Gary Neal Hansen's Blog, page 7

“These Shining Lives” — Hey, I’m in a Play!

“These Shining Lives,” by Melanie Marnich

If you find yourself in the Southern Tier of upstate New York this weekend, wend your way to Binghamton’s Phelps Mansion and see your’s truly in another play. Southern Tier Actors Read (S.T.A.R.) is putting on a staged reading of “These Shining Lives” by Melanie Marnich.

The play highlights an important true saga from labor history in the US. In the 1920s and 1930s the Radium Dial Company employed young women to paint the numbers on watches and clocks with radium paint — licking the brush before every stroke.

Constant exposure to radioactive material led to their deaths by various cancers a few years later. Some of the women lived long enough to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court.

Here’s a link to a short TV spot on the production.

Here’s a link to a radio interview with the director, Barbara Vartanian.

I honestly don’t know if any of my readers actually live in the Binghamton/Broome County area — but if you do, and if you come, please say hello after the show!

Friday 6/30 and Saturday 7/1 at 7:30. Sunday 7/2 at 2:00.

The post “These Shining Lives” — Hey, I’m in a Play! appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 — Consider the Birds

Flock of Cedar Waxwings, public domain

If I write just one children’s sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 it has to be able cover a few different occasions.

In Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary that text is called “Proper 3 (8)” meaning it comes up, in two different seasons. It can be on the Eighth Sunday after Epiphany, or shortly after Pentecost.

But most of this text also comes up in Year B on Thanksgiving (both the Canadian and American versions). On those occasions it would actually be “A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 6:25-33.” 

But I don’t think the kids are going to sweat these fine points of the seasons. I’ll just try to hit the relevant points for each use.

Personally I think it’s odd that the lectionary removes two verses for Thanksgiving. It makes little difference to the sense of the text. But nobody wants to hear me rant about the oddities of the Revised Common Lectionary. 

It’s a beautiful, poetic, encouraging passage — Jesus at his most winsome. The only challenge for someone who does children’s sermons the way I do is that there is no story here. Strings of Jesus’ sayings always force me to imagine a story within which to fit the teaching. 

But that’s a fun challenge. Let’s see how it goes in a children’s sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 (or  6:25-33).

(As I write, there is already a children’s sermon on my site for this coming Sunday. You can find the Monday Meditation on that same text here.)

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 6:24-34

Good morning kids! I’m so happy to see you here in worship today. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

Sometimes I like to imagine what it was like to be one of Jesus’ first disciples. I think it must have been pretty fun a lot of the time. It was probably really exciting. Can you imagine seeing Jesus heal someone who was blind, or who couldn’t walk? And it must have been wonderful to just hang around with Jesus.

But I also imagine it was hard sometimes.Those first disciples must have gotten anxious and worried, wandering around with no home to call their own.

This morning, our reading from the Gospel shows us what Jesus said to his friends about being worried. Here’s how I imagine it happening. 

Evening

Jesus and his friends had been traveling from town to town. During the day Jesus would teach about the Kingdom of heaven, and he would heal sick people. But at night, before everybody went to sleep they would sit around the campfire and talk.

Usually Peter was very talkative. But on this particular night Peter was very, very quiet.

“Hey Peter?” said Jesus gently. “Is something wrong?”

“Wrong?” asked Peter, kind of flustered. “No, of course not. What could possibly be wrong?”

“Well,” said Jesus, “It’s not like you to be so quiet. Why don’t you tell me what made you upset?”

Peter let out a big sigh, almost like he’d been holding his breath a while, without even knowing it. “Okay, Jesus. It’s just — well, I’m sort of worried.”

“Ah,” Jesus said, “you’re worried. What are you worried about?”

“It’s just — well, you know — I mean — what about my boat?”

“Your boat?” asked Jesus, “What about your boat?”

“I had to leave it behind,” said Peter, “when I started following you.”

“I remember,” said Jesus. “Sounds like that’s bothering you now.”

“Well, yeah,” said Peter. “I’ve been a fisherman all my life. That boat is my job. If something happens to my boat, how will I earn a living? How will my family buy food? How will we buy new clothes? What if we can’t pay for our house? Oh Jesus, I’m just so worried!”

And then Peter put his face in his hands and started rocking back and forth, moaning softly.

Birds

Jesus got up and sat down beside Peter. He put his arm around Peter’s shoulders, and just sat quietly for a bit.

“Hey Peter,” asked Jesus gently, “did you see the birds today?”

“What birds?” said Peter, his face still in his hands.

“When I was teaching,” Jesus said. “There was a little flock of birds over by a house. First they were all sitting in a tree. Then all at once they swooped up onto the sky, and flew off.”

“I guess I missed that,” said Peter, slowly putting his hands down.

“Well it was pretty cool,” said Jesus. “Hey: Where do you suppose those birds flew off to?”

“How should I know?” said Peter grumpily. “I told you, I didn’t even see them.”

“Take a guess,” Jesus said. 

“Looking for food maybe?” said Peter. 

“Probably so,” said Jesus. “Hey Peter?”

“Yes Jesus?” 

“Do you think those birds were worried? I mean, about finding food to eat?”

“Jesus!” said Peter. “Whoever heard of a worried bird? They just fly around and pick up seeds or worms or whatever. Or they sit on a tree and sing songs. They don’t worry about anything.”

“Exactly my point,” said Jesus. 

“Your point?” asked Peter.

“Yeah,” said Jesus. “Who do you suppose makes sure the birds have enough to eat?”

“The birds do, Jesus!” said Peter. “They have to go look for their own food.”

“Well, of course they have to look for it,” said Jesus. “But who puts it there so they can find it?”

“Um, God?” asked Peter.

“Right on the very first guess,” said Jesus. “God grows the plants and trees to make the seeds for them to eat. And God grows the bugs and worms for them to eat too. The birds can just eat it up — and sing about being thankful.”

