"Remember Me!"
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
I did not use one; a picture of a dog, cat, or some other animal which might be a pet would work.
"Raise your hand if you have a pet!" Immediately almost every child present shoots an arm into the air.
"What kind of pet do you have?" I ask a boy in the front row.
"A cat!" he answers with an air of authority, almost as if he'd add, "What else is there?" if he were a few years older. This tries the patience of the other children. Immediately the sanctuary is filled with their eager young voices:
"I have a cat too!"
"We have a dog!"
"I have a cat AND a dog!"
"I have a turtle!"
Above this melodious cacophony I hear the plaintive wail of a little girl seated on the middle of the top chancel step: "I don't have a pet."
"If you had a pet," I inquire of her, "what would you like it to be?"
"I don't know," she says.
"Have any of you ever lost a pet?" I ask the group. Hands go up. Heads nod affirmation as some of the older children recall pets of their younger years. "How did you feel when that happened?" I ask.
"Pretty bad," says one boy.
"Awful!" sighs another.
"Afraid ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
I want the children to remember their feelings and share them, but at the same time I do not want them to dwell on such feelings too long, so I change the subject.
"I need another show of hands," I announce. "How many of you have a 'best' friend?"
As a number of children raise their hands, from the back row I again hear the plaintive voice of the little girl who doesn't have a pet.
"I don't have a best friend," she pouts.
"Do you have a good friend?" I question.
"No," she responds looking downcast, "I don't have any friends."
I find myself wondering if this child is really friendless, or if she's learned that a negative response to her world is what gets her attention (in which case she might indeed be friendless). At the last moment she gives me a reprieve.
"I do have some cousins, though," she states in a brighter voice. Inwardly I heave a sigh of relief as I move on to my next question.
"How many of you have ever had a very good friend move away to another city?" A few hands go up.
"How many of you have moved yourselves and had to leave good friends behind?" More hands go up.
"How did you feel when you were separated from your friends?"
"Pretty bad," says one boy.
"Awful!" sighs another.
"Afraid ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
"Do any of you ever write to those friends?"
Some heads nod yes. One young lady says, "I haven't yet, but I'm going to." I recall that she and her family have only recently moved into our community. One boy is emphatically shaking his head.
"You haven't written to your friend?" I question.
"Not ever," he responds.
"But you still remember your friend?"
"Oh yes!" he nearly shouts, and his face suddenly lights up as he obviously thinks of times past shared with his friend.
"I've asked you to recall these feelings because it's only been a couple of weeks since Easter. What happened to Jesus on the Friday before Easter?"
"He was crucified," replies one of the older girls with a note of sadness.
"How do you suppose the disciples felt when Jesus died?" I continue.
"Pretty bad..."
"Afraid ..."
"Awful ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
"Yes, I expect they felt all of those things, and maybe just a little bit angry too. Because Jesus had been their teacher, their leader, their best friend -- and now he was dead!
"But Jesus came back didn't he?" Heads with dancing curls and freshly shorn locks bob eagerly up and down. "How do you suppose the disciples felt when Jesus came back?"
"Wonderful!"
"Happy!"
"Like jumping up and down!"
"Maybe surprised," offers one insightful child.
"Well, I expect they felt all of those things and more. When Jesus was with the disciples, he taught them many things. And when he knew the time was growing near for him to leave them, he said to them, 'Remember me!'
" 'Remember me ...' Of all the things Jesus said, that is the thought which has been on my mind this past week. We have many things to help us remember him. We have many stories in the Bible, both stories he told and stories told about him. We have the community of the church. And, when you get just a bit older, you will remember Jesus as you take communion.
"There is one other way in which we remember him too: through one another. Every time we do something kind for someone else, every time we remember a friend with a letter or a phone call, every time we offer someone a hug, or an encouraging word, or in some other way show our love, we are remembering Jesus. That's what I'd like you to think about this week. And the next time a friend leaves or a pet dies and you feel afraid, lost, alone, or hurt, maybe you won't feel quite so alone or quite so lost because each of you has a very special friend who is with you always. His name is Jesus. All you need to do is remember ..."
