Jesus and that they too might decide to follow him and know his wonderful love. In Jesus’ name – Amen.

Children's message Feed my Sheep (Short idea via video) Jesus is the good shepherd who looks after his sheep and feeds them

-Seek first the Kingdom of God -   Matt. 6: 25-34 also Worry, Ministry, self seeking, seek ye first the Kingdom of God   -

(For use as a Children's Sermonor as an introduction to a creative Sunday School lesson)

(Option: Get the kids to do the acting)

Copyright Andrew Hewlett  2009 sundaychildrensfocus.com   Feel free to use this story at your Sunday morning service but please give credit to sundaychildrensfocus.com  and consider linking to this site. Thank you! Blessings, A.H.    PS - Please click the facebook "like" button. 

Children's Story on Jesus sending out the disciples

Theme: Jesus sends out his disciples          

Text: Mark 6:1-13      Lectionary: Trinity 4   

Children's sermon idea: Let the children come unto me

“Let the children come unto me” A skit for the Children’s

Sermon or Sunday school class   

    

Kids sermon / object lesson Not of this World 

Object Lesson Text: John 17:6-19       

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Parable of the Ten Virgins – Always be ready -

Children’s sermon overview:

This is an object lesson that will help your kids and congregation understand the important message of the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matt 25) while highlighting the importance of being prepared in times of need. Use oil lamps or flashlights to make the lesson interactive and relatable. If you use flashlight you could always start by showing of what an “old fashioned flashlight” (ie a oil lamp) looked like.

Note: If you are doing this in front of the whole congregation you could have someone turn out the lights. Then pretend to be in a fluster until you pull out your flashlight – only to discover the batteries are dead! Then relate this to being prepared for the coming of Christ.

Object lesson items:(if you are doing this in a separate room apart from the congregation)

1. Ten lamps or flashlights (five should have fully charged batteries, while the other five should be out of power). Adjust the numbers if you don’t have too many children.
2. A darkened room or space where lights can be dimmed.
3. A copy of Matthew 25:1-13 or rehearse a paraphrased version.

Object Lesson:

Start by briefly introducing the Parable of the Ten Virgins and its message of preparedness. Mention that we'll be using lamps or flashlights to illustrate this lesson. To keep things simple (and depending on the age of the children) you could retell the parable by referring to wise and foolish “people”.

a. Set the Scene: Dim the lights in the room to simulate a power outage. Explain to the participants that we will pretend that there is a sudden blackout, and you need their help to find a solution.

b. Divide the Lamps: Hand out the ten lamps or flashlights to the participants, five with working batteries or oil, and five that are out of power. (You could hand them out before too)

c. Role Play: In the darkened room, have five participants with working lamps act as the "wise virgins /people," and five with non-working lamps act as the "foolish virgins." Encourage the "wise virgins" to help and share their light with the "foolish virgins."

d. Light of Preparedness: Discuss with the participants how being prepared helps us not only in power outages but also in life's unexpected challenges. Link this to the parable and the importance of being ready to meet / serve Jesus at any time.

Invite participants to think about situations in their lives where being prepared is crucial. Encourage them to share their thoughts and discuss how they can apply the lesson from the parable to their daily lives as followers of Jesus.

Emphasize the importance of being prepared spiritually, not just for power outages, but for life's trials and challenges.

Summarize the main points of the lesson, reiterating the importance of being spiritually prepared for Christ's return and being a source of light to others in times of darkness.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, Help us always to be prepared and ready for when the power might go out in out our homes. Also, help us also to be living in such a way that we will be ready to meet Jesus when he returns – In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Children’s sermon on the Parable of the Wedding Banquet / Feast -

Matthew 22: 1-14

Kids talk idea: Ask the children to use their imagination to pretend they invited their friends to a party and ask them how they would feel if everybody was busy. Play to them a series of (pre-recorded) excuses on a phone answering machine (with the standard “beep” after each excuse). Read out a paraphrase of the parable of the Wedding Banquet and explain how God would feel if we never had time for him. (You could flesh this out by saying in the end you might invite others you didn’t know quite as well.)

Prepare: Arrange to have 4 or 5 friends to phone in a short excuse to your home answering machine (Best to do this all at one time). You could have some fun with the excuses. Then record the series of answers on your cell phone or a voice recorder so that you can play it back to the children on Sunday morning. (Use well known people in the congregation and make sure the excuses are pretty pathetic!)

Full Children’s Sermon:

Good morning Children! How many of you have ever had a party and invited friends and family to come? (Allow time for response) Did you send out invitations or phone people to see if they could come? How would you feel if you were planning a really special party and when you invited them to come they all had an excuse why they couldn’t come! How would you feel? Would you be sad? Would you be angry? Now, I have something I would like you to listen to. Imagine I was planning on getting married and was going to have a big party to celebrate. Imagine I sent out messages to all my friends to come and celebrate at my party.  Imagine how I would feel if I heard responses like this on my answering machine: (Play the fun responses you have recorded.)

