God And Groundhogs
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
A yardstick and a picture of a groundhog.
"I'm sure you've noticed that I've brought a yardstick with me today." The children's heads nod affirmatively as their eyes watch the yardstick to see what I intend to do with it.
"I brought this to give you some idea of how long twenty inches is. From that end of the yardstick to where I have my thumb is twenty inches." The children look a bit puzzled, trying to figure out where I am going with this.
"Now, I'll move my thumb down this way a bit to show you how long 27 inches is." Again, the children watch closely. Finally, I ask the question they have been waiting for.
"What do you suppose I want to talk about today that is between twenty and 27 inches long?"
Andrew, seated on the back row, begins to wave his hand in the air. I nod to him and he answers, "A groundhog!"
"That's very good!" Already knowing what he would answer, I then ask, "How did you know that?"
"I know because I was here at the first service when you did this."
Gentle laughter from the congregation greets his reply.
"Well, now that you all have some idea of the size groundhogs grow to be, I have a picture of one for you to pass around so everyone can see what a groundhog looks like."
As the children pass the picture, I continue. "Groundhogs are burrowing animals. That means they dig holes in the ground to make their nests. During the winter, they hibernate in these nests. Who knows what 'hibernate' means?"
A number of hands go up and I hear the word "sleep" several times.
"Yes, it means to sleep for a long time. The groundhog hibernates -- or sleeps -- all winter. Does that sound like something you'd like to do?"
Some of the children grin as they think about my question. Others very seriously assure me they really would like to sleep all winter!
"We're talking about groundhogs today because this is Groundhog Day, the day on which it is traditional to watch the 'official' groundhog in Pennsylvania to determine whether or not it will see its shadow when it comes out of its burrow. Who knows what happens if the groundhog sees its shadow?"
Several hands go up. I nod to Sylvia. "We'll have six more weeks of winter," she says confidently.
"That's right," I continue. "According to tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will be afraid and return to its burrow -- and we will have six more weeks of winter."
Andrew, the boy who was present during the earlier service and who has had some time to think about this, raises his hand. He obviously wants to say something, but I am not ready for what I think he might offer, so I ask, "What if the day is cloudy and the groundhog doesn't see its shadow?"
"Then it will be spring right now," two children respond together.
"That's right," I agree.
By now, Andrew has begun to look positively distressed, so I nod to him to speak.
"That doesn't make much sense," he observes. "What does the groundhog have to do with the weather?"
This is exactly the question I had anticipated from him. Now I find myself wondering how to explain the nature of folklore fairly quickly without losing the younger children's attention and trains of thought.
"Legends do not always make sense," I begin, "and this story is basically a legend. Sometimes people notice things that happen with the weather and look for ways to help them remember what to expect. Someone, somewhere, apparently noticed that if the weather was cloudy on February second, usually spring would come sooner than it would if the weather were sunny on that date. One way to remember this would be to create a story about the groundhog and its shadow.
"The groundhog really doesn't predict the weather. In fact, even the clouds or their absence do not predict the weather. But, more often than not, it seems that if we have cloudy weather on February second, winter will end much sooner than if the weather is sunny on that date." Andrew nods, thinking these ideas over -- and causing me to wonder what he will bring up next week!
"Anyway, according to legend or tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will go back into its burrow. Why?"
"Because he's afraid of his shadow!" come numerous replies.
"So," I ask the children, "how many of you have ever been afraid of anything?" Hands begin to go up, and as some of the shyer children see others admitting they are afraid sometimes, their hands go up too. To the surprise of some, I raise my hand as well.
"Yes," I continue, looking around the group, "all of us are afraid sometimes. In fact, not only am I raising my hand with you, but all the people out there in the congregation in front of you could be raising their hands too, because all of us are afraid sometimes. And that's okay.
"But it's important to remember when you're afraid that you always have a place to run to. You always have a burrow to go to, just like the groundhog. And there's someone there to comfort you. Do you know who that might be?"
"A groundhog?" comes the logical guess.
"No, not really," I respond, "because I don't mean you would really go hide in a hole in the ground. Think of where you would go to feel safe if you were afraid."
Understanding dawns, brightening Maria's face as she says, "To my parents!"
"Yes," I agree. "And there is someone else you can turn to as well, someone who also loves you very much."
As Maria considers my statement, Andrew raises his hand. "All right, Andrew. Tell us whom else we might turn to when we are afraid."
"God!" he announces triumphantly.
"Yes, we can go to God when we are afraid. In fact, we can tell God anything at all and God will understand. So, the next time you are afraid, I hope you'll remember you always have someplace to go with that fear, whether it's to your parents, grandparents, a friend, or God -- who will be your friend too if you will let him.
