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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 February 5, 2012)
--Lent 1 – (February 26, 2012)
--Epiphany 7 – (February 19, 2012)
--Epiphany 6 – (February 12, 2012)
--Links
Children's Sermon to go with McGregor Page 806
Lent 1 - (February 26, 2012)
Genesis 9:8-17
Psalm 25:1-10
1 Peter 3:18-22
Mark 1:9-15
I want to tell you a story about a girl named Nuja. Now Nuja and a friend were playing dolls in Nuja's room when Nuja said, "Let's play church."
"What will we do?" said her friend.
"We'll baptize our babies," said Nuja.
So, they went and got a bowl from the kitchen. Nuja's mother helped. "We'll put just a little water in the bowl so it won't spill," her mother said.
They took the bowl back to Nuja's room and set it on her table.
"You be the mommy," sand Nuja to her friend, "and I'll be the preacher."
So, the friend handed Nuja her baby doll, and Nuja scooped some water out of the bowl with her hand, put it on the baby's head and said, "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen"
They did that for all their dolls. They took turns being the preacher. Then the friend said, "Do you know what happens when you baptize real babies?"
"I don't know," said Nuja.
"They stop wetting their didies," said her friend.
"No they don't," said Nuja.
"Yes they do," said her friend. "When the preacher puts water on their heads, God makes them stop wetting their pants."
"That's not right," said Nuja.
"Well, maybe God isn't mad at them any more for wetting their pants," said her friend. "I can't remember. The preacher said God does something."
That night when Nuja and her parents were getting ready to say prayers, Nuja said, "What does God do when we get baptized?"
"Goodness," said her mother, "what made you think of that?"
"Molly says that God makes babies stop wetting their diapers after they get baptized, and I said that was wrong, but I don't know what God really does," said Nuja.
"Nobody knows everything God does," said her father. "Mommy doesn't, I don't, nobody knows everything. But, I do know one thing. When we baptize someone, God helps us remember that God loves us so much he will do anything to help us live with him."
“Like what?” said Nuja.
"Like when Jesus died for us." said her father.
"Yes," said her mother, "And when we baptize someone, God remembers his love for everyone."
Then they said a prayer like this: "Dear God, thank you for when we were baptized and for remembering how much you love us. Amen."
Children's Sermon to go with McGregor Page 805
Transfiguration Sunday - (February 19, 2012)
2 Kings 2:1-12
Psalm 50:1-6
2 Corinthians 4:3-6
Mark 9:2-9
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 at all."
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, and when people help us know what Jesus wants, we pay attention."
Then they said a prayer like this: "Dear God, we thank you for being the boss of us so we know how to behave. Amen."
Children’s Sermon to go with McGregor Page 804
Epiphany 6 – (February 12, 2012
Psalm 30
2 Kings 5:1-14
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Mark 1:40-45
I want to tell you a story about one of my sons when he was about your age. That's when I first noticed that any time that he did something that was bad and he got into trouble with me and his mother, he couldn't do anything. He couldn't go out and play, he couldn't have any fun, he couldn't smile until we had given him a hug. He would come back after we had yelled at him or spanked him for something he had done, he would go away and he would come back and he'd say "are you mad to me?" He could not go on thinking that his parents were “mad” at him; he had to have a hug. When the people in the church come to take that little piece of bread and dip it in the grape juice and eat it. Do you know what the church is doing? The church is coming up to God and saying, "Are you mad to me?" And you know what? God' has reasons to be “mad to us”. We don't do all the right things, so we come up to God and say, "God, are you mad to us?" And God says "Let me give you a hug, I was mad to you, but I'm not mad to you now." So when you come with your parents and you get this little piece of bread and you put it in the grape juice, say to yourself, "God is not mad to me, God forgives me and this is God’s hug.”
Let us bow how heads and pray. Gracious God, we are sorry for the bad things that we do. We don't want you to be mad to us. We thank you that you give us this bread and this juice and yourself as a big hug, that we might know that we are safe and we can go to play. Amen.
Roland McGregor, United Methodist Pastor
Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Click on the McGregor Page link below for a sermon starter essay to go with this Children's Sermon.
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