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Children's Sermons Following The Lectionary
CHILDREN'S SERMONS FOLLOWING THE LECTIONARY is available free to your Email inbox. They can be sent along with THE McGREGOR PAGE with which it coordinates. To subscribe, unsubscribe or make changes go to http://intenex.net/lists/listinfo/mcgregorpage
[The children’s messages I compose are intentionally spare in detail for two reasons. First, children’s messages are often too long, and two, I expect the story teller to fill in the scenery according to his/her own style and imagination. They are repetitive in the structure of the conclusion in order to teach both parents and children a ritual of interaction at bedtime centered on Christian formation. RRM]
CURRENT CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
(Updated November 15, 2009)
--Advent 2 – (December 6, 2009)
--Advent 1 – (November 29, 2009)
--Christ the King – (November 22, 2009)
--Links
Children’s Sermon for McGregorPage 690
Advent 2 – (December 6, 2009)
Luke 1:68-79
Malachi 13:1-4
Philippians 1:3-11
Luke 3:1-6
I would like to tell you a story about a girl named Grudamy. Grudamy walked into the kitchen one December Saturday afternoon and said, "Here’s my Christmas list. This is what I want."
"Let’s see." said her mother. And they sat down at the table together.
“There are a lot of good things on this list,” said her mother. “Who are they all for?”
"Me, " said Grudamy.
"Is Christmas just for you?" said her mother. “What about your brother? What about friends? What about your father and me?”
"I don’t know what they want," said Grudamy. “I just know what I want.”
"Christmas is a time for thinking about what other people need," said her mother.
"It is?" said Grudamy. “How do I know what other people need?”
"When you think about others and care about other people, you find out what they need," said her mother. “Think about your big brother.”
"I think he needs a princess tea set," said Grudamy.
"That’s on your list," said her mother.
"We could play with it together," said Grudamy.
"Let’s think some more," her mother said, "Christmas is about being thoughtful. Anybody can go buy stuff."
"Let’s go buy stuff," said Grudamy.
"Let’s think first," said her mother.
So they thought. They thought about God and how God made a world just right for us to live in. They thought about what makes people happy. They thought about what makes God happy. They made a list of presents to make God happy. A toy for the church nursery and a toy for a needy child.
That night when they were getting ready to say prayers, Grudamy's mother said, "Are you happy with your Christmas list?"
"Yes," said Grudamy. “I like people on my list not just toys. I like God on my list too.”
"Do you know that God has a Christmas list too?" said her mother.
"No," said Grudamy, “what’s on it?”
"You," said her mother.
"Me?"
"Yes, you." said her mother. “And you know what is beside your name on God’s list?”
"What?," said Grudamy.
“Jesus,” said her mother. “Right by your name is Jesus because God knows Jesus is what you need the most, and will make you happy the most.
“Really?” said Grudamy. “How does God know that?”
“Because God thinks about you a lot,” said her mother.
Then they said a prayer like this: "Dear God, thank you for thinking about us at Christmas and teaching us to think too. Amen."
Children’s Sermon for McGregorPage 689
Advent 1 – (November 29, 2009)
Psalm 25:1-10
Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36
I want to tell you a story about a girl named Saunseray. Now Saunseray came from the back yard into the house very upset. In fact she was crying.
“What’s the matter?” said her mother.
“Tiger ate my Raggedy Ann,” said Saunseray.
(“Tiger” was the name of their dog, a beagle.)
“I’m sorry,” said her mother, and she gave Saunseray a hug. “If you leave your toys in the back yard, Tiger will chew on them. He’s a dog you know.”
“I know,” said Saunseray. “But look, he chewed off her head.”
The next day Saunseray came into the house crying again.
“Look what Tiger did to my shoe-skate,” she said holding up a skate with the shoe hanging off.
“Oh, no,” said her mother. “They were brand new.”
“Let’s go to the store and get a new one,” said Saunseray.
“We can’t do that,” said her mother. “They cost too much. You’ll just have to skate on one skate.”
“I can’t,” said Saunseray.
“Why not?” said her mother.
“Because Tiger tore up the other one two.”
