Gary Neal Hansen's Blog, page 14

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:51-58–The Bread of Life

Carl Bloch, “Christ and Child” (a.k.a. “The kid who bit me”). Public domain.

As I write this children’s sermon on John 6:51-58 I am acutely aware that it is part of a series. In “Year B” the Revised Common Lectionary gives churches five weeks in a row traveling through John 6.

(You can see my regular meditation on this passage here.)

My first thought on every one of these five Sundays is to talk about the Lord’s Supper. Those references to bread, whether in Jesus’ hands or as he makes the connection with his body lead me right to the Eucharist.

And that’s clearly intended: Jesus is saying things that are only explained by the Lord’s Supper even though it won’t be instituted until the last week of his earthly ministry.

Nobody in this story has a clue about what will become the most important Christian sacrament. No wonder they were confused.

Anyway, each of the past three weeks of this series I mostly avoided talking about the Eucharist, because I didn’t want five children’s sermons in a row to be on the same topic. 

The other four weeks there are other interesting and important things going on. Not this week. When it’s time for a children’s sermon on John 6:51-58, it’s time to talk about the Lord’s Supper. 

One thing complicates this as a topic: different denominations handle children’s participation in the Eucharist very differently.

Catholics wait for years and have an official, very formal, “First Communion.” Orthodox give infants the Eucharist immediately upon baptism. Protestants have policies that land somewhere in between.

If I say something that conflicts with your church’s approach, feel free to edit!

The bigger problem is that I’m trying to explain a metaphor to people whose brains haven’t developed that capacity. If you use it, let me know how it goes…

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:51-58

Good morning kids! I’m so glad you are here today. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

Last time we were together we heard a story about Jesus and bread. Actually this morning is our fourth story in a row about Jesus and bread.

First, Jesus fed more than 5000 people with just five loaves of bread.Then, the people Jesus fed followed him across the lake to ask him some questions.Then last week Jesus gave a long speech saying how he is “The Bread of Life.”

Here’s what happened at the end of Jesus’ speech — at least this is how I imagine it.

A Misunderstanding

Jesus finished off his big speech saying, “So there you have it! I’m the Bread of Life. If you want to live forever you have to eat my body!”

Well the people in the crowd were pretty confused about that.

One of them said, “No way. How am I supposed to eat his body?”

Someone else said, “That’s not okay at all. People are not supposed to eat other people.”

They were muttering and complaining. But then one kid who had been listening very carefully snuck up behind Jesus and bit him on the leg.

“Ouch!” said Jesus. “Somebody bit me!” 

Jesus looked down and there he was. It was a little boy about your age and he had a very mischievous grin on his face.

“What are you doing down there?” said Jesus, stepping back. Jesus was smiling. He wasn’t actually mad at the boy, but he didn’t want to be bitten any more.

“You said we had to eat your body!” said the boy. “And when we have chicken I always like the leg best.” 

“You are a total goofball,” Jesus said, laughing. “I think I better explain a little more.”

An Explanation

“I told you I’m ‘The Bread of Life’ and you need to eat me, but you can’t just pull parts off of me for dinner, or chomp on my leg. It’s a word picture: I want you to compare me with ordinary bread.”

The boy still looked a little confused. “What do you mean ‘compare’?”

“Okay,” Jesus said, “let’s take it step by step. What do you do with bread?”

“Eat it?”

“Right,” said Jesus. “Why?”

“Because I’m hungry?” said the boy.

“Right again,” said Jesus. “What would happen if you didn’t eat your bread? Like maybe you didn’t eat any breakfast, and you didn’t eat any lunch, and you didn’t eat any dinner?”

“I’d be miserable!” said the boy.

“What else? What if you still don’t eat your bread on the next day?” 

“I’ll probably get weak and sick. Maybe I’d die,” said the boy.

“Right,” said Jesus. “You are a very bright kid. If you don’t eat your bread, you’ll get hungry. Eventually you would starve! I’m saying you need to think of me the same way. When you feel empty inside, hungry for joy, what you really need is more of me.”

“You?”

“Me,” said Jesus. “If you don’t have me, you’re going to get hungry, and weak–not in your body, but in your spirit. But if you have me, I’ll fill you up with life—and that life will last forever.”

The Lord’s Supper

“But how am I supposed to eat you?”

(Now here’s the part where I’m really imagining more than the Bible tells us in this passage. Even more than the part where that kid bit Jesus’ leg.)

So Jesus looked at the boy and he remembered how hard it is for kids to understand word pictures. Then he knelt down and whispered in the boy’s ear.

“I’ll tell you something that all these grown ups won’t know about for quite a while. I’m going to teach all my friends how to eat my body. When we’re all at dinner one night, I’m going to take a loaf of bread and say ‘This BREAD is my BODY! Eat this bread and you’ll have me inside you. I’ll fill you up! I’ll give you life FOREVER!”

And that’s what we do in our church every time we have the Lord’s Supper. Our pastor takes bread and lifts it up and says the words of Jesus: “This is my body, broken for you. Take it, and eat it, and remember me!”

Wondering

I wonder if you’ve ever been totally confused about something Jesus said.I wonder if you’ve ever wanted to be close to Jesus in a way that felt almost like being hungry.I wonder if you’ve ever eaten the bread of the Lord’s Supper and thought about how now Jesus is inside you forever.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 6:51-58–The Bread of Life appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:35 & 41-51

The Last Supper, Juan de Juanez (public domain)

Writing a children’s sermon on John 6:35 & 41-51 is challenging the way much of John’s Gospel is challenging.

That’s the lectionary Gospel for “Proper 14(19)” in Year B. I wrote a meditation on it a while back that you can see here. It’s part of a five week journey through John 6 looking hard at Jesus’ teaching on himself as “the Bread of Life.”)

The challenge is that most of it is a long speech by Jesus. Wonderful stuff, theologically rich, inspiring — but a long speech without much action around it.

If you are a regular here, you know my preferred approach to children’s sermons is to tell a story. Usually I retell the Gospel narrative in a way that fills in some of the gaps, highlights some of the possible issues at stake, and feels light and maybe sometimes funny.

This week I’ll just be chatting with the kids. A children’s sermon on John 6:35 & 41-51 should aim to help them understand something central to the text. That’s another of my core commitments on the way to making a children’s sermon a children’s sermon.