Flowers

“Oh, and Peter?” Jesus went on. “Do you remember that field of flowers we saw?”

“Yesterday?” said Peter, brightening up and smiling a bit. “Yeah, they were gorgeous!”

“How do you suppose the flowers found those fancy clothes to wear?” asked Jesus, smiling.

“Clothes?” asked Peter. “They weren’t wearing clothes. They were flowers.”

And Peter rolled his eyes.

“But have you ever seen anyone with clothes more beautiful than those flowers?” asked Jesus.

“Well, no,” said Peter, “I guess.” But he didn’t sound quite sure.

Jesus said, “No one has ever had more beautiful clothes — and those flowers don’t go shopping, or make cloth, or sew or anything. Who makes their beautiful clothes, Peter?”

“God, I guess,” said Peter.

“Right again, my friend,” said Jesus. “The flowers can just wear their beautiful clothes — and be thankful.

Worrying

“Peter,” Jesus went on, “You are more important to God than a few birds, or a bunch of flowers. You don’t need to worry about what you’ll eat or what you’ll wear. And you don’t need to worry about your boat.”

Wondering

I wonder if it helped Peter to hear about God taking care of birds and flowers?

I wonder if it’s hard to work on your problems and not worry, like the birds that seem happy gathering food? 

I wonder if you’ve ever found yourself worrying about things in your life?

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 6:24-34 — Consider the Birds appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 10:24-39

House Sparrows in Central Park, via Wikimedia Commons (CC by Rhododendrites-SA 4.0)

Every biblical text presents its own challenges, but writing a children’s sermon on Matthew 10:24-39 brings some of the ones I find hardest. But that’s the Gospel for lectionary Year A, “Proper 7(12)”.

There’s no story of things that Jesus did. Nothing is included to give context for Jesus’ teachings.And there are no parables, so there is no story hidden inside the teachings.It’s a series of sayings by Jesus.And they are mostly tough sayings — like predictions of being flogged in synagogues, and that you can’t love your parents, or your kids, as much as you love Jesus.

In Matthew this is part of Jesus’ instructions to the Apostles before they head out on a mission trip. Actually it is more relevant to the suffering they would face in their work after is death and resurrection. 

Altogether this adds up to material that is hard to present at a kid level. I often need to pick one salient bit our kid friendly bit. All the more so in a children’s sermon on Matthew 10:24-39.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 10:24-39

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

We always read from the Gospels in our worship service. Usually, the Gospels tell us stories of things Jesus did. But today’s reading is some things that Jesus said to his friends. This is one part of what he told his friends before he sent them out on a mission trip. He’s trying to help them be ready for all kinds of things that might happen. 

Maybe you’ve heard about mission trips before. Lots of churches send groups of people out on mission trips. They travel to another town, or even to another country, where they can do things to show people that Jesus loves them. Sometimes youth groups go on mission trips. 

Let’s imagine that Jesus wasn’t talking to just his grown-up apostle friends. 

Let’s imagine that it was a group of kids who were going on this mission trip — like in a church today.

Ready?

“Okay, kids!” said Jesus. “I think that’s about it. Ready to go on the mission trip?”

“Well…” said Emily. She was wearing a bright yellow turban.

“Um…” said DeShawn.

“Do I have to go?” asked Juanita. 

“Ah,” said Jesus. “Sounds like maybe you aren’t all so ready. How about you all tell me what’s up?”

“I’m worried,” said Juanita. “Some of the things you said about the trip made it sound scary.”

“Yeah,” said Emily. “I only want to go if it’s gonna be safe.”

“I see,” said Jesus. “Don’t worry. You don’t need to be afraid.”

“But what if I get lost?” asked De Shawn. “I might never find my way home!”

“What if people are mean to me?” asked Emily,

“What if I get in trouble?” asked Juanita. 

“Hmm…” said Jesus. “Those are some scary possibilities. But what I said is true. You don’t have to be afraid. I hope you won’t worry.”

Promises

“Can you promise that nothing bad is gonna happen?” asked DeShawn.

Jesus said “I only make promises that I plan to keep. So I won’t promise nothing bad will ever happen. You know, my friend, bad stuff does happen.”

“Humpf,” said all the kids. 

“But I can promise you something better,” said Jesus.

“Like what?” asked Juanita. 

“Like this,” said Jesus. “I promise you that my Father will always be watching over you. God will always be with you.”

“What good is that?” asked DeShawn. He was kind of blunt.

“It’s a lot of good, actually,” said Jesus. “When really bad things happen, it can feel really lonely. Feeling all alone is sometimes the worst part. But because you belong to God, God is always with you. You’ll never face bad stuff alone.”

“But what does God do?” asked Juanita. “Won’t God do something to stop the bad stuff?”

“Sometimes, sure,” said Jesus. “But not always. What God always does is stay with you, and understand. And love you. God is always loving you.”

A Bird, and Hair

“I don’t know,” said DeShawn. “When I was walking over here I walked past a tree. Under the tree was this dead bird. I guess it fell down and died. What was God doing about that?”

“God was there,” said Jesus. “God made every single bird you’ll ever see. God loves them all. Not one bird ever falls to the ground without my Father knowing it.” 

“But that bird still died,” said DeShawn. “That’s pretty sad.”

“You’re right,” said Jesus. “Death is the saddest thing — even when it’s a little bird. But I’ll tell you something important: you belong to God, both in life and in death. God thinks you are really important — more valuable than many little birds.”

“Yeah,” said Emily. “Death is really sad. And really scary.”

Did I mention that Emily’s head was wrapped up in a turban? It was bright yellow. 

“True,” said Jesus. “But God is watching over you. He pays really close attention. God actually knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head.”

“Oh yeah?” said Emily. And she unwrapped her yellow turban. She was completely bald!

“I guess you’re making God’s job pretty easy,” said De Shawn.

