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Choose from the following Children's Sermons:
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Holy Bible or Holy God? Luke 21:5-19
Randy Quinn
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Why is the ceiling so high? Psalm 139, Luke
21:5-19
anonymous
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Johnny Appleseed, Isaiah 65, Luke 21, Joy in
Atl.
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Working,
2 Thess 3:6-13, by Rev. Frank Schaefer
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Holy Bible or Holy God?
Luke 21:5-19
Randy Quinn
Someone asked me an
interesting question this week. It wasn’t the first time I’ve had
someone ask me the same question. But I wasn’t sure what the answer
was, so I thought I’d ask you what you thought. When my Bible gets old
and the pages begin to fall out, what should I do with my Bible?
Do you want to know what I think?
I think it’s a good thing when a Bible is so worn out that we need to wonder
what to do! Some Bibles just sit around and collect dust. And I know of some
Bibles that are really just decorations in people’s homes. So my first thought
is that it’s good when a Bible is used so much that we begin to wonder what to
do with it. It means people have been reading it. And that’s a good thing!
In Synagogues, there are scrolls
made of sheepskin that have the scripture on them. They “dress it up” like a
Queen and almost treat it like a real person. When their scroll gets too worn
out to use, they have a funeral and bury it. (I think the Muslims do the same
thing with worn out Korans, too.)
But Christians don’t worship the
book itself. We know that only God is holy. This book contains the stories of
our faith – stories that tell us about God and how people have responded to
God. But it is not God.
So, like any other book, we can
try to fix the binding and keep using it or we can give it away to someone who
doesn’t have one as nice as ours.
I did look for some answers to
what to do with it when those aren’t options. And you know what I found?
Everyone feels funny about throwing it away, but that’s all we can do. We could
burn it or we could bury it – like the Jewish people do. Or we can thank God we
were able to use it so long and then throw it away and buy a new one.
Let’s pray:
God: thank you for speaking to
us through the pages of scripture. Help us to honor you when we read the Bible,
and to read our Bible so much that we wear them out. But help us not make an
idol out of the book itself as we seek to worship you. We pray in Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Why
is the ceiling so high?
a children's sermon based on Psalm 139, with ties to Luke 21:5-19
anonymous
Why is the ceiling so high in the church? ...maybe they ran out of
money and couldn't finish it by putting a regular ceiling in? .... could
it be so there was more air in the sanctuary to breath? .... maybe it
was so they could put that big cross up on the wall ? (point to the
cross) Well, the real reason the ceiling is so high might surprise you.
We have high ceilings because we want there to be room for God in the
sanctuary. People have believed for a long long time that God is in that
space above us and that is why we have so much space up there because
God is big enough to fill all that space. OK, now what if there was no
church, no high ceilings, for God to be in? Where would God be then?
Would God not be with us if say... we worshipped Him outside?
Lets look at Psalm 139 for an answer.........
Psalms 139:7-10 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee
from your presence. If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make
my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide
me, your right hand will hold me fast.
Hmmm... I guess God is always with us..... and He never leaves us. It
is neat to think about God as always with us even when we are not in
church. But remember when we are in church the ceilings are so high to
remind us God is here.
Johnny
Apple-seed
Isaiah 65, but may tie in to Luke 21
Joy in Atl.
I'm going to take some apple seeds, a little container of dirt and
some water. I'll tell the children I'm hungry and I want a snack. I've
brought along some things to fix my snack but it may take awhile to
prepare it.
Then I'll take out the seeds, ask them if they know what they are,
plant them, water them and then wait a bit. We'll talk about waiting --
how long does it take for an apple tree to grow and bear fruit? No!, if
you want to eat an apple you go to the store and buy apples that come
from trees somebody planted 10-20 years ago!
They planted those trees a long time ago and we eat the fruit now!
Whoever planted those trees had "Vision." Vision is when someone has a
plan for the future and they work toward it now. Vision is when someone
believes that what they do now can create something beautiful and
wonderful a long time from now.
We'll talk a little bit about Johnny Appleseed who had a vision of
planting apple trees all over the land, and people are still eating
apples that come from trees that come from seeds from the apples,
etc..... He just went around planting the seeds, and so many people have
enjoyed those apples! He had vision! If no one ever planted trees but
just planned to get their apples from the store, then there'd be no
apple trees!
We need to have "vision" to plan for what we want the world to look
like. If we want there to be lots of kindness in the world, like God
tells us, then we have to "plant" little seeds of kindness everywhere!
If we want there to be no more hunger in the world, then we have to help
feed hungry people.
Working
A kids' talk based on 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
Props:
optional: pictures of working people (e.g.
plumber, secretary, teacher, nurse, police officer, fire-fighter, pilot,
etc.)
Welcome, my little friends. Today, I
want to talk to you about work. Does anybody do any work around your
house or in the yard? What about homework? Do you like work? What
do you like about it? What don't you like about it?
Work is a strange thing, because it's not always fun, it
can be really hard. But when our work is done we often feel good about
it. When I mow the grass, for instance, it's a lot of work, and my body
may actually hurt a little, but when I see how beautiful the cut grass
looks, I feel good about my work.
The truth is that if we would lay on our backs all day
long, just watching TV or just do fun things we'd get bored after a
while. God made us so we can have both fun and work in our lives. And
play time never is more fun when we've done all our chores and homework,
right?
Do you guys already know what kind of work you want to
do when you grow up? [Skip to next paragraph if
you don't have pictures prepared]. Look at these pictures of
people with different jobs. If you don't already know what kind of work
you may want to do maybe you will get an idea from these pictures (show
pictures and explain).
Allow the kids to share a little about their dream
job.
You know, God has a job for all of you, a special
calling for a particular job that you can do well and that you will have
fun doing. It's just sometimes hard to figure out what it is that we're
called to do. So, how do you feel about praying for God's help with
finding out what we're supposed to do.
Let's pray: "Dear God, thank you for making all of us
with talents and abilities to do your work here on earth. Thank you for
having a calling on each of your children. We do need your help, Lord,
to figure out what it is we're called to do. Please help us understand
that job you have in mind for each of us. Amen."