You can let me know if you think this hits the mark or not.

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:35 & 41-51

Hello kids! I’m so glad you are here. Thanks for coming up for the children’s sermon.

The passage we read this morning from the Gospel is a little bit different than usual.

Usually, the Gospel has stories—stories about Jesus and his friends, or stories that Jesus told when he was with his friends.

Well today’s Gospel passage isn’t really a story. It’s part of a long speech Jesus gave. I want to talk to you about one thing Jesus was trying to help people understand in that long speech.

Why People Follow Jesus

One thing Jesus is explaining is why some people follow him, and some people don’t.

I wonder if you’ve ever thought about why some people are followers of Jesus.

The reason some people follow Jesus is not that they are better than other people, or smarter than other people, or anything like that.

It isn’t really even that someone convinced them that it was a good idea to follow Jesus.

You probably come to church and hear about Jesus because your parents or some other grown-up brings you. But eventually you’ll decide for yourself if you want to follow Jesus, like his friends Peter and John, and Mary and Martha.

Here’s what Jesus said:

No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me;

John 6:44 NRSV

People follow Jesus because God is doing something to make them want to be close to him. It isn’t so much our big decision. It’s God’s invitation inside our hearts.

I wonder if you feel like you want to be close to Jesus. If you don’t feel like it today, that doesn’t mean you never will. You might tomorrow, or next year, or when you are a grown up.

How does God draw us to follow Jesus? He talks about three ways in this passage of the Gospel.

Believe

When you start to want to be close to Jesus, it’s a lot like when you meet someone who seems like they could be a really good friend.

When you meet someone who seems fun, and who seems kind, you start to trust them. The word we use for that trust is “believing.” We believe that our new friend will treat us well and be good to be around.

That’s one of the words Jesus used for what we do when we belong to him. Jesus said, “believe in me.”

When God helps us see that Jesus is kind and good, that he’s reliable and treats us well, we start to believe in him.

Eat

Another thing that happens when God is starting to draw us to follow Jesus is that we feel something inside. It’s almost like being hungry. We want more and more of Jesus just like we want a great big sandwich at lunch time.

Jesus actually said that he’s kind of like the bread in that sandwich.

“I am the bread of life”, Jesus said. He said he was a special kind of bread that came down from heaven to fill us up.

That’s actually a very important idea: Jesus is like bread that fills us when we are hungry.

You hear about that whenever we have the Lord’s Supper in worship. The pastor holds up a loaf of bread and says words that Jesus said about bread: “This is my body, broken for you. Take and eat!”

When God draws you to want to belong to Jesus, we start to want more of him inside, just like we want bread when we’re hungry.

Come

A third thing Jesus said about how God, his Father, draws us close to Jesus is simply that we come.

“Come to me!” Jesus said, in this passage and in other parts of the Gospels.

If we draw close to Jesus, if we come to him, then he feeds us inside.

The nice thing about Jesus saying we can come to him is that there are ways we can really do that.

Jesus says it helps if we try to learn from God, his Father. That’s part of why people come to Church, and Sunday School, and Vacation Bible School. And that’s why we read the Bible. We listen, and we watch, and we read, and inside we start to learn from God.

But even when we aren’t at church, there is a very good way to come to Jesus, to draw close to him. It’s called praying.

Any time you want, you can turn your attention to Jesus and talk to him. It can be in the morning when you wake up, or when you are out playing, or at bedtime–or any other time.

When you pray, you can tell Jesus anything you want to. You can tell him what you are grateful for. You can tell him what you are mad about. You can tell him what confuses you about your friends or your family. And Jesus always listens.

The more you come to him in prayer, the closer you’ll be.

Wondering I wonder if you feel like Jesus is someone good, and kind, and fun to be with. I wonder if you ever feel like you want more of Jesus in your life, kind of like when you feel hungry. I wonder if you ever try to come close to Jesus by praying.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com. You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 6:35 & 41-51 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:24-35 — Questions and Answers

Questions by Nick Yougson CC by-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images

My children’s sermon on John 6:24-35 is the second in a series. The lectionary spends five weeks in John chapter 6, where Jesus does things and says things about bread. Some of it is material bread. Some of it is metaphorical bread. But it’s all bread, all the time.

(I have a regular meditation on this text. You can see it here.)

Last week, a kid brought some bread that ended up feeding an enormous crowd.

This week bread is a metaphor — a “word picture” as I put it with my kids. That’s something seductive for most preachers of children’s sermons. 

So many children’s sermons are built on elaborate metaphors, often about random objects. 

It’s fun for the preacher. However it is really a dangerous temptation when it comes to children’s sermons.

Here’s the deal: kids at the ages most likely to come up for a children’s sermons have almost no capacity to grasp metaphors. Elaborate metaphors shoot over their heads to their parents. They smile and nod, but they don’t get it.

One pastor I really love once did a children’s sermon which included some peppercorns. She showed them around, and told about how someone in her family once bit on a peppercorn. You know: hot, unpleasant stuff.

I don’t actually remember what the intended message was. Something metaphorical.

Anyway, after church we asked our kids what they thought the message of the children’s sermon was.

“Don’t eat pepper?”

So if that’s what can happen with a random object metaphor, I at least pause before emphasizing a genuine biblical metaphor like Jesus saying “I am the bread of life.”

This week my children’s sermon on John 6:24-35 will focus instead on the questions asked by the crowd and Jesus’ funky answers.

Hey, I’ve got three more weeks in John 6 to talk to the kids about Jesus as bread.

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:24-35

Good morning kids! I’m so glad you are here. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

This morning, the story about Jesus we read in the service picks up just after what we read last week.

Last week Jesus took some bread that a little kid had brought along, and used it to feed 5000 people.

Then he sent his disciples across the lake in their boat, while he went off, alone, to pray.

Well, when Jesus finished praying, he walked across the water and got in the boat when they were halfway across. 

But the people on the shore didn’t know Jesus had walked across and jumped into the boat.

Those people on the shore wanted to find Jesus’ disciples. So they got in other boats and went across the lake to where the disciples had gone.

Our story is about what happened when the crowd got out of their boats and found Jesus there with his friends. They were very confused, and so they asked Jesus some questions. Jesus gave them some surprising answers.

