Sermons4Kids

[Soldier4Christ]

 Knock, Knock

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 (NIV)

 

This morning I got some Knock, Knock jokes to tell you. Do you know what Knock, Knock jokes are? They are pretty simple. Knock, Knock jokes are fun and use words that sound alike. Lets try one together so you will know how its done. OK....Well I'm going to say "knock, knock" You will ask "Who There?". Then I will say something Like Doris. You all will say Doris Who? Then I will respond with something like.." The Doris locked , thats why I'm knocking.

Lets try another one. Ok?

    Knock, Knock
    Who's there?
    Stan ... Stan Who?
    Stan back I think I'm going to sneeze

Here's another one.

    Knock, Knock
    Who's There?
    Noah... Noah Who?
    Noah good place to get out of the rain.

Ready for another?

    Knock, Knock
    Who's there?
    Heaven ... Heaven Who?
    Heaven we heard enough Knock, Knock Jokes?

Lets try one more.

    Knock, Knock
    Who's there?
    Toad .... Toad Who?
    "Toad" toad me that Jesus loves all the Children of the World.

In Matthew 19:14 we find these word. "Let the little children come unto me, and don't prevent them.For such is the Kingdom of Heaven. This verse tell us that Jesus loves us. Wow, isn't that Great... This morning I want us all to sing "Jesus love me" or "Jesus loves the little children."

Prayer. Thank you Lord for loving us, Help us to always love you. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Listen

Matthew 13:1-17

I would like everyone, including the kids, here to holler or shout about something. I want you to keep going until I wave at you. If you don't know what to shout, then read the bible or a hymn and shout it real loud. If there is someone on the sidewalk, I want them to hear your noise.

When the people start shouting, start talking with the kids and tell them a story. Use Jesus telling about the farmer planting seeds on the rocks, in the weeds, and in fertile soil; maybe 10 seconds long.

Wave at the people to quiet down.

To the kids; what was my story about? Kids respond. But I was saying it loud. Why couldn't you hear me? Kids respond. (Everyone was making so much noise.)

It was kind of noisy in here wasn't it? It was hard to hear anything. Sometimes listening to God can be the same way.

You're wondering what I mean by noise making it hard to hear God. Well, it is.

There are a lot of things that make it hard to listen to God.

There are people who tell us that God isn't real.
There are people that tell us we don't ever need to go to church.
There are people that tell us we are wrong in the way we worship God.
There are TV shows that show kids who believe in God being pushed around.
There are TV shows that show us being tough and strong is better than living like God wants us to.

Sometimes we hear things and don't understand them. Then we ignore them and go and play.

The story I told you this morning was something just like that. You didn't hear me because of all the noise. Let me tell you the story again now that everyone is quiet.

Jesus told a story about a farmer who plants his seeds. Some of the seeds fall on hard soil, some in the weeds, and some in good dirt. The farmer won't get any crop from the seeds in the hard soil. The farmer will only get a little where the weeds are. But where the good dirt is, the seeds will grow big and strong.

Jesus' disciples were like we were a few minutes ago. You didn't understand what I was saying and neither did the disciples. For them it wasn't a lot of noise but they just didn't understand what Jesus was saying. They had to ask Jesus what he was talking about and then Jesus told them all about what he was trying to say to them before. Then they understood.

We need to listen to God. We know that God does exist. We know we are going to a good church. We know we are worshiping God in a way that pleases God. We know that living like God wants us to is the best way to live. And we know that when we don't understand something we are supposed to ask questions so we understand.

Prayer. Dear God. We live in a noisy world. Help us to always listen for you. Remind us to ask questions when we don't understand what you want. Amen

[Soldier4Christ]

 Read the Directions

2 Timothy 3:14-4:5

See what I have here? It is a roller coaster to put together. (Open the box.) Do you think we could put it together? Would it be easy? What would make it easier? (Directions. Get them out of your pocket.) The toy maker also made the directions for this roller coaster, so it would be easier to put it together.

Last week I brought in a quilt and we talked about how God can take the pieces of our lives to make something beautiful. God is the Master Designer. Now we have a complicated toy in pieces. Like the quilt, we need help putting things together. Can you think of something that is like directions for our lives? (The Bible) God made us and knows us best, just like the toy maker knows all the pieces of this toy.

When we follow the directions for this roller coaster, it is much easier and more fun to make. In the same way, when we use the Bible to help us make something of our lives, it is much easier and more fun. When we have to make tough decisions, the Bible helps make it easier. When we follow God’s directions for our lives, we can have more fun, too.