“Ha, Ha,” said Emily, not laughing. “I was really sick. The medicine made my hair all fall out.” 

Then she got a sad expression on her face, and looked at the ground.

“Emily?” said Jesus. “God saw every hair when it fell out. And he kept every tear you cried in a very special bottle.”*

*That’s in Psalm 56, by the way.

They were all quiet for a bit. 

Then Jesus said gently, “You belong to God. In life and in death. Now and forever.”

Wondering

I wonder if it was less scary to go on that mission trip after Jesus talked to them? 

I wonder if you have ever felt scared and all alone?

I wonder if it helps to know that God is always there paying such close attention?

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 10:24-39 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20 — The Great Commission

Bishop’s Chapel, Cortona (CC by Ignazio Lucibello-SA 3.0)

Prelude

Here’s a children’s sermon on Matthew 28:16-20. It’s a massively important text — “The Great Commission,” no less. But as I write, it is not the Lectionary Gospel for this coming Sunday. I already posted a children’s sermon for this Sunday’s Gospel, and you can find it here (with a link to the related Monday meditation). 

This text was the Gospel assigned a couple Sundays ago. I was preaching to grown ups in a church that week and had no time to write for the old blog, so I’m catching up. This one will be there for you in three years, or whenever you happen to be preaching through Matthew, or some Sunday when you are focusing on “the Great Commission.”

The text is assigned for Trinity Sunday of Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary, so I will include that emphasis in my children’s sermon on Matthew 28:16-20. Wish me luck as I try to pitch the Trinity at kid level! 

The text also has a tiny tantalizing detail that I’d like to put in the foreground: Matthew says they worshipped the risen Jesus, “but some doubted.” The risk is that this will make for confusion, or lack of focus. You can tell me if you see that as a problem. (It’s also way too long. Oh well…)

And here’s a link to the Monday Meditation on this text, from a while back.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20

Good morning kids! I am so glad to see you here in worship this morning. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon. Today is the day we call “Trinity Sunday.” Today we celebrate that there is one God, and that Jesus’ Father is God, and Jesus is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. 

A Meeting on a Mountain 

Today’s Gospel story happened after Easter. Jesus was alive again! His disciples were so happy.

Jesus had sent a message: the friends who had been with him for three years should come to Galilee, and meet him on top of a hill.

So they went to Galilee.

They climbed the hill.

And suddenly Jesus was there!

Jesus’ friends were so happy to see him. They had seen his miracles. They had heard his wisdom. And now, after he was dead and buried, they saw him alive again. 

“Oh Jesus!” said Peter. “We’re not worthy to see you! Thank you for coming back to us!”

“We think you’re just amazing, Jesus!” said John. “We love you so much!”

“Oh Lord!” said Andrew. “You are really, truly God!”

They were all kneeling and bowing in front of him. They knew, they just knew he was God.

But Some Doubted

Well, most of them did.

Thomas and Nathaniel weren’t saying anything. They were sort of looking at each other and rolling their eyes.

Then Nathaniel whispered something to Thomas. 

Then Thomas whispered something to Nathaniel. 

Then they both looked up at the same time. And Jesus was looking right at them.

“What’s up guys?” asked Jesus, with a friendly smile. 

“Oh nothing,” said Thomas. 

“It’s not nothing!” said Nathaniel. 

“Well, okay,” said Thomas, “but maybe I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Wait a minute, guys,” said Jesus. “Whatever it is, it’s okay to tell me. I always want to know what’s going on with you.”

“It’s just—” started Nathanial. “It’s just this whole ‘worship’ thing. Everybody saying you’re God. I just don’t know what to think about that.”

“We’ll,” said Jesus, “You’ve always told me exactly what you do think. That’s one of the things I love about you.”

“But Jesus!” said Thomas. “Everybody is so sure about it! I—well, I have my doubts, that’s all.”

“That’s okay, Thomas,” said Jesus. “You’ve always needed a little extra convincing. You always like a bit more evidence. That’s something I love about you.”

“I think we need to talk about this,” said Nathaniel. “We need to get it settled.”

“Yeah,” said Thomas. “Its awkward having these doubts.”

Marching Orders

“You can think about those things later,” said Jesus. “Right now I want to give all of you some very important orders.”

“Orders?” said Nathaniel. “Isn’t that kind of, well, bossy?

“Yes, orders. I’m sure you’ve heard me mention the Kingdom of Heaven,” said Jesus. “Right?’

“Oh, sure,” said Nathaniel. “You talk about the Kingdom of Heaven a lot. What about it?” 

“Well,” said Jesus, “That’s my kingdom now. God has given me all authority—over everything!” 

“Everything?” asked Thomas. “No way. I can’t believe that!”

“It’s true, though,” said Jesus. “Everything on heaven. And everything on earth. I’m the king.”

Go

“Okay, Lord,” said Peter. “Tell us your orders! I’m totally excited about this. Are we all going somewhere? It’ll be like it was before. We all love being with you.”

“No, Peter,” said Jesus. “We aren’t all going together. But you’re all going to go. Remember how I sent you on that mission trip?”

“Yeah!” said Peter. “That was so exciting! Scary at first. But amazing!”

“Well,” said Jesus, “This will be like that, only longer.”

“How much longer?” grumbled Nathaniel. 

“For the rest of your lives, actually,” said Jesus. “I want you to go to every country in the whole world.”

“The whole world?” asked Thomas. “But I’ve never been to another country. Where do I have to go? I don’t think I can do this.” 

“You’ll be going to India, Thomas,” said Jesus. “It’s far away to the East. And Nathaniel, you’ll be going to Syria.”

Make Disciples

“But what do we have to do when we get to these places?” moaned Nathaniel. 

“I’m so glad you asked,” said Jesus. “Remember how I asked you to follow me? Remember how I made you my disciples?”

