“Bible Object Lesson – The Heavenly Father Cares for Us – Children’s Sermon Message”

“Well, I’ve done it again. Hi there, it’s Kristin and Fiona who is very much interested in this plant that I’ve been trying to grow. I seem to have a very difficult time keeping things alive. I don’t know if I give them too much water or not enough water or if they’re in the Sun too long or too little or maybe it got too cold in the plant’s roots just didn’t work they’re supposed to. I’m not sure but once again it seems like I have a wilting sad little plant chair. I tried that really did but I guess I’m only human and I just you just can’t grow things.

But I’ve seen some pretty amazing things that have been able to grow in nature. For example, I’m going to show you this picture these amazing beautiful flowers. Look at these flowers. I mean that’s pretty spectacular right? And who do you think is responsible for these flowers? Who’s the one that watered them and planted them and put all the right plant food in to make them grow? Was it a person? Someone living in a little cottage that just walks around the fields all day and plants these things and waters them? No, these are wild flowers that means they just grow out of nature. So they’re actually tended to by God himself. I mean all living things come from God but wild flowers like that they grow because that’s the way God designed it and he is so amazing that he can take care of flowers like that and make sure that they have enough soil and water and sunshine to live and grow beautiful.

And the Bible tells us that God cares a lot about all of his creations about flowers even about animals about births. Our gospel today talked about how much God cares for birds even though there’s a lot of birds in the sky and they’re not worth that much but God still cares about them and takes care of them. And if that’s the case how much more does God take care of his most precious creation his children us people. We can be assured that God loves us very much because he is our Heavenly Father. That’s what he shares with us and promises us that he is our Father.

Now I happen to really like my dad. I have a father here on earth and he has taken care of me throughout my life. So when I was a kid he would make sure that I had the things that I needed to survive maybe not always the things that I thought I wanted. So like when I asked him if I could have candy for dinner one night he told me I should have some vegetables instead because he knew what I needed not necessarily just what I wanted. Well, God is the same way. He gives us what we need for our daily lives. He promises to always take care of us and to always love us because we’re his children.

And you know God is an even better father than our earthly fathers. Some of us might have really great dads at home and some of us maybe unfortunately don’t because not all earthly fathers do as good of a job. They’re humans sometimes they make mistakes sometimes they can’t do things as well but we have the wonderful blessed assurance that even if maybe we don’t have a great dad here on earth we still have God as our Father that he still promises to take care of us because he can do absolutely amazing things that we couldn’t even imagine or fathom might be possible.

So we know that God promises to take care of us. We know that he loves us. That if he takes care of flowers and birds and animals in the sea and all these other things we’re his crowning creation so he will

take care of us – he loves us so much that he came to earth and became one of us and died for us. He loves us enough to take care of the horrible problem of sin by sending Jesus, sacrificing his son for us. That’s how much God loves us. He is a good father, he is a loving father, he will take care of us. He promises to always be with us, he hears us when we pray, we can talk to him anytime.

Sometimes it’s hard for us to really feel like he’s near if we can’t see him or sense him or hear him, but we know that he’s there. We can be confident that he’s there, that he wants to hear from his children just like your dad probably enjoys listening to you talk, at least I hope so. And if he doesn’t, God for sure does. God always does. People, we make mistakes, we don’t always know how to take care of things, but God will always provide everything that we need for our daily life, for our entire lives. God will always be there for you. He’s the best kind of father there is. I will always have him and be assured of that. That’s a wonderful thing.

So on this Father’s Day, don’t forget to give your dad a hug, to tell them happy Father’s Day, but to remember that God is our Father and he will always be there for us too. So if you have a good dad that’s awesome, not will remind you that God is even better than that. And we know we have him for our father because that we’re brothers and sisters in Christ. What could be better than that? That’s a pretty big family, that’s a pretty fantastic thing to remember.

Well, why don’t we say a prayer right now and we can thank God for letting us call him father and for welcoming us into his family. Dear God, thank you for being our Father. Thank you for taking care of us. You always know what we need and provide us with the way we need. Help us to trust you, to talk to you, to love you. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for your son Jesus. In his name, Amen.

Don’t forget, call your dad, hug your dad, make it hard for your dad, and talk to your heavenly that. Have a great week, see you next time.”

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“Children’s Message: The Sacrifice of Isaac”:

“Hello children of God. I want you to try something for me. I have this jar and we are going to fill it up with some stuff. So the first thing I want you to pour into the jar is this cup of rice. Easy enough, right? All right, oh the rice into the jar. Okay, now the next thing that you need to fit in this same jar are these rocks. I have several rocks to put in here. So now I want you to put the rocks into the jar of the rice. Some there, well sort of, um… it doesn’t quite seem like they’re gonna fit, does it? Um, well I don’t think they’re all… I’ve still got some rocks left over here. I don’t know if I can fit them all in the same jar or the rice. Hmm, well that’s tricky. Let’s try something else. Let’s take out the rocks and let’s take out the rice and then I’m gonna try a different order of things. How about that? Let’s try getting this all out of there and you’re going to put the rocks in first. Just a minute, let’s just give that a shot. So in go the rocks. With all those rocks in there, it doesn’t seem likely that this rice could really fit, but let’s give it a shot. Huh, well what do you know about that? When I put the rocks in first, the rice filled in the cracks and it fit just fine.

You know, sometimes this is how our lives are. See, we think we have to do so many things and we get busy and we get frustrated and sometimes we forget or miss out on what’s really important. In our lives are so busy with stuff, we neglect the things that really should come first. And we put the most important things first, the rest will follow. God wants to be first in our lives. He wants to be the number one priority, the most important thing that we make time for, that we prepare for, that we love and serve. And sometimes, sometimes that can be confusing or hard. Sometimes God might ask us to do things that we don’t understand or God might ask us to do things that require sacrificing. Sometimes putting him first means giving up something else that we might really enjoy or love. But he wants to be the number one and he wants us to trust him because he promises that when we do love him first, that when we trust him Above All Else, that great blessings will come out of it.

