Login / Signup

Free Access

Our Redeemer

Children's sermon
Titus 2:11-14
The Nativity of our Lord - B
Object: 
Store or product coupons plus some specially-made coupons that have crosses on them and the word "Jesus." On the side or back the words say, "Redeem this for eternal life." Make these up ahead of time.
Many of you have seen coupons before. Chances are your parents use them. But how do coupons work?

Stores give coupons to help people decide to shop at their stores. People want to shop at these stores because when they have a coupon, they turn it in and either get money off the price of a product or perhaps even get it free.

I brought these store coupons with me because when we take coupons like these to the store and trade them in for products, the word we use for this is "redeem." I give the store the coupon and they give me the product. That's how it works. Now it so happens that the word "redeem" is a word used in our Bible reading today. We even call Jesus our "Redeemer." How many of you have heard Jesus called our "Redeemer"? (Let them respond.)

Jesus is very much like a coupon for God. God gave us this coupon named Jesus. We use him to give us eternal life. Without this coupon we would not celebrate this great night of Christmas. Without Jesus, we would not have God. Jesus is our coupon for the greatest gift any of us could ever have: eternal life!

If God asks us why he should let us into heaven, we just tell God, "Because I have this coupon: Jesus!" Jesus is our Redeemer -- the one who saves us from our sins and death and gives us eternal life.

I brought along some coupons I made up to show us how Jesus is the one who Redeems us. (Give each child a Jesus coupon.)

So, if someone asks you what your favorite gift for Christmas was, you can show them this coupon and say, "Jesus"! Jesus is our very best Christmas gift! Jesus is our coupon for eternal life.

Dear God: Thank you for the gift of Jesus. Amen.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Epiphany 4 (OT 4)
28 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
31 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 5 (OT 5)
31 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
39 – Children's Sermons / Resources
24 – Worship Resources
33 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Epiphany 6 (OT 6)
32 – Sermons
180+ – Illustrations / Stories
35 – Children's Sermons / Resources
22 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: A sign that says, “The Home of Jesus!” (Click here to download the sign I used.)

* * *

The Immediate Word

Christopher Keating
Thomas Willadsen
Katy Stenta
Mary Austin
George Reed
Dean Feldmeyer
For February 2, 2025:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. (vv.8-10)

I, John Sumwalt, believe in God! It’s the reality in which, as the Apostle Paul wrote, “I live and move and have my being.”

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
Imagine an aging church leader or preacher who has seen one technology tool after another change the face of how messages of fait are communicated. It started with the chalkboard, overhead plastic sheets on a projector to now various forms of computer software programs off a laptop onto a screen. With all the modern technology changes going at increasing megabytes per second, is God’s Word still as accurate and effective as in times past?
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Jeremiah 1:4-10
There are plenty of things in contemporary American society which could use a prophetic voice to challenge them. We think of all the ugliness in our public discourse and on the net. There is the rising tide of anti-semitism. Reuters reported a 268.1 times wage gap in 2023 between the salary of the median employed worker and CEO pay. Racism is hardly vanishing given legislation passed in a number of state legislatures against teaching Critical Race Theory. John Calvin well described an important aspect of the sort of prophecy we need. He wrote:

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
The story of the presentation of Jesus in the temple is strong on two 'bit-part' characters, Simeon and Anna, both of whom are old, and neither of whom has any other mention in the Bible. This story is an imaginary biography of Anna.

SermonStudio

Schuyler Rhodes
Most people, at one time or another, have had the regrettable experience of needing refuge. Untold millions around this war-ripped world are literally refugees, whose lives are shattered as they are uprooted and left bereft of home, family, and any visible means of sustenance. Countless women around the world suffer from the brutality of abuse by their male partners and are in need of refuge. Each day the numbers of homeless poor on the streets of America grows and grows. They, too, need refuge.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
During the 56 years of his life, Adolf Hitler did incredible harm and was responsible for the death of millions of people. Yet in all of the horror that he unleashed, there were pinpoints of light and nobility. One German soldier, Private Joseph Schultz, was one of those pinpoints.

Derl G. Keefer
Jeremiah had a task, a vision, and a promise from God. The prophet Jeremiah had a call from God to preach his word to a people needing to hear from God. His call has been duplicated multiple times over the centuries.
J. Ellsworth Kalas
David Kalas
In the church, most of us think of Epiphany simply as a season on the church calendar, and sometimes as a season we don't understand too well. We may recall that we are celebrating particularly the revealing of Christ to the Gentile world, via the Wise Men, but not much more.

The dictionary, however, adds further dimension to the word, listen: "a sudden, intuitive perception ... into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience."

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL