Childrens Sermon Service

For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (v. 13)

He answered, "I will not"; but later he changed his mind and went. The father went to the second son and said the same; and he answered, "I go, sir"; but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? (vv. 29-31a)

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

Materials:
One pair of gloves for each child*
Markers
Fabric markers, fabric paint (optional)
Hot glue, ribbons, buttons (optional)

Directions

1. Have the children decorate their gloves to remind them that actions speak louder than words.

*Garden gloves are preferable, but plain, knit winter gloves may be more cost- effective. Try to get white, yellow, or other light, plain colors.

For it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (v. 13)

"Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you." (v. 31)

Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about surprises. We are going to talk about things that are not the same as they seem to be. First, I'm going to tell you a story.

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


Materials:
Cotton book covers to fit Bibles (homemade or purchased)
Fabric paint
Markers
Felt
Glue
Scissors
Paint smocks


Directions:
1. Make sure each child is wearing a paint smock. Give each child a Bible cover to decorate with fabric glue, felt, and markers.

2. Remind the children that it's not what's outside that counts but what's inside.

3. Give the children the covers to take home for their own Bibles or keep the covers on classroom Bibles.

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority?”

Good morning boys and girls. I keep forgetting to ask you every Sunday but I won’t today. Which one of you is in charge? (Let them answer.) What I want to know is which one of you tells the others what to do? (Let them answer.) There seems to be a different opinion. One of you thinks he is in charge and others don’t think so.

“Which of the two did what his father wanted?” (v. 31)

Note: The instructions will explain who you are to be speaking too. Most of all, have fun with this!

Let’s have some fun this time and do some acting. And I think it is really going to take some good acting because I know that none of you ever behave like one of the children in this story behaves. This is a story Jesus told about a man and his two sons, so let’s begin by finding our actors for those roles. Don’t worry, I’ll help you know what to say and do.

Object: This message will include a simple role-play activity.

Note: For the role-play, pick three children you believe can have some fun with their roles. You can read their parts for them, or for more fun, feed them their lines and have them repeat them. A little over-acting by the two sons makes it more memorable.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

Good morning! How many of you like to play a musical instrument? (Let them answer.) Music is so much fun! I like good music! I love the music our children's choir makes when they sing in worship. Music is a real joy. It makes people happy.

Now, let me ask you a question. See if you like the music I'm going to play on this piano. (Play some dissonant chords.) Do you like my music? Now be honest here. (Let them answer.) I can understand that you might not like that music. In fact, we wouldn't even call it music because it's really just noise!

The Point: Words alone are not enough. Action is needed.

The Lesson: Good morning, girls and boys. It is great to have you come up and share this time with me. Thank you.

Every time I see a broom (show broom) I remember a learning moment in my life. I was just a little older than you are. And in our home I had certain chores to do. Chores are things that I was responsible to do to help in my family. One of those chores was to clean my room by hanging up my clothes and sweeping the floor.

One day when I was supposed to do my chore, I wanted to go out and play with my friends. So I just pushed everything, my clothes and toys under the bed. Then I put the broom in the closet. "I cleaned my room," I yelled as I ran out to play.

Materials
Heavy construction paper or poster board
Markers
Glue
Contact paper (clear), or you can laminate the paper/poster board if you have access to that
Yarn or ribbon
Hole punch
Scissors

Instructions
1. Let's make a bookmark that will remind us to make the examples and teachings of Jesus the authority in our lives.

2. Cut out the construction paper or poster board to the size and shape you wish the bookmark to be.

3. Decorate it with markers with the word Jesus, a cross, or other biblical themes.

4. Cover the bookmark with contact paper and trim to fit, or laminate it.

5. Punch a hole with the hole punch at the top center of the bookmark.

Good morning! Can any of you tell me what this is? (Show the
device and let them answer.) Yes, this is a _______________. What
does it do? (Let them answer.) That's right. Now let's see if it
works. I'll turn on the switch and see what happens. (Turn it
on.) Well, it isn't working. Does anyone have any idea why it
doesn't work? (Let them answer.) If it isn't broken, the problem
is that it doesn't have any power. Either the batteries are
missing or dead. Let's check. (Open it up and show that the
batteries are not in.) These things don't work unless they have
power. Let's put some batteries in and see what happens. (Put the
batteries in and show that it works.)