This reminds me of a story in the Bible. Now we talked a little bit ago about a man named Abraham and how he waited a long time for this promise of a son. God had promised him a son and later on Isaac was born. Well, of course, Abraham loved Isaac very, very much because he had waited for this son for a long time and he was very special to him. Well then one day God came to Abraham and he said, ‘Abraham, I want you to take your son Isaac, that son that you waited for, that I gave you, that is your only son who you really, really love. I want you to take him and I want you to go and sacrifice him and kill him.’ Which sounds rather astonishing and strange. I mean, how could God possibly want Abraham to kill this promised son? It didn’t make sense and how would God fulfill his promise if Isaac was dead? None of it made sense. But Abraham knew that he could trust God, that God would keep his promises and be faithful. And he didn’t know why God was asking him to do this. It

was a hard and horrible and painful thing, but he knew he needed to put God first, but he needed to love God before all else, even his son Isaac. So he took Isaac and they went up onto a mountain and Isaac said, ‘You know, Dad, we’ve got wood here, we’re getting ready to make a fire, but where’s the animal that we’re supposed to sacrifice on the Fire?’ And Abraham took Isaac and he tied him to the wood and just as he was getting ready to do the most horrendous thing he could think of doing, kill his own beloved Son, God said, ‘Stop, Abraham, don’t do it, don’t kill Isaac, don’t hurt him.’ And then there appeared in thorns a ram, it’s kind of like a lamb but a boy has horns, and this Ram was given to Abraham to sacrifice on that altar instead of his son Isaac.

God loved Abraham and Isaac and God didn’t want Abraham to really kill his son, but he wanted Abraham to trust him, to believe in his promises that his promises would be fulfilled no matter what, and that his instructions could be followed even if this sounded very strange or even impossible or painful or sacrificial or foolish. And Abraham knew that he could trust God. But this story isn’t so much about Abraham or about Isaac and what they did and their great faith. It’s about God. It’s about God and what he did. See, this is almost an object lesson from God, a very drawn out and very serious kind of object lesson. But later, God made a sacrifice. God gave his son and in this case, he didn’t spare him. He spared Isaac, Abraham’s son, but not his own. He sent Jesus to be the sacrifice, just like the RAM and the thorn bush. Jesus is the Lamb of God who came and took our sins and died in our place so that we don’t have to die.

God loved us so much that he puts us first and was willing to become a man and die in our place. So we can put God first in our lives because we know how much he loves us, how much he cares for us, and how he puts us first. He loves us so much that he died for our sins so we can love him in return. We can be thankful and we can put him first, loving him first. That means that yeah, sometimes we might have to be willing to give something up or sacrifice something we love, but it means that we love God even more and that we know we can trust him, that when we put him first and we pray, we read our Bibles, we go to church, we put those things ahead of the things that might just sound fun. And when we love him and serve him, he will bless our lives too. The other things will fit in around the cracks when we put our Lord and Savior Jesus first in our lives.

Why don’t we thank God for his sacrifice and for loving us so much. Dear God, thank you for sacrificing for us. Thank you for loving us. Help us to love you and to put you first in our lives. Thank you so much for your son Jesus, in his name, amen. The story of Abraham and Isaac can be a challenging one, but remember God’s love for us and that we can trust him. So have a wonderful week, go make some disciples, we’ll see you next time.”

Video “Children’s Sermon Lesson: Transformed by Christ Romans 6:1-14”:

“Hello children of God. What do I have here? It’s kind of hard to tell. These are tortilla chips, well they’re sort of turning into the crumbs of tortilla chips now, but you get the idea. The delicious chips that you could dip in salsa or sour cream or make nachos or have with tacos or something like that. But where did tortilla chips come from? What were they before they became chips? Well, if you said tortillas, you’re absolutely right. Sorry, no product placement here, but prior to becoming a chip, this was just a tortilla. Now, can the chip turn back into a tortilla? No, of course not, because this is soft, this is the before stage, and this is the after. There’s nothing this delicious satisfying chip could do to go back to being a soft little tortilla.

Well, that might have been obvious, but here’s one that is a little more exciting. What is this? A pickle, a very delicious pickle. But where do pickles come from? What was that before it became a pickle? Believe it or not, that was once a cucumber, probably a smaller kind of cucumber than this, but yes, mind-blowing though it may seem, the great delicious pickle was once a lowly cucumber. So see, if your mom tells you to eat more vegetables, just throw some pickles on your burger. Not really, vegetables are important, you should have fresh vegetables, very delicious. But what did the cucumber have to go through to become a pickle? Well, it kind of soaked in this juicy stuff for a while with some different spices and seasonings and everything, and over time it became a pickle, kind of like a baptism in a way, but we’ll get to more on that in just a little bit.

Now, snack foods are not the only things that go through changes and transformations and become new. For instance, we see this all around us with animals. For example, what did a frog used to be? A frog used to be a tadpole, a silly little swimming around tadpole. Now, would this frog go back to being a tadpole? Of course not, no, I don’t want to now, it’s a frog, hopping around, done landing water, our great awesome amphibian. It wouldn’t want to go back to being a silly little tadpole. Or how about a beautiful butterfly? Can a butterfly crawl back in the cocoon and turn itself back into a caterpillar? No, and again, why would it want to? If you can fly and be gorgeous and zooming around in the air, why would you want to go back to crawling around on a leaf? Silly to even think of. These things go through changes, become something new, something that’s transformed and different, that would never go back to the old way of things.

But did you know that the same thing happens just that we have been transformed and made new? The Book of Romans tells us that we share in the identity of Jesus, that we in our baptism die to our sins and rise again, that just as Jesus died and came back to life, we die and come back to life too. And since we’re dead to our old sins, why are we going to go back to that way of living when we know Jesus and his power and his transformation, the things that he has done in our lives? It gives us freedom, freedom from sin. See, when we are sinning, well, it’s kind of like being a slave. We’re chained to those sins,

painful, it’s not what we want to do or what we should do, but we can get into these habits and patterns. Now, of course, we always make mistakes, but it’s important to remember who we are in Jesus, that we’re no longer slaves to those sins, we are freed from them, we’re not in that bondage anymore. And because of that, that’s in the past, that’s our old sinful self that we get to put away, and we get to remember that now we have Jesus.

May we realize how much better he is, how much more wonderful and blessed the way of life of living in Jesus and through his Spirit, how much greater those things are. Well, I wouldn’t want to go back to crawling around like a caterpillar or just being a cucumber, nothing wrong with cucumbers, but you see what I mean. We make mistakes, we still sin every day, but that is not who we are. Those sins don’t define and don’t identify us anymore. The bad stuff doesn’t identify us, we are with Jesus.

We remember, if you’ve been baptized, that we have had that death and resurrection moment, and if we love Jesus and honor and serve him, we remember that we follow him now and not those old sinful ways. And even when sometimes we do slip into sin, we remember that Jesus is more powerful, so we can turn to him and remember we’ve been forgiven once and for all. Our past, present, and future sins have been wiped clean, and Jesus has made us new and given us freedom. We don’t want to do the bad things anymore when we know Jesus gives us wings, in a sense, he sets us free from all that.

