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Stay Close To The Vine

Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: some ivy in a pot

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to grow plants? (let them answer) Working with plants is a wonderful hobby because you're working with life. You plant something and you help it grow. Some plants have flowers, some have leaves, some have fruit, and some have nuts. If you have a garden at your house, you are a very lucky person, and if you help take care of it, then you are even luckier. Working with plants teaches you a lot of things.

Jesus must have loved plants. He talked a lot about flowers, trees, and other kinds of plants that grew where he lived. One time he talked about how some plants grew and made homes for the birds. You can almost see Jesus looking in one of the big bushes that grew on the hillsides and showing his friends a bird's nest. Another time Jesus talked about how beautiful the lilies were and how God made them special. Maybe you remember all of the lilies that we had in our church on Easter to remind us of Jesus.

Jesus mentioned another plant, and he talked about it so that we could understand how we belonged to him. I brought along some ivy because it is a vine. Jesus was talking about vines and branches of the vine. He said that he was the vine.

Let's take a look at the vine. (show them the vine and how it goes from one end to the other) The vine is the main part. But look at all of the branches. (show them, or even count the branches) Now if you can imagine a very big vine that has millions and millions of branches, you can see why Jesus called himself the vine and us the branches. The branches cannot live without the vine. All of the food for the branches comes from the vine. Jesus was telling us that we cannot really live without him. He is the one who gives us life.

Maybe the next time you are working in your garden with some tomato plants you will see the vine and all of the branches. As the vine gets bigger and bigger, there are more and more branches. They also grow like the vine grows. But if you take one of the branches away from the vine it will quickly die. It cannot live without the vine.

That was a good story by Jesus and it tells us a lot about how important he is to our life. We need to keep close to Jesus so that we can grow and live very good lives together.
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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

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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?
  • Second Thoughts: The Helpers by Katy Stenta based on Amos 7:7-17.

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.
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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.

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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.
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O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made,
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Thy power throughout the universe displayed,
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How great Thou art, How great Thou art!
(Stuart K. Hine)

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