Childrens Sermon Service

First Thoughts: It all comes down to love, doesn't it? Jesus' message is as simple and profound as that. Without love, our churches are just buildings, our committees are just taking care of business, and our children are just being entertained for an hour while the grown-ups do "real" worship. But with love all that's transformed. A church becomes a place of refuge, a committee meeting a chance for meaningful dialogue, and children beloved guests at the table. As you prepare your lesson today, don't forget the most important part, which is to pray that God will fill you with love for the children.

Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 has gift, hands it to Leader 1)
Leader 2: Here, (name). I got you a present.
Leader 1: You did? But why? It's not my birthday or anything.
Leader 2: I just thought you would like it.
Leader 1: How sweet of you. And it's wrapped so nicely.
Leader 2: Oh yeah. I spent almost thirty minutes trying to get it just right.
Leader 1: It's beautiful. Well, let's see what's inside (opens, confused)... um, (name)?
Leader 2: Yeah?
Leader 1: It's empty.
Leader 2: Empty?
Leader 1: Yeah. I think you spent so much time on wrapping the box that you forgot to put the gift inside!
Leader 2: Oh, man!
Leader 1: It's okay. Actually this makes me think of our lesson today. There were these people who were asking Jesus what the most important law was.
Leader 2: Were there lots of laws?
Leader 1: Oh yes. They had laws to tell them how to dress, what to eat, and when to pray. They had LOTS of laws. But Jesus told them the most important law of all was to love God and love their neighbors.
Leader 2: That's it?
Leader 1: Yeah. It's not that the other laws were bad. They were kind of like this gift box -- beautiful and lots of fun, but the most important thing is inside the box.
Leader 2: Like the gift.
Leader 1: Right. The most important thing is that we are loving. Without that all the other laws aren't worth much.
Leader 2: Like an empty gift box.
Leader 1: You said it.

Teaching On Your Own: (holds gift) Hey everybody. See what I have here? It's a gift for one of my friends. I saw it and just knew she would love it. Do you guys want to see what's inside? Okay. (begins to open the box) Isn't the box pretty? I spent thirty minutes trying to get it just right. Okay, here we go. (looks inside) Oh man! Look! (shows empty box) It's empty. The gift isn't in there. Where do you think it is? You know what I think? I think I spent so much time on wrapping the box that I forgot to put the gift inside. Actually this makes me think of our lesson today.

There were these people who were asking Jesus what the most important law was. Now there were lots of laws. They had laws to tell them how to dress, what to eat, and when to pray. They had LOTS of laws. But Jesus told them the most important law of all was to love God and love their neighbors. Pretty simple, huh? Now, it's not that the other laws were bad. They were kind of like this gift box -- beautiful and lots of fun, but the most important thing is inside the box. The most important thing is that we are loving. Without that all the other laws aren't worth much. Kind of like an empty gift box. Without the gift it's not really worth much, is it?

Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for reminding us of the most important thing we can do with our lives, which is to love you and each other. Help us to grow each day in our ability to receive and give love so that we may be more and more like you. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this lesson in a home or classroom setting talk with the children about what it means to act in love, even reading or paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 13:4-9a. This passage tells us that anything we do in love can be powerful and eternal but anything we do without love is useless. Bring up a few scenarios with the children, asking them to determine if the action is loving or not. For example, giving a toy to a friend. Let the children answer whether they think it's a loving act or not. Then give them some insight into an inner-dialogue in the situation. First, let's say you know your friend's family doesn't have a lot of money and they can't afford new toys. Although you really like your toy, you care more about her; so you give it away. Now another inner-dialogue scenario: let's say you give your friend a toy because you know she got a great new game and you're hoping she'll share it with you in return. How do your thoughts change the situation? Present one or two other scenarios to give the lesson a chance to sink in. Explain to the children that in God's eyes it's all about motivation, which means the reason WHY we do things. God isn't just concerned with what we do on the outside; God also wants us to grow strong on the inside. God knows that when we really care about other people, our hearts grow stronger and we can lead happier lives.

For a craft idea, create a heart "pocket" with your children. They will need one heart cut out of construction paper, one piece of construction paper cut in the shape of the lower "V" part of the heart, a hole punch, and yarn. Line up the heart with the "V" shape paper and make several hole punches along the edges, continuing around the entire shape of the heart. Then have the children weave the two pieces of paper together at the bottom and continue weaving in and out to the top of the heart where they can tie the yarn in a bow. Now allow the children to write the words or draw pictures of "GOD" and "NEIGHBOR" on two pieces of paper and put them into the pocket. On the front of the pocket they can write the words: "LOVE WITH ALL YOUR HEART." Remind them the most important law isn't what we do on the outside, because that's just the outer wrapping. It's what happens on the inside, in our hearts, that counts the most. Close your time with the children in prayer.