Prayer: We thank you, Lord, for your special directions for our lives. Help us to read the Bible often so we know how to make good choices. In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Using Your Net

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will catch men.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. Luke 5:11

 
Can anyone tell me why I have fishing gear with me in church today? No, well it’s to remind me of a Bible story. Several of the disciples were out fishing and not having much luck when Jesus told them to go further out into deeper waters and let their nets down again. They did this and were amazed at the number of fish they caught. In fact there were so many fish they had to call others to help them bring them all in. Then Jesus told them to leave their boats and follow Him, He would make them “Fishers of Men”.

What does it mean to be fishers of men? How can you catch men? Let me see how many I can catch, (Call on child) Did you know that Jesus loves you? I caught you! (Call on another child) Did you know that we have Sunday school at our church for all ages? I caught you! (Call on third child) Did you know our church has a _________ program? I caught you too!

How did I catch all these people? God has given us a wonderful net, our church. We can invite people to worship service, Sunday school, and other activities that our church has. But just like this net, it takes a lot of people to help haul in the catch. Our church needs people to help keep our “net” strong. We need volunteers to help run the programs, people who pray for our church, our leaders and our programs, we need those who tithe and give financially to the church to pay for all the wonderful programs. You can see it takes many kinds of fishermen to keep our net strong so we can haul in lots of “fish”. Just like the disciples Jesus has made us “Fishers of Men”.

[Soldier4Christ]

 The Best Gift Is You

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

It's so hard to believe that thanksgiving is over and Christmas is coming soon! This time of year is exciting! What makes us most excited during the Holidays? PRESENTS! We look forward to receiving presents, don't we? This is a present that I'll be putting under my tree. This gift is for my niece. I give her a Christmas gift every year, because I love her, and I like to do nice things for her!

What kinds of things do you hope you'll get for Christmas this year? (ALLOW KIDS TO SHARE) I hope that all of you get what you want for Christmas, but I want you to know that you have already received the best gift that you can ever receive -- that's the gift of Jesus Christ! God loves each one of you so much that he gave you Jesus to come into this world, to teach us, and to take away all of our sins. That's an amazing gift!

Now, at Christmastime, we not only receive gifts, but we GIVE gifts to others. As you prepare to give gifts to others, I want you to be sure that you don't forget a very important person -- JESUS! Jesus doesn't want the kinds of gifts that we want -- like toys or clothes. Instead, Jesus wants most of all to be a part of your life -- He wants to be in your heart. Of all of the things in the world that you could give to Jesus, the BEST gift that you can give Him is YOU!

In the midst of the business of the holiday season, I want each of you to remember that you have already received the BEST gift that you'll ever receive -- the gift of Jesus, God's Son. I want you to also remember that the best gift that you can ever give Jesus is your heart!

PRAYER: Almighty Father, we thank you for the gift of Jesus Christ! As we enter the Christmas season, as we write our Christmas lists, and we make our visits to Santa, help us to remember that you have already given us the best gift of all! In Jesus' name, amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 In God's Time

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

I wanted to talk to you about time today…. How many of you can tell time? That’s great!

Did you know that there are many ways to tell the time? You can use watches or clocks -- even the seasons tell us what time of year it is. What season of year is it right now? That's right! It is fall. How do we know that? One way we can tell is that the leaves on the trees have begun to change colors. I brought some leaves with me this morning. Why don’t each of you reach in and pick one. Aren’t they beautiful, aren’t they neat!

I think God shows himself in each season of the year. In the fall he gives us the leaves, in the winter, the snowflakes, in the spring the new flowers and in the summer his lightning bugs! Aren’t all those reminders of God so cool!

As you look at the leaves and the snowflakes, the flowers and the lightening bugs, I want you to remember that these are God’s special way to remind us that he is with us in every season and every time of our lives. Isn’t that good to know!

Let’s pray: Dear Lord, We know that you are always with us no matter what season or time of our life. In your Bible you promise us you will never leave us alone. Thank you for your promises and your reminders that you are always with us. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Giving Our All

Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything--all she had to live on." Mark 12:43-44 (NIV)

Every week we take an offering during the worship service.  As you know, the ushers walk up and down the aisles and pass the offering plate down each and every row.  People place their offerings to God in the plate.  When they have finished passing the offering plate, it may look like this one that I have with me this morning.  Here is a twenty dollar bill, and a ten.  Here is a five and there are a lot of one dollar bills.  Down in the bottom of the plate there are even some coins,  Look, someone even put in some pennies.