In this life, yes, we’ll still have trouble, and sins will still tempt us, but he has released us from that slavery. We don’t have to do it anymore. We can look to Jesus and cling to him, and we know that our identity is in him. We have new life, salvation, and forgiveness because of what Jesus has done for us.

So remember, if you mess up, or if you want to go back to sinning, or if you think you might want to do something wrong, life with Jesus is so much better. Always trust in him first. Why don’t we say a prayer and thank God for the transformation and new life we have in Jesus?

Dear God, thank you for our new lives. Thank you that we can be transformed by your power. Thank you for giving us Jesus. Help us remember that we are free from sins and that life with you is the greatest thing we can have. Thank you for your love. We love you, God. Thank you for your son, Jesus. In his name, Amen.

We have new life, you have new life, so go share that with your children and your ministry, wherever and with whomever that might be. And join us again for more messages, crafts, and lessons every week. Hopefully, this helps you communicate the powerful truths of Romans chapter 6. Now, what are you waiting for? Go make some disciples. Have a great week. See you next time.”

Here is the transcript for the video titled “Children’s Sermon Lesson Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 The Most Important Healing”:

“Hello children of God, do you know who I am now? You might think I’m just Miss Kristen, but today I am actually Dr. Kristen here to help all your medical needs and ailments. That’s right, I’ve got my trusty handy dandy first aid kit here and I can solve anything you might physically need. All my wonderful supplies, I am ready to go. So go ahead, give me your best shot. What kinds of things do you think you might need healed from or fixed if you were to get hurt? Oh, what’s that you say, you have a cut? I got a solution for you there. How about a nice sticker? That’s bound to help, right?

Hmm, well alright, I’ll take another one. Let’s see, oh a bug bite. Yes, I’ve got just the thing for bug bites. Slather on some peanut butter, that will always do the trick, solve the itch right away. Oh, a stomachache you say? No problem, have some candy. A headache? Slap a Band-Aid on there, how about that?

Now, you’re probably thinking that these are not really the solutions to those problems and you’re probably right. In fact, that wouldn’t be what you expected to hear at all. If you had a cut, well then you’d want a Band-Aid. If you have an itch or burn, you might want some kind of cream or some medicine for a headache, right? I mean, you wouldn’t not propose any of those solutions at all. You wouldn’t expect me to tell you that and you’d probably think I’m silly if I did and you’d probably be right.

But there are some times we get unexpected answers to problems or questions that we might have. Sometimes we might get unexpected answers to prayers that we might offer God. Or maybe there are things that we think we want or need and he does things in ways that we wouldn’t quite anticipate.

Now, this happens to us all the time and it happened in the Bible too. In fact, for most of his life on Earth, Jesus did things that did not meet up with what people would expect or anticipate him to do. They might have thought he was going to be a great and powerful ruler when he came to be humble and suffering servant. They might have expected him to do things in huge amazing ways when he did things in kind of quiet simple ways sometimes. They might have expected him to heal people with, I don’t know, stitches or Band-Aids, but all it took was a word or a touch.

And sometimes people criticize Jesus for the way that he acts. In fact, in Matthew, it talks about where Jesus was eating and hanging out with sinners. He was partying it up with these people who most polite society would not associate with. And some of the leaders said, ‘He’s eating with sinners and tax collectors, the people that we hate. Why is Jesus doing that?’ And Jesus said, ‘You know, the healthy people don’t need a doctor, the sick people do. I didn’t come for the people who are already good enough. I came to save the lost and to heal the hurting and the sick.’ Well, really that’s all of us. We’re all sinners and we all need Jesus.

Elsewhere in the Bible, we see how Jesus did some pretty amazing miracles that didn’t always take place in the way that people would have expected them. For instance, one woman, sick for many years, she was bleeding and she thought, ‘Well, maybe if I

can get close enough to Jesus, he’ll see me and heal me.’ Well, all it took was touching the edge of his robe. She was healed just like that, right away.

Another time, there was a little girl who got sick and Jesus went to her and when he got there, she was already dead. Well, her parents probably hoped he would have healed her before she died. What could he do now? But when Jesus got there, he said, ‘You know, she’s actually just sleeping. Come on, wake up.’ She got up and she was alive.

Well, none of that’s expected. A lot of times the timing or the methods that Jesus used are not what people expected. They weren’t ready for it, they weren’t anticipating it. But he still healed, he still provided what they needed when they needed it. And he still does that for us.

Sometimes things don’t happen in the timing that we would want or that we would hope for, that we would expect. Sometimes not in the way that we would want or hope or expect. And sometimes we don’t get the physical healing that we want at all. There might be some things that we just have to deal with that never seem to get fixed, which is hard for us to understand. But we know that Jesus always takes care of what we really truly need.

We need forgiveness, we need salvation from the sins that we all do, and that’s what he really came for. He came to heal, he came to seek out, and he came to save. He came to die for us so that we could be free and clean from our sins, from the bad things that we do. And because of that, no matter what else happens or how else it happens, we know that we can rest secure in God. Jesus has given us the greatest thing that we could possibly want or need, regardless of whatever else we might think we want or need.

Jesus heals our souls, it saves us from the inside. So even though he often works in mysterious and unexpected ways, he’s always working, he’s always healing, he’s always providing us with just what we need when we need it. And that’s a wonderful blessing that we can be thankful for and that we can remember. We read the stories of the Bible, we know it applies to us today. He says healed in unexpected ways then, he did unexpected things, and he still does.

So why don’t we give thanks to God for taking care of our needs, even when it’s not how we think it will be. Dear God, thank you for giving us what we need when we need it. Help us to trust in you when you work in ways that we don’t expect. Thank you for loving us. We love you, God, in Jesus’ name, amen.

A lot of life doesn’t happen the way that we would expect, isn’t that right? Good thing we have a savior who always knows what’s best. Hopefully, this helps you to communicate these stories with your students and is a blessing to your ministry, wherever, however, whenever, and with whomever that might be. Join us again, we have new message story and lesson ideas out every week. So go make some disciples, have a wonderful week, see you next time.”

