Children’s Sermon: New Year’s Eve so Remember Highs, not only the Lows

3 communities worshipping together at First Congregational Church in Park Ridge.
I’m doing the children’s sermon. Bring cheesy/small/dollar store party hates.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today.

So my name is Marc, and I’m the Pastor of Christ Lutheran Church. I am glad to be here today with y’all. What are your names? Listen to the names of the kids who are there. Repeat each name after they tell you them. You’re bad with names but try to remember. Awesome. Thanks for coming here today (especially since it’s so cold outside).

So today is a special day….it’s….put on a New Year’s Eve party hat.

Today is December 31. It’s New Year’s Eve. It’s the LAST DAY OF 2017! It’s a bit of a holiday. Some people are having parties and will spend tonight wearing party hats. Others are staying home but planning to stay up past their bedtime so they are awake when it’s 12:00 am – when it’s finally January 1, 2018. And others will try to do that – but they’ll fall asleep on the couch instead.

Today is a great day to think about the last year – and think about what was good about the last year, what wasn’t so good, and then make goals and plans for 2018. Those goals and plans for 2018 are sometimes called “New Year’s Resolutions.” And “New Year’s Resolutions” we come up with sometimes grow out of our experiences of the last year – what went right and what went wrong. So, if it’s okay, let’s do a little of that right now. We don’t have to think about the last year – but maybe we can think about just this last week. Maybe we can share our a “high” from the week and a “low” from the week.

So for example, a high for me for this last week would be seeing the new Star Wars movie. I liked it. I had a great time watching it, seeing it in the movies, and eating popcorn. I had fun. So that’s why it’s a high for me.

And if I wanted to share my low, I’d mention how I was feeling sick all week – but I feel better now. So I was tired and sneezy and I lost my voice – it wasn’t fun. So that’s was my low.

What about you? Do you have a high or low? See if anyone wants to offer a high or low for their week. If they share, thank them for it.

Thanks for sharing! That was great. Highs and Lows are great because they help us get to know each other a little bit – and also help us know if there are specific things we should pray for when we pray for our friends – what we are thankful for, what we need help with, and what we can ask God for.

So one way we sometimes spend this day is doing what we just did – thinking about what went right and what went wrong – and maybe making goals and plans for 2018 to go better.

But did you notice the order we just went? We started with our highs and we ended with our lows. And it’s sometimes easier to focus on our lows – on our frustrations and on things that didn’t go right. Maybe school isn’t going well, or something is bothering you, or there’s a struggle. And sometimes, the lows are going to dominate what is going on in our lives. That’s just the way it is.

But I’m going to invite you to try something – when you spend today thinking about your highs and lows for the year and dream up your New Year’s Resolutions, I want you to think about your lows first – but then end with the highs.

End with the things that went well. End with the moments when you felt loved, included, and happy. End with the moments that were awe inspiring, filled you with wonder, made you go wow. End with what you have – and wrap all of that up with something that can never be taken away from you – And that’s Jesus. All of you, right now, whether you can feel it or not, are beloved children of God. You are part of Jesus’ family. You matter to the creator of everything. And even in the moments when things don’t go as well – and we will have those moments, and sometimes those moments will last longer than we want, you still have Jesus with you, no matter what. And that’s something to celebrate today – and into every New Year too.

Thank you for being here and Happy New Year!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on New Year’s Eve (with First UCC and Pascack Reformed Church) on 12/31/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Angels Say Hello

Bring the bag with Candy Canes. Bring Angel Wings..

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today.

So we’ve been learning a little bit about Jesus’ story and we’ve filled up this scene, which is sometimes called a nativity or a creche. And so let’s review: who is here? Mary. Joseph. Angels. Jesus. Animals. Very good! And this moment is what we’re celebrating today – Jesus Christ is born, becoming God’s present for everyone.

So for this Christmas Eve worship service, I want to focus a bit on the beginning of the story we just heard. And at the very start, we met this. Who is this? The Angel. The angel is named Gabriel. This angel comes down from heaven and visits someone. Who does the angel visit? Mary. Right! The angel has a special message for Mary and can’t wait to tell her. So the angel comes down and the first thing the angel does is show up, surprise Mary, and say: “Rejoice, favored one! God is with you.”