“Yeah,” said Nathaniel, sounding doubtful.

“When you go to all the nations I want you to make disciples too.”

“But India is a long way to go!” said Thomas. “I doubt I’ll be able to make many disciples after I travel all that way and try to learn their language and all!”

“Even a few disciples is going to be enough,” said Jesus. “You get them to be my disciples, and they’ll invite their friends and neighbors. Eventually I’ll have disciples everywhere!”

Two Jobs

“That’s never going to work,” said Nathaniel. “We don’t know how to make disciples.” 

“Actually, you do,” said Jesus. “Just focus on two things: Baptize people, and teach people. It’s exactly what happened to you!”

Baptize

“So how do we baptize people?” asked Peter, “Do we just wash them in water?” 

“Baptism isn’t just a bath, Peter,” said Jesus. “When someone, or some family, wants to be my disciples, baptism is how they know they’ve been born into a brand new life. And it’s how they know God has put his name on them.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” said Matthew. “I’m trying to write all this down. How exactly do we baptize these new disciples?”

“Baptize them,” Jesus said slowly, “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

“Wait—what?” asked Thomas. “That doesn’t make sense. First you said baptism was in the name of God. Now you say ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.’” 

“That’s right, Thomas,” said Jesus. “My Father is God. And I’ve always told you that ‘I and the Father are one.’ And the Holy Spirit is God too.”

“Wait—,” said Nathaniel. “But there’s only one God.”

“Yep,” said Jesus. “One God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

“I don’t even understand that,” said Thomas. “How am I supposed to believe it.”

“It will grow on you,” said Jesus. “Or I should say you’ll grow into it. But that’s the way you baptize, putting God’s name on people.” 

Teach

“You said we have to teach them too,” said Nathaniel. “What if I don’t know what to teach?”

“You can totally do this,” said Jesus. “Just remember what I showed you and what I told you all the time we were together. Teach them to do what I said. That’ll be enough.”

“But—But—But—,” sputtered Thomas. “I don’t think I can do it! I’m—I’m too scared!”

Jesus looked at Thomas, with his big brown eyes all full of love, then he said “I believe you can do it. And even if you don’t see me, I’ll be with you—forever and for always! And that’s another very important thing to teach the new disciples!”

Wondering

I wonder what it was like to go to faraway countries to tell people about Jesus? 

I wonder what it felt like to be told to do those things even though they had doubts? 

I wonder what it was like to hear about Jesus from people who knew him face to face?

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You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 28:16-20 — The Great Commission appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 — Proper 5(10)

Marinus van Reymerswaele, The Calling of Matthew (public domain)

Writing a children’s sermon on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26, the text for “Proper 5(10),” which is the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost this year, requires one to make choices. 

There are really four separate stories here: 

Jesus calls Matthew the tax collector. Jesus eats with “sinners.”Jesus heals a man’s dead little girl. Jesus heals a woman who has a bleeding disorder. 

That fourth story is sort of sandwiched into the middle of the third story, adding another layer of complexity.

When I gave you a children’s sermon on Mark 5:21-43 a while back I had a similar problem. That text is Mark’s version of our stories 3 and 4, though some details are different. That time I followed my usual rule: stick to the story with a kid in it. But since I already did that, this time I’ll focus on the earlier stories. It seems quite relevant to kids (maybe older kids, actually) if you dig a bit into what made the Pharisees problematic. In any case, here you go with a children’s sermon on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26

Good morning, kids! Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon. I am so glad that you are here in worship today.

I want to talk to you about today’s Bible reading. It comes from one of the Gospels. The Gospels are the four books of stories that teach us about Jesus. Some parts are stories Jesus told, and some parts are stories about what Jesus did. This story is about some things Jesus did. It comes in the Gospel written by a man named Matthew.

This is a story about Jesus and Matthew.

The Calling of Matthew

One day Jesus was walking through a town with some of his friends. They passed the market area where people set up their booths to sell things. 

Some booths had fruits and vegetables. 

Some booths had grains and nuts. 

Some booths had cloth to make clothes. 

There were people buying things at all the booths — except one. 

Jesus went right up to that booth. 

There didn’t seem to be anything for sale. There was a big wooden box, with a hole in the top and a big lock on the lid. And there was a big notebook beside the box. Behind the booth was a man. 

Jesus said to the man “Hello, friend! What’s your name.”

“My name is Matthew,” the man said. “Did you come to pay your taxes?”

“Oh,” said Peter. “You’re a tax collector! No wonder nobody wants to come to your shop.”

“Oh, yuck!” said Simon Zealot. “How can you stand being a tax collector? You work with the Roman government! I think you’re a traitor to our people!”

Jesus put his arm around Simon Zealot’s shoulder and pulled him aside. Jesus whispered in his ear. Then Simon came back to Matthew’s tax booth. He looked kind of embarrassed. 

“I’m sorry” Simon said to Matthew. “I shouldn’t have been so rude.”

“Its okay,” said Matthew. “I get that a lot. Nobody really wants to be friends with a tax collector.” 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Jesus. “That sounds really hard. I’d like to be your friend. Why don’t you come follow me?”

“Follow you?” asked Matthew. “Where are you going? What do you do?”

“We’re going lots of places,” said Jesus. “I’ve come to teach everybody about the Kingdom of Heaven.”

“It’s pretty fun,” said Simon Zealot. “Sometimes he does miracles!”

“Miracles?” asked Matthew. 

“Yeah!” said Simon. “You should join us!”

So he did.

At Dinner

Well, it was almost dinner time so Matthew said “Why don’t you come to my house? You could teach my family about that thing — the Kingdom of heaven.”

So they went to Matthew’s house for dinner. All evening long Jesus taught about the Kingdom of heaven. 

Everybody saw Jesus go into Matthew’s house. 

And everybody wanted to hear Jesus teaching. 

But nobody wanted to go into Matthew’s house.