"What kind of pet do you have?" I ask a boy in the front row.
"A cat!" he answers with an air of authority, almost as if he'd add, "What else is there?" if he were a few years older. This tries the patience of the other children. Immediately the sanctuary is filled with their eager young voices:
"I have a cat too!"
"We have a dog!"
"I have a cat AND a dog!"
"I have a turtle!"
Above this melodious cacophony I hear the plaintive wail of a little girl seated on the middle of the top chancel step: "I don't have a pet."
"If you had a pet," I inquire of her, "what would you like it to be?"
"I don't know," she says.
"Have any of you ever lost a pet?" I ask the group. Hands go up. Heads nod affirmation as some of the older children recall pets of their younger years. "How did you feel when that happened?" I ask.
"Pretty bad," says one boy.
"Awful!" sighs another.
"Afraid ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
I want the children to remember their feelings and share them, but at the same time I do not want them to dwell on such feelings too long, so I change the subject.
"I need another show of hands," I announce. "How many of you have a 'best' friend?"
As a number of children raise their hands, from the back row I again hear the plaintive voice of the little girl who doesn't have a pet.
"I don't have a best friend," she pouts.
"Do you have a good friend?" I question.
"No," she responds looking downcast, "I don't have any friends."
I find myself wondering if this child is really friendless, or if she's learned that a negative response to her world is what gets her attention (in which case she might indeed be friendless). At the last moment she gives me a reprieve.
"I do have some cousins, though," she states in a brighter voice. Inwardly I heave a sigh of relief as I move on to my next question.
"How many of you have ever had a very good friend move away to another city?" A few hands go up.
"How many of you have moved yourselves and had to leave good friends behind?" More hands go up.
"How did you feel when you were separated from your friends?"
"Pretty bad," says one boy.
"Awful!" sighs another.
"Afraid ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
"Do any of you ever write to those friends?"
Some heads nod yes. One young lady says, "I haven't yet, but I'm going to." I recall that she and her family have only recently moved into our community. One boy is emphatically shaking his head.
"You haven't written to your friend?" I question.
"Not ever," he responds.
"But you still remember your friend?"
"Oh yes!" he nearly shouts, and his face suddenly lights up as he obviously thinks of times past shared with his friend.
"I've asked you to recall these feelings because it's only been a couple of weeks since Easter. What happened to Jesus on the Friday before Easter?"
"He was crucified," replies one of the older girls with a note of sadness.
"How do you suppose the disciples felt when Jesus died?" I continue.
"Pretty bad..."
"Afraid ..."
"Awful ..."
"Alone ..."
"Hurt ..."
"Yes, I expect they felt all of those things, and maybe just a little bit angry too. Because Jesus had been their teacher, their leader, their best friend -- and now he was dead!
"But Jesus came back didn't he?" Heads with dancing curls and freshly shorn locks bob eagerly up and down. "How do you suppose the disciples felt when Jesus came back?"
"Wonderful!"
"Happy!"
"Like jumping up and down!"
"Maybe surprised," offers one insightful child.
"Well, I expect they felt all of those things and more. When Jesus was with the disciples, he taught them many things. And when he knew the time was growing near for him to leave them, he said to them, 'Remember me!'
" 'Remember me ...' Of all the things Jesus said, that is the thought which has been on my mind this past week. We have many things to help us remember him. We have many stories in the Bible, both stories he told and stories told about him. We have the community of the church. And, when you get just a bit older, you will remember Jesus as you take communion.
"There is one other way in which we remember him too: through one another. Every time we do something kind for someone else, every time we remember a friend with a letter or a phone call, every time we offer someone a hug, or an encouraging word, or in some other way show our love, we are remembering Jesus. That's what I'd like you to think about this week. And the next time a friend leaves or a pet dies and you feel afraid, lost, alone, or hurt, maybe you won't feel quite so alone or quite so lost because each of you has a very special friend who is with you always. His name is Jesus. All you need to do is remember ..."