Who do you think gave the most?  Was it the person who put in the twenty dollar bill?  The ten?  The five?  We can be sure it wasn't the one who put in the pennies, can't we?

One day, Jesus went to the synagogue.  He sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the people as they put their money in the treasury.  Many of them were very rich and put in large sums of money.  A poor widow came by and put in two small copper coins which were worth a penny.  Jesus called is disciples to him and said to them, "This poor widow has put in more than all those who are giving to the treasury.  They gave out of their wealth, but she gave all that she had."

I heard a story about a little boy who went into a church one Sunday morning to get out of the cold. He had been trying to sell newspapers, but not a single customer had passed by. He entered the church, hoping to pass an hour unnoticed on the back row. The preacher delivered a powerful sermon about Jesus and his love for us. At the end of the service, they took an offering.

The ushers went from row to row until, finally, one came near to the little newspaper boy. He stopped right in front of the little boy and held out the offering plate. The boy stared at the offering plate, and after a long pause, he asked the usher to place the offering plate on the floor.  Then the little boy did something very unusual. He stepped into the offering plate -- first one foot and then the other. He slowly  looked up with tears streaming down his cheeks and said, “Mister, I don’t have any money; I haven’t sold a single newspaper today, but if Jesus did all that preacher said he did just for me, I will gladly give my life to Him.”

I don't know if that story is true, but I do know that God wants us to give him our all -- our hands, our feet, our hearts, our voices, our silver and our gold.  Remember these pennies in the offering plate?  Maybe they were the greatest gift given after all.

Dear Father, like the widow, we desire to give all that we have to you. For all that we have comes from you.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Chosen One

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 (NIV)

I have a coloring picture for you this week. Do you know who that is? Yes! It’s Jesus and his mother, Mary. I was thinking this week about Jesus being born and about his mother, Mary. She was chosen by God out of all the other women to take care of Jesus and love him from the very beginning…what an important job she had as the mother of Jesus.

Do you know that God has chosen each of you too? Do you know that you are just as important to God as Mary was? Do you know how much God loves you? In the bible it says that God knew you even before you were born… isn’t that amazing! God has already chosen each of you and has a very important job and plan for your life!

As you think of Christmas and Jesus and Mary, I want you to always remember how very special you are to God and that your life counts. Isn’t that a nice Christmas present to get from God?

Let’s pray:

Dear God it is amazing to think that you love each of us just as much as you loved Jesus’ Mother, Mary. Thank you for your word that tells us we are special to you. Thank you for Mary and the way she loved and took care of Jesus when he was just a little child and thank you for Jesus too. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Don't Put Jesus Away

O LORD , the hope of Israel, all who forsake you will be put to shame. Jeremiah 17:13

Well…. It’s all over… Christmas, it came and went just like that! Did you all have a good Christmas. Was it fun and exciting?

I guess before long it will be time to put all the Christmas decorations and things away until next year. The tree starts looking old and the lights don’t seem to be so bright anymore after Christmas is over… it’s a new year and we need to get on with that.

Do any of you have the manger with Jesus and Mary and Joseph? Isn’t it nice to look at that and think about the Christmas Story and Jesus being born? We have a special one that we get out every year and our granddaughter loves to look at Jesus. I guess it will be time to put Jesus away too… hey wait, maybe we shouldn’t put him away. What do you think? Do you know that some times we put Jesus away from our hearts too? After Christmas it seems that we get busy with the new year and we forget to think about Jesus and talk to him and pray… I guess we really do put him away. What do you think about us making a deal right here this morning not to put Jesus away. Lets agree that we won’t forget about Jesus and we will talk to him and think about him and pray! Jesus is really good all year long… he is what makes every time of the year important and we should never put him away. What do you think? Shall we keep him out… Yes!

Let’s pray. Lord forgive us for putting you away after Christmas for not thinking about you and not praying to you. Thank you for being with us all through the year. You are truly the reason for every season and we love you. Amen!

[Soldier4Christ]

 Everyone Needs Tuning

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God— this is your spiritual act of worship. Romans 12:2 (NIV -UK)

(Hold up radio) I enjoy listening to the radio. I usually listen to it when I'm in the car driving around town. Of course, I have certain stations I like to listen to, and usually they are NOT the same ones my kids want to listen to. Imagine that! Sometimes, however, as I am listening to a particular station, it starts sounding fuzzy and static-y, making it hard to hear the music or the words that someone is saying. Let's see if we can find one of those stations right now. (Turn on radio to an already tuned station) Wow, this station is coming in REAL clear. Now let's try to find another station. (Move tuner enough to lose signal, causing static) Here's one that is very static-y. Which station would you prefer to listen to, the one that is clear or the one that is static-y? Why do we prefer the clear one? Our life and relationship with God is very much like tuning this radio to different stations. Sometimes we need "tuning" ourselves (Turn radio off).