First Question

“Hey, Jesus!” someone cried out. “How’d you get here? You were on the shore when your disciples all sailed away!”

Well, then a funny thing happened. Jesus didn’t answer their question. 

“I’m not going to tell you. You are asking for the wrong reasons. You just filled your tummies with the miracle bread I gave you, and so you want some more.”

I think they probably weren’t very happy that Jesus wouldn’t tell them how he got there. 

Second Question

But that didn’t stop them from asking another question.

“Hey, Jesus!” someone else said. “I want to do what you do. I want to work for God! How can I do the kind of work God wants done in the world?”

Well, then another funny thing happened. Jesus gave them a very unexpected answer. 

“Here’s the most important kind of work God wants people to do in the world: Put your faith in the person God sent into the world — ME!”

I suspect that the person who asked the question was a little frustrated by Jesus funny answer. That person wanted to heal people like Jesus, or teach wise things like Jesus. But now Jesus said just to believe in him — because God sent Jesus into the world.

Third Question

But that didn’t stop the crowd from asking still another question.

“What have you ever done to show us we should believe in you?” they asked. “If you want us to believe in you, Jesus, then you better do something really impressive. Like remember how a long time ago Moses gave the people bread from heaven?”

Well, then another really funny thing happened. Maybe two funny things. 

First, Jesus didn’t point out that they just saw him do the most amazing thing ever. He could have said “What, didn’t you notice when I took 5 loaves and fed 5000 people? Didn’t you notice when there were twelve whole baskets full of leftovers? That’s more than when we started!”

But he didn’t mention that at all.

The second funny thing was he told them they didn’t even understand what they were asking for.

“You don’t remember it right,” he said. “It wasn’t Moses who gave bread way back then. It was God, my Father. And God is giving you something even better than bread right now: God is giving you ME.”

Wondering

I wonder how the people felt when Jesus wouldn’t really answer their questions.

I wonder if you’ve ever tried to ask God a question and had trouble hearing the answer.

I wonder if Jesus ever hears our questions and wants to tell us that we should have asked something a little different.

I wonder what it meant that believing in Jesus was God’s work, and that having Jesus was better than bread.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 6:24-35 — Questions and Answers appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 6:1-21

Feeding the 5000, CC by Joel Penner 2.0

When I set out to write a children’s sermon on John 6:1-21, the first thing I have to do is get over myself. 

If you haven’t picked it up from reading my children’s sermons, and the meditations on the Gospel texts from the last three years, I often think the lectionary is kind of odd. 

So what’s odd about doing a children’s sermon on John 6:1-21? This passage is John’s version of the stuff the lectionary chopped out of last week’s section of Mark.

Leaving out Mark’s version and reading John’s instead grates against my sense of the literary coherence of Mark’s Gospel.

Maybe the better approach to getting more of John in our preaching is what my dear friend and former colleague Tim Slemmons did. He created a whole fourth year, “Year D,” for the lectionary. He built it out of John’s Gospel and other good stuff the lectionary left out of years A, B, and C. (You can pick up a copy on Amazon through this affiliate link if you want to check it out.)

End of rant.

Writing a children’s sermon on John 6:1-21, the best choice is to choose one of the two main stories which the text includes. One is the feeding of the 5000. The other is Jesus walking on the water. 

Both are great, but with kids you just have to pick one and stick to it.

In my Monday Meditation on this text I focused on the walking on water bit. (You can see it here.)

For the kids, I chose the part with the kid in it.

(By the way, if you use this one, when you get to where Jesus took, blessed, broke, and gave the bread, I highly recommend you make the motions with your hands as if you had a loaf of bread.)

A children’s sermon on John 6:1-21

Hello kids! Welcome! I’m so glad you are here today. Thank you for coming up for the children’s sermon.

I want to tell you a story about something that happened to Jesus and his friends.

Jesus had been teaching in Jerusalem. While he was there, he also healed a man who hadn’t been able to walk for thirty eight years. That’s a long time.

Well the man Jesus healed was so excited he told everybody what Jesus had done for him. And pretty soon a whole lot of other people came, hoping Jesus would help them too.

Jesus and his friends were just leaving Jerusalem to go to another town, a place called Capernaum. But the whole crowd decided to follow them.

Well, by the time they all got to Capernaum it was late in the day.

A Hungry Crowd

Jesus said, “Hey guys, do you hear that sound?”

“What sound?” asked Peter.

“Shhh!” Jesus said. “Everybody listen.” 

So Jesus’ friends were very quiet. Then they heard it:

“Rumble, rumble, rumble!”

“Hear that?” asked Jesus?

“Sorry!” said John. “I think that’s my tummy rumbling.”

“Mine too!” said Nathaniel. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“It’s not just you,” said Jesus. “Look at all these people who followed us from Jerusalem! None of them has had a bite to eat all day.”

“Wow!” said Philip. “There must be, what, 5000 people!”

“Yep,” said Jesus. “That’s a lot of rumbling tummies. I have an idea: Philip, why don’t you go buy everybody some food?”

“Come on, Jesus,” said Philip. “We don’t have that kind of money. If we all emptied our pockets we couldn’t buy enough for everyone to get a tiny bite of bread!”

Now Jesus had an idea, but he wanted the disciples to figure out what to do.

“Hmm…” he said. “That’s a problem. Anybody have any ideas? I mean we can’t let all these people starve.”

The disciples all looked down at their feet. They were afraid that if Jesus caught their eye he would ask them to solve the problem.

A Kid With Bread & Fish

But then Andrew piped up. “Hey Jesus! I just was talking to this kid from the crowd. He had a basket with, like, five loaves of barley bread.”

Peter scowled at Andrew. “That’s not gonna solve anything!” he said. Peter was Andrew’s older brother, and sometimes older brothers can be a bit critical.

“Well,” said Andrew, “I thought they looked pretty tasty. Plus he has two fish.”

“Andrew,” scolded Peter, “that’s a totally dumb idea. If you can’t think of a way to feed 5000 people, just be quiet.”

“Andrew,” said Jesus, sort of ignoring Peter, “could you bring that kid to me?”

“Sure” said Andrew, and he did. 