How would you feel? (Interact with the children) That’s right, I would feel very sad and I might even feel mad!

In our bible reading this morning from Matthew chapter 22 Jesus tells a parable about how God wants us to come to Him and be a part of his wonderful family and Kingdom. Jesus tells us that this is like a wonderful party! (Read a simple paraphrase of the parable) Isn’t that sad. Jesus is telling us that God wants us to follow him and join him in a wonderful celebration but most people are too busy with other things! Children, I know you have many important things to do in life. However, I hope and pray that you always have time for God (the Father) and Jesus His Son! If we miss out on following God and being a friend of Jesus it would be like missing out on the best party of all!

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, Thank you that you love us and want us to be a part of your great family and family celebration. Help us to never be so busy that we put other things before you or your son, King Jesus. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2017 Sundaychildrensfocus  Feel free to use this but please consider linking to this site and “Like us” on facebook. Blessings, 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.)

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s – Matthew 22 21 -

 Giving to Caesar and Giving to God – Matthew 22 -

Overview:

In this object lesson, use jars and coins to help children understand the concept of "Rendering unto Caesar what is Caesar's" from Matthew 22. The lesson aims to teach children about the importance of fulfilling their civic responsibilities while also remembering their spiritual duties. I believe it’s also important to include the idea that we are stewards of all that God entrust to us. Note: You could also include the idea that the religious leaders tried to trick Jesus.

Materials:

• Two clear jars or containers, labeled "Caesar" and "God."
• Coins (real or play money).
• Bible (Matthew 22:15-22).

Interactive Text for Children:

Teacher: Today, we're going to learn an important lesson from the Bible about giving to Caesar and giving to God. Do any of you know what "Caesar" means?

Child: (Responds)

Teacher: Great! Caesar was like a king or a leader in the Bible times, and he wanted people to give him money, just like our government collects money from us today. The government uses the money to build roads, provide drinking water and many other important things.

Now, I have two jars here. (Show the labeled jars) This one says "Caesar," and this one says "God." (Point to each jar as you say its name. Under the label “God” write; giving to our church, giving to missionaries, helping the poor etc.Under the label on the jar named “Caesar” write: building roads, providing for the leaders of our country, etc. Ask the children if they understand this.

Child: (Answers may vary)

Teacher: We're going to use these jars to learn a lesson about money and responsibilities. The Bible tells us that everything we have belongs to God. So, we should give a part of what we have to God to show our love and thankfulness and to support His church (Place some coins in the "God" jar)

Child: (Observe and engage)

Teacher: But, the Bible also says that we should give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. In our time, Caesar means our government, and we give them money to help our community and our country become a better place. (Place some coins in the "Caesar" jar)

Child: (Observe and engage)

Teacher: Now, let's try something fun! I'm going to give each of you some coins. (Distribute coins) You can decide whether you want to put your coins in the "Caesar" jar or the "God" jar. If you put it in the "Caesar" jar, it's like paying taxes to help our country. If you put it in the "God" jar, it's like showing love and thanks to God. Perhaps you want to give some to each.

Child: (Children place their coins in the jars)

Teacher: Great job, everyone! Just like we've learned, it's essential to give to both Caesar and God. By paying our taxes, we help make our community better, and by showing love and thanks to God, we strengthen our faith, help the family of God (our church) and our missionaries.

Child: (Engage in a short discussion or questions, if time permits)

Teacher: Let's close with a simple prayer. Dear God, thank you for all the blessings you give us. You are the owner of everything and everything we have is yours. Help us to be responsible and caring citizens by giving to Caesar and giving to you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

My prayer is the someday soon this web site would be a great, FREE resourse for children's sermons and Sunday school - Coming up: Object lessons and talks for Christmas - Jesus is the reason for the season! He is the greatest gift of all. 

Whether one is Anglican (Episcopal), Baptist, Catholic, Evangelical, Orthodox or Penticostal - children need to hear the gospel presented in a lively and biblical way

Children’s Sermon: Run the Race set before us Hebrews 11 and 12

“Let us set aside the weight of sin and run the race set before us”    

Children’s sermon idea:  Have someone come in dressed up like a jogger / runner. However, they are also carrying a heavy back pack, a suitcase, a bag around the neck, etc. Have a fun interview with the runner and help them realize that they need to “set aside” the things that are weighing them down. Explain to the young people that carrying around sins (explain this a bit) will weigh us down in the Christian race.  (We want to live our lives God’s way but when we do sin, and do wrong things, we can repent, ask forgiveness and “set aside” our sins so we can run in freedom.)