Today is the beginning of a season called LENT. Many of us already know that Lent is a time when we give up or turn away from something that we enjoy or something that controls us, showing a sacrifice for God as we begin preparing for Easter. Does anyone here plan on giving something up during Lent? What do you plan on giving up? Very often, people tend to give up those bad habits that they enjoy, like eating too many desserts, candy, chocolate, cookies, or maybe McDonald's French fries or the morning ritual of drinking five cups of caffeinated coffee before getting into work! Some people give up activities they enjoy, like watching too much television or playing Game Cube or other video games. But you can give up other things as well. Maybe you bite your fingernails. Giving that bad habit up would certainly be a sacrifice to God! How about fighting with your brother or sister, or back-talking your parents? Are those habits that could be given up for Lent? How is giving something up during Lent making a sacrifice for God? Why is it important for us to make this sacrifice to God during the season of Lent? As we make the sacrifice of giving up something we enjoy or something that is a bad habit during Lent, we begin the process of tuning our lifestyles so we can live a clearer and cleaner life for Christ. The way we live our life is called our lifestyle, so when we improve our lifestyle by giving up a bad habit, we are "tuning" our life. God wants us to always be tuning our life by giving up those bad habits and replacing them with good habits.

As we give up something that we enjoy or something that controls us, such as a bad habit, sometimes we substitute that old bad habit with another one! For example, a friend of mine used to always keep her fingers in her mouth, sort of like sucking her thumb, but not really. Although she gave up that habit one year during Lent, as soon as she gave it up, she began fingering her long hair, twisting the ends until it pulled her hair out at her scalp, leaving several bald spots in her head..Ow! That had to hurt! She didn't realize she had "traded" one bad habit for another bad habit until someone pointed it out to her. So when you think about what you want to give up for Lent, try to trade that old habit with something good. Let's think about that for a minute. If you give up candy and sweets for Lent, what could you eat instead that would be good for you? How about if you give up television? What could you do instead of watching television that would be good for you? Rather than fighting with your brother or sister, what could you do in exchange?

So making a sacrifice to God during the Lent season not only means giving up something you enjoy or something that controls you, it also means trying to trade old, bad habits with good, healthy habits. (Turn the radio back on to the fuzzy station.) Once you've made that trade (tune the radio back to a clear station), your lifestyle will become more in tune with God.

Prayer: Dear God, As we move into the season of Lent, help each of us to tune our lives so we can know God more clearly. Help us to focus on good, healthy habits as we do away with old, bad habits. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Jesus With Us

The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

 

Last week we talked about keeping Jesus in our hearts all year long …do you remember that? Today I want to talk to you about why we need him there.

Sometimes it can seem scary or hard when things change… we can get that feeling in our stomachs that something isn’t right or that we feel worried about things.

All of us will have changes to go through this year… we may have friends that move away or a special teacher that leaves because she’s going to have a baby or we might have to move to a new place… none of us really knows all that could happen. But do you know one thing that I know is true … one thing I know that will never change…Jesus! Yep, no matter what happens, no matter where we go or who has to leave , Jesus is always with us and he will never leave us. God has promised that he’s with us always… it’s right here in the Bible… Let me read it to you right now…The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you… Do not be afraid and do not be discouraged. (Deuteronomy 31:

So you see it’s a promise from God that we are never alone and we don’t have to be afraid…. Not ever! You know that the Bible is true and all that is in it we can believe! So remember…we don’t have to be afraid.

Let’s pray: Dear Lord… Thank you for staying with us… you promise you will never leave us and that you will take care of us… no matter what happens this year. Thank you for the truth… your Bible and your promises… we love you. Amen

[Soldier4Christ]

 Power from Above

Scripture: God is my strength and power; and he maketh my way perfect. 2 Samuel 22:33

What do I have with me this morning(pointing to the blowdryer)? Let the children respond. What is the purpose of a blowdryer? Wait for answers. Will this blowdryer work if I don't plug it in? No, the blowdryer has to be plugged into a power source to work. Then plug the blowdyer into an outlet to show that it works and even blow the air on the kids' heads. We even have to pay for electricity or the power to use this blowdryer.