Good morning! In the Gospel reading today, we heard Jesus
tell us a story about two sons. Do any of you remember what
happened in that story? (Let them answer to see what they
remember of the parable.)

Well, I'd like to tell you the same kind of story about
something that might have happened quite recently. It seems there
were two children much like you, a boy and a girl. One day the
mother in this family told the girl to clean her room. The girl
told her mother she wouldn't do it. Later, however, she was sorry
that she had said that to her mother, and she went ahead and
cleaned her room. The father in this family told the boy that he
wanted him to mow the lawn. The son promised that he would, but

Teachers or Parents: Promises need to be kept. God always
keeps His promises, and we need to instill in our children an
understanding of the importance of a promise. If we say we will
do something, we must follow through. The Gospel story today
gives us a really good example of what is meant by obedience to
those in authority. We need to give more than lip service to our
promises to God and to others.

* Ask the children if any of them have ever broken a
promise. If you get volunteers, discuss the promises and the
reasons they were broken. Ask them if God has ever made a promise
that He hasn't kept.

* Make a list on the board or easel of promises to God. List

A girl named Sara told her mother she would clean her room. She really meant to clean her room, but she had so much fun playing with her neighbor friend that she never quite got it done. Her room was a mess! Do you think Sara's mother was pleased? (Let them answer.) I doubt it! She was more likely upset! Sara said she would clean her room, but she didn't do it.

Teachers or Parents: Today's theme is about hypocrisy -- saying something that sounds nice, but then not following through on one's words with actions. It's also called phoniness. Children understand incongruity of character.

*Have the children act out the parable. Whether just one child and yourself at home or twenty children in Sunday school, let some children really get into wild and extravagant promises. Others can say no more than what they will do. Show the contrast: Promises to rid the world of poverty sound wonderful but giving a jar of peanut butter to a food bank is more important than all the promises in the world.

(Editor's note: This is a continuation of the theme used in the second lesson from Proper 20.)

Good morning, boys and girls. Do you remember my friends Ned and Ted who we met last Sunday? (Show your two decorated fingers.) This morning I brought two more friends with me. This one is Ashley. She is always willing to help others. (Show the right one and call it any name you wish.) This one is Jessica. She is never willing to help others. (Show the left one and call it any name you wish.)

Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you have invisible friends or playmates? Those are friends you play with who only you can see. (Let them answer.) I have an invisible dog, who is my pet. His name is Ralph. I brought him with me this morning. Here he is. (Pretend to pet your dog on the head.) Ralph is my friend and is very obedient. He really trusts me, too. That means he always does what I ask him to do. I can make him roll over. (Tell Ralph to roll over.) I can make him shake hands. (Tell Ralph to shake hands.) I can toss a stick and he will bring back to me. (Toss a stick and let him retrieve it.)

Teachers: This week's Bible story is about a father and two sons. Summarize the story to your students. The father asks both sons to do some work in the field. The first says he will not, but later changes his mind. The second says he will, but later changes his mind also.

Talk with your students about jobs that they do around the house. Make a list on your chalkboard of jobs that children do. Then make a list of play activities that your students enjoy.

Discuss the story about the father and two sons. Has this ever happened to any of the students? Which son did the correct thing? Jesus told his listeners that what you first say is not as important as what you finally do.

Good morning, boys and girls. Today, I brought with me a big book. Does anyone know what is in it? (let them answer) It is a book of laws. It is the kind of a book that a judge would use or a lawyer. It tells what is right and what is wrong and what could happen to you if you did something wrong. This book is a book of authority.

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you brought a friend today? (let them answer; then introduce yourself to new children) I want everyone who brought a friend to know that you are one of Jesus' disciples. You are like Peter or John or any of Jesus' followers who introduced someone to Jesus.