Now…let’s imagine that scene for a moment. Scripture doesn’t tell us what the angel looks like so we can to use your imagination to imagine what it happened. So let’s imagine the Angel Gabriel for a minute. Do we imagine the angel to be small? Large? Did the angel have these (wings)? Did the angel fly? Was the angel bright and looked like it was on fire?
Do you think Mary ever saw an angel before? Nope! I think we can imagine what she felt like when the angel showed up if we imagine what would happen if an angel showed up to us. So, if you were in your room or in your house, and you were all alone, playing and having fun and then BOOM – out of nowhere, an angel shows up. How would that make you feel? Afraid. Scared. Nervous. Affirm all answers.

I would be afraid. And I think Mary was too.

So the angel here is trying to make Mary feel less afraid. So he starts their conversation by saying: “Hello.” But the angel doesn’t say hello like we would. The angel doesn’t say “Hi” or “hey” or “hello” or “sup?” The angel says…. REJOICE (say that part loud). “Rejoice, favored one! God is with you.” The angel immediately tells Mary that she is special, that God knows her, that God cares for her, that God loves her, and that God is with her. He is telling her, in that moment, that she will be okay – because God will never let her go.

And you know what? Because God is with her, because Jesus is a big part of her life, Mary sort of changes here. She’s no longer just Mary. Rather, she’s now God’s beloved. She’s now a child of God. She’s now the One God cares for and will be with always. Even in those moments that are scary, or sad, or strange, God promises to be with us, no matter what. Jesus promises to show up and hold us, comfort us, and help us get through whatever we are going through. And because Jesus is with us, we can face difficult things, scary things, trying things – and know that even in the moments we are afraid and full of fear, Jesus is right there, helping us through.

The angel’s greeting is a powerful one and the angel promises that God is a part of her life. So now, look around at everyone up here – and everyone out there. All of us have God and Jesus in our life. That doesn’t mean we always feel Jesus is with us – but it does mean, even when we have questions or concerns or are angry – Jesus is with us.

So since we all have Jesus with us, do you think we can only say hello to each other? No! Right! We need to be like the angel. We need to remind each other that Jesus is with us, always.

So don’t just say hello. Say “hello! Beloved one of God.” or “Hello! You are blessed because God is with you.” or “How’s it going, the one who will never be far from Jesus?” And we know we will never be far from Jesus because tonight we’re celebrating Christmas. Jesus came into the world. Jesus was born. And that means we are loved, we are cared for, and that everyone matters to God. And since everyone matters to God, you matter to God too.

Pass out the candy canes/with stickers that say “To a Child of God. From Jesus.”

Thank you for being here and I wish you all a very blessed Christmas Eve.

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Christmas Eve, 12/24/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Making Jesus Special

Bring Special Socks.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today.

So do you have a favorite piece of clothing that you like to wear all the time? Accept answers. I have favorite pieces of clothing too. I have a Denver Bronco sweatshirt that I wear all the time. I have a Ocean City hoodie that is my favorite. And I like to wear my red converse chucks until they are literally apart. Today in fact, I’m wearing a favorite pair of socks. It’s chihuahuas in surfboards. Cool, huh?

Now what makes a piece of clothing? For some things, it’s something that looks nice and that we only wear on special occasions. It might be a special dress or suit that we wear on special church services or at weddings or other kinds of events. But special pieces of clothing are also those piece of clothings that we just keep wearing…and wearing..and wearing. They make us feel special, comfortable, and happy. We might wear them so much that they get broken or get holes in it or might get very faded. And when we wear them, people around us might wonder why we’re wearing something so old. But it’s special to us because we’ve lived wearing it. We’ve worn it to school or out to play or it was a gift from a friend. My socks are special because I received them, they remind me of my old dog, and I wear them all the time.

The pieces of clothing that are special to us are pieces of clothing that we have to spend time with. We need to live with them, do things in them, wear them a lot before they become just as special as we need them to be.

And that’s what being with Jesus is like sometimes. Most of us are focused on getting ready for tonight and tomorrow – when we get ready to celebrate Jesus’ birth. But what’s amazing and worth celebrating isn’t only Jesus’ birthday event. It’s the fact that Jesus lived a life just like you’re living. And he invites us to live our life with him – to learn his story, to say our prayers, to come to worship, and to take care of others because when we do all that, we discover what it’s like to have Jesus with us at different times and during different experiences. The more time we spend with Jesus, the more we learn just how special Jesus can be.

Thank you for being here and I wish you all a very blessed Christmas Eve.

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Fourth Sunday of Advent, 12/24/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Evergreen (and a dancing tree)

Bring the Dancing Tree (that is so, so, loud). Find an extension cord to make sure you can plug it in.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today.