This blowdryer represnts us as Christians. If we don't give the blowdryer power, it can't be used. The same is true with us. God is our power source...we need to plug ourselves into God so we can be used for his purposes. The Bible tells us in 2 Samuel 22:33 (read scripture). To use God's power is free of charge. We stay connected to him after we accept him into our hearts, through continuous prayer. Then God can use us for his purposes...to teach, sing, play an instrument, encourage, etc..

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for promising to be our strength and power source. Help us to use your power for your purposes. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Serving God

Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. Deuteronomy 13:4

Start out by explaining each utensil and what it is used for. For example, one utensil is used for pasta(pay attention to the grips around utensil that picks up the pasta), explain a spoon that has holes for draining off water, explain the difference in a fork and a spoon without holes (what are they used for, how are they used?) You may want to include tongs, explain their purpose.

All of these utensils are different in appearance as well as their purposes, but they all have one thing in common. Do you know what it is? They all serve food. We are like these utensils, we all look different on the outside and we all have different talents and ablilities, but we are all here to SERVE God.

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for our talents and abilities. Help us to recognize that we are all different but are all here to serve you. Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

Keeping Our Promises

And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life." 1 Samuel 1:11a (NIV)

Before you were even born, your parents spent a lot of time deciding what name they would give their new baby.  That is a very important decision.  After all, when you give a baby a name, it will live with that name for the rest of its life.

One thing your parents considered was the sound of your name.  Before they made their final decision, they said the name over and over again to see how it sounded.  They wanted to make sure it sounded good with your middle name and your last name.

Your parents also wanted a name that would be special, but they didn't want it to be too strange.  They surely didn't want to choose a name that would cause other children to tease you about it.  (There was once a Texas governor who named his daughter Ima.  Do you know his last name?  Hogg! Ima Hogg!  Can you imagine how she must have been teased as a child?)

Some names have some special meanings which your parents may have thought about.  Maybe they chose a name with a meaning that reflected qualities that they hoped their child would possess. (You might choose some names to give the children an example of name meanings.)

There is a story in the Bible about a woman whose name was Hannah.  Her name means "God is gracious."  I imagine that Hannah must have sometimes wondered why she was given that name, because it seemed that God had denied her the one thing she wanted more than anything in the world -- a son.

One day, Hannah sat in the temple weeping and praying to God.  As she was praying, she made a promise to God.  "Oh Lord," Hannah prayed, "if you will look upon me in my misery and give me a son, I will present him back to you to be your servant all the days of his life."

Eli, the priest in the temple stood nearby watching Hannah.  He saw her lips moving, but he didn't hear any sound coming from her mouth.  He thought that Hannah was drunk!  "Not so," Hannah said to Eli, "I have had nothing to drink.  I was only pouring out my soul to the Lord."

The priest answered Hannah, "Go in peace, and may God grant you what you have asked of him."

Guess what?  God did grant Hannah's request!  The Bible tells us that Hannah gave birth to a son and named him Samuel.  Do you know why she chose that name for her son?  Because Samuel means, "asked of God."  Because God heard and answered her prayer, she was faithful to keep her promise to him.  When he was old enough, Hannah took Samuel to the temple and there he served the Lord by assisting Eli the priest.

God is so good!  He hears and answers the prayers of his people.  Sometimes we make promises to God.  Are we, like Hannah, faithful in keeping our promises to God?  I hope so!

Heavenly Father, you have been faithful to hear and answer our prayers.  Help us to be faithful in keeping our promises to you.  Amen.

[Soldier4Christ]

 Investing Yourself

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 (NIV)

 

Hold up the collection container, a card with a total Dollar amount written or any other example that shows what your church supports in missions. (Example: We had our children from our children worship service collect money for the Tsunami Relief efforts. Then the money was given to UMCOR to supply them with blankets, health kits etc. I showed a container and had the total dollar amount written on a card to demonstrate) Or ask what is it that the church does to help other people? (Examples: give food to the food pantry, volunteer in soup kitchen, etc)

Ask the children How did we go about getting this money? (Allow answers) Tell the children: "When you really look at this money or even your talents, do you know it comes from God?" "What would your money be worth if you didn't use it for anything? (Nothing) "What would your talent be worth if you didn't use it for anything? (Nothing)

Now I know that we use our money and out talents to survive here on Earth. God wants us to have those things, but what are other ways that we can use our money and talents for God? Allow for a variety of answers.

Prayer : Dear Lord, Help us to use , our money and our talents, in ways You would have us use them. Amen.