___________________________________________________

Choose from the following children's sermons:

• Included in God’s Family, Ephesians 1:15-23, by Rev. Randy Quinn  (see below)
   

• I'll Pray for You, You Pray for Others, John 17:6-19 (see below)
   

• Being There For Each Other, Ascension Day (please scroll down)
   

• Strength in Unity, John 17: 1-11, by Rev. Frank Schaefer (please scroll down)

___________________________________________________
 

Included in God’s Family
based on Ephesians 1:15-23
by Rev. Randy Quinn

How many of you remember when you first became part of your family?  (I doubt any will – although some may have been adopted that I do not know about.)  Most of us become a part of our family when we are born; so we can’t really remember not being a part of our family, can we?

What does it mean to be part of a family?  (This may be hard for them.)  It means we have people who love us and help us; it also means we have people we learn to love and care for.  Sometimes it means we have brothers and sisters; sometimes it means we have to share our toys and our rooms, too.  Some parts of being part of a family are good and some parts don’t seem quite so good, do they?

Did you know that some people are adopted?  Do you know what that means?  (Some may know; although I doubt many will.)  For a lot of different reasons, people become part of a different family than the one where they were born.  When they are adopted, they become part of a new family – it’s as if they were born into that family.  They might have brothers or sisters; they might have to share toys and do chores, too.

Today we will be baptizing a baby.  Kamryn was born this summer – and she has been to church quite a bit since then.  But when we baptize her, we will officially welcome her as a member of our church family.

In some ways, it’s more like being adopted than being born into the family.

It means we are now a part of her family, too.  That means we will learn to love her and care about her.  And it means we will have to teach her what it means to be a part of our church.  What are some of the things you think we should teach her?  (This may be really interesting!)  It means we pray for one another; we learn to give our time and our money; it means we have dinners and celebrate together – and a whole lot more.

Let’s pray:

God:  thank you for including us in your family.  Teach us how to share your love with others so they can know what it means to be a part of our church family.  We pray in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

I'll Pray for You, You Pray for Others
a children's sermon based on John 17:6-19
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

              props: none

Greetings, my little friends.  Today, we're going to talk about something every Christian does probably every day.  It is a four letter word and is something we often do before we eat, or before we go to bed.  Can you guess what it is?

That's right, I'm talking about prayer.  In our lesson from the bible, Jesus prays. Jesus prays to Father God.  Guess for whom Jesus prayed? Do you think he prayed for himself? (shake your head slightly to encourage a "no" answer).  Or do you think he prayed for his disciples?  (nod slightly to encourage a "yes" answer).

Right again.  Jesus prayed for his disciples.  Who are Jesus' disciples?  People who follow him?  yes.  Christians?  yes.   People in this church?  yes.  I?  yes.  You?  yes, of course.  You and I, and all of us here are included in Jesus' prayer.  Jesus prayed for his disciples, since we are his disciples, he prayed for us, too.

Now, what kinds of things do you think Jesus asked  for his disciples / for us?

What kind of things do we ask for others when we pray?  Do we ask for protection?  yes, and so did Jesus.  Jesus asked Father God to protect us.

Do we ask God to make their faith stronger?  yes, an so did Jesus ask that we might grow in faith.  Do we ask God to help us love one another?  yes, and so did Jesus ask for love and unity.

Listen to Jesus praying for us.  Let me read it to you from the bible: "Holy Father . . . Keep those who follow me safe...then they will be one with each other, just as you and I are one . . . Father, I don't ask you to take my followers out of this world, but keep them safe from the evil one."

Aren't these wonderful words?  And you know the bible also tells us (Heb. 4:14) that Jesus--even though he is no longer here on earth in human form--still asks Father God for our safety.  Isn't that good to know?  Doesn't that make you fell good on the inside?

I think, a part of being one with one another means that we pray for each other, just as Jesus prayed for us.  That's why we pray every Sunday for all who are ill, home-bound, or in need.  That's why you pray for the needs of your loved ones during prayer at bed-time.

If there is only one thing you keep from this children's message, let it be this:

"know that Jesus prays for you." and "keep praying for others."  Amen.

Being There For Each Other
a kids talk for Ascension Day
by Rev. F. Schaefer

Greeting, my little friends. Today, I want to talk about being there for one another.  Because no matter what happens in life, we will always have friends, family, and the church, to be there for one another to help each other and encourage each other.

Today we celebrate Ascension Day--the day that the Lord Jesus was taken up into heaven to be with God forever.  Can you imagine how sad the disciples must have been?

It can be really sad and hard when we lose someone we love--even when we know that they are going to be with God.  Does anyone here have a grandma or grandpa who went away to be with God?  Even though we know they are with God, it is still hard for us, isn't it?    We miss them.

And in times like this, we--the ones who are left behind--need to be there for each other. And a great way of showing that is by reaching out to someone and hug them.     Hugging is a great way of encouraging and caring for others when they are sad.   That's why you see a lot of people hugging at a funeral, or in the hospital, or in church.

Who of you is kind of sad this morning?  Who needs a hug?  (Give the child(ren) that raise(s) their hand a hug).  Now, how do you feel now?  A little better?

A hug says to a sad person: "I'm here for you."  And it also says:    "You're going to be alright."

And that's what Jesus said to the disciples too.  He said: "you're going to be fine, because I don't just leave you.  I will send you a helper, a comforter, someone who'll be there for you--the Holy Spirit." I am going to put the Holy Spirit in your hearts--into every believers heart. 

And if we stick together as Christians, we can help each other and encourage each other through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  And a great way of being there for each other is by hugging each other.

Maybe we could all do that today; we could hug someone today and tell them that we are here for them, that we love them, can you do that for me and for Jesus?  O.K.

Prayer: "Dear God, we thank you that Jesus is with you and that so many of our loved ones are with you in heaven.  We also thank you that you have not left us by ourselves, but that you have given us your Spirit and each other.   Help us remember that we need to be there for one another.  Help us to show our love and support for each other. Amen."

Strength in Unity
A children's sermon based on John 17: 1-11
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Props: thin, uncooked spaghettis.

Tell the kids that one Christian standing alone cannot do much by themselves. Demonstrate this by taking a single strand of dry spaghetti and stand it up straight (keep it standing by holding it between the thumb and index finger of your left hand--if you're a right-hander). Using the palm of your right hand, apply some pressure on it from the top. This will cause the spaghetti strand to break (let a volunteer child try if possible).

Just like, one spaghetti strand, a single Christian is not very strong all by him or herself.

Now take a whole bunch of spaghettis out and hold them standing up with your left hand.   Apply some pressure on the bunch with the palm of your right hand.  The spaghettis will stand strong (let a volunteer child try if possible).

Tell the kids that several Christians together can accomplish a lot.

In our Scripture lesson this morning, Jesus prays for unity.  He prays that all his followers, Christians around the world, would stand together and be one.  Jesus prayed this prayer because Jesus knew that we need each other to be able to be strong.

The sad thing is that a lot of Christians in the world are divided.  There are different kinds of churches and professions of faith.  And there are some Christians who don't go to church anywhere, because of the divisions and the strife.

Wouldn't it be wonderful, if all Christians were to stand together and help each other out?  Just imagine all churches would work together.  We could really make a difference in our neighborhoods and community.  Instead it seems sometimes as if every little church does it's own thing.  Let us pray this morning that Christians will understand that we really need one another.  Let us pray to God for unity, just as Jesus prayed for unity.

Prayer: "Lord Jesus, just as you have prayed, we, too, ask you to make us one.   Let all Christians in this town realize that we need each other.  We need your help to do this; please help us to reach out to one another.  Thank you, Lord. Amen."