Objects / People needed:  Someone willing to dress up like a jogger. A backpack, suitcase and impractical items to carry around. (Have some fun with this: some old rotten thing, something representing past sins, etc)    Option: label the various items with signs: unforgiveness, selfishness, greed, etc.

Full Children’s lesson:   Good morning children! Look who is coming up front here. It’s Mr. Johnston. What does it look like he is doing? That’s right, by looking at his running shoes and shorts it sure seems like he is going on a race. Let’s ask him. Mr. Johnston, what are you doing today? (Have some fun with this). But why are you carrying these heavy loads? Isn’t it hard carrying those heavy things and trying to run at the same time? Why don’t you just put them down and let them go? (You could prime your runner with various responses such as, “That’s just part of who I am” or “I’m used to carrying these around everywhere” etc.) Ask the children if this makes sense. What do they think he should do if he wants to do well in the race? Your volunteer runner could put down the weights and then exclaim how much better it feels.

Debrief with the children: Wow, I’m sure glad Mr. Johnstone got rid of all that weight. Otherwise I think he would get tired and frustrated. I don’t even think he would be able to finish the race.

The Bible says in Hebrews 12 verse 1 that if we are going do well in our Christian lives (win the race) we need to get rid of all those bad things that weigh us down. Whenever we sin (do what we know God doesn’t want us to do) then it’s like we are carrying a heavy weight that slows us down. So let’s try to do what God wants us to do so that we are not carrying around a heavy weight of sin. Of course, the good news is that when we ask forgiveness for the things we’ve done wrong, God forgives us takes away that heavy weight.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, help us to put off all those sinful things in life that just weigh us down and slow us down. Thank you that through Jesus we can be forgiven and we can walk (and run) right beside you every day of our lives. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2016 Sundaychildrensfocus - Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this on Sunday. If you post it on the web please give credit to Sunday Childrens Focus and consider linking to this web site. Thank you!  - A.H.

The most important thing. The priority of spending time with Jesus – Luke 10 Jesus at the home of Mary and Martha

Kids sermon idea: Highlight the fact that Jesus cares about us. He wants to spend time with us. Have a volunteer child stand in front of the children. Then ask them to hold some “important” items. (Some toys, some car keys, food, a cell phone etc.) Ask the children to look at the person, and all the items, and ask them what they think is the most important thing. Have some fun. They will probably each suggest what they think is important. Then point out the person holding the items is really what it most important! Use this as a lead in to explain the story of Jesus visiting the home of Mary and Martha. Mary chose what was most important – spending time of Jesus!

Object lesson props: Various random objects that a child can easily hold.

(Note: Be careful not to teach this in such a way that the ministry of serving is downplayed. You will also want to discuss in practical terms what it means to spend time with Jesus

Children’s focus full story:  Good morning, Children! For my message this morning I need a volunteer. Thank you, Carol. Please stand-up front here so we can all see you. Now, I have a bag of some important items that I am going to get her to hold. Let’s see what I have. Here is a toy. That’s important. Would you please hold this item? Here is another item. It is a cell phone. That’s important. Please hold this item too. (Keep loading them up with various items.) Now, here is what I want you to think about. What is the most important thing here? I think these things are all important, but I want you to tell me what do you think is most important? (Listen to the children explain what item they think is most important.) Those are all good suggestions. However, what I think is most important is not these things; the most important thing is not a thing! It is a person, Carol! I know this was a bit of a trick question. But the point I want to make is that Carol is more important than all these things.

This reminds me of a story in the 10^th chapter of the gospel of Luke where Jesus is visiting Mary and Martha. Mary spent time being with Jesus. But her sister Martha was very upset that she had to all kinds of work to do. When she complained to Jesus, he said that Mary was doing what was most important of all – spending time with Jesus.

Children, we want to do all sorts of things for Jesus (Give some example) However we don’t want to forget that Jesus wants to spend time with us. He loves us and doesn’t want us to be so busy we forget to enjoy his love.  (This is a challenging concept so you may need to give examples of what it means to be like Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet) I want to encourage you children to spend time with Jesus in prayer, in reading what he says in the Bible, in just being quiet, sensing his love. (You might explain that although Jesus promises to be with us always, we get so distracted and can forget that his loving presence is with us. Emphasize both sides of the equation. Jesus loves us and wants to spend time with us. Also, we desperately need to spend time with him.)

Children’s Prayer: (Before starting your prayer consider taking a few seconds for the children to be silent and think of Jesus and the amazing love he has them.) “Dear God, thank you that you love us so much that you (and your son Jesus) want to spend time with us. In the busyness of the day, help us to find time to slow down and remember that you are with us and that you love us with an everlasting love. In Jesus’ name – Amen!”

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