They sent one man to knock on the door. 

Knock knock knock. 

“Jesus!” they called. “Could you come out and teach us too?”

“Come on in!” said Jesus. “There’s plenty of room!”

Then nobody said anything. 

But Matthew tapped Jesus on the shoulder. He said, “Those are the popular people. They are really cool — everyone admires them. They won’t come into my house.”

There was another knock at the door. 

Knock, knock, knock.

“Jesus!” they called. “Could you at least just come to the door for a minute?”

So Jesus went to the door, and opened it up. He saw a big crowd outside. 

“Jesus,” said the man who had been knocking. “We can’t come inside there! He’s a tax collector. That’s totally not cool. He’s a — well he does bad things. And we all are very careful to always do the right things. Everyone approves of what we do. How can you actually eat with someone like that? How can you go onto his house? Yuck!”

“Oh my friend,” said Jesus. “I came to help people. I want people who have no hope to find lots of hope. I want people with no love to find lots of love. I want to help people everywhere find life!”

“But he’s a bad person!” said the man at the door — kind of quietly, but not quietly enough.

“Look at it this way,” said Jesus. “If I was a doctor, I would try to treat sick people, right? No need to give medicine to healthy people. Maybe you just don’t need any help. Maybe you have all the hope and love and joy you need. I came for people who want more life.” 

They were both quiet for a bit. Then Jesus said “I’m going to go back and teach now. You can come too of you want to. It’s really up to you. You’re always welcome.” 

Wondering

I wonder what kinds of people Jesus would come to if he came today? 

I wonder if you would like Jesus to come and teach at your house? 

I wonder if those popular people ever decided to come and listen to Jesus?

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

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 — Proper 5(10) appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 7:37-39 — Pentecost

Jesus Teaching in the Temple (Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Five, 1928, public domain)

This children’s sermon on John 7:37-39 is designed for Pentecost (the text is one of two Gospels to choose from in the Lectionary for Year A), though most congregations will focus on the Acts text (which you can find here). It will be easy to adapt it to another time of year, say, if you are in a sermon series on John apart from the lectionary. Just delete the paragraphs on Pentecost in the introduction and you are good to go.

I pull in material from outside this short reading to help it make narrative sense and theological sense. The context creates some problems — Jesus tells his “brothers” that he isn’t going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, but then he does go, in secret. I don’t really want to deal with the Son of God telling a fib here. The brothers are useful, though, so I drag them into the story. In Mark 3:21, Jesus’ family (according to one reading) think that Jesus has gone out of his mind. I take that useful tidbit and transfer it to this scene as well. 

Anyway, with a bit of reworking to make a story, and one that will help kids make sense of the connection to Pentecost, herewith you have a children’s sermon on John 7:37-39. (By the way, you can find my Monday Meditation on this text here.)

A Children’s Sermon on John 7:37-39

Good morning, kids! I’m so glad to see you here in worship today. Thank you for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

Today is a very very special day in the life of the Church. This is the very last day of the season of Easter. Jesus died on Good Friday, but on Easter Sunday God made him alive again. Jesus is still alive, and he’s always loving us and helping us. The fact that Jesus is alive again is so amazing, so wonderful, that every year we celebrate it for fifty days.

The fiftieth day of Easter season is called “Pentecost.” On Pentecost, fifty days after Easter, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to his friends. The Holy Spirit has been with Jesus’ friends ever since, even today, helping us in lots of ways.

Today’s reading from the Gospel comes from long before that Pentecost day, long before Jesus rose to life on Easter. 

In today’s story, Jesus promises that the Spirit would come to help us — someday.

Jesus Visits a Festival

One day, Jesus said to his friends, “Let’s go to Jerusalem. I want to see the big festival that’s happening there. But let’s not tell my brothers. They don’t think I’m going this year.”

So, off they went. They saw some friends. They worshipped in the Temple. They had a great time.

Then, on the very last day of the festival, Jesus and his friends were with the crowd around the Temple. Jesus stood up on a step where everyone could see him, and he started shouting!

“Hey everybody!” Jesus yelled. “If any of you are thirsty, come here to me! Take a big drink of what I give you! Then you’ll have living water inside you, flowing out of your heart!”

Well, even Jesus’ friends didn’t know exactly what he was talking about. But Jesus kept on shouting.

“Hey! If you are thirsty, come to me! I’ll make living water flow out of your heart!”

Jesus’ Brothers

You probably remember that Jesus didn’t tell his brothers he was coming to the festival. But when he started shouting, his brothers heard his voice. 

“That sounds like Jesus!” they said. And they started looking around. Sure enough, there was Jesus, standing up and shouting to the crowd.

Jesus’ brothers came rushing over to him. One of them stepped up beside him and said to the  crowd, “Don’t mind my brother! He just gets a little crazy sometimes!” And he put his arm around Jesus’ shoulder, and tried to pull him off the high step.

Jesus said, “You know, this is why I didn’t tell you I was coming to the festival. I need to tell the people about the living water, and I knew you’d try to stop me. Now you just let me go and get off my step.”

Jesus’ brother said, “Oh Jesus, what are you talking about? What’s all this ‘living water’ business? You’re just trying to embarrass us, aren’t you?”

The Holy Spirit

“No,” said Jesus. “I’m saying it because it’s true. Everyone who believes in me will get God’s Holy Spirit. And when the Holy Spirit comes into their lives it will be like cool refreshing water in their dry and thirsty hearts.”

His brother said, “No way. You’re just making this up.”

“No really!” said Jesus. “It’s true! Remember when the prophet said ‘Everyone who it thirsty, come and drink for free’? That was about me, how people should come and hear my teaching. Remember when the prophet said ‘If you believe you’ll have a spring of living water inside‘? That was about me too.”

“But what about that part where you said it would flow out of our hearts,” said Jesus’ brother. “Isn’t that going to be kind of messy?”