Jesus squatted down to kid level. His big brown eyes were smiling. “Wow!” he said, “Looks like you’ve got some good food there.”

And the kid said, “Yeah, my mom sent me to the market for bread and fish. I was on my way home—but I heard about you, so I came to listen.”

“That’s great,” said Jesus. “Do you think maybe I could borrow your basket of groceries for a minute? We’ve got some very hungry people here.”

“Well,” said the kid, “I don’t know. My mom might get mad if I don’t bring our food home.”

Then Jesus whispered something in the kid’s ear, and the kid’s eyes grew big and wide. 

“Really?” asked the kid.

“Really,” said Jesus, “I promise.”

An Unexpected Feast

So Jesus took the basket of bread and did what you’ve seen the pastor do every time we have communion.

He took the loaves.He blessed the bread with a prayer. He broke the bread into pieces. And he gave out the pieces for the people to eat.

But as they passed the bread around something very surprising happened. The more pieces people broke off to eat, the more bread was still there to pass around.

Pretty soon, all 5000 people were full, and nobody’s tummies were rumbling.

Then Jesus made an announcement.

“Okay everybody, thanks for coming! I don’t want any of this good bread to go to waste. Could you please help collect all the pieces? This kid here is going to take them all home.”

So they collected all the pieces—and thy filled up twelve big baskets. 

The kid was very surprised. “Hey!” he said, “There’s more food here than before we started eating!”

“That’s right,” said Jesus. “That’s how it works in the Kingdom of heaven.”

“But how am I going to get twelve baskets of food home to my mom?”

“Well,” said Jesus, “I just happen to have twelve very good friends here. They can each carry one for you. Can you show them the way?”

And off they went.

Wondering

I wonder what the disciples thought when they realized Jesus expected them to feed 5000 people.I wonder how that kid felt when feeling he realized his little bag of groceries had become such an amazing feast.I wonder if you’ve ever been to a church potluck where so many people ate but there was still so much left over.I wonder if you’ve ever been surprised when you gave something very small and it turned out to be something very big to someone else.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 6:1-21 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

Christ Healing the Sick, by Washington Allston (public domain)

It’s kind of funny writing a children’s sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56. It’s as if the lectionary gave us a sandwich with nothing but the bread. 

A couple weeks ago I referred to “sandwich stories” where Mark cuts one story in two and sticks another in the middle like the tuna fish between the slices of bread.

This time the lectionary gives us two slices of bread: two similar sequences of Jesus in ministry with crowds of people seeking his help.

But the tuna fish is gone: we hear not a word about Jesus feeding the 5000, going off to pray, walking on the water, or calming the winds, all of which happens in verses 35-52. 

(You can find my regular meditation on this text here.)

What we get is two sort of “day in the life” passages pushed together. There’s no heavy message emphasized here, as there might be in a parable or a focused miracle story.

On the other hand, this division of the text highlights one important feature of Mark’s telling of Jesus’ story: the sense that Jesus was so enormously popular that crowds hounded him everywhere.

It’s something I first noticed at a theatrical performance, where an actor had memorized the entire book and simply recited it to the audience over the course of the evening. I’d read the book many times, but had never heard it in one sitting. (Two, counting intermission.)

You don’t notice it so easily if you encounter the Gospel in tiny bits for meditation, or study, or sermons. 

A children’s sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 is just the time to show it to everybody. It comes in a sort of three act drama of busyness.

I admit, the bit about the mayor may be over the top.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 

Hello! Good morning kids! Im so glad you are here today. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon. 

A couple weeks ago, in the story we heard from the Gospel, Jesus sent his friends out on a mission trip. Out they went, two by two, to the villages and towns all over the region. Everywhere they went they tried to do just what they’d seen Jesus do.

Well today’s story from the Gospel tells what happened the day they came back from their mission trip.

Act I

A couple weeks had passed, and Jesus was really excited to hear what had happened on their trip.

They knew just where to find Jesus, down by the lakeshore. Two by two they drifted back, and they all started swapping stories.

“Jesus, you won’t believe it!” said Peter. “This one time? In this one village? I taught about the kingdom of God like for two hours! And you know what?—“

But just then somebody tugged on Jesus’ sleeve,

“Excuse me?” she said, “But my daughter is so sick. Could you come and help her?”

So Jesus had to excuse himself for a minute.

“Hold on, Peter! I really want to hear your story, but I need to help this woman’s daughter. I’ll be right back.”

Well one thing led to another. Jesus healed the sick girl, but on his way back someone else needed help. Then someone else. And then someone else.

About an hour passed before Jesus made his way back to where his friends were waiting to tell him about their amazing mission trip. But when he got close he saw they were surrounded by a huge crowd, all wanting to be helped and healed.

“Just a minute, guys,” Jesus said. “Why don’t you get on the boat and I’ll join you in a bit.”

So the disciples got on the boat, and Jesus took care of the people.

Then all of a sudden Jesus jumped on board and said “Quick! Push off! Let’s sail to somewhere quiet where we can all get a little rest.”

Off they sailed, talking about the mission trip all the way.

Act II

But back on the shore, back where Jesus had just finished healing people, there were still people arriving.

Someone said “Hey where did Jesus go? My wife and I are both sick. We wanted him to heal us.”

“Look!” someone else said “They’re sailing over to that cove down past town. Let’s go!”

And so the whole crowd took off. The healthy ones ran. Some people walked. Some were on stretchers, so others had to carry them.

When Jesus and his friends were near land they looked up. They had a big surprise. The whole crowd was there waiting for them.

“Hi Jesus!” they shouted, waving from the shore.

“We’ve been waiting for you!” some said. 

“What took you so long?” others asked.

As they were stepping off the boat, Peter was on the middle of a story. “So then we went into another village, and they had already heard about how I taught in the first village. So they said ‘could you teach us too?’”

But then a little boy tugged on Jesus’ sleeve and said to him “I have a wart on my foot, Jesus. Can you heal it?”

“Sure, bud!” Jesus said. And he did.

But by the time he was done, all the people who wanted Jesus’ to help them crowded around him. It took almost another hour before Jesus could find his friends again.

When he did, he said, “Quick! Get back on the boat! And don’t forget our dinner!”

So they all piled back on the boat. They pushed off from shore and set sail for another town a bit farther away, called Gennesaret.

