Being the Beloved
Children's sermon
Object:
none
First Thoughts: This Sunday it would be easy to stick with the first part of the text, which focuses on God's glorious affirmation of Jesus' ministry. But we are remiss if we don't also recognize that immediately following this affirmation, Jesus is driven into the wilderness of temptation and John the Baptist (his mentor and ally) is arrested and ultimately executed. Even here, at the beginning of Jesus' ministry, we see resonance of the cross that is coming. Reflect for a moment on a time in your life when you knew you were the beloved -- when you were chosen and gifted for a special calling. Recall that experience of exuberance, realizing that you were specially loved and empowered. Then recall what happened next, the burden of actually living in that call. Think about the struggles, the low points, perhaps even the times of despair and hopelessness you felt. Remind yourself that this is the real journey of faith: exhilarating, empowering, confusing, exhausting. Offer to God a prayer of thanksgiving for your entire journey and carry that thankfulness into your time with the kids.
Props You Will Need: none
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 2: You know, I just don't get parents!
Leader 1: What do you mean?
Leader 2: My mom is always telling me she loves me, but then -- almost in the next breath -- she's telling me to eat my veggies and clean my room, and to say "please" and "thank you."
Leader 1: Yeah. So why are you confused?
Leader 2: If you love somebody, aren't you supposed to love them exactly as they are? Why is she always trying to change me?
Leader 1: That's a good question. Loving someone does mean loving who they are, but it also means wanting the best for them. And that means helping each other be healthy and happy and helping that person to do well in the world. That's why parents are always trying to get us to do things they think are important for us. Even God did it with Jesus.
Leader 2: What do you mean?
Leader 1: Today's scripture passage tells us about the time Jesus was baptized. He came to the water, his friend John poured the water over his head, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Leader 2: See? God loved Jesus and was pleased with him!
Leader 1: But you know the next thing that happened? God sent Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, on his own, without anything to eat and drink.
Leader 2: Why did he do that?
Leader 1: So Jesus could spend time praying and listening for God's guidance and so Jesus would be able to serve God's people the way God wanted. It was to help Jesus get strong in his faith.
Leader 2: Kinda like my mom wanting me to eat veggies?
Leader 1: Yeah. See, it's not always easy being loved. It means someone is really interested in us and will sometimes ask us to do things that may be difficult or even scary.
Leader 2: I bet it's even harder not feeling loved at all.
Leader 1: Which is why our job is to let everyone know that God does love them and to remember that we're loved too. No matter what.
Teaching On Your Own: You know, I just don't understand my parents. I mean, my mom tells me all the time that she loves me. But then she'll get on me about cleaning my room and saying "please" and "thank you" and eating my vegetables. Do your parents do that too? I just don't get it. I mean, I think when someone loves you they should love you just as you are. But, if that's true, why is my mom always trying to CHANGE me? Do you think maybe I've got the wrong idea about love? Maybe so. Maybe loving someone does mean loving who they are, but it also means wanting the best for them also. What do you think? If someone loves us, they want us to be healthy and happy and help us to do well in the world. That's why parents are always trying to get us to do things they think are important for us. And you know what? God even did that with Jesus. Today's scripture passage tells us about the time Jesus was baptized. He came to the water, his friend John poured the water over his head, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God loved Jesus and was happy with Jesus, but you know what happened next? God sent Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, on his own, without anything to eat and drink. Why do you think he did that? Was God punishing Jesus? No! God was giving Jesus time to pray and listen for God's guidance, so that Jesus could be really strong in his faith and so he could minister to people as God wanted him to. Kinda like my mom wanting me to eat my veggies! It's not always easy being loved. It means someone is really interested in us and will sometimes ask us to do things that are difficult or even scary. I bet it's even harder not feeling loved at all, don't you think? That's why our job is to let everyone know that God does love them and to remember that we're loved too. No matter what.
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for loving us so much that you ask us to do things that will make us stronger and happier so that we can live better lives and can help others to live better lives. Help us to do our spiritual exercises faithfully, so we can do your good work in the world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a classroom or home setting, prepare coloring sheets for the children with a variety of fruits and vegetables on them. Allow the children to color the vegetables and cut them out. Talk a bit about how important fruits and vegetables are for helping us build strong bodies. Then ask the children to think about what things help us to grow strong hearts and lives of faith. Help the children to think of things that are a bit sacrificial in nature: taking thirty minutes away from the television or computer to read the Bible and pray, choosing a favorite toy to give to someone else, making cookies you give to someone in a nursing home (instead of eating yourself). Then invite the children to write some of their ideas on the backs of their fruit/veggie pictures. If you've decided to have a Lent tree in your classroom as was suggested in the Ash Wednesday lesson, you can punch holes in these pictures and hang them on the tree. Or, if you'd rather send these pictures home with the children to support their spiritual exercises during Lent, you can offer a second craft to decorate the tree. Revisit the story of Jesus being baptized, emphasizing the moment of God's stated love and approval of Jesus. Provide a dove template to each child (to represent the Spirit descending on Jesus) and allow each child to cut it out and decorate it. Finally, write on each dove, "You Are My Beloved, (child's name)!" and hang it on the tree.
