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Plan For Heaven

Children's sermon
Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16
Wesley T. Runk
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: a pup tent


Good morning, boys and girls. Today I want to take a moment to set up our object so that all of you know what I am talking about. (set up the pup tent) How many of you have ever been camping in a park or somewhere far away from home? (let them answer) It is a lot of fun, isn't it? First you set up your tent, find a safe place to put the food where the raccoons and bears can't get it, and then lay out your sleeping bags. Sometimes you have to walk a long way to find your water and bring it back to camp, but no matter what kind of work you do, it still seems like fun.

But it isn't home, is it? Do you remember how good it felt to get home and sleep in your own bed, and walk over to the sink to get a drink of water, or sit in a soft chair? That's home. It is good to have a home.

God thinks of heaven as our real home and of being here on earth as like camping. This is not where we are going to live forever. The longest time is going to be spent with God in heaven.

A long time ago God had a very loyal follower by the name of Abraham, and wherever God told him to go, Abraham went, and he stayed as long as God told him to stay. He lived in a tent because he knew that God was going to use him in a lot of ways and in a lot of places. He could move his tent wherever God wanted him to go, but he couldn't move a house. Abraham wanted to be able to go on a moment's notice.

That is the way it should be with us. We don't want to spend all of our time working and building something here on earth that will only last for a short time. Most of our lives will be spent with God, so we should spend most of our time preparing to live with God. Some people spend all of their time working and planning for the things here on earth such as their houses, their yards, their boats, their cars, or other possessions. They have little time to listen to God as Abraham did. But God thinks that it is better to plan for heaven and be ready to live with him than it is to spend all of our time thinking and planning about earth. Maybe you can take part of your time today to think about God and plan for heaven. Will you do that? Good. That will make God happy.
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For February 1, 2026:
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Call to Worship:
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told the people how they could be blessed by God and experience God's kingdom. In our worship today let us explore the Sermon on the Mount.

Invitation to Confession:
Jesus, sometimes I'm full of pride instead of being poor in spirit.
Lord, have mercy.
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Stories to Live By: "You Fool"/ "Us Who Are Being Saved"
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Sandra Herrmann
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"Child Sacrifice" by Sandra Herrmann (Micah 6:1-8)
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* * * * * * * *


Child Sacrifice
Sandra Herrmann
Micah 6:1-8

SermonStudio

Stephen P. McCutchan
For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles....
-- 1 Corinthians 1:23-24

Russell F. Anderson
BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE LESSONS

Lesson 1: Micah 6:1--8 (C, E, L)
John N. Brittain
The other day I stumbled onto a Discovery Channel show about underwater archaeology (not basket weaving). The archaeologist described the process of identifying the probable location of an underwater wreck site, the grueling work involved in beginning the process, and the same kind of methodical work that characterizes all scientific archaeology. But then her eyes twinkled as she described the joy of uncovering the first artifact, or recognizing a significant discovery. And that of course is what it is all about, the final product of discovery.
Tony S. Everett
Late one night, Pastor Bill was driving home after spending the past 23 hours in the hospital with his wife, celebrating the birth of their son. It had been a glorious day. His wife was peacefully resting. His extended family was ecstatic. His son was healthy. Surely God was in heaven and all was right with the world.

Linda Schiphorst Mccoy
When I'm teaching a class, and want to get a discussion going, I often begin with something that's called a sentence stem. I start a sentence and let the participants complete it. This morning, if I were to ask you to complete this sentence, what would you say? "Happy are those who...." What would you use to complete the thought?
Dallas A. Brauninger
E-mail
From: KDM
To: God
Subject: Demands On God
Message: All these demands don't make sense, God. Lauds, KDM
R. Glen Miles
What does God want from us? The answer is simple, but it is not easy to put into practice. What God wants is you. What God wants is me. God wants our whole selves. The prophet Micah makes it fairly clear that ultimately God does not care too much about religion and the things that come with it. Religion isn't a bad enterprise. It is okay as a way of reminding us about what God wants, but in the long run being good at religion is not what God desires. What God requires is us. It is simple to understand but not necessarily the thing we would offer to God first.
John B. Jamison
It was a strange sound. Some said it was a kind of "clanging" sound, while others said it was more of a "ka-ching," or more accurately, a "ka-chang!" It sounded like the result of metal hitting metal, which is exactly what it was.

In the valley off to the west from the hillside is a steep cliff rising up the face of Mount Arbel. The face of the cliff is covered with hundreds of caves, with no good way to get to them without climbing straight up the cliff. That's why the Zealots liked them. They were safe.
Amy C. Schifrin
Martha Shonkwiler
Prayer Of Dedication/Gathering
P: Our Lord Jesus calls each of us to a life of justice, kindness, and humility. We pray that in this hour before us our defenses would fall and your love would be set free within us.
Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, your mercy knows no end.
C: Amen.

Intercessory Prayers

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Kalas
We have a prejudice in favor of things complex. Not that we necessarily desire complexity, but somehow we trust it more. We figure that complexity is the prevailing reality in our world, and so we feel obliged to be in touch with it. We would love to hear that this thing or that is really quite simple, but doctors, politicians, futurists, ethicists, economists -- and even some preachers -- keep discouraging us. It's actually quite complicated, we are told, and there is no simple answer.
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In 1993 brothers Tom and David Gardner began a financial information service they named The Motley Fool. Dressed in their trademark court jester hats, the motley fools can be seen and heard offering their advice and warnings concerning the stock market on a variety of talk shows and financial news channels.

CSSPlus

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have spent time around babies? (let them answer) Babies are so cute when they are happy but hard to please when they are upset. Babies can't talk, can they? (let them answer) So when they don't get what they want they cry. When they are hungry they cry. When they are sleepy they cry. When a stranger tries to hold them they cry. How do we know if babies are sick, hungry, or tired? (let them answer) Most of the time a baby's mom can figure out what's wrong even when we can't.
Teachers or Parents: Have the children sit on the floor and pretend that they are on a mountaintop and learning at Jesus' feet. Ask: "How is this classroom different from classrooms you have seen?" "How is it like them?" Read various portions of the "Sermon on the Mount" (Matthew 5-7) that they might understand (such as Matthew 7:7-11 -- prayer; 7:12 -- the Golden Rule; 7:15 -- being true). Be careful -- many parts of the Sermon on the Mount are difficult for children to understand and may lead to great misunderstanding and perhaps fear.

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