Act III

But the people on the shore were still watching.

Word travels fast through small towns and villages, and long before Jesus got to Gennesaret, another huge crowd had gathered.

As Jesus stepped off the boat a man stepped up to meet him.

“Welcome Jesus!” said the man. “I am the mayor of Gennesaret. I know you are a very busy man, so I’ve organized this to make your work quick and easy.”

“Oh?” asked Jesus.

“We heard how you healed a woman merely by letting her touch the hem of your garment. So I’ve lined up all the sick people in two rows. If you could kindly walk down the line between them, I’ve instructed them to reach out and touch your clothing.”

Jesus looked at the man, wondering. “This isn’t how I normally do it,” he said. “I kind of like to talk to people. You know: get to know them. Let them know that I really care.”

“Well,” said the mayor, “no need to worry about that today. People will feel plenty cared about when they are healed. Just step this way please.”

And pretty much everywhere Jesus went, whether in towns and villages or on people’s farms, they reached out to touch him knowing that he had the power of God to make them better.

Wondering

I wonder how Jesus felt when everywhere he went people came running to ask him for help.I wonder how the disciples felt when they wanted to tell Jesus about their mission trip but people kept interrupting, asking Jesus for help.I wonder of you’ve ever had a problem and wanted to reach out to Jesus for help.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Just $1 per month brings my children’s sermons straight to your inbox. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:14-29–Grown-Ups Behaving Badly

Salome with the Head of John the Baptist, by Caravaggio (public domain)

Think of this children’s sermon on Mark 6:14-29 as kind of experimental. Pretend even. It is a text I’d more likely avoid, rejoicing that the lectionary also provides Old Testament and Epistle readings. 

(You can read my Monday Meditation on this text here.)

But here on my blog I’m happy to see what I can do with any lectionary Gospel.

Here you go. Use with discretion. 

You might say it’s one of the Bible’s “horror stories.” There is no “Go ye and do likewise” in this one. 

You know how in most Bible study groups, the discussion ends on “application”? The question is always “How do I try to do this in my Christian life?” Not here.

Yes, this is a text in the Bible. No, you should not try this at home.

Here we need less “application” and more “reaction.” In a way that’s a good reminder: Obeying rules and imitation are not the main things for Christians. We live our Christian lives in conversation with the Bible, bringing its stories and teachings into our thinking as we seek to live wisely for the love of God.

Let me know what you think of the approach I take to this children’s sermon on Mark 6:14-29. How do you think the kids would respond? How do you think the parents would respond?

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:14-29

Hey, good morning kids! Thanks for coming up for the children’s sermon. I’m so glad you are here today.

We always read a story from the Gospels in our service. Usually the stories are about Jesus. But today’s story is really very strange. Even though the Gospels are the books about Jesus, Jesus doesn’t come into this story at all.

Instead, this a story about grown-ups doing very dumb things. Because you know, sometimes grown-ups really do some stupid stuff. We try. But a lot of the time we get it wrong. 

And sometimes grown-ups give kids some very bad instructions. 

A Birthday Party

Here’s the story:

There was this kid, who had a complicated family.  Her name was Salome, and her step-dad was King Herod. Her mom used to be married to Herod’s brother, but both couples got divorced and Herod married his brother’s wife. 

Whew!

So anyway, on Herod’s birthday there was a big party. Salome really loved to dance, and so she came in to do a dance to entertain the guests. 

Well Herod thought Salome’s dance was awesome. He said,

“Salome, you are an awesome dancer! I’m so proud of you. To reward you I want to give you a present. What do you want?”

Well Salome didn’t know what to say. It’s kind of awkward being asked what you want for a present in front of everybody at the king’s birthday party.

“Um… I don’t know?” she said.

“Well, think about it,” Herod said. “You can have anything! Almost anything… Let’s say anything you want up to half of my entire kingdom. How’s that sound?”

Well frankly Salome thought it sounded pretty awkward. And it was a pretty dumb thing for a grown-up to do, to publicly offer a gift of half of everything he owned. 

“I think I need to ask my mom,” Salome said, and she rushed out of the room.

An Uncomfortable Decision

Well when Salome told her mom, her mom got a kind of wicked gleam in her eye. 

“This is great, sweetie!” she said. “Now I can finally get rid of that rotten scoundrel John the Baptist!”

Salome’s mom was really mad at John the Baptist, because John had said that she wasn’t supposed to marry her first husband’s brother.

“Here’s what you do,” she said to Salome. “You go back to the party and tell your stepdad that the present you really, really want, more than anything else in the whole world, is John the Baptist’s head.”

Salome thought her mom must be joking.

“John the Baptist’s head? What? No, mom…”

“That’s right,” her mom said. “Have him bring it right away. Have him put it on a nice silver platter. You’ll get to keep the platter.”

Well Salome didn’t want to do it. 

Salome’s mom had done a really rotten thing. Salome’s mom put Salome right in the middle of her own argument with her husband. She asked Salome do something very embarrassing and awful in front of a whole crowd of people. She used Salome to get someone killed.

“Mom I can’t!” Salome pleaded.

“Do it,” her mom said. “Now.”

Salome felt stuck. She didn’t know what to do to make it all okay. So Salome thought maybe the easiest way to get past it was to do what her mom said — even thought her mom was very very wrong. 

A Really Gross Present

Salome told Herod she wanted John the Baptist’s head on a platter. 

So Herod told his soldiers to go and get it. 

And they did.

Then guess what everybody at the party said?

They said,

“Ew! Gross! Yuck!”

Say it with me:

“Ew! Gross! Yuck!”

So that’s the story of how John the Baptist died. And that’s a story about how sometimes grown ups do really dumb and awful things. 

Wondering

I wonder what Salome felt and thought when her mother gave her that instruction?I wonder if you’ve ever noticed grown ups doing really dumb things?I wonder if you’ve ever been given an instruction that you really thought was the wrong thing to do?I wonder if there’s a way to stick close to God even when life is confusing and hard?

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:14-29–Grown-Ups Behaving Badly appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

Mission Trip–A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:1-13

Narranca Elementary Local Mission Trip (cc by Existence Church 2.0)

This week: a children’s sermon on Mark 6:1-13 — Jesus’ friends go on their first mission trip.

