Childrens Sermon Service

No, "if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads." (Romans 12:20)

Good morning, boys and girls. Does your family like to cook out? (let them answer) Do you have a grill that you put the hamburgers or chicken on to cook? (let them answer) Do some of you still use charcoal and have a red-hot fire? (show them the charcoal and let them answer) I love hamburgers cooked on a charcoal grill. They just taste different. The charcoal is really beautiful with the red shining through the black coals. The coals really get hot and you must be careful when you are cooking with charcoal.

But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things." (Matthew 16:23)

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME

Materials:
Craft foam pieces (large and scraps)
Scissors
Glue
Markers
Stickers
Hole punch
Yarn

Directions:
1. Have each of the children cut a 2 x 7-inch rectangle from the craft foam.

2. Tell the children to cut a smaller (1 x 1-inch) square from a contrasting color of craft foam.

3. Help the children glue the smaller square on the rectangular bookmarks.

4. Have the children write, "I will not be a stumbling block" on their bookmarks.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (v. 21)

Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we're going to talk about fires. Have any of you ever had a fire in your house? (allow answers) Fires are very dangerous! If a house catches on fire, everything inside could burn. We have to be very careful when we light candles or have other flames in our houses so that the fire does not get out of control and burn our home.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. (v. 25)

Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about sacrifice. Who can tell me what "sacrifice" means? (allow answers) A sacrifice is something that is important to us that we give up or give away. A sacrifice could be an object -- a toy or a piece of clothing. A sacrifice could be an action -- going to the park, eating candy.

SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME
AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME


Materials:
Construction paper
Crayons, pencils, colored pencils
Scissors
Tape/stapler


Directions:
1. If desired, cut paper into 2" wide strips before session. If children are old enough, have them cut their own strips.

2. Each child should have two strips. On one strip, have each child write or draw things that they should or could sacrifice in order to share God's word. On the other strip, have them write or draw about heaven.

3. Have them cross strips in the middle to create a cross. Tape or staple the strips together.

Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you have heroes? (Let them answer.) What exactly is a hero? (Let them answer again.) I brought something with me this morning (Show the figurine and tell them who it is). Our society has made a sort of hero out of this kind of person. He is physically strong. He could probably do many incredible things. From time to time, he even saves people from danger. For some people, he might be a hero.

Object: One of those “Magic Eight Balls”, or a simple coin to toss. You could also use any other object you have that people might use to help them make decisions.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Then I will start with a question.  

How do you make decisions? (Let them respond.) When you have to make a choice about what to do, how do you decide? (Let them respond.) For example, how would you decide what to do if one of these things happened?

You see someone who looks really afraid or lonely. How would you decide what to do? (Let them respond.)

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

Good morning boys and girls and how are you on this beautiful Sunday morning? (Let them answer.) Wonderful! I feel terrific myself and I am on a search. I am trying to find some souls. One would be all right but I would like to pick up two or three if I could. Is there anyone here that would give me their soul? (Let them answer.) How many of you have a soul? (Let them answer.) All of you have a soul but none of you will give it to me, is that right? (Let them answer.)

The Point: Jesus wants us to follow him and not just say we believe.

The Lesson: Welcome boys and girls. Thank you for coming to share this special time together.

Good morning! I am so happy to see you.

I want to tell you something that Jesus said and see if you catch the meaning of it. Jesus said, "For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." What do you think Jesus was saying to us? (let them answer)

Pretty hard to figure out, isn't it? But I brought along something that will help us. I brought a big can. Do you know what is in my can? (let them answer) That's right; it is paint.

Materials
Small, smooth rocks, 1 for each child
Craft paint
Small paintbrushes
Optional -- A clean paint can (to carry the rocks into the room)

Instructions
1. Remind children that giving their life in service to God will make it more beautiful.

2. We become more of who we are meant to be by using our lives to help others.

3. Give each child a small, smooth rock, a small paintbrush, and some craft paint.

4. Using their "Perry Paint," ask the children to make a face on their rocks. Make the face a happy face. The children may want to give their "rock person" a name.

Good morning! I thought I would let you make a choice this
morning between a couple of different things to eat. Here is a
bowl of dirt with a lot of icky-looking things in it. Would any
of you like to eat what's in this bowl? (Let them answer.) No, of
course you wouldn't! Nobody wants to eat something like that.
But how about this? (Show the candy bar.) Would any of you like
to eat this? (Let them answer.) Yes, this is something we would
all like to eat. Candy bars are good to eat, while dirty things
like what's in the bowl are not good to eat.

It would be nice if all the choices we have to make in life
were this easy. Unfortunately, sometimes evil, bad things don't

Good morning! Let's use our imagination this morning.
Imagine this situation: you have been chosen to play the leading
role in a play here at church. The play is scheduled for next
month on Sunday, September 12. You and the other children who are
in the play have been practicing for a month and the date is
drawing near. Now, somebody offers you a free ticket to go to
_________________ on September 12. (Show the facsimile ticket.)
This ticket is only good on that day. If you don't use it then,
it will be no good on any other day. What would you do? (Let them
answer.)