Then she started crying again.
The next day Saunseray came into the house crying. Can you guess why?
(Use as many sequences of this scene as you like until the children know what comes next.)
“Look what Tiger did to my soccer ball,” said Saunseray.
“How did he do that?” said her mother.
“I don’t know,” said Saunseray. “He has a big mouth.”
“He also has sharp teeth,” said her mother, “And he likes to chew things.”
“He ate my doll,” said Saunseray. “He ate my skates. He ate my ball. Pretty soon I won’t have anything.”
And she began to cry again.
That night after her bath and after Saunseray had tidied up her room, her mother came in to read a Bible story and say prayers.
“That was fast,” said her mother. “How did you get your room clean so quickly?”
“’Cause Tiger has eaten up all my toys,” said Saunseray.
“That’s not quite true,” said her mother, “But he will eat up anything you leave out in the yard. Did you leave anything out there tonight? Because if you did, you know what’s coming in the morning.”
“Something bad is coming in the morning,” said Saunseray, “another toy all eaten up.”
“Are you going to sleep thinking something bad is coming in the morning?” said her mother.
“Not this time,” said Saunseray, “because I brought all my toys in when I came in. Now something good is going to happen in the morning.”
“What’s that?” said her mother.
“When I wake up and go out back, I’m going to play with Tiger and not cry about Tiger,” said Saunseray.
“That makes me happy,” said her mother, “and that makes God happy too.”
“Why God?” said Saunseray.
“Because God wants you to go to bed looking forward to something good happening not something bad,” said her mother.
“Like Christmas?” said Saunseray.
“Like Jesus coming,” said her mother.
Then they said a prayer like this, “Dear God, thank you for good things coming and for showing us what to do about it. Amen.
Children’s Sermon for McGregorPage 688
Christ the King Sunday – (November 22, 2009)
Psalm 132:1-12
2 Samuel 23:1-7
Revelation 1:4b-8
John 18:33-37
I want to tell you a story about a boy named Raja. Now Raja's father took him to the park to play in the big sand pile. "Raja," he said, "you stay here and play in the sand while I sit on the bench over there." So, his father took his newspaper and sat on the bench. Raja took his little shovel and put sand in his bucket. Then he went over to a girl who was also playing in the sand.
"Want some sand?" he asked.
"Okay," the little girl said.
Raja put his shovel in the bucket and scooped out some sand.
"Hold out your hand," Raja said to the little girl.
The little girl held out both hands, and Raja poured the sand into her hands. It ran down her arms and through her fingers and she laughed.
"You want some more sand?" asked Raja.
"Okay," said the little girl.
So, Raja took another scoop of sand, but this time when she put out her hands, he poured the sand on her head. She began to cry. Her mother came right over. She got down so she could look right in Raja's eyes and said, "That was not nice. If you can't play nice, you may not play in the sand pile."
You know what Raja said back to the lady? He said, "You aren't the boss of me."
That night when Raja and his father were getting ready to say prayers. They talked about what had happened that day in the sand pile in the park.
"That lady isn't the boss of me," Raja said again.
"Who is the boss of you, then?" said his father.
"You are, " said Raja.
"And who else?" asked his father.
"I don't know," said Raja.
"What about Jesus? Is Jesus the boss of you?" asked his father.
"I guess so," said Raja.
"So what would Jesus say to you when you dumped sand on the girl's head?" asked his father.
"I don't know," said Raja.
"Think again," said his father.
"Maybe he would tell me to stop," said Raja.
"That's good," said his father. "I'm proud of you. You know what Jesus would say. Now, what would you do if Jesus said stop?"
"I would stop," said Raja.
"So, maybe that lady was telling you for Jesus," said his father. "Did you think about that?"
"No," said Raja. "I didn't think about that."
"Raja," said his father, "you know when we bow our heads in church; you know what that means?"
"It means we are praying," said Raja.
"Yes," said his father, "and it also means Jesus is the boss of us."
Then they said a prayer like this: "Dear God, we thank you that you are the boss of us so we know what to stop doing and what to start doing. Amen."
Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
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