Prayer: Thank you God that Jesus cared so much about the temple being a place of prayer for everyone. Thank you God for this place where we come to pray and to worship. God, help us to remember that although we have lots of fun here the most important thing is that it is a place of prayer and worship – in Jesus name. Amen
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!
Lectionary
4th of July Children’s sermon Independence Day
(I am from Canada so I don’t have a full appreciation of the 4th 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 4th 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
Copyright 2013 Andrew Hewlett and Sundaychildrensfocus.com Feel free to use this on Sunday but please give credit to Sundayschildrensfocus and consider linking to this web site. Thanks – A.H
Text: Mark 5:21-43 Jairus’ daughter (Trinity 2)
Props: none
Basic kids sermon idea: Start by having the children show how they wake up in the morning and tell them this is a “wake up” story. Have the children dramatize the various emotions mentioned as you read through the text (concern, grief, laughter, amazement, joy) (Note: You could have the children pretend that they are Jairus daughter. However, my wife told me she felt parents might be uneasy about then acting out that they had died!) For this to be most effective it needs to be fairly fast paced with lots of energy and emotion.
Full Childrens Story: Good morning children. Do you find it easy to wake up in the morning? How do you parents wake you up? Do you yawn or stretch? Show me. Close you eyes like you are asleep. Now show me what you do. “Time to wake up. It’s morning time.” (Let the children show you how they get up.) Well today our Bible reading is story about Jesus waking a child up. But what is amazing about this “wake up story” is that Jesus woke her up after she died! We can wake up people when they are asleep but Jesus proved that he could wake up people even when they are dead. That is truly amazing.
I’m going to tell you the story and I would like you to act out how the people were feeling. This story is found in Chapter 5 of Mark’s Gospel
(Read through the Bible text or create your own paraphrase: Stop and gesture to the children at the appropriate times. They’ll pick up the idea quickly.)
(vs 22) A man named Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and pleaded with him, “My daughter is dying please come and put you hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ---What do you think Jairus felt like? Show me how might feel. Yes, he was very worried. (Look worried, bit your nails, put your hands on your forehead, etc
(vs 24)Jesus started to go to Jairus’ house to see his daughter but it was taking a long time because he stopped to talk to another person who needed healing. How do you think Jairus was feeling then? Yes. He was very anxious.
(vs 35)Then all of a sudden some people came from Jairus’ home and said. Your daughter has died. Don’t bother bringing Jesus. (Throw your hands up in the air)
(vs 36)Jesus kept on going and when he came to the house where the girl was he saw all the people crying ( Children pretent to weep)
When he came to the girl he said that she was only sleeping. Since the people knew she had died they laughed at Jesus (Children laugh)
(vs 41) Then Jesus took her by the hand and said “Little girl, I say to you get up!” (vs42) Immediately the girl stood up and walked around. The people were astonished! (show ashtonishment)
(vs 38) Now one more thing. It doesn’t say this in the bible story but what do you think Jairus, the girls father, was feeling? Yes. I think he was celebrating! (jump for joy)
That was great acting children. It was almost like being there! Isn’t that wonderful. Even though the girl died and it seemed too late, it wasn’t too late for Jesus. He was able to wake people up even when they were dead. That’s how wonderful Jesus is.
Pray: Thank you God for this wonderful miracle of Jesus bringing this girl back to life. Thank you for his amazing love and his amazing power. Help us, through your Holy Spirit to follow him and know him more and more each day - In Jesus’ name, Amen!
(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 web site. Thank you! A.H.
Showing the compassion of Jesus
Object lesson idea:(Overview -Adapted from a story I used when there was an earthquake in Haiti)
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!
“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.
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.
- Object lesson for Easter Day - orTry this Resurrection Easter skit -
Text for this week Matthew 21:1-11 Palm Sunday - (Stay tuned: Planning to make short videos that I can send out to our children during this time of Covid-19) or Check out this for Palm Sunday and Holy Week - (Walking with Jesus - Palms, Bread and Wine, and the Cross.) --> -- (You'll notice I've made it more interactive so parents can be involved in the discussion.
: Lazarus - come out -wake up! - To Jesus bringing the dead back to life is just like waking someone up! Here is what I put together --
John 9:1-41 I was blind but now I see - the man born blind. Spiritual blindness - and seeing Jesus (Lent 4)
John 4:5-42 The woman at the Well (Jesus gives the water of life!)
( Good News! - We will be restructuring this web site to get it more organized and user friendly for hand held devices - stay tuned! God willing there will be new material posted up as well - Turning over a new leaf in 2020!)
==> Unrelated interlude - I believe my daughter has real gift for capturing the beauty of creation. Can't help boasting a bit. Check out Judith's instagram page! (If you look closely I'm in there with Judith on my shoulders - few years ago)
Creative Sunday school ideas 4 kids: FREE: Children's sermons / skits (note: Many of these sermons for kids could be adapted into great sermon illustrations for youth group / adults) Short children's sermons
(Please Note: Consider visiting the resources on the right side of the page. That's how I am able to provide this material free to you) and please "Like" a page if you find something helpful)-
Easter Devotions / Kids talk for Youth Group, Sunday school, or Children's Church -
Sunday School Teachers: Great ideas and illustrations for anyone involved in ministry to children.--- --Christ Centered / Evangelical - focusing on the Gospel as "Good News." - Designed primarily for the short "Children's Focus" during Sunday Morning worship, these Children's sermons can be used in a variety of ways: An introduction to a Sunday School lesson, for Children's Church/Chapel, Youth Groupor Kids club, etc. I trust these Christian sermons for Children will be a great resource for Pastors and Sunday School teachers. Blessings, Pastor Andrew -- Any feed back would be much appreciated! pastorandrew(at) opengatechurch (dot) ca
Note: Stay tuned as I post stories on YouTube -Valuable to God- Gods Love - Secure in God's love- Repentance - These Sermon's for Children are:
- In the near future I will be including ideas on: -- Sunday School Crafts -- Sunday School Gamesor Youth Group Games -- Other Sunday school ideas ...stay tuned! -- Printable Bible quizzes for kids
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