So last week, I was visiting family in Philadelphia and my uncle brought out this old, old, Christmas decoration. And he joked that it would be going home with me – and lo and behold, it ended up coming home with me. So what does this look like? A christmas tree. A hat. It has eyes.

It’s also something that moves and sings….so lets plug it in and see what happens.

Plug in the tree. Clap hands. Watch the tree sing loud and loud.

So you know what’s fun? This tree is really loud and that’s the low setting. And, every time you keep clapping in front of it, it keeps going…and going…and going..and going. It’s like it never.ever.ends. Which…can be fun for some – but maybe not everyone thinks that’s so much fun.

So this is a plastic and electronic tree that sings, and dances, and wears a santa hat, and after you hear it go off for the 3rd time, you think it’s never going to stop and end. It’s the kind of Christmas decoration that is always…just…giving. But you know what? It’s good that this never-ending singing decoration is an evergreen tree. And if you look around, do you see all sorts of other decorations that look like this? The Christmas tree. The advent wreath. The wreaths on the wall. One of the symbols of this season – of Christmas – is the evergreen tree. We use it to decorate in our homes, to make wreaths, to make circles, etc. It’s a tree that, no matter what season, it’s pine needles are always green. In the summer, it’s green. In the spring, it’s green. In the fall, it’s green. And in the winter, when all the other trees have lost their leaves, what’s this tree doing? It’s still green. It’s always green. It always looks like it’s living, no matter what storm or snow or whatever comes it’s way. It’s a green tree that never ends.

And that’s a Christmas symbol because it reminds us something about Jesus. Jesus’ love for each of us – and for this world – is just like this green dancing tree; it never ends, no matter what. So when you see a Christmas wreath or a Christmas tree – know that it’s an evergreen symbol of Jesus’ love. A love that doesn’t end when we’re sad or feeling lonely or when we make mistakes or when we’re really happy and feel everything is going okay. Jesus’ love for us never ends – and that’s what this season – Advent and Christmas is all about.

Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed week!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Third Sunday of Advent, 12/17/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Meet John (the baptist)

Bring Honey Sticks. Bring Spark Story Bible.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today.

So today in our gospel reading, we’re going to meet someone named John. Now John was a bit unusual. Open story bible to page 234. Here’s one picture of what an artist imagined John the Baptist to look like. What do you see? He’s got big hair. Little eyes. Big Nose. A big mouth. And he’s eating a bug. A bug! It’s a kind of bug called a grasshopper. Our bible story will tell us today that this man named John will be hanging out in the wilderness eating grasshoppers and wild honey. That doesn’t sound like the most yummy meal to eat.

But John seems to be doing okay out in the wilderness. And that word “wilderness” is important. It’s a word that means a place where there are no towns, buildings, cars, and where people don’t really live. What do you think a place like that looks like? A forest. A prairie. A dessert. It’s empty of people but full of animals, and maybe different kinds of plants. A wilderness is a place that’s a little bit adventurous but also a little scary. It’s a place where, if we need help, we might not find what we need. It’s a place where, in today’s term, you get no cell service. There’s no gas stations if our gas tank in our car is low or a water fountain and we can’t stop by Target to pick up new clothes or something we need. A wilderness is a place where we might need to bring all the stuff we need. We’ll need to bring all the food, and bed, and a tent – all the things to have a camp. Because, out in the wilderness, it feels like nothing is out there. We can feel scared because we might feel alone. We can be a little nervous because we might feel lost and unsure of where to go. And we might feel anxious because being a new place or a place far from home can be scary.

But there’s someone else always out in the wilderness – and that’s God.

John was in the wilderness because he knew that even in scary places, God is there. Even when we are scared, or we find ourselves anxious, or we’re confused and feeling lost, God is right there with us. In fact, there’s nowhere we can go that God can’t find us. There might be times when you’re feeling anxious, scared, or lost. You might find yourself in a wilderness or feeling like you’re living one. But even when we feel as if we are in a wilderness, God is always there, helping us, loving us, guiding us, and making sure we are never alone.

Now, you’ll hear how John ate bugs. I couldn’t find any bugs…but I did find…honey! So if you can have a honey stick, here you go. Share the honey sticks.

Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed week!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Second Sunday of Advent, 12/10/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Invite and Share

Bring 100 postcards with an invitation to Christmas Eve worship services. Be by the Advent Wreath.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today. I hope you had a great week.

