Childrens Sermon Service

Teachers: This week's lesson theme is "be ready for Jesus' return." To help your students understand being prepared, you might point out to them the season changes now underway. Bring some examples to class. Bring fallen leaves, milkweed pods, buckeyes or other nuts fallen from trees. Nature appears to be preparing for a change at the moment.

Good morning, boys and girls. I have a hobby called star gazing. I really enjoy looking at the moon through a telescope. I also enjoy looking at the stars at night. Do any of you enjoy looking at the moon and the stars? (Let them answer.) The stars are so far away that we really don't know much about them. As I gaze into the heavens at night I start to ask myself many questions about things that I don't understand, like stars.

Good morning, boys and girls. I brought some popcorn this morning because it reminds me of when I go see a movie. Do you buy popcorn when you go to a movie? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you a story about some children who went to a movie. This story is similar to this morning's Bible story. This story says something about our need to keep watch and wait for Jesus' return when he comes for us.

Teachers: Servanthood is today's theme. The suggested activity is foot washing. This is probably not familiar to your students. The activity may be accomplished in a number of ways. The point is to let students understand that it is something Jesus did to show that he came to serve others. You might invite some of the children's parents to help during the class time.

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have ever been to a zoo? (Let them answer.) When you go to the zoo, what animals do you like to watch? (Let them answer.) Do you ever see a mouse at a zoo? I don't think I've ever seen one. I brought a mouse with me (show the mouse) because it reminded me of this morning's Bible story. The story asks a question. The question is: What is the best way to honor God? I am going to tell you about some animals who were talking among themselves. See if you can decide which animal is the one that honors God in the best way.

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you enjoy playing games? (Let them answer.) This morning I brought part of a game that we like to play at our house. (Show the game board.) How many of you enjoy playing this game? Do you remember when you first learned how to play the game? Your parents had to teach you the rules. Then, as you played, your parents had to encourage you to keep playing, while you learned how to play. Games are fun to play. How many of you know how to ride a bike? (Ask for a show of hands.) Some of you know how and some are still learning how. Just like this board game, your parents taught and are teaching many of you to ride a bike. You need a lot of encouragement to learn to ride a bike. Parents are good at encouraging you, aren't they?

Teachers or Parents: Both Gospel texts above speak to the
theme of the Reformation, which is eliminating hypocrisy in the
church and returning the principles of basic Christianity to
God's people. The principles of the Reformation are not difficult
for children to grasp because they are simple Gospel truths that
are clearly stated in God's word. It is not hard for children to
grasp the truth about how we are saved. We can set them free from
guilt and worry if we instill in them an understanding that our
glorious God has done what was necessary for our salvation and
all we need to do is believe that He has done it.

* Ask the children to name the things we need to do in order

Good morning! I want to ask you about a big word this morning to see if you know what it means. The word is hyprocrisy. Can any of you tell me what it means? (Let them answer.) Instead of telling you what it means, I'm going to show you.

Good morning! Today is a special Sunday for us. Can anybody
tell me why this is a special Sunday? (Let them answer.) Today is
Reformation Sunday. This is the day when we remember the events
that happened way back in the sixteenth century which got the
church back on track after it had wandered away from the truth.
In those days, the leaders of the church no longer accepted this
Bible as God's word (show the Bible).

In our day there are still a lot of people who don't accept
this book (show the Bible again) as the word of God. They will
take a book like this (show the textbook) and accept everything
in it as being the truth, but do you know what? This book is full

The Point: If you are truly great you will be a servant to all.

The Lesson: Good morning boys and girls. I really enjoy having you come forward to share this time together. Thank you.

This morning I brought two items with me: a crown and a broom. Who wears a crown? (get responses) That is right, a king. A king is someone who rules with authority and power over other people. The crown is a sign of his or her power.

Who uses a broom? (get responses) Yes, someone who wants to sweep a room or clean a floor. Do you think a king would sweep? (get responses) Probably not. The king would have a servant do the sweeping.

Object: A Bible. I begin with it in a paper sack.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (vv. 1-4)

Good morning! Today is All Saints' Sunday. How many know why we call it that? (let them answer) How many know what a saint is? (let them answer) Those are good answers. But here is the best answer: A saint is someone who believes in Jesus as their Savior.

And today we call this All Saints' Sunday because we remember all of the believers who have died during the last year and before. Does anyone remember someone who died? (let them answer) Dying is part of life; everyone dies. Adam and Eve died, Moses died, Peter died, George Washington died, Princess Diana died, my grandmother and grandfather died. Everyone dies sometime. Some people live for many years and some for only a few years. The oldest person living today is 112 years old. Some people only live a few days.

Good morning! Today is a very special Sunday. Does anyone know why? (let them answer) All of those things make it special, but this is All Saints' Day, and it is special because we remember all of the Christians who have died during the past year and all of the years before.

Materials
Large puzzle pieces
Popsicle sticks
Glue
Polaroid camera
Small craft magnets
Tape

Instructions
1. When someone we love dies, the photographs we have of that person become very precious to us. Children can learn that sharing photographs of themselves brings others happiness.

2. Take an instant picture of each child and let it develop.

3. Glue four popsicle sticks together at the corners to create a square. Allow to dry.

4. On the square, glue puzzle pieces to create a decorative frame.

5. Tape the child's picture onto the back of the frame so that the picture is showing through the center of the puzzle pieces.

Good morning! I have a document here that I want you to see.
What is this? (Show the certificate and let them answer.) Yes,
this is a birth certificate, and it has a lot of information on
it. It tells when and where the person was born and gives his/her
name. And look here at this part. It tells the name of the
person's parents. This shows that the person is a child of these
parents. Have any of you seen your own birth certificate? (Let
them answer.) If you do see it, you will see these same facts
listed there.