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“Hello children of God. I have something very special to share with you today. As you can tell, I’ve got all sorts of presents and I am going to give each of you a gift. So each of you gets to open a very special gift bag of your very own and you get to find out what’s inside it. Now there’s something in all of these and we’re going to use the items that are in the bags to do something together. So let me give you a bag and we can find out what your special gift is. This is, ignore the fact that that one has Christmas on it. Now let’s open up our bags and see what’s inside, shall we? All right, let’s see here. We’ve got peanut butter, all right. I mean I like peanut butter, you can always go for some of that. This one [Music] bread. I think I might see where this is going here. Here we have a knife and here it’s a big bag for small item Julie. Now what do you think I might be able to do if I used all of these things together? Absolutely correct, I could build a boat. No, I’m not going to build a boat. I can make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Now could I make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich If I Only Had strawberry jam? No, that would just be jam without sandwich and as great as Jam is, it’s definitely not the same. Could I make a sandwich If I Only Had bread? Only if you want to eat an air sandwich or an imaginary sandwich. So I need all of these items working together to make my sandwich, right? I couldn’t do it without one of these things. Gotta have the knife or else I’m going to be spreading it on with my finger and that’s just messy and not sanitary and really doesn’t even spread that well to begin with, let me tell you, I’ve tried it. So I need all of these components to put my sandwich together. They all work together. Each one of them on their own is usable and special but together they’re even better and together they can make me a nice tasty snack or lunch or breakfast or whatever it is you want to have a PB J for. I think it’s good any time of day or quite frankly. But it’s the same way with us. This is how God uses us and helps us work together as his body, the church. The Bible tells us that each of us has special gifts that God gives us, special spiritual gifts. For instance, some people have wisdom or discernment, some people have knowledge are really smart, some people have amazing faith, some people might even be able to speak in different languages, maybe they’re great at music, maybe they’re good at teaching and we all have these different abilities, different things that God gives us that are special. You have special talents too, maybe you’ve discovered what some of those are, maybe there are talents that you have yet to figure out and that’s that’s a special present that you’ll get to open. God gives us and the awesome thing is that we can figure out how we can use those gifts to work together as the church. So some people are really great at taking out trash, we need trash take routers. Some people are good at speaking, maybe they’ll become pastors or leaders. Some people like to cook, they can make snacks or coffee for filler sick time. Some people might be singing up front, some people might be singing with the kids, you put my piercing in with the choir, who might be passing out bullet

ins or typing up bulletins. There are a lot of things that need done, kind of like how we have bodies that have all these parts that work together. Well, it’s the same way with the church, we’re a body, we’re a family and we all work together to do great and wonderful things for God. One person on their own can pray and do good things for God surely, but one person can’t be a body of believers, one person can’t be a whole church. It takes all of us and it’s important to have us all there working together. If someone’s missing, someone’s gift isn’t there, well things can’t operate the way that they’re supposed to. God gives us these abilities that we can use them for him. It’s a treasure just like the gift of himself. Jesus gave his body for us so that we can be his body, the church. It’s a little tricky to wrap your head around that one, but Christ has given us grace and forgiveness and special abilities and we can give those back to him. We can thank him for what he has blessed us with by using our talents and time and treasures to give back to him and in that way we all work together, we make it happen. When he sees his people using their abilities and working as a body, well that pleases God, he makes him very joyful to see us working for him and carrying out his mission. So you might be the bread, maybe you’re the peanut butter, maybe you’re the knife or the napkin, but whatever your gift is, find a way that you can eagerly, happily use it for God. There’s lots of way to bless others, there’s lots of ways ways that we can give to the church. Why don’t we say a prayer and thank God for whatever wonderful gifts he has given us. Dear God, thank you for your gifts and for your many blessings. Help us to use our talents for you and to know how we can be your body, the church. Thank you for your love, we love you God, in Jesus name, amen. God has given us a great treasure in his church and we can contribute to it and work together to love and serve our Lord. Hopefully, this gives you one more idea to share this important truth with your students. Come join us again because we have new lessons and ideas out every week to bless you in your ministry. Reverend and with whomever that might be, make some disciples. Have a wonderful week, we’ll see you next time.”

The video was published on May 23, 2023, and it is made for kids. The video is about teaching children about spiritual gifts and how they can be used in the church. The presenter uses the analogy of making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to explain how different gifts can work together for a common purpose.

“Hello children of God. Have you ever traveled on an airplane? Some people get a little bit nervous about going way up in the air in this big old vehicle. I think it’s a pretty exciting experience. I mean, especially if you’re going somewhere fun, somewhere that you look forward to going, it’s pretty amazing. But there are a lot of steps that you have to go through before air travel happens, right? If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you know this, and it kind of takes a lot of patience to get through all these different things.

For instance, first you have to pack. You might have to make a list of things that you want to put in a suitcase, and you have to pack it up and make sure you’ve got all the right clothes and enough underwear and everything you need. Then maybe you have to get up really early in the morning sometimes, right? And you drive to get to the airport. Sometimes you park your car and a special shuttle will take you from the parking lot to the airport. Well, then once you get to the airport, you have to stand in line and you have to wait for the security. Maybe you’ve gone through a line kind of like this. You have to take off your shoes and empty your pockets and show them your ID. Well, maybe you don’t have to show ID, but you have to go through the line and go through the metal detector and maybe they have to WAND you around and make sure you’re not carrying anything crazy on you.

And then after that, you have to find your gate and you have to go through the airport and find where you’re supposed to board the plane. Yeah, and you have to wait even longer until they tell you it’s your turn to get on. And then you finally get on the plane and you have to buckle up and listen to all the safety announcements and flip through the little magazine that has your options for juice. And then at long last, after all of this waiting and all this wondering and all of this watching, finally the pilot does their checklist and they get everything ready and then you can feel the engine come on and then it starts taxing around the runway and then in a glorious moment of thrill and Delight, it’s a plane lifts off and goes flying into the air.

It’s very exciting, I think, when it pops up off the ground and you get higher and higher and higher. You can look out and see the ground getting further and further away and all the cars look like little tiny ants. And then you’re in the air for however long it takes to get to your exciting destination.

Well, today we’re talking about something else that went up into the air. Not an airplane, in fact, it was someone. Not just someone, it was Jesus. We talk about his Ascension. Ascension means going up, and when something ascends, it means it goes up.

Now, Jesus, after he arose from the dead, was on Earth for a little while and then he went up and ascended into heaven. But before he did that, he gave his disciples some very important instructions and also some very special promises. He explained to them that he had to go to get a place ready for them, that he was going to go to heaven and get ready for them to join him there too. He said he would come back. Well, he said he would come back soon, but we’ve realized that Jesus’ definition of soon is a little bit different than ours.

But he also gave them some important things

they needed to do. He said first they needed to wait. They had to be patient and wait because he was going to send a helper. He wasn’t just gonna leave, he was going to send his Holy Spirit, his presence, to live and dwell among them. And that Holy Spirit would give them power. Because Jesus also told his disciples, your job is to carry on the mission. Tell everyone else around you about me. Jesus told them to share his good news, to tell others the gospel, the good news of Christ and his saving work, and that they were to continue to tell other people and other people and other people until everyone, the whole world, would know who Jesus was. That was their special mission, take his word all over and to love and care for his people. But they couldn’t do it alone, they couldn’t just do it on their own power, they had to wait for that Holy Spirit power to come. So they had to be a little patient.

