Stay Charged!
Children's sermon
Object:
For the most fun, have a small flashlight to give each child, some with a dead battery. If you do this, have an extra good battery to give them later. Or, have one flashlight and extra battery you can show them.
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (vv. 1-6)
I have a question for you. How many of you have ever been to a wedding? (Let them respond.) Well, I’ll bet none of you have ever been to a wedding like the one Jesus is talking about in the story today. Weddings back in Jesus’ day were a lot different than our weddings. Our weddings usually happen on one day, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Maybe we have a dinner the night before, or a party, but then we get together the next day to have the ceremony and the wedding is done.
In Jesus’ day, a wedding could take a lot longer than that. Sometimes they took several days. The groom’s family would have meetings and parties at their house, and the bride’s family would have meetings and parties at their house, until finally one day, after all of the preparations, the groom’s family and friends all got together and walked from the groom’s house to the bride’s family’s house. It was like a parade, and everyone in the parade carried a torch or a lamp. They carried the light partly because the parade was usually at night and it was dark outside, but also because it was like saying they hoped that God would shine light on the bride and groom and bless their marriage. So, if you wanted to go to the big wedding party it was important that you had your light with you. It was almost like your light was your ticket to get in.
Jesus told the story about the ten young girls who were so excited about going to the wedding they went outside and waited for the parade to come so they could join it. When it got dark they turned on their lights so everyone knew they were going to the wedding. And they waited. And they waited. It got so late, they sat down and took a nap while they waited, but they left their lights on so they wouldn’t miss the parade when it came by.
Then, they heard the parade coming and woke up. They grabbed their lights and got ready to join the parade. But what happened? (Let them respond.) Let’s show what happened. (Give the children their flashlights and ask them to not turn them on until you tell them to. Give some children the flashlights with dead batteries. When everyone has their flashlight, ask them to turn them on. If you just have one flashlight, turn it on.)
Uh, oh, what happened? (Let them respond. If you just have one flashlight, wait a couple of seconds and then turn it off, pretending went out on its own.) What can happen if you leave a light on for too long? (Let them respond.) Yes, the batteries might wear out, or it might run out of oil. And since the girls had left their lights on for so long, their lights all went out. But some of the girls had remembered to bring some spare batteries, so they could be ready if they had to wait this long. They changed batteries and ran out to join the parade. The other girls had to run down the road to find some place to buy new batteries for their lights, but since it was night time, all of the stores were closed. When they got back, the parade was over and everyone was at the bride’s house at the party. The girls knocked on the door and asked to come it, but since they didn’t have their light, they couldn’t go in.
Why do you think Jesus told us this story? (Let them respond.) I think he was reminding us that we need to always be ready for God. I think Jesus was reminding us that we need to always do the things that God wants us to do, and not forget that we are God’s children. I don’t think Jesus meant that we all should carry flashlight batteries with us all the time, but that we always do what we can do to help take care of each other and to show that we love each other.
Oh, before we go, here, let me help us all get ready. (Give fresh batteries to the children with the dead batteries and then have everyone shine their lights. If you just have one flashlight, put in a new battery and turn it back on.) Now, I hope we will all remember to be ready to do the things God wants us to do so we can shine our light and remind each other to always be ready to serve God.
Let’s say a short prayer to thank God for reminding us to be ready.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you again for reminding us how much you love all of us, and for telling us stories to remind us to be ready for you. Please help us remember to do the things you want us to do.
“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ (vv. 1-6)
I have a question for you. How many of you have ever been to a wedding? (Let them respond.) Well, I’ll bet none of you have ever been to a wedding like the one Jesus is talking about in the story today. Weddings back in Jesus’ day were a lot different than our weddings. Our weddings usually happen on one day, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Maybe we have a dinner the night before, or a party, but then we get together the next day to have the ceremony and the wedding is done.
In Jesus’ day, a wedding could take a lot longer than that. Sometimes they took several days. The groom’s family would have meetings and parties at their house, and the bride’s family would have meetings and parties at their house, until finally one day, after all of the preparations, the groom’s family and friends all got together and walked from the groom’s house to the bride’s family’s house. It was like a parade, and everyone in the parade carried a torch or a lamp. They carried the light partly because the parade was usually at night and it was dark outside, but also because it was like saying they hoped that God would shine light on the bride and groom and bless their marriage. So, if you wanted to go to the big wedding party it was important that you had your light with you. It was almost like your light was your ticket to get in.
Jesus told the story about the ten young girls who were so excited about going to the wedding they went outside and waited for the parade to come so they could join it. When it got dark they turned on their lights so everyone knew they were going to the wedding. And they waited. And they waited. It got so late, they sat down and took a nap while they waited, but they left their lights on so they wouldn’t miss the parade when it came by.
Then, they heard the parade coming and woke up. They grabbed their lights and got ready to join the parade. But what happened? (Let them respond.) Let’s show what happened. (Give the children their flashlights and ask them to not turn them on until you tell them to. Give some children the flashlights with dead batteries. When everyone has their flashlight, ask them to turn them on. If you just have one flashlight, turn it on.)
Uh, oh, what happened? (Let them respond. If you just have one flashlight, wait a couple of seconds and then turn it off, pretending went out on its own.) What can happen if you leave a light on for too long? (Let them respond.) Yes, the batteries might wear out, or it might run out of oil. And since the girls had left their lights on for so long, their lights all went out. But some of the girls had remembered to bring some spare batteries, so they could be ready if they had to wait this long. They changed batteries and ran out to join the parade. The other girls had to run down the road to find some place to buy new batteries for their lights, but since it was night time, all of the stores were closed. When they got back, the parade was over and everyone was at the bride’s house at the party. The girls knocked on the door and asked to come it, but since they didn’t have their light, they couldn’t go in.
Why do you think Jesus told us this story? (Let them respond.) I think he was reminding us that we need to always be ready for God. I think Jesus was reminding us that we need to always do the things that God wants us to do, and not forget that we are God’s children. I don’t think Jesus meant that we all should carry flashlight batteries with us all the time, but that we always do what we can do to help take care of each other and to show that we love each other.
Oh, before we go, here, let me help us all get ready. (Give fresh batteries to the children with the dead batteries and then have everyone shine their lights. If you just have one flashlight, put in a new battery and turn it back on.) Now, I hope we will all remember to be ready to do the things God wants us to do so we can shine our light and remind each other to always be ready to serve God.
Let’s say a short prayer to thank God for reminding us to be ready.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you again for reminding us how much you love all of us, and for telling us stories to remind us to be ready for you. Please help us remember to do the things you want us to do.