Actually it’s just on the last half of the passage. The lectionary selection has two separate but related stories:

First Jesus has a frustrating day in ministry. (6:1-6a)Then Jesus sends his friends out on their first mission trip. (6:6b-13)

If you happen to have read my “Monday Meditation” on this passage, you know that I think the first half of the passage is kind of funny. Jesus is frustrated by his old neighbors’ criticism and lack of faith, and he was “only” able to “lay hands on a few sick people and heal them.” 

That sounds like a better day in ministry than I’ll ever see. 

Anyway, I think it makes sense to focus on just one of the stories.

I’m choosing to write my children’s sermon on Mark 6:1-13 on the last half, because I think it contains stuff kids in a church might find more familiar. You know: Mission trips, packing for a journey, that kind of thing.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:1-13

Hello Kids! It is so good to see you. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

I want to tell you a story from the passage of the Gospel we read in this morning’s service.

Jesus and His Friends

Jesus was traveling around with his friends. And each place they went, Jesus helped people. 

Just that day he’d been teaching people about the kingdom of God. Plus he met some people who were sick, and he healed them. 

Jesus actually did this kind of thing a lot. So finally his friends decided to ask Jesus about it. 

Of course they made Peter ask the question. 

“Um, Jesus?” Peter said. “Why is it that you always make us come along when you are healing and teaching and stuff?”

“What?” asked Jesus “Don’t you like traveling around with me?”

“Oh no, nothing like that,” said Peter, “It’s great and all. We’re having lots of fun. But—I mean, why do you want us along?”

“Ah, good question Pete.” Jesus said. “I want you to learn how to help people. Someday, you know, you’ll be doing all the same kinds of things I do.”

“No way!” said Peter.

“Yes way!” said Jesus.

The Mission Trip

“In fact I just had a great idea. I’m going to send you guys out on a little practice trip. You’ll have a mission. We’ll call it a ‘Mission trip.’”

“Ooh…” said Thomas. “That sounds kind of scary. I doubt I could do that.”

“Well I think it sounds great,” said Peter. “Let’s make it a contest. I bet I can go farther than any of you guys! I bet I can teach more and—“

“Um, slow down there, Peter,” said Jesus. “It’s not a contest. And I’m not sending any of you alone. You’re so confident, and Thomas is so full of doubts, I think the two of you should travel together. The rest of you pair up. It’s the buddy system.”

So each of Jesus’ twelve friends found a traveling partner.

The Not-Packing List

“Okay,” said Peter, “Now we just need a packing list. I have this big backpack I brought from home. What should I put in it?”

Jesus said, “Well, Pete, you can skip the backpack. That’s number one on my not-packing list.”

“What’s a ‘not-packing’ list?” asked Thomas, kind of nervously.

Jesus said, “It’s a list of all the things not to bring on this mission trip. Item One: No bag.”

“But where am I going to put this loaf of bread?” said Peter. “I always get hungry on the road.”

Jesus said, “Item two on the not-packing list. No bread.” 

Then Judas spoke up. “Oh, I get it,” he said. “We just bring enough money to buy food along the way.” 

(Judas carried the group’s money bag, so thought he could divide it up.) 

“Nope,” said Jesus. “Item three: No Money.” 

“But Jesus,” Peter complained. “Where am I supposed to put my clothes?”

“Oh Peter,” said Jesus, “You’re still stuck on the bag thing aren’t you? Well, just wear what you have on. That’s item four: No extra clothes.”

“Oh man!” Peter complained. “Can I at least go home and get my hiking boots?”

“Nope,” said Jesus. “Item five: No boots. Just your everyday sandals please.”

“Um, Jesus?” asked Matthew shyly. “Can I bring this stick? It helps me keep my footing on trails.”

“Sure, Matthew,” said Jesus. “Sticks are fine. But just one each.”

The Real Purpose

“But Jesus—” said Peter. “How are we supposed to eat and stay warm and stuff for a whole week I we can’t bring anything but what we’re wearing?”

“Good question, Peter,” said Jesus. “First of all, you’ll have each other. Together you can solve all kinds of problems.”

“What’s second?” asked Thomas. I guess he doubted Peter would come up with many good ideas.

“Second,” said Jesus, “you’ll have all the people you’ll meet everywhere you go. You know, there are good and kind people everywhere!”

“But what if the people are mean to us?” asked Thomas. He really did have doubts about this whole ‘mission trip’ idea.

“Well Thomas,” said Jesus, “if they won’t welcome you, wipe the dust off your feet and go somewhere else.”

“So we have each other,” Thomas said, looking doubtfully at Matthew. “And we might meet some nice people along the way. Don’t we have anything else to rely on?”

“Yes,” said Jesus, smiling. “You have exactly what I rely on to do what I do. You have God.”

“Oh!” said everybody.

“That’s actually why I’m sending you on this mission trip,” Jesus said. “So you will learn to trust God—that’s called faith. And so you’ll learn to help each other. That’s called love.”

So they went out, two by two, for a week-long trip doing what they’d seen Jesus do.

Wondering

I wonder what it felt like to go out to do what they had seen Jesus do?I wonder what it felt like to take nothing but each other and God?I wonder if you’ve ever had to trust God or other people?I wonder if you were to go out to do things Jesus did, where you would go and what you would do?

++++++++++++

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Every little bit keeps me going…)

The post Mission Trip–A Children’s Sermon on Mark 6:1-13 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 5:21-43

CC by Nenad Stojkovic 2.0

I think the best strategy for a children’s sermon on Mark 5:21-43 is to focus on the child in the story. The passage (as I said when I wrote a meditation on it) is a “sandwich” story: There’s one story on the outside with a second story in the middle.. 

The outside story, the bread if you will, is the healing of Jairus’ daughter. 

In the middle is the story of the healing of the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years—that’s the PB&J, or whatever you like for lunch.

Both stories are great. But anyone preaching on this has to decide:

Do I preach on both stories together?Do I focus on the woman with the issue of blood?Do I focus on Jairus and his daughter?

Any one of these choices can result in a good sermon. But when preaching to kids I keep two things in mind:

1. I need to focus on one coherent thing — so I’m not going to talk about both stories and their complicated interplay.

2. I need to help kids connect the story with their own lives as kids — so I’m not going to talk about a grown-up who has been bleeding longer than my young congregation has even been alive.