And when the Holy Spirit did come, he helped the disciples to do amazing things. And you know, that same thing is true for us. We have a job to do too. Our job, like the disciples, is to continue to carry on that mission, to tell the whole world about Jesus, to love and care for others, to let them see his love shining through us. And we don’t do it on our own either, we do it with the power of Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit.

It takes a lot of power to get a big old airplane off the ground and into the air. It doesn’t seem possible. But it also doesn’t seem possible that we could carry on Christ’s work and do these things. But all things are possible with him, and the Holy Spirit makes that possible.

So we have to wait and get ready too. We wait, we know that Jesus will return someday, but we’re not sure when. So we have to be patient, patiently await his return. And meanwhile, we get ready, we pack up, we do his work, we carry on his mission and tell others about him. And we feel excited, just like when we’re getting ready for that plane trip and there’s all these things we have to go through, but it’s still exciting to get up in the air. It’s exciting to go on vacation or get somewhere fun. We know someday our home will be in heaven with Jesus, that he’ll return for us. Meanwhile, we don’t just watch, we patiently wait and continue his work.

After the disciples watched Jesus go up into heaven, some angels came and said, what are you doing looking up there? You’ve got work to do. Well, so do we. We’ve got work to do, and we’ve got the presence and power of Jesus to help us do it.

So why don’t we say a prayer and we can thank God for that right now. Dear God, thank you for giving us an important job to do. Help us to be patient and to know how to share your love and word with others. Thank you for your love. We love you, God, in Jesus’ name, amen.

There are a lot of great ways to share the Ascension story. Hopefully, this can give you an idea for another one. Come and join us again because we have crafts, lessons, and messages every week to bless you in your ministry, wherever and with whomever that might be. So go make some disciples. Have a great week. See you next time.”

Main Objective: Do we need to see things to believe them? How can we know that what we are told is true? This message focuses on the importance of trusting God’s Word as a reliable source of information, given for us to know and understand who He is. It also reviews the story of “doubting Thomas” to consider that doubts will come, but Christ is with us in those doubts. Genuine faith is belief without physical proof.

Law/Gospel Theme: We have a tendency to scoff at the “doubter” for his skepticism, but there’s an important element to note in this passage. Jesus didn’t leave Thomas in his uncertainty; He showed up. He recognized that Thomas was not so strong in his faith, but He came to work him through it. Thomas went on to do amazing things for God’s kingdom. We can take from this how much Christ cares about us. He is with us in our doubts, and will help us through them. He is always with us and gives His peace.

Optional Materials: Pictures to accompany bizarre trivia facts; Bible

Bible Passage: John 20:19-31

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.

Greet the children and challenge them to discern truth on some unique facts.  

Hello, children of God!

We are going to play a little game today. It’s a game of “fact or fiction.” Do you know what a fact is? That’s right, a fact is something that is true. Fiction means it’s made up, make-believe. I am going to list some things, and I want you to see if you can figure out whether they are real or fake statements. Are you ready?
List several hard-to-believe facts, and if appropriate, hold up a picture to accompany them. Consider such things as…
There is an animal that poops in the shape of a cube.
There is an underground cave in Missouri full of hundreds of thousands of pounds of cheese!
There are more trees on the Earth than there are stars in the galaxy.
Thomas Jefferson introduced macaroni and cheese to the United States.
Feel free to elaborate as much as time and attention allow.

Now, it just so happens that all of those things are actually true. But how do you know that? How could you verify what I have told you? I mean, there are plenty of information sources out there that might tell you one thig or another. Can we trust everything we hear? Of course not. But it’s important to know what we can and should believe. We also need to realize that there are some things we can trust to be true, even without physical evidence. For instance, I have a source of truth right here. Hold up Bible. Every word of this book is true and valuable. There is plenty of research to back the historical authenticity of the Bible, but to some extent, we might not always understand what it says. We might things in here that seem strange or unbelievable, and that’s where faith comes in.

There’s a story in this Bible about a man who had a hard time with faith. His name was Thomas, and he was one of the disciples of Jesus. Now, after Jesus rose from the grave, He came and appeared to His disciples. He gave them peace, reassured them, and showed Himself. But Thomas wasn’t with them at the time, for some reason. We aren’t sure just why, but he missed that important encounter with the Lord. The others tried to tell him about it, but he refused to believe them! Maybe he didn’t want to be disappointed. Maybe he was just very skeptical, or perhaps the disciples had a habit of pulling pranks on one another. Whatever the reason, he was not around when Jesus came, so he said he wouldn’t believe it happened. In fact, he was determined to doubt unless Jesus showed up and Thomas saw him with his own eyes. And that’s what Jesus did! He appeared again, a week later, this time when Thomas was there. He told Thomas to look at Him, touch Him, and stop doubting. Thomas felt pretty sheepish right about then! He acknowledged Jesus as Lord and God. Jesus told him that he had believed because he saw, but it was even more wonderful for people who didn’t see, and still believed.

There are a couple of great things we can take away from this passage. For one thing, we see here that doubt is okay. Jesus allowed Thomas to doubt. He was there with him, and appeared even after Thomas didn’t blindly trust in Him. Jesus is there with us through times of uncertainty, too. There might be times when we have difficulty understanding or believing, and that’s okay. We can ask for God’s help in working through that. Another important element we see in this story is a special promise Jesus gave. He said “blessed are those who have not seen and still believe.” Who does that include? Us! We have not physically seen Jesus, but we know that we can still trust in His word and believe His truth. And He calls us blessed for it. He values our love and faith, even if we struggle at times. We can rely on Him. We know His words are true, and written so that we may believe. Faith is believing even when we don’t see. So let’s be people of faith!

Why don’t we pray now and ask God to help us in times of doubt?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for being with us and loving us
Thank you for helping us understand
Help us to trust in you
Even in times of doubt or uncertainty.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference:
 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” ²⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” ²² And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”

²⁴ Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵ So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.”

²⁶ Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” ²⁸ Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” ²⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

³⁰ Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹ but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

 -John 20:19-31

Main Objective: How can we put life into things? Can we bring things to life out of nothing? Aside from a few simple “magic” tricks, it is impossible for us as humans to bring things to life, but our God gives hope, renewal, and new opportunity! This message discusses the vision of Ezekiel and the valley of dry bones, reminding us that God has a plan in all things. He can bring the dead back to life and gives us new life in Jesus. With Him, we have hope!

Law/Gospel Theme: Sometimes we try to do things on our own power, and life becomes exhausting. We want to feel powerful and capable, but in the end, we only have life because God gives it to us! We can hope in the most hopeless times because our hope is in Jesus. He defeated death so that we can have new life. Ezekiel saw dry bones coming to life and had hope for God’s people of Israel. We know that we have hope for things in our lives, because God gave His Son for all people!

Optional Materials: Balloon, rocks or inanimate objects, skeleton toys or “bones” (dog bones, plastic, etc.)

Bible Passage: Ezekiel 37:1-14

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. Use your judgment and ideas to best serve students.

More Bible Teaching Ideas on Ezekiel for Kids: Don’t miss the kids Bible lesson, full Sunday School lesson, Bible craft ideas, and children’s sermon lesson.

Children’s Sermon on the Valley of Dry Bones

Greet the children and discuss how things have life…

Hello, children of God!

Have you ever tried to bring something to life? I like to read fairy tale stories and myths sometimes, and it’s always exciting when something (or someone!) gets brought to life, especially things that shouldn’t be. Well, what if I told you that I could bring something to life? Are you ready to watch it? Here goes… Take a balloon and blow air into it. Let it go flying after it’s full of air. Okay, okay…I guess that wasn’t REALLY bringing something to life. But I did put air into this and it changed. I made it move, after all!

Well, what do you think would be the least likely object to come to life? Hold up examples as described. Maybe a rock? A loaf of bread? A piece of paper? How about a skeleton? Usually we think of skeletons as symbols of death. A skeleton is stripped of all life and basically has no hope. Unless it’s a silly Halloween show, skeletons aren’t going to get up and start moving around. But there’s a story in the Bible when that very thing happened!

There was a prophet named Ezekiel who spoke for God. Sometimes God gave him interesting visions about things that were going to happen with His people, the nation of Israel. In one of these, Ezekiel saw a valley full of dry bones. Not even skeletons, just a bunch of old, dried up bones. God asked him if the bones could live. Ezekiel probably didn’t even know what to say, but he responded that God would know if the bones could live again. God told Ezekiel to speak to the bones and prophesy over them. So he did. To his amazement, the dried bones put themselves together, and flesh covered them up! Then God commanded him to speak to the bones again, and breath came into them, and they came to life as a great army! God told Ezekiel that this was what He would do to His people. Things seemed rather bleak and hopeless, but God wanted them to know it wasn’t the end. He still loved them and was with them, and He would bring them back to life again. The breath of God made amazing things happen and made the impossible possible.

God gives us the same promise. He is the one who can make things new and breathe life into us. There might be times when we feel discouraged, or sad, or even hopeless. But with God, all things are possible. No matter what happens, His spirit can bring us back to life. He is the one who gives us life in the first place, both physically and spiritually. He is the one who can revive us when we are tired or upset. He promises to always be with us and to make all things new. We know that we can talk to Him anytime and that He cares. We know that He sent His son to die for our sins. That’s a lot better than blowing air into a balloon. If God can make dry bones into an army, imagine what He can do in our lives! So if you get to feeling sad or hopeless, remember that you have the God of all hope on your side!

Why don’t we pray now and thank God for giving us life?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for being our hope, no matter what happens
Thank you for giving us new life!
Help us to trust in You
And have peace in your presence.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference:
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out in the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. ² And he led me around among them, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. ³ And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” ⁴ Then he said to me, “Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. ⁵ Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. ⁶ And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”

⁷ So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied, there was a sound, and behold, a rattling and the bones came together, bone to its bone. ⁸ And I looked, and behold, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them. But there was no breath in them. ⁹ Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live.” ¹⁰ So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold, they say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are indeed cut off.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves and raise you from your graves, O my people. And I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ And I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it, declares the Lord.”  -Ezekiel 37:1-14

Main Objective: Where do we go for help? Young children are familiar with the concept of needing assistance with things, and depending on age, might be quite accustomed to asking for help. Sometimes we need support physically, or we might want help answering a question or figuring out how to do something. These days, people of all ages might seek help from the internet when questions arise. There are people we can go to with questions or worries. However, all of our human help (and technology guidance) is imperfect and can let us down. This message highlights how our true support and protection come from the Lord our God, who made all things and promises to be with us always.

Don’t miss the complete Sunday School Lesson on Psalm 121, with related children’s sermon, Sunday School craft activities, and Bible lesson for kids.

Law/Gospel Theme: We are not alone! Children and adults often find ourselves in need of support. We can turn to a lot of things seeking help, but it is God who promises to always come to our aid. He never rests or sleeps, and will always be with us and guide us. Night or day, he keeps us from harm and loves us. It is a hopeful and wonderful reminder to kids that no matter what goes on around us, God is present and ready to help!

Optional Materials: Toolbox, books, phone, map, computer/tablet, etc.; Bible

Bible Passage: Psalm 121:1-8

Children’s Sermon Lesson Plan / Object Lesson

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.

Greet children, and discuss things that require assistance…

Hello, children of God!
Where do you go when you need help with something? I guess it sort of depends what you need help with, since there might be different things that require assistance. For instance, if I wanted help cooking something, I might look in a cookbook to find a recipe (hold up props as you go, according to what you have available). The cookbook will tell me what ingredients I need to make something, and will guide me through how to put them together. A cookbook would help me know how to cook. Or let’s say I wanted to know more about a place, or how to do a hobby. I could look at a map to see where things are, or I could read a book that tells me more about something. Well, okay, these days, I could probably find a lot on the internet, too… Or maybe I need to fix something. I might have a toolbox full of items that could help me…but what if I don’t know how to use the tools, or pick the right ones? I guess then I’d be back to the internet search. Or I could call someone that might know. I could use my phone to ask a parent, or friend, or expert who knows more than I do…

The problem is, a lot of these “helpers” are not always reliable. I mean, I might call someone who doesn’t wind up answering their phone. Or maybe I look up the wrong fact, or the wrong recipe, and I wind up making a mistake. Perhaps I find an unreliable website and don’t really get the help I need. These human “helpers” will not always come through for me. But I know of one source of help that will always be reliable. You can probably guess who it is… God!

The Lord has promised to always be with us, and we know that we can trust Him for anything and everything we need in our lives. We don’t see God with our eyes, and we might not hear Him like we hear our mom or dad, but we know that He is always there and wants to hear from us. We have God’s Word, the Bible, to guide us through questions we might have. There is a wonderful passage in the Bible, in the book of Psalms, that reminds us how we can look to God for help. It says that our help does not come from looking up at the hills, but from looking up at Him, the one who made all things. The Psalm goes on to say that God will not let anything happen to us. In fact, He doesn’t even sleep! We need daily rest, but God does not. He never goes to sleep. He is always watching over us and taking care of us. In the daytime or the nighttime, He is there. He wants to help us, and loves us more than we can imagine. He wants to hear our prayers and always listens when we call to Him.

