Being a Blabbermouth
Children's sermon
Object:
empty bag from a donut shop, held by Leader 2
First Thoughts: This is one of those provocative stories in the gospel where Jesus seems to want to keep his ministry a secret. We don't know why Jesus tried to conceal his identity but we do know that it never worked. Jesus' ministry was so exciting and so life-changing that there was no way to keep it quiet. Have you ever had such good news that you couldn't keep it to yourself? Even found yourself looking for strangers with whom you could share your good fortune? Have you ever felt that way about the gospel message -- sharing not because you're "supposed" to but because you just can't keep it in? Spend a few moments in reflection and prayer on your own experience of the good news.
Props You Will Need: empty bag from a donut shop, held by Leader 2
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), what do you have there? Leader 2: It used to be a bag of donuts but I ate them all.
Leader 1: Where did you get donuts?
Leader 2: My friend works at a bakery. I went in to say hello and he ended up giving me three free donuts! He told me not to tell anybody, but...
Leader 1: Who did you tell?
Leader 2: First I texted my friends Steve and Joe and then I called Mark. I was so excited I even mentioned it to this guy I bumped into on the street. Within ten minutes, everyone had come to the bakery for donuts.
Leader 1: I bet your friend was a little annoyed.
Leader 2: Yeah, he called me a blabbermouth. But I told him that his donuts were so good I just couldn't keep it to myself!
Leader 1: That reminds me of another blabbermouth from our Bible story today. There was a man who was very sick with a disease called leprosy. There was no way to cure the disease, and the man was certainly going to die from it. But he came to Jesus and asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus did but he told the man to keep it to himself and not to tell anybody what Jesus did. But what do you think happened?
Leader 2: He told everybody!
Leader 1: That's right! Before long everybody around was trying to see Jesus. They all wanted Jesus to help them too. After a while Jesus couldn't even come into a town, because everybody would swarm him. He had to hide out in the country -- and people STILL visited him all the time.
Leader 2: I don't blame the man for telling everybody. I mean, I couldn't keep my mouth shut about some free donuts. I KNOW I couldn't keep that healing a secret.
Leader 1: Yeah. Good news spreads pretty quickly. That's why we have churches today, because people are still sharing the good news about Jesus' love.
Leader 2: But unlike the donuts, Jesus' love doesn't ever run out!
Teaching On Your Own: Hey, do you guys like donuts? I LOVE donuts. They make the best donuts at this bakery downtown where my friend works. I went to visit him this morning and -- guess what? He gave me three donuts for free! He told me not to tell anyone but (guiltily)... First I texted my friends Steve and Joe and then I called Mark. I was so excited I even mentioned it to this guy I bumped into on the street. Within ten minutes, everyone had come to the bakery for donuts. My friend was a little annoyed. He called me a blabbermouth. Have you ever been called a blabbermouth? I told him that his donuts were so good I just couldn't keep it to myself! Being a blabbermouth isn't so bad and they even have a blabbermouth in our Bible story today. There was a man who was very sick with a disease called leprosy. There was no way to cure the disease, and the man was certainly going to die from it. But he came to Jesus and asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus did, but he told the man to keep it to himself and not to tell anybody what Jesus did. But what do you think happened? He told everybody! Before long everybody around was trying to see Jesus. They all wanted Jesus to help them too. After a while Jesus couldn't even come into a town, because everybody would swarm him. He had to hide out in the country and people STILL visited him all the time. I don't blame the man for telling everybody. I mean, I couldn't keep my mouth shut about some free donuts. I KNOW I couldn't keep that healing a secret. Do you think you could keep that secret? Good news spreads pretty quickly. That's why we have churches today, because people are still sharing the good news about Jesus' love. But unlike the donuts, Jesus' love doesn't ever run out!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for filling our lives with exciting good news. We ask you to fill us up with your love so that it spills out from us into the world around us so that everyone will know your kindness. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson at home or in a classroom setting, we're going to illustrate how good news spreads and grows as it is shared. Begin by retelling the scripture story about the healed leper. Then provide each child with a bubble wand but only give bubble solution to one child. Let the first child blow bubbles, as she shares some good news in her life. As the bubbles float around have the other children try to catch them on their wands. Then see if they can create new bubbles from the caught bubble. Give each child a turn to be the original bubble-blower. Talk about how the original bubbles have multiplied to make more and more and connect that to the spreading of good news. Ask the children what they think is "good news" about Jesus' ministry? That God heals people, protects people, and loves people? Then compare the exercise with the bubbles with the growth of Jesus' ministry and to the growth of the church. The good news has now spread all over the world, and we continue to spread it whenever we share God's love with others. (You could also try this illustration with lighting candles, if you feel comfortable with fire!)
