(see below)
Get Real,
Mt. 23:1-12
by Rev. F. Schaefer (please scroll down)
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The
Pumpkin Prayer
a children's sermon for the Sunday before Halloween
by Rev. Liz Curtis Higgs
Props: a prepared (previously cut and carved out) Halloween
pumpkin and a candle and lighter
{cut off top of pumpkin} Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things
about you.
{remove innards} Remove the things in my life that don't please you.
Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others.
{cut open eyes} Open my eyes to see the beauty you've made in the
world around me.
{cut out nose} I'm sorry for the times I've turned my nose at the
good food you provide.
{cut out mouth} Let everything I say please You.
{light the candle} Lord, help me show your light to others through
the things I do. Amen
Get Real
a children's sermon based on Mt. 23:1-12
by Rev. F. Schaefer
props: a face mask, or a funny nose with mustache, or
"googly" eye glasses, etc.
Good morning, my little friends, today's lesson is all about being real.
Or, to say it the other way around: it's about not being fake.
I brought this (mask, funny nose, etc.) and I thought I would wear it to
see if you'd still recognize me (put it on your face). Do you still know who I am?
Would you recognize me in the street if I wore this? Would you think I
am strange for wearing it? Would you think I was a fake?
You know, there were some people in Jesus' time who pretended al lot too.
Jesus often told the Pharisees to get real. Now, they didn't wear fake
noses and such. But they pretended to be something they really weren't--at least not
entirely.
What did they do to pretend? Some of them, for example, stood on the
street corners and pretended to look very spiritual as they prayed (assume a dignified
stance and fold your hands to demonstrate this attitude to the kids).
Had they had printed T-shirts back them, the Pharisees probably would have
worn T-shirts with messages like, "I'm proud to pray 5 hours a day," or,
"I read through the entire bible 5 times," or, "I am Mr. Perfect."
You know, sometimes we pretend, too. We make people believe that we
are smarter than we really are. An example of that is when someone tells you
something you didn't know before and you say: "I know."
Jesus likes it when we are being genuine, when we are being real.
When we don't pretend to be perfect and know it all. He likes us best
when we are real and honest and . . .human.
That's not so hard is it? What Jesus asks for in this lesson is to
be ourselves and don't pretend to be someone else, or to be something we're not. But
we need a little help from God to keep reminding us of this lesson. So let's ask God
for help:
"Dear God, help us to be real. Thank you for this lesson
Jesus taught us; thank you that we don't have to pretend with you. That you love us
the way we are, with our mistakes and everything. Help us never to forget that we
are human and that we need you to make our lives whole. Amen."