You know our lives are filled with those kinds of choices we
have to make. There are times when we have to give up something

Teachers or Parents: Children need to be taught early that
being a Christian is not always easy. Sometimes it means
sacrifice, perhaps even a great sacrifice, to remain faithful to
God. In this Gospel passage, Jesus makes it clear that we must be
ready to make serious sacrifices if we are to be faithful
Christians.

*Pass out quarters to all the children and set up a little
store where they can spend the quarter on candy, a toy, or
something else they might want. Then explain to them that they
can buy something they want OR they can put the quarter in an
offering basket where it will go to some kind of mission work
that your church is involved in. Have a brief discussion on which

Good morning! What if I accidentally fell and scraped my right hand on the floor? Since I have two hands, would I want to fall on the other side so that my left hand would equal the right? (Let them answer.) I don't know of anybody who would do that! Let's imagine that I was playing with a sharp knife and accidentally cut my finger. Would I want to cut all my fingers so that they matched and were even? (Let them answer.) Again, OF COURSE NOT! That would seem to us to be very foolish, wouldn't it? I don't know of anyone who would do something like that. If we hurt ourselves, we certainly wouldn't want to hurt ourselves some more, would we? (Let them answer.)

Soon you will see and hear a great deal about football. When I think of today's story, I think of football. Let me explain myself. Today's story is about the time when Jesus tells his disciples that he is going to Jerusalem to suffer and die. Peter, the leader of the disciples, said to him, "God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you."

I can understand why Peter might say that, can't you? Peter loved Jesus and did not want Jesus to suffer and die. Whenever we love someone, we never want them to suffer and die. That's the way Peter was. He could not understand suffering and death.

Teachers or Parents: It is a fact of church life that some of the church's greatest supporters are also those who most hinder the church from reaching the unchurched. Some of the biggest givers are also the very ones that most inhibit solid stewardship practices. Like Peter, we can easily (though unintentionally) stand in God's way -- like a football linebacker.

*Ask, "How do we know what God's will is?" (Of course, make sure the children know the meaning of "will" first.) List on the board their responses.

*Ask, "How do people stand in God's way?" List responses on the board.

Note: Prior to the lesson ask your organist or pianist to be prepared to play, 1 -- a short melody, pleasing to the ear, followed by, 2 -- a few cords that do not fit together.

Good morning, boys and girls. Today is the first Sunday in September and what a wonderful day it is for us to celebrate. School has started (or is almost ready to start) and we all feel just a little more grown up.

I brought along some symbols that I am sure you will recognize. First, let me show you this one. (hold up a cereal box and let them tell you what is in it) That's right, Cheerios. What do you do with Cheerios? That's right; you eat them.

I also have some pins or badges that boys and girls wear. (show them the organization pins) Do you know who wears these pins? That's right, a Boy Scout (or Brownie, etc.) wears this pin.

Note: The teacher should bring Legos to class, or each student bring some of her own.

Parents and Teachers: In this lesson Jesus accuses Peter of being a "stumbling block." Jesus said that Peter was trying to offer the easy way out of a problem. Tell your students the story about Jesus and Peter. Explain that to follow Christ is not always easy. That is why Jesus called Peter a stumbling block.

List stumbling blocks

Help the students make a list of their own stumbling blocks toward their creation of God's kingdom. These things might include such things as:

1 When I am not friendly to others

2 When I don't share my toys

3 When I don't tell the truth

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you know someone that you do not like? (let them answer) Don't tell me who it is but I want you to think about that person while I talk to you for a minute. When you think about the person you don't like, does it make you feel good or sad? (let them answer) It makes us feel sad. Maybe it is someone that won't let you play with your friends or his/her toys, or someone who makes fun of you. And when you think about them and what they have done to you it makes you unhappy. Am I right? (let them answer)

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you were glad to hear that Jesus died for your sins? (let them answer) When Jesus talked about dying, Peter took Jesus aside and objected to this. He said, "Heaven forbid, Lord! This must never happen to you." How many of you agree with Peter? (let them answer) If you had been there that day would you have tried to talk Jesus out of dying? (let them answer)

Let's pretend that we were with the disciples while this was happening. We know that Jesus is in trouble and people want to kill him. When we ask Jesus about the problem he just shakes his head and keeps talking about doing what God wants him to do.

Materials:
Colored yarn or string
Two sticks for each child (either actual branches or craft sticks, about 5" to 6" long)
Glue
Scissors

Directions:
1.
Allow each child to pick out two sticks.
2.
Glue the two sticks together to form a cross.
3.
Take one color of yarn and wrap it over and around one stick, then over and around the next, over and around the next, and so on. (See example.) Keep doing that until the color is used up.
4.
Tie a different color of yarn onto the old one with a tight knot.
5.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until complete.You should see an "eye" forming at the center of the cross.
6.