“Oh brother,” said Jesus. “The Holy Spirit doesn’t get you all wet. I’m trying to tell you that when the Holy Spirit comes into your life, you’ll be so full of life and light that you’ll start bringing life and light people around you.”

“Hm…” said Jesus’ brothers. “Actually that sounds pretty good. How do I get that living water?”

“Well,” said Jesus, “You could start by learning from my teaching. You could believe in me instead of calling me crazy.”

Wondering

I wonder whether Jesus’ brothers ever stopped bugging him and started believing in him?

I wonder what it is really like to drink the “living water” Jesus talks about?

I wonder if you’ve ever felt like you have life and light inside of you?

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

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 7:37-39 — Pentecost appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

Pocket Contemplative Podcast

Journey On — Dave Schmelzer’s cool online ministry

I was on the Pocket Contemplative Podcast!

I wanted to let you know that I was a guest on the “Pocket Contemplative” podcast. The episode dropped this week. I hope you’ll give it a listen.

It’s called “The Pocket Contemplative,” and it’s hosted by a lovely guy, Dave Schmelzer. Dave is deeply invested in contemplative practice, and is reaching out to help Christians grow in a bunch of cool ways. You can learn more from his “Journey On” website.

I found out that he’d talked about my book, Kneeling with Giants, on a couple of episodes. He did one on the Jesus Prayer, and one on The Cloud of Unknowing, using the relevant chapters of my book as a sort of a guide or companion in exploring these practices of prayer.

Well that was so cool, I had to reach out and thank him. And Dave very kindly invited me to be on an upcoming episode. You can find it through this link, or on your favorite podcast platform.

The post Pocket Contemplative Podcast appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 17:1-11

Praying in the “Orant” position, Catacombs of Domatilla, Rome, (Wikimedia Commons CC by Dnalor 01-SA 3.0)

Writing a children’s sermon on John 17:1-11 brings the same challenges as many other passages of John’s Gospel. Rather than telling stories, John really likes to present long speeches of Jesus. They are theologically rich, but they are complex and abstract. 

No story, complex, and abstract — that’s basically three strikes against any children’s sermon! 

Add to this the fact that in this passage Jesus is not even talking to the disciples, but to God, and it’s a quandary. 

My workaround: I imagine a bit of the narrative that must have happened in that long evening in the Upper Room. The disciples had to talk with Jesus about all those things he said in John 13-17. In this children’s sermon on John 17:1-11 I imagine Jesus explaining a few things about both why he’s praying and what he’s praying about.

Let me know what you think!

You can find my Monday Meditation on this text through this link.

A Children’s Sermon on John 17:1-11

Good morning, kids! I’m so glad to see you this morning. Thank you for coming up to hear the children’s sermon. 

Today is the seventh Sunday of Easter. That’s right: we are still celebrating Easter. 

On Good Friday, Jesus died on a cross — but the very next Sunday God made him alive again. The fact that Jesus is alive is so wonderful, so amazing, that every year we celebrate it for 50 days.

The Upper Room

Today’s story from the Gospel actually comes from before Easter — just before Jesus went to die on the cross. 

That Thursday night, Jesus had dinner with his very good friends. He talked with them about all kinds of things. Here’s how I imagine it.

After dinner, Mary Magdalene said “Oh, Jesus. We’re going to miss you so much!” 

Then she started to cry. In fact, a lot of Jesus’ friends started to cry right about then.

“Yeah,” said Thomas. “I doubt we’ll be able to do anything without you here with us.”

“Right,” said Peter. “I’ll just go back to being a fisherman. Matthew will probably go back to being a tax collector. I guess we’ll all just drift apart.” 

“I’m going to miss all of you!” said John. 

Then everybody started crying. 

“Oh, come on, you guys,” said Jesus, gently. “It’s gonna be okay, you know. I’ve already told you you’re going to see me again. Plus I told you that once I go, I’ll send the Holy Spirit to be with you forever!”

Mary sobbed “But it will (sniff) never be the sa-a-a-ame!”

“That’s true,” said Jesus. “It won’t be quite the same. But it’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna pray for you.”

“I doubt that will do any good,” saidThomas.

“Yeah,” said John. “How will just praying for us help?”

“Prayer can help a lot,” said Jesus. “God hears you when you pray. And God can always help. God can do anything! Now sit tight, ‘cause I’m gonna pray for you.”

Praying for Himself

Jesus stood up, raised his arms, and looked up to heaven. And then he started praying — right out loud, with his friends listening.

“Oh Father! I have so much I want to talk to you about! I’m worried, Father, and kind of sad. I know this is my last night before I die. 

“You know what I want? I want you to make it like it used to be.

“Remember how it was before we made the world? You were there, and I was there, and we were shining with light and joy! Could you make it like that again?

“I’ve finished all that you sent me to do. I taught the people you sent me. Now I want to shine with your light and joy again!”

Then Jesus felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

“Excuse me!” said Mary. “Jesus?” 

“Um,” said Jesus, looking at her. “Do you think this could wait a bit, Mary? I’m busy praying.”

“I know, Lord,” Mary said, “but you said you were going to pray for us. We noticed you’re just praying for yourself.”

“Ah,” said Jesus, “I see. Well, I will be praying for you in a minute. Right now my heart is so sad — I need to ask my Father to help me too.”

“But isn’t that kind of selfish?” asked Mary.

“It’s about myself,” said Jesus, “but that doesn’t make it bad. In fact it’s good to pray for yourself. God always wants to know what’s troubling you. God really loves you! You should give it a try sometime. Now, if you’ll excuse me for a minute…”

“Oh, right!” she said, and she sat down with the others.

Praying for His Friends

Jesus lifted up his arms and his eyes again, and started praying again.

“Oh Father, I’m worried about the people you gave me to take care of. Could you help them please? 

