(I just remembered it is Shoe Box(Samaritan's Purse) Sunday at our church. I'm going to substitude the first-aid kit for a Shoe Box gift box.)

Children’s talk idea: Show the children a first-aid kit, discuss its contents and demonstrate how items are used to help an injured person. Discuss how tragic it would be to refuse to open it up and use the contents for good. We are a bit like the first-aid kit. God has given us talents and abilities that need to be opened up and used. How tragic it would be to “play it safe” and not share what we have. Discuss the parable of the talents and the danger of burying what has been entrusted to us.

 

Object lesson items: A small first aid kit. If it is new (wrapped up and sealed) all the better.

 

Children’s Sunday School Sermon:

Good morning children! Have you ever seen a box like this? Do you know what it is? That’s right! It is a first-aid kit. What are some things that might be inside? Let’s open it up and look inside. It’s all nicely wrapped up so I will have to remove this plastic first. Look how nice and neat it is inside. (Examine the contents and discuss how various items could be used to help an injured person. You might have one of the children pretend to be injured.) Now, what if this first-aid kit was so special to me that I was afraid to open it up and use it? (Clutch the first-aid kit in your arms.) What if I said to myself, “I only have 5 band-aids and I don’t want to use them up”? Or, “The kit is so neat and tidy, I don’t want it to get messed up.” Or, “I’m going to keep it safe by wrapping it up and burying it over here in a safe place.” That would be very sad. The parent of that child would be angry that we cared more about keeping my kit safe than helping their child.

 

This is a bit like today’s bible reading, the parable of the talents. In this parable, the master gave money to his servants. He wanted them to use money for good. Some of the servants put the money to good use but one of the servants buried it in the ground. He was keeping it safe but it certainly didn’t help anyone. He was a bit like someone who was afraid to open up his first-aid kit. God has given each of you special gifts, talents and abilities. (You could give some examples.) It is important that you use what you have for good. Like this first-aid kit, we have gifts and talents that we can use to help others. We certainly don’t want to hold them all inside and keep them from being used. What’s amazing is that Jesus actually said we would end up having more when we give our gifs away. Now that is a miracle!

 

Children's Prayer: Dear God, thank you that each of us has gifts and abilities we can use to help others. Help us to open up our lives and share those good things with others in need. In Jesus’ name – Amen!


Copyright 2011 Sundaychildrensfocus.com    Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this 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.

 

 

 
Sermon for children: Help Children understand Holy Communion / the Lord’s Supper (John 6:56-6:9)

 

Basic Idea: Show the back pack you use for hiking and the lunch bag inside. Discuss how this food is vital for the journey. Show the bread and wine / grape juice you use for communion and explain how this spiritual food (of Jesus Christ) is vital sustenance for the journey of life.

 

Objects needed: Backpack, lunch container / bag with various food items. The bread and wine /grape juice you use for celebrating the Lord’s Supper.

 

Full Story: Good Morning Children. Do you see what I have on my back? Yes. It is the back pack I use for hiking and camping. It holds all the important item I need if I go on a hiking trip. What do you think is one of the most important things to take with you if you are on a trip? (Discuss the responses). Inside this bag is something that is very important to take along. It’s my lunch! Mmmm. Look what I have inside. When you are on a long hike it is very important to have lots of good, healthy food. It gives you the energy to keep going and to stay healthy. In fact, without food you wouldn’t live very long.

 

Now, I’d like you all to look over here on this table. It has food for a meal – the bread and wine we use when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper together. It is a special meal because the bread and wine remind us (or are for us) the body and blood of Christ. Jesus said that he was “the bread of life” and that we need to feed on him if we are to really discover that true life that God has for us. When we eat the bread and wine it reminds us that we want Jesus to come inside us and feed us with himself. It also reminds us that his is the bread of life and that he loved us so much he was willing to give his life for us.

When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper with this bread and wine we might think of it as food for the journey of life. We are all on a journey and big adventure in life and when we have the bread and wine on Sunday it is a time to receive Jesus and all that he did for us. It also reminds us that we need to feed on Jesus every day of our life if we are going to really live.

 

Pray: Thank you Lord for our daily food. When we have Holy Communion / the Lord’s Supper, help us to truly feed on Jesus who is the bread of life. Amen!

Copyright 2009 Sundaychildrensfocus.com  Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this story on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this site. Thank you. A.H.





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