Childrens Sermon Service

First Thoughts: If we've lived long enough, most of us have had the experience of friends we thought were true who eventually turned false on us. Perhaps our relationship was based on certain similarities and as we grew and evolved our perspective, our friend refused to move and dropped us. Perhaps that relationship was based on our constantly giving to that other person, supporting them and being available to them, and when we grew weary of the giving (or grew wise), our friend dropped us. Perhaps our relationship wasn't very deep, and when we were going through a difficult time, a time of loss or confusion, our friend faded away, unable or unwilling to walk with us through the darkness. Perhaps we have no idea why, but someone who was our friend one day simply drops us the next. We've all had this experience, and as painful as it is, it does teach us one thing. It teaches us that some friends are true and faithful and some are not. As we reflect on this passage from John, we recognize Jesus as the good shepherd, the true friend. The true friend does not ask us to never change, to always give and never receive, or to always be upbeat and positive. The true friend doesn't suddenly disappear. The true friend persists in all things, through all circumstances, and offers unconditional love no matter what. Carry your own experience with a true friend with you in your time with the children.

Teach As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey, (name) why do you have that basketball?
Leader 2: I'm supposed to play with my friends after church today. Well, they say they're my friends...
Leader 1: You seem to think maybe they're not?
Leader 2: The other day we were all playing basketball on the court in the park. Suddenly this really big guy came over, bullying his way in. He told me to hand my basketball over because it was his now.
Leader 1: Oh, bullies are no fun. What happened next?
Leader 2: Everyone ran away, and left me there all alone. Everyone except...
Leader 1: Except who?
Leader 2: Except my friend Daniel. He told the bully that I was his friend, and this was my basketball, and he wasn't going to stand by and let him take it from me.
Leader 1: What did the bully do then?
Leader 2: I guess he decided he didn't want to mess with two of us, so he went away.
Leader 1: Sounds like the other guys you were playing with were scared. Maybe you shouldn't be so hard on them.
Leader 2: You're probably right. But Daniel was scared too.
Leader 1: I'm sure he was, but Daniel's love for you made him strong enough to stay even though he was scared. That reminds me of our passage today from John, which tells us that Jesus is the good shepherd. You know what shepherds do, right?
Leader 2: They take care of sheep.
Leader 1: Right, and sheep need a lot of care. They need someone to help them find water, food, and a place to rest. They also need someone who will protect them from wild animals. Jesus tells us that a true shepherd will even risk his life to save the sheep, because he loves the sheep even more than he loves himself.
Leader 2: That's a pretty powerful love.
Leader 1: Yes, it is. As we become stronger Christians, we become more powerful in our love too. So that even when we're scared, we're able to stand firm in our love and stand up for people who need our help.
Leader 2: I'm pretty lucky to have a friend like Daniel.
Leader 1: You sure are. And we're all lucky to have God as our good shepherd.

Teaching On Your Own: Do you guys like to play basketball? I love basketball. I'm supposed to play with my friends after church today. Well, they say they're my friends, but do you know what happened the other day? We were all playing basketball on the court in the park. Suddenly this really big guy came over, bullying his way in. He told me to hand my basketball over because it was his now. Have you ever met a bully? They are no fun. Anyway, you know what happened next? Everyone ran away, and left me there all alone. Well, everybody except my friend Daniel. You know what he did? He told the bully that I was his friend, and this was my basketball, and he wasn't going to stand by and let him take it from me. You know what the bully did next? He walked away. I guess he decided he didn't want to mess with two of us. Maybe I shouldn't be so hard on my other friends. They probably ran away because they were scared, right? Daniel was scared too, but he's been my friend for a long time, and I guess his caring about me was even stronger than his fear. That reminds me of our passage today from John, which tells us that Jesus is the good shepherd. You know what shepherds do, right? They take care of sheep and sheep need a lot of care. They need someone to help them find water, food, and a place to rest. They also need someone who will protect them from wild animals. Jesus tells us that a true shepherd will even risk his life to save the sheep, because he loves the sheep even more than he loves himself. That's a pretty powerful love. As we become stronger Christians, we become more powerful in our love too. So that even when we're scared, we're able to stand firm in our love and stand up for people who need our help. You know, I'm pretty lucky to have a friend like Daniel. And we're all lucky to have God as our good shepherd.

Closing Prayer: Loving God, thank you for being our true friend and for sticking by us no matter what happens in our lives. Help us to grow stronger in our love every day, so that one day our love will be strong enough that it will conquer any fear in our hearts. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom setting, spend some time talking about when the children have experienced fear in their lives. What does it feel like to be afraid? Encourage the children to describe physical feelings -- a tightness in the chest, tingling in the legs, a lightness in the head, and so on. Explain to them that when we're afraid, our body pumps a bunch of adrenaline through us, so we can either run away from or fight whatever is endangering us. When this happens we have a hard time thinking or making a decision for love. It takes a lot of practice and patience to learn how to slow that adrenaline and make good decisions when we're afraid. Pick an icon of faith and share a bit about their story, for example Martin Luther King Jr. who had his life and family threatened, the apostle Paul who was jailed, beaten, and chased out of towns, or consider highlighting Christian Peacemaker Teams who volunteer to live in conflicted areas of the world to try and create a presence of peace. (All these can be researched in greater detail on the internet.) As a craft, provide each child with a small clear glass tea candle holder with a tea candle inside. Allow them to paint the outside with glue. Then give the children multicolored tissue paper. Invite them to tear the paper into small pieces and cover the outside of their holder. Finally, give the children black construction paper, cut in advance so each one will fit around the candle holder. Tell the children the black paper stands for our fear, and every time we pray or read the Bible, every time we choose to live in love, God cuts a bit of that black away. With this in mind, invite the children to cut shapes out of their black paper. When they're done, help them glue the black paper over their candle holders. If you have time, light each child's candle so they can see the beautiful colors shine through the black paper, which reminds us of all the good things God is already doing in us. Close with a prayer that the fear in our lives will be cut away, bit by bit, until the full glory of God is reflected in our lives.