In addition to the parents listed on our birth certificate,
however, some people have another parent. Who do you think that
might be? (Let them answer.) For all those people who believe in

Good morning! I have here the sports page from the paper,
and here it shows the standings of the NFL teams. There is one
team from New Orleans called the "Saints." Let's see how they are
doing. (Show the standing of the Saints team.) Now let's suppose
you wanted to become a member of this football team. What would
you have to do? (Have a discussion about the difficult
requirements for becoming an NFL football player.) I guess we
would all admit that the requirements are stiff, and not many of
us would qualify, right? (Let them answer.)

Today is "All Saints' Day." Do you think this is a day to
honor the New Orleans Saints football team? (Let them answer.)

Teachers or Parents: The word "saint" in modern English has
come to mean a particularly holy person, a very special kind of
Christian. The real meaning, however, of the word "saint" is any
believer. When Paul wrote to the "Saints at Rome" or the "Saints
in Corinth," he was not writing to some special people, but to
all the believers at that place. As we celebrate All Saints' Day,
it is good that we let our children know that they too are saints
if they believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

* Bring a book about some of the famous "saints" of the
church and read stories about the lives of these people to the
children. Be sure to explain to them why they too are saints even

Good morning! Are most of the children of the congregation here for the children's sermon? (Let them answer.) It would seem that most of you are here. But I see some children who are not sitting here with us. They are sitting in the pews. Let's see if I can find some more children in this congregation. (Go to one of the members you have spoken to ahead of time. You can ask him/her questions about how he/she became a child of God, or you can say, "(Name) became a child of God on (date) and has been a child of God ever since."

Good morning! This week is a big week for our country because many people will go to the polls Tuesday and cast a vote for one of these two men to be President of the United States. It is a great honor and privilege to be President of this nation. The President is probably the most powerful man in the world!

Many years ago Jesus talked about another kind of power. He said, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." We don't use the word "meek" much, but it means something like this: A person who is meek is one who is gentle, fairly quiet, and accepting of others. The meek person does not challenge others, but quietly loves them. Our presidential candidates are not what we would call "meek."

Teachers or Parents: Grief work is immensely important work -- especially in our culture of death-denial. This Sunday is an opportunity for your congregation do some grief work. All Saints' Sunday is a time to remember and grieve loved ones lost in death. You may have children who have lost a significant person within the past year. Use this Sunday for important ministry to them.

*List the names of members from your congregation who have died within this past year. Ask your children if they know any of these people and what they remember about them.

Good morning, boys and girls. This morning's Bible story is about being happy. I wanted to bring something to show you what makes me feel happy. Maybe it makes you feel happy too. It's a pizza delivery box. When we eat pizza at our house, everyone feels happy. No one has to fix supper. There are very few dishes to clean up. Everyone at our house loves pizza that is delivered. It is a special time for us and it makes us all very happy. Our pizza usually has (name the toppings you order). What do you like on your pizza? (Let them answer.)

Good morning, boys and girls. I brought a photograph of my family to show this morning. I imagine that my family is a lot like yours. We do many things together. We ride bikes together. We go to movies together. In the summer we have picnics together. In the winter we go sledding and sometimes ice skating together. On Sundays, we go to church together.

Teachers: The lesson is the beatitudes. Read the list to your class. Get some pieces of paper, approximately 5 1/2 by 8 1/2 or smaller. Write the first half of each beatitude on one piece. Write the second half on another. For example: (card 1) "Blessed are the poor in spirit,"; (card 2) "for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Mix up the cards. Have the students work in teams or individually to try to get the sentences correct. If you don't want to work with cards, try this project on a chalk board or poster board. See if students can draw lines matching phrases.

Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you know what a saint is? (Let them answer.) Martin Luther tells us that all who believe in Jesus are saints. Today we are honoring some special saints in our congregation who have died and are now with Jesus. Today is All Saints' Sunday. It is a Sunday that we celebrate all Christians who have served Christ and who are no longer living.

I brought a flashlight with me because I am going to tell you about one description of heaven -- that's where the saints who have died are with Jesus. This description comes from the Bible in a book called Revelation. It is the last book in the Bible.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. (v. 7)

Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) How many of you have played a game -- maybe even soccer -- before? (allow answers) Did you win or lose the game? (allow answers) How does it feel to win a game? (allow answers) It feels pretty good, doesn't it? Now, how does it feel to lose a game? (allow answers) It's not fun to lose! Sometimes we feel like we should have won, not lost. We feel like the game was unfair.

The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

Good morning boys and girls. Does anyone here remember someone saying, “I am the greatest?” I remember hearing it many times by a prize fighter named Ali. Does anyone here remember Muhammed Ali? He used to say a lot of things and he was a very good boxer. He told everyone that he saw that he was “the greatest of all time.” Wow! Not many people say those kind of things about themselves.

Object: A handkerchief. For the best experience, have a handkerchief for each child to keep. If you just use one, just skip the step of handing them out to the children.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (vv. 11-12)

I have a few questions for you.

Have any of you ever been sick? (Let them respond) How did you feel? Did you feel lucky? (Let them respond.)

Have any of you ever gotten hurt? (Let them respond) How did you feel? Did you feel happy? (Let them respond.)

Have any of you ever had problems with a bully? Someone who was mean to you? (Let them respond) Did you feel lucky to have that bully? (Let them respond.)

The Point: Happy and blessed are the children of God.

The Lesson: Welcome, girls and boys. I am happy that you came up to share this time together.

I brought some pictures of people. You don't know them. But they all have something in common. (show the pictures) Can you see what they have in common? (let children make suggestions) That is right -- they are all laughing. They are happy.

What makes you happy? A favorite treat? Going to a movie? Wearing your favorite dress or shirt? Playing with friends? (get responses)