"Sometimes when we are afraid, we feel like we just want to run away from everything and everyone. Then it's especially important to remember that God is our friend. We can tell God all about what is bothering us. God always understands and never, ever leaves us to face our fears by ourselves, if we only have the courage to say, 'God, I need your help.' "
"I brought this to give you some idea of how long twenty inches is. From that end of the yardstick to where I have my thumb is twenty inches." The children look a bit puzzled, trying to figure out where I am going with this.
"Now, I'll move my thumb down this way a bit to show you how long 27 inches is." Again, the children watch closely. Finally, I ask the question they have been waiting for.
"What do you suppose I want to talk about today that is between twenty and 27 inches long?"
Andrew, seated on the back row, begins to wave his hand in the air. I nod to him and he answers, "A groundhog!"
"That's very good!" Already knowing what he would answer, I then ask, "How did you know that?"
"I know because I was here at the first service when you did this."
Gentle laughter from the congregation greets his reply.
"Well, now that you all have some idea of the size groundhogs grow to be, I have a picture of one for you to pass around so everyone can see what a groundhog looks like."
As the children pass the picture, I continue. "Groundhogs are burrowing animals. That means they dig holes in the ground to make their nests. During the winter, they hibernate in these nests. Who knows what 'hibernate' means?"
A number of hands go up and I hear the word "sleep" several times.
"Yes, it means to sleep for a long time. The groundhog hibernates -- or sleeps -- all winter. Does that sound like something you'd like to do?"
Some of the children grin as they think about my question. Others very seriously assure me they really would like to sleep all winter!
"We're talking about groundhogs today because this is Groundhog Day, the day on which it is traditional to watch the 'official' groundhog in Pennsylvania to determine whether or not it will see its shadow when it comes out of its burrow. Who knows what happens if the groundhog sees its shadow?"
Several hands go up. I nod to Sylvia. "We'll have six more weeks of winter," she says confidently.
"That's right," I continue. "According to tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will be afraid and return to its burrow -- and we will have six more weeks of winter."
Andrew, the boy who was present during the earlier service and who has had some time to think about this, raises his hand. He obviously wants to say something, but I am not ready for what I think he might offer, so I ask, "What if the day is cloudy and the groundhog doesn't see its shadow?"
"Then it will be spring right now," two children respond together.
"That's right," I agree.
By now, Andrew has begun to look positively distressed, so I nod to him to speak.
"That doesn't make much sense," he observes. "What does the groundhog have to do with the weather?"
This is exactly the question I had anticipated from him. Now I find myself wondering how to explain the nature of folklore fairly quickly without losing the younger children's attention and trains of thought.
"Legends do not always make sense," I begin, "and this story is basically a legend. Sometimes people notice things that happen with the weather and look for ways to help them remember what to expect. Someone, somewhere, apparently noticed that if the weather was cloudy on February second, usually spring would come sooner than it would if the weather were sunny on that date. One way to remember this would be to create a story about the groundhog and its shadow.
"The groundhog really doesn't predict the weather. In fact, even the clouds or their absence do not predict the weather. But, more often than not, it seems that if we have cloudy weather on February second, winter will end much sooner than if the weather is sunny on that date." Andrew nods, thinking these ideas over -- and causing me to wonder what he will bring up next week!
"Anyway, according to legend or tradition, if the groundhog sees its shadow, it will go back into its burrow. Why?"
"Because he's afraid of his shadow!" come numerous replies.
"So," I ask the children, "how many of you have ever been afraid of anything?" Hands begin to go up, and as some of the shyer children see others admitting they are afraid sometimes, their hands go up too. To the surprise of some, I raise my hand as well.
"Yes," I continue, looking around the group, "all of us are afraid sometimes. In fact, not only am I raising my hand with you, but all the people out there in the congregation in front of you could be raising their hands too, because all of us are afraid sometimes. And that's okay.
"But it's important to remember when you're afraid that you always have a place to run to. You always have a burrow to go to, just like the groundhog. And there's someone there to comfort you. Do you know who that might be?"
"A groundhog?" comes the logical guess.
"No, not really," I respond, "because I don't mean you would really go hide in a hole in the ground. Think of where you would go to feel safe if you were afraid."
Understanding dawns, brightening Maria's face as she says, "To my parents!"
"Yes," I agree. "And there is someone else you can turn to as well, someone who also loves you very much."
As Maria considers my statement, Andrew raises his hand. "All right, Andrew. Tell us whom else we might turn to when we are afraid."
"God!" he announces triumphantly.
"Yes, we can go to God when we are afraid. In fact, we can tell God anything at all and God will understand. So, the next time you are afraid, I hope you'll remember you always have someplace to go with that fear, whether it's to your parents, grandparents, a friend, or God -- who will be your friend too if you will let him.
"Sometimes when we are afraid, we feel like we just want to run away from everything and everyone. Then it's especially important to remember that God is our friend. We can tell God all about what is bothering us. God always understands and never, ever leaves us to face our fears by ourselves, if we only have the courage to say, 'God, I need your help.' "