“They’re going to miss me, I know. They need you and me too. Could you help them stay really really close to us when I’m gone?

“You know how close you and I are. It’s like you’re inside of me and I’m inside of you. I want you to help them be that close to us. Help them to have me inside them always.

“But they’re also afraid they’ll forget about each other. So help them stay close to each other too. Help them to love each other so much that they are as close to each other as you and I are. 

“Please God? Amen.”

Well, that’s the kind of thing Jesus prayed after his last supper with his very special friends. 

He asked God to help him as he did all the hard things that were coming. 

And he prayed that his friends would stay close to him. 

Plus he prayed that they would stay really close to each other.

Wondering

I wonder if you’ve ever talked to God about things that worried you?

I wonder how God answers Jesus’ prayer for you to grow closer to him?

I wonder how God answers Jesus’ prayer for all of us to grow closer to each other?

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

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 17:1-11 appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 14:1-14 — “I Am the Way”

“The Way out West,” CC by Mike McBey 2.0

Prelude to the Preacher and the Parent

Perhaps the main challenge to writing a children’s sermon on John 14:1-14 is finding a truly child-friendly angle. 

There are at least three chunks here, each with its own subject matter. They sort of hang together, the way all of Jesus’ long speeches in John hang together — which is to say, rather loosely. It’s like the tangential bounces of a pinball. Every bounce has in common the shared ball and the shared game table, but they go every which way. 

These long speeches are not so much soliloquies as much as one half of a complex conversation. You get a good sense of that in this passage, actually, because John has included tiny bits of dialogue from Thomas and Philip. These guys sound so dense maybe we know why John usually just includes what Jesus said.

 Writing a children’s sermon sometimes amounts to imagining what everybody else said and did — reconstructing a story and a conversation. 

Options

But which part will I focus on? 

It’s tempting to dive into “the way, the truth, and the life,” because it is familiar, and beautiful, and evocative. But that saying takes us so quickly to Christian claims of exclusivity that it feels risky. 

Or there is the lovely part about prayer at the end. But Jesus seems to say that absolutely whatever we ask is going to be 100% granted. Clearly, my life experience as well as yours show us that that this needs a bit of nuance. Kids aren’t great at nuance. (Actually, there are a whole lot of Christian grown-ups that aren’t that great at nuance.) I don’t want to go there. 

Same with the statement that we will do greater works then Jesus did. That just needs a lot of context and clarification to make sense of. Kid’s need something straightforward.

I could go on. But instead I ask what worries little kids in real life? Asking that question makes Jesus’ words at the beginning of the passage absolutely relevant. Kids fear abandonment. Jesus is about to leave, and he tries to comfort his soon-to-be abandoned disciples. I’m happy to focus this children’s sermon on John 14:1-14 right on that point.

(You can find my “Monday Meditation” on this text here.)

A Children’s Sermon on John 14:1-14. 

Good morning, kids! I am so happy to see you. Thanks for coming up to hear the children’s sermon.

We are still in the season of Easter. Easter is when we celebrate that even though he died, Jesus is alive again. Jesus is alive and we know he’ll be with us always — both now and after we die someday. 

But our story from the Gospel today happened before Easter. It happened before Good Friday when Jesus died on the cross. This morning we hear about some of the things Jesus told his friends when he knew he was going to die — when they were feeling so sad and so scared because he would be gone soon.

Going away?

On Thursday night of Holy Week, just before he was taken away and hung on a cross to die, Jesus had a long dinner with his friends. 

Jesus said, “My friends, this is my very last supper with you for a long, long time.” 

“Why’s that, Jesus?” asked Peter.

Jesus said, “You know how I’ve been telling you that I’m going to be arrested, and hurt, and killed? Well, it all starts tonight, after we’re done with dinner.”

“Oh no!” said some of his friends.

Some of them were too shocked to say anything.

Some of them started to cry.

A place to be together?

“Aw, you guys,” said Jesus. “I’m gonna miss you too.” And he started to sniffle some tears back, just like everybody else.

“It’s not fair!” said his good friend Mary, Martha’s sister. “How can you just go and leave us! We were getting so excited about the kingdom of heaven! We need you to stay here with us!” 

Then she started to cry even harder.

“I know it’s hard, Mary,” Jesus said, “but it’s because of the Kingdom that I have to go.”

“What do you mean?” Mary sniffed. 

“I’m going to be with my Father, in heaven,” Jesus said, “I need to go and make everything ready for you.”

“For us?” Mary asked. 

“Sure,” said Jesus. “You are my best friend in the whole world. I want all my friends to be with me forever. I’m making places for all my friends in my father’s house.”

“Wow,” said Peter. “Your Father’s house must be big.”

“Yep,” said Jesus. “You have no idea. My Father’s house is so big there’s a whole mansion inside it for each of your families. And you’ll be with me forever.”

The Way?

Thomas got a funny look on his face, like he was thinking really hard.

“What’s on your mind, Thomas?” Jesus said. 

“Well it’s like this,” said Thomas. “You’ll be up in your Father’s house. And we’ll all be down here. How will we ever find our way to those mansions you’re talking about?”

“I’ll tell you a secret,” said Jesus. “You just stick close to me. If you and I stay connected, then when the time comes, you’ll already be with we. You see, I am the way to my father’s house.”

“But —,” sputtered Thomas. “But how can we stay close when you’re leaving?” 

Jesus looked at them all with his big brown eyes all full of love. 

Then he said, “Do you remember what I just told you at dinner? I gave you the bread and told you it was my body. I took the wine and told you it was my blood.”

“Yeah?” said Thomas, doubting. 

“Well,” said Jesus, “how close to you is that bread and wine now?”

“It’s inside me,” Thomas said.

“Pretty close, then,” said Jesus, with a wink. “And so how close to you is my body and my blood?”

“Well —,” said Thomas, “I guess that’s inside me too.”