There might be times when we don’t quite think we “feel” or hear God, and that’s okay. We rely on His word to know that He is with us and He is for us. He is there in good times and in bad, and promises to keep us and comfort us. Other helpers might fail or flee, but He is always there!

Why don’t we talk to God and ask for His help right now?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for promising to be with us
And for always helping us
I can peacefully sleep, because you never do!
Thank you for being our help
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference: Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills.
    From where does my help come?
² My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot be moved;
    he who keeps you will not slumber.
⁴ Behold, he who keeps Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The Lord is your keeper;
    the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
⁶ The sun shall not strike you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord will keep you from all evil;
    he will keep your life.
⁸ The Lord will keep
    your going out and your coming in
    from this time forth and forevermore.   -Psalm 121:1-8

Main Objective: What does it cost to get to Heaven? How can we achieve salvation? Well, the bad news is that we all fall short of God’s glory, and no one is capable of earning or buying grace. Because of Adam, we are born into sin, which bears the consequence of death. The good news is that through Jesus, we have eternal life and righteousness! Jesus pays the price and takes away our sin. Through one man, evil came, but through another man, we have hope. This message emphasizes the hope and wonder of grace, granted through God’s love. Use some simple and fun “reward and consequence” techniques to communicate the principle.  

More Bible Teaching Ideas

• Romans 5:12-21 Sunday School Lesson
• Children’s Sermon Lesson on Adam’s Sin
• Bible Lesson for Kids on Romans 5
• Craft Ideas on Jesus Paid it All

Law/Gospel Theme: This is essentially the Gospel in a nutshell! The law points out our faults and sins, reminding us that all have inherited sinful nature from the Fall. Thanks be to God, we have salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ our Lord, who gives us His righteousness! We don’t get the punishment we deserve for our sins, but instead enjoy the free gift of God’s grace and eternal life.

Optional Materials: Some sort of small treat for children

Bible Passage: Romans 5:12-21

Children’s Sermon Lesson

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs.

Greet children, and challenge them with an increasingly tough “high-stakes” task…

Hello, children of God!
I have a challenge for you. Are you ready? I am going to give you some questions, and I want you to answer them for me. (Alternatively, provide a simple physical challenge for students. I have a special treat for you if you can answer all of the questions correctly! Okay, now here’s a catch: if one person does not answer the question (or complete the task) correctly, no one will get the treat. Be careful! You don’t want to ruin it for all of your friends…
Take a minute to ask several questions of children, or provide simple tasks. Depending on timing, start with easier elements, and work up to more challenging ones. Eventually make it too tough to answer so that someone misses.

Oh no! You missed it…well, you know the rules. Nobody gets the treat now. Too bad you didn’t know the answer. Now everyone will miss out!
Well, you know what? I’m feeling generous right now. You didn’t earn the candy, but I think I’m going to give it to you anyway! I care about you enough to let you have this reward, even when you didn’t do what I originally asked. Here you go… (Pass out treats/candy)
So, instead of getting what you deserved (the punishment I warned), you got something good.

You know what? This is similar to the way it works with faith. We don’t get what we deserve, which is a great thing! The Bible tells us that we are sinful. Because of Adam, we are born with sin, and we naturally make mistakes. We do the things we shouldn’t. We should be punished for the mistakes that we make. But Jesus changes all that. Jesus lived a perfect life. He never sinned, because He lived the life we couldn’t. He never sinned, but then He took the weight of all our sin, and died in our place. Because of that, the bad things we do aren’t counted against us! That evil nature we “inherit” from Adam gets replaced by the goodness of Jesus. Sin came through one person, but righteousness was given through another! God gives us grace, which means we get what we don’t deserve. He gives us freedom and blessings in the midst of our sin and struggle.

I chose to give you the prize today, even though you didn’t “earn” it. We cannot earn salvation. One person messed things up and gave you a punishment, but I chose to give you good things anyway. One person messed up and gave humans sin, but God lets us receive gifts from Him, because of His Son Jesus. We can thank God every day for His forgiveness and love!

Why don’t we thank Him for that now?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for your mercy and grace
We don’t get the punishment we deserve
But the grace you give.
Help us to be comforted by your forgiveness
And to forgive others.
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference:

Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— ¹³ for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. ¹⁴ Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

¹⁵ But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. ¹⁶ And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. ¹⁷ For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. ²⁰ Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, ²¹ so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 -Romans 5:12-21

Main Objective: Mountains are pretty incredible places, and can be inspirational for Christians seeking deeper faith. The Bible contains a lot of significant stories involving mountains, and this message highlights a few of them. God often chose to meet people in special places, and made or renewed covenants there. However, mountains aren’t the only way to grow closer to God. He is everywhere! His presence is at all times and in all places, and we don’t even need special equipment to access it!

More Bible Teaching Ideas from Exodus 24:12-18 for Kids: Don’t miss the complete Sunday School Lesson on Moses and the Mountain, and related Bible craft ideas, Kids’ Bible teaching.

Law/Gospel Theme: Children are literal thinkers, and might often wonder how or where to “find” God, imagining that perhaps He is in the sky or church buildings. It’s helpful for them to realize that we do not need to go somewhere or do anything special to be in His presence. God is always with us! He’s not just in a cloud or on a mountain top. Because of the blood of Jesus, we have direct access to the throne room of the king, and He wants to hear from us as His beloved children.  

Optional Materials: Camping gear; items needed to travel in mountains; pictures of mountains.   

Bible Passage: Exodus 24:12-18 (and Matthew 17:1-9)

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. This example uses camping gear to illustrate the topic of mountains and seeking God. You might also consider pictures of mountains or other types of “hide and seek” items.

Greet children, and introduce some camping gear (if using)…

Hello, children of God!
I am preparing for something, and I have a few items here. I want to see if you can guess what I’m getting ready for. Let’s take a look… Show several things that might be related to hiking or camping, such as a tent, sleeping bag, backpack, compass, etc. What do you think I’m getting ready to do? That’s right… I’m going camping! I just love going out to the mountains in the wilderness. It’s a great opportunity to get away from distractions. When I’m up in the mountains, I feel close to God.

Actually, God used mountains a lot in the Bible. There are several times that we read about important things happen on mountains. God made and renewed promises on mountains. For instance, He appeared to Moses on Mount Sinai and gave him the ten commandments. Moses was actually hanging out there for forty days and nights! There was a bit cloud that covered everything up, and the glory of God was powerful. God was like fire on that mountain. But it changed Moses and, through that, he brought God’s words back to the people. (If time and relevance allow, you might also mention mountains of God’s promises or covenants, such as Abraham on Mount Moriah, Noah on Mount Ararat, or Elijah on Mount Carmel).

