The Promise of Christmas - Being There!
Children's sermon
Object: A small bag of potato chips. This message includes role-playing. Depending on your group of children, you can either select your players yourself or ask for volunteers when you need them. You will want one girl to be Mary, another to be Elizabeth, and two more children to be the people in town.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But instead of just hearing the story,
This is a story about a young girl called Mary who lived in the little town of Nazareth. (Have Mary stand in front of the group.) One morning, she went to the well to get a jug of water for her parents. But something happened while she was at the well. Does anyone remember what happened to Mary that morning? (Let them respond.) While she was filling her jug with water, an angel came to her and told her that she was going to have a baby and that God was going to make him very, very special. That sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) But we think Mary was only about twelve years old and was going to get married to Joseph when she got older, but she wasn’t married to him yet. So, when the people in town heard that she was going to have a baby, some of them weren’t very nice to her. (Have the two people stand, but have them stand several feet away from Mary.)
When some people saw her, instead of saying “Hi!” like they used to, now they just ignored her. (Have the two people turn their backs to Mary. As you continue, have the people shake their heads at Mary, point at her and laugh, and cross their arms to look angry.) Some people called her names and picked on her. Some people yelled at her, and some people even threw rocks at her. They thought she had done something wrong and that she should be punished. And the people did the same thing to Mary’s mom and dad and said they must be lousy parents to let this happen. The people said Mary’s parents should kick her out of the house and let her be homeless because of what had happened. And even worse, when Joseph heard she was going to have a baby, he got mad and said he was never going to marry her.
How do you think all of those things made Mary feel? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet she felt like nobody cared about her and she was all alone, don’t you? (Let them respond.) So, Mary decided that she was going to go and live someplace else. (Have the people sit down.) Mary decided to go and visit a woman called Elizabeth and see if she could stay with her. (Have Elizabeth stand and stay several feet away from Mary.) Elizabeth and Mary were related, and Elizabeth lived in a little town a long way from Nazareth, so Mary hoped she would be nicer and not be so mean to her. Do you know what happened when Mary got to Elizabeth’s house? (Let them respond.) Elizabeth could have just ignored her, like some of the people in Nazareth did, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth turn her back to Mary and let them respond.) Or she could have been mean to her, like some people did, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth cross her arms and look angry, and let the children respond.) Mary was from the land of Galilee, and Elizabeth was from a land called Judea, and people in Judea didn’t think anything good could ever come from Galilee. So, Mary was a foreigner in Judea, and Elizabeth could have just told her to leave her alone and go back where she came from. (Hand the bag of chips to Elizabeth.) Or Elizabeth could have just said something like, “I am sorry you are having problems, and I will be thinking about you,” and then just handed her a bag of potato chips and left Mary alone, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth toss the bag of chips to Mary and turn her back to her and let the children respond.)
Do you know what Elizabeth did? Elizabeth welcomed Mary into her home. She gave her a place to stay and helped take care of her. Elizabeth knew that God wanted her to take care of other people, so that’s what she did. How do you think that made Mary feel? (Let them respond.) Mary was so happy that Elizabeth cared that she started singing a song. She was so happy because Elizabeth showed her that someone cared about her and that she was not alone. That is the promise of Christmas. We are not alone. (Take back the bag of chips as you thank Mary and Elizabeth and have them sit down.)
Sometimes, we see people who look like they feel all alone, don’t we? (Let them respond.) We might see them on the street, or in a hospital, or in a nursing home, or at school, or at church, or maybe we even see a neighbor who looks like they feel alone.
And that is when we need to remember what Jesus said God wants us to do. And who remembers the two things that Jesus told us God wants us to always do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that we should always love God, and what else? (Let them respond.) He said that God wants us to love each other and take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) Jesus said those are the two most important things that God wants us to do. We just need to love God and what else? (Let them respond.) Take care of each other. (Show the bag of chips.) And if we see someone who feels all alone, we don’t want to ignore them, or yell at them, or just give them a bag of potato chips and tell them to leave us alone, do we? (Let them respond.) If we see someone who feels like nobody cares about them and they feel all alone, what do we do? (Let them respond.) We show them that we really care about them. We show them they are not alone!
Today is a special day for the church called the Fourth Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent is the time we remember to think about just why God sent the baby Jesus to us on Christmas. And did God send Jesus to make us feel all alone? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not why Jesus was born on Christmas, is it? (Let them respond.) Jesus came to be with us to remind us to take care of each other the way God takes care of us so that no one ever feels no one cares about them and they are all alone. And if we do that, Jesus said that God will take care of us, too. That is the promise God made to us on Christmas. God sent Jesus to show us how much God cares for us and wants us to show other people how much we care about them. That is the promise of Christmas.
Before we go, I have a question for us to think about as we get ready for Christmas. When we see someone who feels all alone and that nobody cares about them, are we willing to show them that we care about them, or are we going to ignore them or give them a bag of potato chips? (Show the bag of chips.)