“Okay then,” said Jesus, “I’m as close to you now as the bread and wine we had at dinner. I’m inside you and I always will be. Keep listening for my voice. Keep loving me, and each other, and the world. Keep following. And when the time comes we’ll already be together.”

Wondering

I wonder what it felt like to know that Jesus was going away?

I wonder if his friends understood when he said he was the “way”?

I wonder what you can do to stay close to Jesus?

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

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 14:1-14 — “I Am the Way” appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.

A Children’s Sermon on John 10:1-10 — 4th Sunday of Easter

Sheepfold under Alcock Tarn, geograhp.org.uk, by cc by Michael Graham-SA 2.0

Here’s a children’s sermon on John 10:1-10 for the Fourth Sunday of Easter — or for any time you’d line to tell the kids a story about one of Jesus’ “I am” sayings. (You can find my “Monday Meditation” on this text right here.)

Talking to kids or adults about the “I am” sayings presents an invisible challenge. The “I am” sayings are so much a part of our Christian consciousness that we can easily slip into stereotyped interpretations far removed from the meaning of the text. 

I’m hoping that by recasting Jesus’ metaphor (“I am the gate”) as a story, I can avoid those stereotypes. You can let me know if you think my children’s sermon on John 10:1-10 rings true, or if it goes too far afield.

A Children’s Sermon on John 10:1-10

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

I often think about Jesus’ life, and all the things that happened in between the parts you find in the Bible. Sometimes I imagine Jesus and his friends at the end of a long day. I picture them all sitting around a campfire. 

They would talk about what they did that day. They would talk about what they might do tomorrow. 

But eventually someone, maybe Peter, would say “Jesus, could you tell us a story?”

“Yeah,” Mary would say. “Something to help us all get to sleep.”

“Sure,” Jesus would say. Then he would think about it for a minute. Then he would start.

Some Sheep and their Shepherd.

Once upon a time there were some sheep. The sheep lived together inside four walls called a “sheepfold.” There was an opening in one wall, and that’s where the sheep went in and out. 

Their shepherd took good care of them. During the day, their shepherd led them to good green grass, and cool clear water. At night the shepherd would bring them back safely to their sheepfold. 

The sheep loved their shepherd. 

He always called them by their very own names.

As they came out of the sheepfold he would greet each one of them. “Good to see you Clover. Did you have a good rest, Pillow? How are you, Cloudy? You’re looking well, Bright Eyes. Let’s go, Speedy, time for breakfast!”

 In the evening when he brought them back home, he would count them off to make sure everyone was safe.

“Welcome back Clover! Come on in, Cloudy! Glad to be home, Bright eyes? I hope you found some good grass today, Speedy! But hey — where’s Pillow? Oh there you are Pillow! Whew!”

The Shepherd is the Gate

Once the sheep were all safely inside the sheepfold, the shepherd sat down in the little gap where the sheep went in and out. 

That’s where the shepherd made his dinner.

That’s where the shepherd lay down to sleep. 

The shepherd was just like a gate for the sheepfold. 

With the shepherd there, no one could get in to steal the sheep or harm them. The shepherd kept the robbers out.

With the shepherd there, none of the sheep could wander out and get lost. The shepherd, like a gate, kept them all safe inside. 

Robbers and Strangers

One day a wolf tried to jump over the walls of the sheepfold. But the shepherd jumped up and chased the wolf away. 

One day, the shepherd had to go away from the sheepfold for a while.

“Stay inside the sheepfold, my friends!” the shepherd said. “I’ll be back soon. Bye, Clover! Bye, Cloudy! Bye, Pillow! Bye, Bright Eyes! Bye, Speedy!” 

But while the shepherd was away, a stranger came up to the sheepfold. 

“Hey sheep!” said the stranger. “Come with me! I’m your new shepherd! I’m taking you to my sheepfold. Let’s go!”

But the sheep just stared at the stranger with their big sheepy eyes.

“Who’s that?” asked Clover. 

“I don’t know” said Cloudy. 

“I don’t think we should go with him,” said Pillow.

”No way!” said Bright Eyes. 

“I don’t know why,” said Speedy, “but I don’t think this stranger is safe.”

“Come on, you stupid sheep!” yelled the stranger. “Time to go! Let’s move!”

“I’m not going,” said Pillow.

“Yeah,” said Bright Eyes. “This guy doesn’t even know our names.” 

So they all laid down and went back to sleep. 

The stranger kept calling to the sheep. He went into the sheepfold and tried to make them stand up. He grabbed Cloudy and tried to drag her out by her wool.

“Baaaaah!!!” shouted Cloudy.

Right then, the Shepherd was on his way back to the sheepfold. He heard Cloudy calling out. So he started running. When he got to the gap in the wall he saw the stranger. 

“You get away from my sheep!” yelled the shepherd. “Let go of Cloudy!” 

And he chased that stranger away from his sheepfold. Then all the sheep went back to sleep.

A Question

“That was a nice story,” Peter said when Jesus was quiet. “But why did you tell it to us?” 

“Well,” said Jesus, “first of all, because you asked for a story. But second, I’m like that shepherd. I’m the gate for the sheepfold.”

“What do you mean?” asked Peter.

“I know all my sheep — Peter,” said Jesus. “I call them all by name — Mary. I take care of my sheep. My sheep know my voice. They won’t follow a stranger. And if someone comes to harm my sheep I chase that robber away.”

Wondering

I wonder what the sheepfold really is?I wonder how Jesus really is like a shepherd or a gate?I wonder if you’ve ever heard the Shepherd call you by name?

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

You are, of course, free to use this children’s sermon, or adapt it as you find most useful. But, if you use it, please 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 about two minutes after they go live. And every little bit keeps me going…)

The post A Children’s Sermon on John 10:1-10 — 4th Sunday of Easter appeared first on Gary Neal Hansen.