Props You Will Need: empty bag from a donut shop, held by Leader 2
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), what do you have there? Leader 2: It used to be a bag of donuts but I ate them all.
Leader 1: Where did you get donuts?
Leader 2: My friend works at a bakery. I went in to say hello and he ended up giving me three free donuts! He told me not to tell anybody, but...
Leader 1: Who did you tell?
Leader 2: First I texted my friends Steve and Joe and then I called Mark. I was so excited I even mentioned it to this guy I bumped into on the street. Within ten minutes, everyone had come to the bakery for donuts.
Leader 1: I bet your friend was a little annoyed.
Leader 2: Yeah, he called me a blabbermouth. But I told him that his donuts were so good I just couldn't keep it to myself!
Leader 1: That reminds me of another blabbermouth from our Bible story today. There was a man who was very sick with a disease called leprosy. There was no way to cure the disease, and the man was certainly going to die from it. But he came to Jesus and asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus did but he told the man to keep it to himself and not to tell anybody what Jesus did. But what do you think happened?
Leader 2: He told everybody!
Leader 1: That's right! Before long everybody around was trying to see Jesus. They all wanted Jesus to help them too. After a while Jesus couldn't even come into a town, because everybody would swarm him. He had to hide out in the country -- and people STILL visited him all the time.
Leader 2: I don't blame the man for telling everybody. I mean, I couldn't keep my mouth shut about some free donuts. I KNOW I couldn't keep that healing a secret.
Leader 1: Yeah. Good news spreads pretty quickly. That's why we have churches today, because people are still sharing the good news about Jesus' love.
Leader 2: But unlike the donuts, Jesus' love doesn't ever run out!
Teaching On Your Own: Hey, do you guys like donuts? I LOVE donuts. They make the best donuts at this bakery downtown where my friend works. I went to visit him this morning and -- guess what? He gave me three donuts for free! He told me not to tell anyone but (guiltily)... First I texted my friends Steve and Joe and then I called Mark. I was so excited I even mentioned it to this guy I bumped into on the street. Within ten minutes, everyone had come to the bakery for donuts. My friend was a little annoyed. He called me a blabbermouth. Have you ever been called a blabbermouth? I told him that his donuts were so good I just couldn't keep it to myself! Being a blabbermouth isn't so bad and they even have a blabbermouth in our Bible story today. There was a man who was very sick with a disease called leprosy. There was no way to cure the disease, and the man was certainly going to die from it. But he came to Jesus and asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus did, but he told the man to keep it to himself and not to tell anybody what Jesus did. But what do you think happened? He told everybody! Before long everybody around was trying to see Jesus. They all wanted Jesus to help them too. After a while Jesus couldn't even come into a town, because everybody would swarm him. He had to hide out in the country and people STILL visited him all the time. I don't blame the man for telling everybody. I mean, I couldn't keep my mouth shut about some free donuts. I KNOW I couldn't keep that healing a secret. Do you think you could keep that secret? Good news spreads pretty quickly. That's why we have churches today, because people are still sharing the good news about Jesus' love. But unlike the donuts, Jesus' love doesn't ever run out!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for filling our lives with exciting good news. We ask you to fill us up with your love so that it spills out from us into the world around us so that everyone will know your kindness. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson at home or in a classroom setting, we're going to illustrate how good news spreads and grows as it is shared. Begin by retelling the scripture story about the healed leper. Then provide each child with a bubble wand but only give bubble solution to one child. Let the first child blow bubbles, as she shares some good news in her life. As the bubbles float around have the other children try to catch them on their wands. Then see if they can create new bubbles from the caught bubble. Give each child a turn to be the original bubble-blower. Talk about how the original bubbles have multiplied to make more and more and connect that to the spreading of good news. Ask the children what they think is "good news" about Jesus' ministry? That God heals people, protects people, and loves people? Then compare the exercise with the bubbles with the growth of Jesus' ministry and to the growth of the church. The good news has now spread all over the world, and we continue to spread it whenever we share God's love with others. (You could also try this illustration with lighting candles, if you feel comfortable with fire!)