There was another time that an important event took place on a mountain. Jesus took a few of His close disciples up to a mountain. There, He changed so that they saw God’s glory, revealed in His Son. The disciples knew that something amazing was happening. God had kept His promise to send a Messiah, and there He was! It must have been remarkable to be in God’s presence like that, seeing His covenants fulfilled.

Is God only on those mountains though? Should we climb up high and go hiking or camping to be closer to Him? Of course not! You know, all of those people in the Bible who were close to Him on mountains eventually had to come back down the mountain, too. And so do we. Going to camp or to the mountains or out in the wilderness can be wonderful, but sometime we have to come back to our lives of work or school or challenge.

That’s the great news, though…God is always with us! He’s not only present on the mountains. He had promised to be with us always, and He is. He is with us in the classrooms, in our churches, when we are sitting on the couch or doing homework, when we’re riding in a car, when we’re playing soccer…God is always there. We don’t have to do special things to find Him. Mountains are great, but God is everywhere! God loves us and wants to be near to us. Because of Jesus, we have direct access to Him all the time, anytime. We can pray and know that He cares and listens to us, always! He is not just Lord of the mountains. He’s a faithful promise keeper, and He’s the King of all creation, and should be ruler of our hearts, as well. What a mighty and powerful God we serve!

Why don’t we pray now and thank God for His presence?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for always being with us
Help us to trust in you
No matter where we are or how we feel
You are God of the mountains
And king of all things
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference:

The Lord said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and wait there, that I may give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction.” ¹³ So Moses rose with his assistant Joshua, and Moses went up into the mountain of God. ¹⁴ And he said to the elders, “Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, Aaron and Hur are with you. Whoever has a dispute, let him go to them.”

¹⁵ Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. ¹⁶ The glory of the Lord dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud. ¹⁷ Now the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel. ¹⁸ Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.  -Exodus 24:12-18

And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. ² And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. ³ And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. ⁴ And Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁵ He was still speaking when, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” ⁶ When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were terrified. ⁷ But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Rise, and have no fear.” ⁸ And when they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

⁹ And as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead.” -Matthew 17:1-9

Main Objective: Some decisions should seem pretty obvious…and yet we don’t always opt for the glorious blessings that God offers us. Life or death? Good or evil? This message encourages students to make wise choices about life and loving the Lord. Our choices have important consequences! Consider the words of Deuteronomy 30 as they relate to everyday decisions and the importance of accepting God’s free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Law/Gospel Theme: When discussing decisions, we can sometimes be tempted to focus a little too much on our own power and place. We might act like we have one something great when it comes to accepting the gift of God’s grace, but it’s Jesus who did the heavy lifting!  This message emphasizes the beauty of how God is in control. He loves us and has chosen us no matter what. We can still turn away from that love and choose not to serve and follow Him, but why would we reject such amazing grace?

Optional Materials: Items representing choices; sports-related elements (if using the sports theme).

You can download the complete 18-page Sunday School Lesson on Deuteronomy 30:15-20, compare the Bible craft activities, and related Bible lesson for kids.

Bible Passage: Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Message: Note: As with most messages, the details of how you choose to communicate this are adaptable and should cater to timing as well as to your audience and student needs. This message coincides with the Superbowl and sports elements, but can be adapted to discuss other types of choices.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 Children’s Sermon Object Lesson

Greet children, and consider incorporating some sports gear…

Hello, children of God!
Do you like watching sports? There are a lot of interesting things that happen out there in the world of athletics. This weekend (insert applicable sporting event; this message uses the Superbowl), there’s this big football game we have called the Superbowl. It’s kind of a big deal if you live in the United States, although I happen to think it’s best for snacks, parties, and commercials…but anyway, there are two teams who play in this game, trying to determine who is the best. Which team do you think is going to win? Who would you choose? Why? Discuss teams and picks. Now, is that team going to win because you think they’re the best? Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work like that…the team that will win is, of course, whichever group of players scores more points! Rooting for them doesn’t exactly change the outcome.

There are a lot of choices we have to make in life on a daily basis. We choose what to wear, what to eat, what to do…Some of these things aren’t really a big deal, but there are other choices we make that have quite an impact on our lives. And some decisions are pretty obvious… What if you had the choice of chocolate or brussels sprouts? Or what if you had the choice of life or death? God told His people in the Old Testament to choose between good and evil, between life and death. He promised blessing and long life for following Him. That seems like a “no-brainer”, right?

 It seems too easy, but we can still make poor decisions sometimes. God wants us to choose to accept His grace and follow Him. It seems easy enough. We know that God gives us freedom from sin and new life, and you would think everyone would want to take that. But we make poor choices. We have choices to honor and serve God, and obey Him, but we mess that up sometimes. We make a lot of mistakes. Even if we know the right choice, we don’t always follow through on it.

But that’s where the great news comes in…even though we do things we shouldn’t, God loves us and covers all of our sins and mistakes! He sent Jesus to live a perfect life for us and die in our place. Even when we do things that are wrong, we know we are covered by His blood. We might not always choose to follow the Lord like we ought to. But God chooses us! He chose us first. He chose to give His Son for us, and when we mess up, we can always come back to God and receive His grace. No matter what we do, no matter what kinds of decisions we make, He is always there ready to welcome us back into His loving arms. Just like our picks for the football game aren’t really what determines it, we don’t pick the death and Resurrection of Jesus. That already happened! God already planned to rescue us, and it’s not our work that saves us, it’s His! All we do is open our hands and hearts to accept that beautiful and abundant free gift of grace. We can choose to obey the Lord and follow His Word, but we don’t always do it perfectly. God loves us perfectly, though, so we can run to Him every time and know that He chooses us to be His children.

Why don’t we thank God for that love right now?

Prayer: 
(Have kids repeat each line)
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us your Son
And granting eternal life through Him.
Help us to always make wise decisions
And most importantly, to choose to follow you
Thank you for your promises and blessings
Thank you for your love
We love you, God!
In Jesus name, Amen!

Bible Verses/story to Reference:

“See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil. ¹⁶ If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you today, by loving the Lord your God, by walking in his ways, and by keeping his commandments and his statutes and his rules, then you shall live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. ¹⁷ But if your heart turns away, and you will not hear, but are drawn away to worship other gods and serve them, ¹⁸ I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹ I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, ²⁰ loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”  -Deuteronomy 30:15-20