Telling the kids the story of a kid is the fast path to engagement. It’s also, I’d say, a holy priority. Everybody needs to see their own story playing out amidst the diverse array of people in God’s big story.

Okay, this children’s sermon on Mark 5:21-43 is really more focused on the child’s parents. That’s true to the action of the text. It’s also a bit easier to tell that way, since the poor little girl spends a great portion of the story dead…

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 5:21-43

Hello kids! Welcome! I’m so glad you are here today.

You may have noticed that a whole lot of the stories we read from the Bible are about grown-ups. Maybe you’ve wondered about whether the Bible has much to say to someone like you. 

Well guess what? Today’s story from the Gospel of Mark is all about a kid. A kid and her dad, actually. A kid, and her parents, and Jesus.

A Sick Little Girl

Here’s what happened. There was this twelve year old girl, and she got sick. She got very, very sick. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Jairus, and they loved her so much.

But they were so worried. 

Mr. Jairus said to his wife,

I’m so scared! I don’t want our daughter to die!

And Mrs. Jairus said,

I’m scared too. Isn’t there anything we can do?

Then they heard a noise from down the road. It sounded like a big crowd.

Mr. Jairus said,

Do you hear that? I think that’s Jesus coming down the road! Somebody told me he was coming to town.

Mrs. Jairus said, 

Isn’t Jesus that teacher we heard about?

And Mr. Jairus said,

Yes–but he also heals people with the power of God! I’m going to see if he’ll heal our daughter.

And Mr. Jairus took off running. 

A Leap of Faith

He worked his way through the crowd, and there was Jesus. Jesus was laughing and talking with his friends as they walked along the road. Everybody else was trying to get close, wanting to hear what Jesus had to say.

Well, Mr. Jairus came right up in front of Jesus, and got down on his knees. He looked up at Jesus and he said,

Please Jesus! Come to my house! My daughter is so sick—I think she’s going to die! Can you help her please?

And Jesus looked down at him with his big brown eyes all full of love, and said,

Wow! You are so brave to come ask for help. That’s what I call faith! Of course I’ll come!

The Saddest News

Well it took a few minutes before they could start toward Mr. Jairus’ house, and while he was waiting one of his neighbors came up and tugged him on his sleeve. He said,

Hey, Mr. Jairus, I’m so sorry to say that your daughter just died.

Well maybe you can imagine what happened next. Everybody dies eventually, but for the people left behind it is so, so sad. And nothing is as sad as when someone’s child dies. Mr. Jairus held his head in his hands and cried.

Oh, my poor poor little girl! What will I do! Oh, Jesus I wish we’d gotten there in time!

But Jesus put his arm around Mr. Jairus’ shoulder and said, 

Don’t worry. Trust me. Let’s go.

When they got to Mr. Jairus front yard, Mrs. Jairus and their neighbors were outside crying and crying, they were all so sad.

But Jesus said,

You don’t need to cry. The little girl isn’t dead. She’s just sleeping.

The neighbors started to laugh at Jesus — not like it was funny, but like they thought Jesus was crazy.

A Big Surprise

But Jesus just said to Mr. and Mrs. Jairus,

Take me to your daughter. Peter, James, and John, you come too.

So the six of them went inside to where the little girl’s body lay. 

Jesus gently picked up her hand in his own two hands and said,

Little girl—time to get up!

just like it was the morning of a brand new day.

And then the most surprising thing happened: The little girl got up!

She was so surprised to see Jesus holding her hand. But she could tell right away that Jesus was a good and kind person. You know: kids can usually tell.

Jesus said to her,

Welcome back! Why don’t you have a snack? Then you can go outside and play!

And she did.

Mr. and Mrs. Jairus were out of their minds with joy. They said,

That’s amazing! Wait till we tell all our neighbors!

But Jesus said,

Nope. Don’t tell anybody. Just hold it in your hearts.

Wondering

I wonder if you’ve ever felt so sick you were afraid you might die?I wonder if you’ve every been so worried that you asked Jesus for help?I wonder when it was hardest to trust Jesus — when the girl was sick, when the girl had died, or when the girl was alive again?I wonder what the people outside thought when they saw the little girl run out of the house, alive and healthy?I wonder what it was like to not be able to tell people about how Jesus had helped their daughter?

++++++++++++

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Mark 5:21-43 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:35-41

Christ Sleeps During the Storm, Eugene Delacroix (public domain)

Writing a Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:35-41 is only hard because there is too much great stuff in the story. I want to talk about all of it, but I know that won’t work with kids.

(A while back I wrote a longer meditation on the passage, which let me consider more details. You can see it here.) 

For kids, the best rule is to focus clearly on just one thing. Okay, I’ll admit that it’s a rule I break pretty often. But “rule” has multiple meanings.

This is less like a “law” and more like the “ruler” you used back in grade school. You know: it has an edge that will help you draw a straight line.

Sometimes you want something more curvy. Still, the rule is there to help you get where you need to go.

Here, as I often do, I retell the story in my own way to bring out some of the emotion — and maybe some humor. It’s part of the very old tradition of presenting a paraphrase.

Pro tip: To use this one in worship you need to be able to make a really good snoring sound.

A Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:35-41

Hi Kids! I’m so glad you are here today. Thanks for coming up.

I want to tell you a story about Jesus and his friends.

Jesus used to travel all over with his friends. Everywhere they went, Jesus helped people.

When sick people came to him, Jesus would heal them.Lonely people came to him, and Jesus would welcome them, and help them feel cared for.Whenever people came to him with questions, Jesus would teach them.

You can probably imagine how much people liked what Jesus did for them. They really did. Someday, when you read the Gospel of Mark you’ll see that everywhere he went, huge crowds of people gathered. 

Sick people came.Lonely people came.And people with questions came.

One evening, after a long day of healing people, and loving people, and teaching people, Jesus said,

Whew! I need a break!

And his friends said, 

Yeah! We’re tired! What should we do?

So Jesus said,

Hey, Peter—your boat is right here by the lakeshore. Can we all sail over to the other side? I’d love to get away from the crowds for a while.

