Login / Signup

Free Access

The Chain!

Children's sermon
Object: A length of chain. You can use a piece of chain that is any length, but if you can find a chain with large links, the message will be more memorable. You might be able to borrow a larger chain from someone who works in construction, towing, trucking, farming, or other roles that use heavy equipment.

Note: If you have a small group, another option would be to get a small length of chain to give to each child as a part of your message.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! I have something to show you. Who can tell me what this is? (Hold up the chain and let them respond.) It is a chain, isn’t it? (Let them respond as you show the chain around to let the children see it.) Now, there is something very special about this chain. Can anyone tell us what is so special about this chain? (Let them respond as you hold up one of the links in the chain.) It is this. Does anyone know what we call this piece of the chain? (Let them respond.) We call it a link, don’t we? And why do we call it a link? (Let them respond.) Because it links together with all of the other links, and that’s what makes the chain work. The links all work together so the chain can pull things, or lift things, or do lots of other things we need chains to do.

The links all look alike, don’t they? (Let them respond.) They do all have the same basic shape and size, but if we look at them really, really closely, we can see they are all a little bit different, aren’t they? (Let them respond, as you look closely at the links.) Some of them have little scratches or marks on them. Some of them are bent just a little. Some of them are a little different color than the others. They are all links in the chain, but they are all a little bit different from each other, aren’t they? (Let them respond.)

So let me ask you a question. If we look at all of the links in this chain and see that they are all a bit different, is there one link that is better or more special than the other links? (Let them respond.) What would happen if one of the links in this chain said, “I am more important than the rest of you links, so I’m not going to hold on to you as tight anymore.” What do you think would happen to the chain if one of the links said that? (Let them respond.) The chain would probably break apart, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) If we tried to lift something with it, it would fall down, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) Or if we tried to pull something with the chain, we wouldn’t be able to pull it very far, would we? (Let them respond.) So even though all of the links in the chain are different, the only way the chain works is if all of those links work together, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) And that is what is special about this chain!

One day Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee and saw some people fishing. Jesus invited them to come with him and help him do his work for God. They were all going to work together, just like our chain, to do the work Jesus needed to do. These men were fishermen, but Jesus found other people too. One of them was even a tax collector, and nobody liked tax collectors. But even though they were all different, Jesus told them to work together so they could do the work God wanted them to do. They were different, but each one of them was just as important as all the rest of them. They were just like the links in our chain, weren’t they? (Let them respond.)

That’s what Jesus wants us to do, too. Even though we are all a little bit different from each other, and even though we sometimes might see people who are very different from us, Jesus wants us to be the links in his chain and help him do the work God wants us to do. And who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) God wants us to take care of each other. That’s our job. That’s the chain we are the links to.

I hope our story today will help us remember that our job is to work together to help people who need our help, like links in God’s chain.

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.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 8 | OT 13 | Pentecost 3
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 9 | OT 14 | Pentecost 4
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity.

Note: You will need to select six children to play roles in this activity. If you have a smaller group, you might ask some older youth or even adults to play the parts of the two attackers and the man being attacked. I will give suggestions for how they can play their roles, but feel free to help your children make the story as fun and memorable as you can. I have used boys and girls in the various roles, but you can change those however you want to change them.

* * *

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
Nazish Naseem
For July 13, 2025:
  • Samaritans Among Us by Dean Feldmeyer based on Acts 2:1-21. Samaritans were despised and dismissed by the original audience who first heard Jesus tell this parable. Who are the Samaritans in our lives and how does this parable apply today?

StoryShare

Frank Ramirez
I say, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High, all of you;
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals
    and fall like any prince….”
(vv. 6-7)

There have been any number of brother-sister acts that achieved a measure of fame. Take the Carpenters, famed for their singing, musicianship, and songwriting skills. Also worthy of mention are John and Joan Cusack who have acted together in over sixteen films.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Wayne Brouwer
An ancient legend tells of a remote mountain village where people used to send their senior citizens out into the woods to die. The villagers had an eye to the future; they felt that those beyond a certain age would only slow down progress or use up valuable resources to no economically profitable end. Those who reached a certain age weren’t “put out to pasture” or “put out of their misery”; they were simply put out of other people’s way.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Amos 7:7-17 and Psalm 82
The tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. It is more than 2,700 feet high—over half a mile tall. It has 160 floors and is twice as tall as the Empire State Building in New York City. It is home to the world’s fastest elevator which reaches speeds of forty miles an hour. The Burj Khalifa also hosts the world’s highest outdoor observation deck (on the 124th floor) and the world’s highest swimming pool (on the 76th floor).

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Mabel hummed a familiar hymn tune as she made her way to church. She always enjoyed her Sunday morning walk. It was one of the few times she felt safe to walk alone through the inner city, for she knew nobody would be up at 7.45 in the morning. Today was a particularly beautiful morning, with blue sky, warm sunshine, and the song of a few intrepid blackbirds who still inhabited the city.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Often, a distinction is made between the pastoral or priestly work of the church and the prophetic work. Pastoral care has to do with the care of souls, the offering of comfort in times of loss. The priestly character of pastoral work seeks to mediate the presence of God to those who are hurting.

Schuyler Rhodes
Trusting is never easy. Even in the best of relationships, people step into trust slowly. There is wariness -- questioning -- worry. What happens if trust is betrayed? What if this doesn't work? Sometimes it's like a dance. We step in and out of trust, moving to the rhythms of fear. For many, the routine is achingly familiar. Indeed, it's not easy to trust.
John Jamison
It was back in the days when the railroad was the most common mode of transportation. There were automobiles, and some airplanes, but the steam locomotive was the way most folks traveled and the way that most of the goods were distributed around the country. After dinner, people sat in the drawing room and listened to the radio programs, fading in and out from some faraway location, over the magical broadcasting signal.
Robert Leslie Holmes
Not many tourists to Washington, D.C., look for the Federal Bureau of Standards offices. It's the Capitol and the White House, the Supreme Court Building or the Smithsonian most of us want to see when we go there. Yet, at the Bureau of Standards offices something very important is stored, something that impacts your life and mine every single day. Have you ever bought the materials for a new project? When you did, most likely you purchased so many inches or feet or yards. Or, you stopped to buy gasoline for your car and purchased it at a certain price per gallon.
David O. Bales
I have the two best jobs in the world. I teach social studies at Leon Griffith Junior High School (a fairly small junior high) and I am Sunday School Superintendent at Calvary Presbyterian Church (an enormous church school). Each job is my vocation. I tell people that at school they'll find my room where the halls cross. At church they can look but probably won't find me. I'll be in someone's classroom. At each job I practice what I most deeply believe: it's how you see the world that determines how you respond to it. I'll give you an example, actually, two examples.
Erskine White
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL