SermonStudio

When Jesus told the man on the stretcher to walk, he walked and the people praised God.

Objects: a rectangular Palestinian house made from a brown bag with an outside stairway taped on the bag and a slit in the roof so it will tear open easily; a stretcher made from a piece of paper rolled up from each side toward the middle.

I've brought this little house today. (Show house.) One day Jesus was in a house such as this. He was talking to a large group of people who filled the house and the doorway and the yard around the door.

While Jesus was talking, five men came to that house. One of the men couldn't walk so his four friends were carrying him on a stretcher. This is how that stretcher might have looked. (Show stretcher.) The four men wanted to take their friend on the stretcher to Jesus because they believed Jesus could help their friend walk.

How could the man who couldn't walk talk to Jesus when the doorway and the house were packed full of people? (Let the children discuss it.) His friends took him up on the roof of the house and took away some of the roof to make a hole. (Tear a hole in the roof.) Through the hole they could lower the stretcher down into the house.

The roof of this house was made of tree branches covered with clay. The four men took away some of the branches and clay to make the hole in the roof. Could we make a hole in this church's roof that easily? No.

When Jesus saw the man on the stretcher, Jesus told that man, "Get up and walk," and the man did. All the people in the house were surprised when the man walked and they thanked God.

We also have good things happen to us for which we can thank God. Try to notice how soon something good happens to you today.



Jesus
Matthew 5:1-2

Walking With Jesus

People walked with Jesus because they wanted to listen to him, so to help them hear more easily, Jesus stopped and sat on the side of a hill to talk to them.

Jesus walked a lot. Do you ever go for a walk? Do you ever walk to school? When Jesus went out walking, he often had a lot of people walking with him. When you walk along the street do people come out of their houses and walk and talk with you? No. That's what happened to Jesus. Many people wanted to walk with Jesus and hear what he was saying.

If all of us here in church today took a walk together, would we be able to hear one person talking to us very well? No. What could Jesus do so everyone could hear him? (Let them answer.) He could use a microphone. He might talk loudly.

What Jesus did one time was walk up the side of a hill and sit down. Then what do you think the people who were with him did? Right. They all sat down and looked up at Jesus.

With Jesus sitting above them on a hill, the people could hear him more easily than when they were all walking along together. Jesus wanted everyone to hear him because he had many important stories to tell them about God.



Jesus
Luke 1:1-4

New Readers and Bibles

Children in the third grade of Sunday church school will be given Bibles because they are able to read and learn about some of the stories of Jesus in the Bible.

Object:
a Bible.

What's a Bible? A book. The Bible has stories in it. Tell me a story that you know is in the Bible. (Let them answer.) The story of when Jecus was a baby; when Jesus grew up and helped sick people feel better; when Jesus gave hungry people food.

Jesus is a very important person in the Bible. That's why we usually learn about him when we first begin to read the Bible.

The third graders in our church are reading well enough to read some of the stories about Jesus. Today our third graders are going to be given brand new Bibles, like this one.

Are you a third grader? Then you'll be receiving a Bible like this later on in this worship service. If you're not a third grader yet, you'll be given a Bible when you're older. Then you'll be able to read stories about Jesus.

Until you can read for yourself, you can ask older people in your family to read you stories about Jesus.



Jesus
John 6:1-13

Five Loaves and Two Fish

Jesus cares about us.

Object:
a jar of peanut butter.

Here is a jar of peanut butter. Do you ever eat peanut butter sandwiches? Do you think Jesus ever ate peanut butter sandwiches? Probably he didn't. Anyway, it isn't mentioned in the Bible if he did, but we do know from reading the Bible that Jesus ate bread.

Bread was an important food to eat when Jesus was living, just as it is for us right now.

One time Jesus needed enough bread to feed 5,000 people. That's more people than we could put in this whole church building.

Jesus didn't have enough food to feed a whole lot of people. He only had five loaves of bread. Besides the bread he just had two little fish. That bread and those fish were what a boy had brought to eat for his lunch when he came to hear Jesus talk.

Jesus thanked God for the food the boy was willing to share with all the people. Then he broke the bread and fish into pieces and gave them to the people. Everyone had enough to eat, and still there were twelve baskets of bread and fish left over.

Jesus cared about those people and gave them the food they needed.

Since Jesus cared about those people who lived long ago, let's believe that right now he also cares about us and wants to give us what we need.