Childrens Sermon Service

First Thoughts: A lesson about spiritual possession is a difficult one for children to understand and those who do understand might find it frightening. So we are going to draw an analogy to something the children are familiar with: getting a stomach ache. We're going to draw a parallel between being physically sick and spiritually sick. In preparation for this lesson I invite you to think of a time in your life when you were ailing spiritually. Perhaps you found yourself in a destructive relationship, addiction patterns, or were simply despairing whether God was with you. What did you need to be "purged" from this sickness? Was the act of spiritual healing a hard thing to accept?

Props You Will Need: none

Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 comes walking in looking very tired)

Leader 1: Wow, (name), you don't look so well. Did you not have a good night's sleep?

Leader 2: No, I had a terrible night!

Leader 1: What happened?

Leader 2: My stomach was really upset. First it rumbled, then it grumbled, and then it started rolling.

Leader 1: Oh, that doesn't sound good. What did you do?

Leader 2: At first I tried different positions -- standing up, sitting, laying down -- but nothing helped.

Leader 1: Then what?

Leader 2: Then I took some medicine. But that didn't help either.

Leader 1: Uh huh...?

Leader 2: Finally I threw up. Yuck! I just hate throwing up!

Leader 1: Me too. But how did you feel after?

Leader 2: (seeming surprised) I guess I felt better. I mean, that's when I fell asleep!

Leader 1: Your body is very smart, you know. There was something inside you that was making you very sick. Throwing up cleans out your tummy, so whatever's making you sick can't hurt you anymore.

Leader 2: Like taking out the trash?

Leader 1: That's right. You know, our story today is about how Jesus took the trash out of people's hearts. Just as our bodies get sick, our hearts can get sick too.

Leader 2: What are some things that make our hearts sick?

Leader 1: Like hating someone, holding a grudge, or being selfish. If those things stay in our hearts too long we get weak and we're not able to live our lives as God wants. But Jesus could look right into people's hearts. He could see what was making them sick and he could pull out what was hurting them.

Leader 2: So Jesus could make someone's heart throw up?

Leader 1: Sounds kinda gross, I know but it does work. Once we get those icky things out of our lives, we feel better and get back to living our lives. Just like you -- how do you feel right now?

Leader 2: Like I'm ready for an ice cream sundae!

Leader 1: Yep, back to normal!

Teaching On Your Own: Boy, am I tired. I didn't sleep very well last night. I had a terrible stomach ache. Have you ever had a stomach ache? Not fun, right? No matter what I did I just couldn't feel better. I tried laying down and standing up. I took some medicine. Nothing helped. But then -- I threw up! Have you ever thrown up? It's really gross, huh? But you know what -- after that I felt better. That's when I finally fell asleep. You know, God made our bodies very smart. There was something inside me that was making me sick. And throwing up cleans out your tummy, so whatever's making you sick can't hurt you anymore. Kinda like taking out the trash.

Our story today is about how Jesus took out the trash in people's hearts. Just as our bodies get sick, our hearts can get sick too. What do you think might make your heart sick? Things like hating someone, holding a grudge, or being selfish. If those things stay in our hearts too long we get weak and we're not able to live our lives as God wants. But Jesus could look right into people's hearts. He could see what was making them sick and he could pull out what was hurting them. Their hearts would throw up whatever it was that was hurting them. Sounds kinda gross, I know. But it does work. Once we get those icky things out of our lives, we feel better and get back to living our lives. Just like me -- yesterday I was so sick I couldn't even rest. But today? I feel like eating an ice cream sundae. Back to normal!

Closing Prayer: Loving God, thank you for blessing us with bodies and hearts that can be cleaned out and healed. Help us to grow strong and faithful in our Christian lives, so we can be the people you've called us to be and to help others experience your love. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Follow-Up Lesson: To follow-up on this lesson at home or in a classroom setting, we will encourage the children to brainstorm on the things that make our hearts sick. Help them identify particular struggles in their lives: thinking mean thoughts about someone or about themselves, picking on someone who is different, being fearful and anxious about things, and not being grateful for the good things they have, and so on. Make a list. Then tell the children the story from Mark: a man was possessed by demons and his heart was very sick. Then Jesus spoke words of power and the man was cleaned out. Show the children a tube of toothpaste. Tell them the toothpaste tube represents their hearts and the toothpaste inside all the icky things God needs to get rid of. Give each child a chance to squeeze some paste out of the tube, each time speaking words of power: "Meanness, be gone! Fear, be gone! Feeling sorry for myself, be gone!" Continue until the tube is empty and then have a prayer of thanksgiving. (If you don't want to waste a tube of toothpaste, you can vary the lesson by using a container of cheese in a can, which you can put on crackers for a snack.)