Props You Will Need: none
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 2: You know, I just don't get parents!
Leader 1: What do you mean?
Leader 2: My mom is always telling me she loves me, but then -- almost in the next breath -- she's telling me to eat my veggies and clean my room, and to say "please" and "thank you."
Leader 1: Yeah. So why are you confused?
Leader 2: If you love somebody, aren't you supposed to love them exactly as they are? Why is she always trying to change me?
Leader 1: That's a good question. Loving someone does mean loving who they are, but it also means wanting the best for them. And that means helping each other be healthy and happy and helping that person to do well in the world. That's why parents are always trying to get us to do things they think are important for us. Even God did it with Jesus.
Leader 2: What do you mean?
Leader 1: Today's scripture passage tells us about the time Jesus was baptized. He came to the water, his friend John poured the water over his head, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Leader 2: See? God loved Jesus and was pleased with him!
Leader 1: But you know the next thing that happened? God sent Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, on his own, without anything to eat and drink.
Leader 2: Why did he do that?
Leader 1: So Jesus could spend time praying and listening for God's guidance and so Jesus would be able to serve God's people the way God wanted. It was to help Jesus get strong in his faith.
Leader 2: Kinda like my mom wanting me to eat veggies?
Leader 1: Yeah. See, it's not always easy being loved. It means someone is really interested in us and will sometimes ask us to do things that may be difficult or even scary.
Leader 2: I bet it's even harder not feeling loved at all.
Leader 1: Which is why our job is to let everyone know that God does love them and to remember that we're loved too. No matter what.
Teaching On Your Own: You know, I just don't understand my parents. I mean, my mom tells me all the time that she loves me. But then she'll get on me about cleaning my room and saying "please" and "thank you" and eating my vegetables. Do your parents do that too? I just don't get it. I mean, I think when someone loves you they should love you just as you are. But, if that's true, why is my mom always trying to CHANGE me? Do you think maybe I've got the wrong idea about love? Maybe so. Maybe loving someone does mean loving who they are, but it also means wanting the best for them also. What do you think? If someone loves us, they want us to be healthy and happy and help us to do well in the world. That's why parents are always trying to get us to do things they think are important for us. And you know what? God even did that with Jesus. Today's scripture passage tells us about the time Jesus was baptized. He came to the water, his friend John poured the water over his head, and suddenly a voice came from heaven saying: "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." God loved Jesus and was happy with Jesus, but you know what happened next? God sent Jesus into the wilderness for forty days, on his own, without anything to eat and drink. Why do you think he did that? Was God punishing Jesus? No! God was giving Jesus time to pray and listen for God's guidance, so that Jesus could be really strong in his faith and so he could minister to people as God wanted him to. Kinda like my mom wanting me to eat my veggies! It's not always easy being loved. It means someone is really interested in us and will sometimes ask us to do things that are difficult or even scary. I bet it's even harder not feeling loved at all, don't you think? That's why our job is to let everyone know that God does love them and to remember that we're loved too. No matter what.
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for loving us so much that you ask us to do things that will make us stronger and happier so that we can live better lives and can help others to live better lives. Help us to do our spiritual exercises faithfully, so we can do your good work in the world. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a classroom or home setting, prepare coloring sheets for the children with a variety of fruits and vegetables on them. Allow the children to color the vegetables and cut them out. Talk a bit about how important fruits and vegetables are for helping us build strong bodies. Then ask the children to think about what things help us to grow strong hearts and lives of faith. Help the children to think of things that are a bit sacrificial in nature: taking thirty minutes away from the television or computer to read the Bible and pray, choosing a favorite toy to give to someone else, making cookies you give to someone in a nursing home (instead of eating yourself). Then invite the children to write some of their ideas on the backs of their fruit/veggie pictures. If you've decided to have a Lent tree in your classroom as was suggested in the Ash Wednesday lesson, you can punch holes in these pictures and hang them on the tree. Or, if you'd rather send these pictures home with the children to support their spiritual exercises during Lent, you can offer a second craft to decorate the tree. Revisit the story of Jesus being baptized, emphasizing the moment of God's stated love and approval of Jesus. Provide a dove template to each child (to represent the Spirit descending on Jesus) and allow each child to cut it out and decorate it. Finally, write on each dove, "You Are My Beloved, (child's name)!" and hang it on the tree.