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But instead of just hearing the story,
This is a story about a young girl called Mary who lived in the little town of Nazareth. (Have Mary stand in front of the group.) One morning, she went to the well to get a jug of water for her parents. But something happened while she was at the well. Does anyone remember what happened to Mary that morning? (Let them respond.) While she was filling her jug with water, an angel came to her and told her that she was going to have a baby and that God was going to make him very, very special. That sounds pretty exciting, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) But we think Mary was only about twelve years old and was going to get married to Joseph when she got older, but she wasn’t married to him yet. So, when the people in town heard that she was going to have a baby, some of them weren’t very nice to her. (Have the two people stand, but have them stand several feet away from Mary.)
When some people saw her, instead of saying “Hi!” like they used to, now they just ignored her. (Have the two people turn their backs to Mary. As you continue, have the people shake their heads at Mary, point at her and laugh, and cross their arms to look angry.) Some people called her names and picked on her. Some people yelled at her, and some people even threw rocks at her. They thought she had done something wrong and that she should be punished. And the people did the same thing to Mary’s mom and dad and said they must be lousy parents to let this happen. The people said Mary’s parents should kick her out of the house and let her be homeless because of what had happened. And even worse, when Joseph heard she was going to have a baby, he got mad and said he was never going to marry her.
How do you think all of those things made Mary feel? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet she felt like nobody cared about her and she was all alone, don’t you? (Let them respond.) So, Mary decided that she was going to go and live someplace else. (Have the people sit down.) Mary decided to go and visit a woman called Elizabeth and see if she could stay with her. (Have Elizabeth stand and stay several feet away from Mary.) Elizabeth and Mary were related, and Elizabeth lived in a little town a long way from Nazareth, so Mary hoped she would be nicer and not be so mean to her. Do you know what happened when Mary got to Elizabeth’s house? (Let them respond.) Elizabeth could have just ignored her, like some of the people in Nazareth did, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth turn her back to Mary and let them respond.) Or she could have been mean to her, like some people did, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth cross her arms and look angry, and let the children respond.) Mary was from the land of Galilee, and Elizabeth was from a land called Judea, and people in Judea didn’t think anything good could ever come from Galilee. So, Mary was a foreigner in Judea, and Elizabeth could have just told her to leave her alone and go back where she came from. (Hand the bag of chips to Elizabeth.) Or Elizabeth could have just said something like, “I am sorry you are having problems, and I will be thinking about you,” and then just handed her a bag of potato chips and left Mary alone, couldn’t she? (Have Elizabeth toss the bag of chips to Mary and turn her back to her and let the children respond.)
Do you know what Elizabeth did? Elizabeth welcomed Mary into her home. She gave her a place to stay and helped take care of her. Elizabeth knew that God wanted her to take care of other people, so that’s what she did. How do you think that made Mary feel? (Let them respond.) Mary was so happy that Elizabeth cared that she started singing a song. She was so happy because Elizabeth showed her that someone cared about her and that she was not alone. That is the promise of Christmas. We are not alone. (Take back the bag of chips as you thank Mary and Elizabeth and have them sit down.)
Sometimes, we see people who look like they feel all alone, don’t we? (Let them respond.) We might see them on the street, or in a hospital, or in a nursing home, or at school, or at church, or maybe we even see a neighbor who looks like they feel alone.
And that is when we need to remember what Jesus said God wants us to do. And who remembers the two things that Jesus told us God wants us to always do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that we should always love God, and what else? (Let them respond.) He said that God wants us to love each other and take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) Jesus said those are the two most important things that God wants us to do. We just need to love God and what else? (Let them respond.) Take care of each other. (Show the bag of chips.) And if we see someone who feels all alone, we don’t want to ignore them, or yell at them, or just give them a bag of potato chips and tell them to leave us alone, do we? (Let them respond.) If we see someone who feels like nobody cares about them and they feel all alone, what do we do? (Let them respond.) We show them that we really care about them. We show them they are not alone!
Today is a special day for the church called the Fourth Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent is the time we remember to think about just why God sent the baby Jesus to us on Christmas. And did God send Jesus to make us feel all alone? (Let them respond.) No, that’s not why Jesus was born on Christmas, is it? (Let them respond.) Jesus came to be with us to remind us to take care of each other the way God takes care of us so that no one ever feels no one cares about them and they are all alone. And if we do that, Jesus said that God will take care of us, too. That is the promise God made to us on Christmas. God sent Jesus to show us how much God cares for us and wants us to show other people how much we care about them. That is the promise of Christmas.
Before we go, I have a question for us to think about as we get ready for Christmas. When we see someone who feels all alone and that nobody cares about them, are we willing to show them that we care about them, or are we going to ignore them or give them a bag of potato chips? (Show the bag of chips.)
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