Now today is a special day because it is the start of a season in the church year called Advent. Can you say Advent? Advent! Great! Advent is 4 weeks long – 4 complete Sundays – and it’s a time when the church is covered in the color…point to stole…blue. Later today, some of us will decorate the church with wreaths and a big, green, tree. Advent is a time when we’re waiting for something. In fact, the word Advent means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” So what do you think we’re waiting for? Christmas! That’s right. Advent is the season when we countdown to Christmas, to the day we celebrate Jesus being born and God choosing to live a human life to serve, love, and save the entire world.

Advent is also a time when we use this. Go over to the Advent Wreath. This is called an Advent wreath and it has space for 4 candles. Each candle represents one Sunday as we countdown to Christmas. So since today is the first Sunday we’re going to light one candle. Let’s light one candle together. Light one candle with the kids.

One of the beautiful things about candles is they burn, shine, and look pretty. What’s something that candles give off? Heat. Light. If we get close, we can feel heat because it is on fire. And if we look at it, we see light. The candle shares it’s light and it’s warmth, serving as a reminder to what Jesus is about to do: come into the world to show us the warmth of God’s love for you and all of us.

And so, when I was thinking about what the candle shares, I thought of something that maybe we can share too. We as a church are going to have a big celebration on Christmas Eve. Since Christmas Eve is on a Sunday, we’ll have one worship service at 10 am in the morning to mark the end of Advent. And then we’ll have our two worship services at night, at 5 pm and 10:30 pm, to mark Jesus entering the world. I love these Christmas services. The music is great, everyone gets dressed up, and it’s a beautiful time for all of us to be together. It’s a great service that shows just how much God loves us. And all of us are going to experience that – but wouldn’t it be great if all our friends or family members or neighbors could join us? Yeah! So why don’t we share an invitation with them to do that?

I have with me postcards and I’m going to need your help. Let’s give 1 or 2 postcards to each person and family. This way, all of you can address them to people you know and invite them to come to worship with you on Christmas Eve. With a simple postcard, we can – like this candle – bring warmth and hope to someone who might need it this year. So let’s invite and share Jesus this Christmas.

Pass out postcards. Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed week!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on First Sunday of Advent, 12/3/2017.

Children’s Sermon: King (Queen)

Bring a printout of a coloring sheet that has “Love the Lord with all your heart, etc.” Bring the book of Peppa Goes to London.

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. I’m still pretty full from all the delicious foods I was able to eat. My favorite was a fancy cheesecake and pie that I had. What was something you ate recently that you liked? Accept answers.

So when I was thinking about today’s lesson today, I was thinking a lot about a king. What does a king have? Fancy clothes, a castle, a crown. It’s hard to think about kings and queens and royalty here because we don’t have them. But there’s a book my in-laws recently gave my kids that I thought might. Read Peppa Goes to London through the page where the Queen takes over a bus. A king or queen is someone who, like in the story, tells us to do something – and we’re called to do it. Kings were people that were in charge. They oversaw countries, territories, and towns. They made decisions about government, who did what, and what kind of things they should do. And there were all sorts of different kings – and kings with other kings over them. So in Jesus’ time, there was a king over where he lived – King Herod – who had a king who told him what to do, Pontius Pilate – who was a governor from Rome – and Pontius Pilate had a king he reported to – the Emperor of Rome who was in charge over everyone and everything. What the Emperor said, was what everyone was supposed to do. And, sometimes, the Emperor would say good things but sometimes they would say bad. And it was hard to say no when the Emperor asked everyone to do bad things – things that hurt people, or made people cry, or took things from them. When people said no to that, they would be arrested or hurt themselves. So people did what the Emperor did because the Emperor was in charge – and it was dangerous if they didn’t do what the Emperor asked.

But you know what? There’s a king who is even more important than the Emperor. It’s a king who oversees everything. It’s a king who cares about what we say, what we do, and loves everyone – whether they call him king or not. And it’s a king who will always tell you to do the king, caring, and loving thing. And that’s Jesus. As Christians, as people who have been baptized, and as people who know who Jesus is – Jesus is our king. But what are the things you think Jesus tells us? Accept answers.

Well – one thing that Jesus tells us is to do this – go over the coloring sheet. Point out the crown. Point out our response. What are the ways we can love and serve like Jesus does? Take care of people. Help people. Be kind. If you want to connect to the lesson last week, talk about the leaves full of promises.

So I want you to take these back to your seat – these coloring sheets – and color them during the service. And then, when you get home, you can hang it on your fridge and your wall – as reminder that we have a king who will never steer us wrong, who will love us always, and who will help us always.

Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed week!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on Christ the King Sunday, 11/26/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Pledge

Set-up a “tree” in the sanctuary. Have leaves of different colors that you can hook to the branches of the tree. Bring a pledge card and time and talent sheet. Start at where the tree is. A commitment/stewardship tree based on Psalm 1:3. “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper”

Hi everyone! I’m so glad you are here today. Thank you for doing something different today and sitting with me by this tree. So let’s talk about the tree. Is it small or big? Is it tall or short? What is it missing? Leaves! Right! It’s missing leaves. Now I know it is fall outside and trees out there are loosing their leaves. But I think this tree could use some pretty leaves, don’t you? YES! So let’s each put a special leaf on the tree but first…I want us to write something on them first because today is a special day at church.

Today is a day when many people here will drop in the offering plate later in the service an envelope that is filled with a green pledge card and a time and talent sheet that is filled out. This pledge card is green, like the leaf of a green and growing tree. The time and talent sheet is filled with different ways to volunteer to help people, help the church, and make a difference all over the world. Each year, we’re asked to fill this out and turn them into the church. They both represent a promise that we make to God of the ways we’ll support what God is doing in the world. God gives us financial gifts so, if we can, we give that money to the church. God made each of us as special and unique; we all have different things we can do that others can’t. So we make a pledge to use our gifts to help the church and the world. This pledge and this time and talent sheet is one way we respond to all the blessings and love God gives us.

But even if we can’t fill out a pledge card or a time and talent sheet, even if we think we’re too young to help out, too busy, or too old, we all have something we can offer to God and to others. We can all make a promise that we will share God’s love by doing one thing. And so these leaves that we have will be leaves of promises that we will hang and cover this tree. So let’s start: what’s one thing you can pledge to God to help love others as much as God loves you? Help at church. Clean my room, Help my brother. Donate a toy to a friend. Listen to someone who needs help. Be kind.

These are all great! And let’s hang them on the tree. Hang them on the tree. Now, I need one more thing for you to do. This tree needs more leaves – and everyone else is going to put them on. So let’s pass out a leaf to everyone – no matter their age. They can spend time thinking about what they can give to God, and then they’ll write it down and before they leave church today, they’ll hang them on this tree. And then, at the end of the worship today, we’ll have a tree covered in promises because God makes a big promise to each of us: no matter what and no matter where we go, God will never stop loving us.

Thank you for being here and I hope you have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on the 24th Sunday After Pentecost, 11/19/2017.

Children’s Sermon: Wait

Bring stickers for kids to have.

So I have something here…what are they? Stickers. Stickers! Who likes stickers? MEEEEEE. I like stickers too. And at the end of this children’s message, I’m going to give you these stickers. I’m going to give you each one. But only at the end. Until then, we all need to wait. And wait. And wait.

So you know what’s something I don’t like doing? Waiting. Waiting can be so boring sometimes. Like, when it’s dinner time, and I have to wait for the food to bake. I’m hungry now. I want to eat now. But I have to wait. And wait. And wait. Do you like waiting? Nope! What are things you don’t like to wait for? Accept answers from the kids. Those are all hard things to wait for.

Today, we’re going to hear a lot of different lessons from the bible that are going to talk about waiting. And we’re waiting for someone specific. The bible tells us that we’re here to wait for…Jesus. Jesus, God’s Son, already came to our world. He lived in it, made friends in it, helped people, and showed everyone what God’s loved looks like. Even though we don’t see him, he’s still here helping us love each other. The bible tells us that, someday, Jesus will come back so that everyone can see him. So we’re waiting for him to return, to come back, so everyone can see him and everyone can see just how much God loves us.

So that means we have to wait. And it’s hard to wait. Like we’re still here, waiting for me to give you the stickers. What are the things we can do while we wait? Be patient. Be kind. Be helpful. Love everyone. So Jesus promises to come. We know he’s going to come. But, right now, we need to wait. But we wait knowing the promise will be fulfilled. So God invites us to act like the promise is true and that it’s already here. So if we think Jesus will take care of everyone when he is here, we take care everyone now. If we think Jesus will welcome everyone into his family, we do the same as well. We can’t do everything Jesus do – Jesus is God so Jesus knows things we don’t. Jesus can judge about people more than we can. So Jesus doesn’t want us to pretend to judge each other like he can. But he does tell us to love each other like we can. So that’s what we do. While we wait – we love.

And here’s your stickers!

Thank you for being up here and I hope you have a blessed week.

Each week, I share a reflection for all children of God. The written manuscript serves as a springboard for what I do. This is from Christ Lutheran Church’s Worship on the 23rd Sunday After Pentecost, 11/12/2017.