Peter said

Sure! Ahoy Mateys! Let’s set sail for the other side of the lake.

And off they went.

As soon as they were aboard Jesus yawned a great big stretchy yawn and said,

Wow, I’m so tired! I think I’ll lay down and take a nap.

Sounds good,” said Peter. “Theres a big cushion up there in the bow.

So Jesus lay down and before they knew it he was fast asleep.

Jesus’ friends ran around sailing the boat, but Jesus just said,

Zzzzzz…

Then the rain started coming down, and Jesus just said,

Zzzzzz…

Soon the wind started to roar. But Jesus just said,

Zzzzzzzz…

And then the waves started to toss the boat up and down, but Jesus just said,

Zzzzzzz…

Then finally the water started pouring in, and the boat was starting to sink! But Jesus just said,

Zzzzzz….

The disciples were terrified. They started shouting, 

We’re all gonna die!

Somebody, probably Andrew, had a good idea. He said,

Hey, let’s wake Jesus up!

So they sloshed up to the bow where Jesus was sleeping. You know what Jesus was saying, right?

Zzzzzzz…

Hey! Wake up Jesus!

said his friends. And when Jesus opened his eyes Thomas cried, 

Don’t you care about us?

And Peter said 

We’re about to die! Why aren’t you helping?

Then John said,

I thought you loved us!

Jesus looked at them with his big brown eyes all full of love, and said 

Of course I love you. I always have, and I always will. Give me just a minute.

Then he stood up and looked at the storm. He shouted out

Hey you wind! Hey you waves! Calm down!

And suddenly the storm stopped and the waves died down.

The disciples said 

Oooh! Wow…

And Jesus said,

Oh you guys. You’ve seen me heal people and now you’ve seen me still that storm. You don’t need to worry. If I’m with you there’s really no problem too big.

They all said, 

But it was really scary!

And Jesus said,

If I can sleep through that storm, you can trust that I’m not worried about it. It’s all gonna be okay.

Wondering

I wonder what it felt like to have Jesus sleeping while the boat was sinking?I wonder if you’ve ever been scared and thought God didn’t care?I wonder why it’s hard to trust that God is helping when things go wrong?I wonder what might help you feel more calm when you are worried?

++++++++++++

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Mark 4:35-41 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 15:26-16:15 — The Holy Spirit

CC by airpix 2.0

This is a children’s sermon on John John 15:26-16:15, which includes the Gospel reading for Pentecost in Year B of the lectionary (John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15). In 2020 I did a children’s sermon on Acts 2:1-12, the most important Pentecost text.

(If you want to see my grown-ups meditation on this text, here’s a link.)

For this Gospel text I’m using my usual strategy for non-narrative passages, which is to say I’m focusing on just one important point from the passage, and trying to present it in a way that kids can connect with, and leaving them with some wondering questions at the end.

The point I’m making related to an aspect of the worship service, so at the end of my children’s sermon on John 15:26-16:15 I talk about the “prayer for illumination.” (Of course if your church isn’t in the Reformed Tradition, this point about worship may not apply.)

I think this is an important thing to include in children’s sermons, either as a series to teach about worship, or (probably better) as a semi-regular feature of the children’s sermons.

It’s important to help kids learn about the service. Alas, kids are generally sort of left out of worship. Some churches make the leave the room during the service. Some churches keep the whole the service over their heads, leaving them bored and surely disheartened.

If a church chooses either of those strategies, they should not register surprise when the kids bag the church entirely when they are old enough to do so. They’ve spent a lifetime pushed away from worship.

But think about it: it is far more likely that kids (or anyone) will “catch” faith by the experience of appropriate and engaging worship than they will by studying about it in a classroom.

A Children’s Sermon on John 15:26-16:15

Good morning kids! I am so glad you are here today. Thanks for coming up for the children’s sermon.

Today is a very special day in the life of the church. We call this day “Pentecost.”

On Pentecost we celebrate that Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit to be with us forever and for always.

One of the passages of the Bible we read this morning was from the night before Jesus went to die on the Cross.

Jesus was sharing his Last Supper with his very best friends.

Jesus knew that soon he would leave, and his friends would be very sad.

But Jesus also knew that once he went to heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. And Jesus wanted his friends to know that having the Holy Spirit living in them and with them was a very, very good thing. 

In fact Jesus tried to convince his friends that they would be better off having him gone, because the Holy Spirit would only come after he left.

(I kind of doubt they believed him. I think they wanted to have Jesus with them forever and for always.)

But Jesus told his friends something very important about the Holy Spirit that you can see in the way we worship every single time.

Why Jesus Sent the Spirit

Jesus said,

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

John 16:12-13

Jesus had taught his friends so many things. But he hadn’t taught them everything they would ever need.

Jesus knew that the disciples would have lots of questions. Everybody does.He knew they would face lots of problems. Everybody does.

He knew they would write down all they could remember of all the things he had taught them. That’s how we got the Bible.

He must have known that his friends, and their friends, would study his words when they had questions and problems. That’s what we do, when we read the scriptures in worship.

But he knew the answers weren’t always plan and simple. That’s why he sent the Holy Spirit.

When we have questions and problems we ask the Holy Spirit to help us. We ask the Spirit to lead us into the truth, just like Jesus said he would.

When we study Jesus’ words in the Bible, we also ask the Holy Spirit to lead us into the truth. We need the Holy Spirit to help us hear what God is really saying to us today.

That is why, in churches like ours, we pray a special prayer called the “prayer for illumination.”

Before we read the Bible in worship, we ask God’s Holy Spirit to shine like a light. We need God to lead us into the truth, so we can see what God is trying to show us. 

We need help with our questions and our problems.

The good news is Jesus didn’t leave us on our own. He sent us the Holy Spirit to lead us into all the truth.

Wondering

I wonder if you’ve ever had big questions and asked God for answers.I wonder if you’ve ever had big problems and asked God to be with you and help you.I wonder if the Holy Spirit came to lead you to the truth — even if you didn’t notice at the time.

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But please, if you use it, do one (or more!) of the following.

You can let me know that you are using it, either in the comments below, or using the contact form above. You can put a little notice in your church bulletin that your children’s sermon is adapted from one published on GaryNealHansen.com.You can support my work over on Patreon. (Every little bit keeps me going…)

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