Object: A crown or coronet, either a Chrismon ornament or one from home.
Good morning. I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas. Here we are now on the Sunday after Christmas. We have come through the Advent season. Then we came to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. And now Christmas is here. We celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. He is our newborn King.
We are told that when he wa...
Object: A cassette tape or record of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and a December and a January calendar.
Lesson: Epiphany is celebrated on the twelfth day after Christmas.
Today is a special day called Epiphany. Have you ever heard that word, "Epiphany," before? Epiphany is the twelfth day after Christmas. You may know the song about the twelve days of Christmas. I’m going to let you hear the ...
Object: Items used in a search such as map, flashlight, dog leash (bloodhound), magnifying glass.
Good morning, boys and girls! Today I need some help. I want to begin a search for a missing child. I have looked around my house, and I have found these things which I hope will help me in my search. How many of you have ever had to look for something and you didn't know where to look? (Let them ans...
Object: Bring a crown for each child. Either make them out of construction paper of perhaps "Burger King" will give you some for this story.
Today's lesson in the Gospel is about the wise men. Who can tell me about the wise men? How many were there? What did the wise men follow? That's right! The wise men understood the prophecies about Jesus and followed the star to find him. King Herod heard th...
Object: Large silver star stickers
Good morning, boys and girls. (It may be appropriate to say a few words about the meaning of Advent or Epiphany.) One of the most interesting and familiar stories about what happened at the birth of the baby Jesus is told to us by Matthew. It is the story about a special star and of a group of men who were led by it to where the young child was. We even sing a s...
Object: Gold ribbons, in addition to the previous ribbons they received (green, purple, red, blue, white)
Good morning, boys and girls. It’s good to see all of you here. Did you have a Merry Christmas? That’s great! Wow! Look at all of those ribbons you’re wearing this morning. How many do you have? That’s right! We each have five ribbons. A green one that stands for life; a purple one that stand...
Object: Two quarters.
Lesson: Awareness; light; surprises; Christmas.
"Have any of you ever found something that surprised you because it was in a place where you didn't expect it to be?" The children think about this question a moment, then a few of them nod affirmatively. "Well, I have too, several times just recently. The Friday after Thanksgiving I was visiting the Churchill Memorial in Fult...
Object: creche figures of the wise men
Good morning, boys and girls. Today is a special church year holiday. It's not Christmas, but it's another day kind of like Christmas. Does anyone know what this day is called? (Let them respond.) I didn't think you'd guess. It's Epiphany! That's kind of a hard word, isn't it? Try to say it slowly with me. (Say it slowly with them.) E-PI-PHA-NY. Epiphany mea...
Object: tiny boxes, wrapping paper, tape and ribbon for each child
Teachers: This is the week to traditionally discuss the wise men and their visit to Jesus. If available you may want to use the song, "The Little Drummer Boy" or the musical drama, "Amahl and the Night Visitors". Although these selections present a fictional account of the nativity, they are both good ways to introduce gifts we ca...
Object: Glue, silver or gold glitter, sequins, metallic markers
Teachers: This week's project will add a special glitter to your children's Christmas this year. You will need glue, silver or gold glitter, sequins, metallic markers, etc. (Be sure to provide a variety of decorations so that each child can create a unique star of his own.) If you are working with small children, you may want to prov...
Object: A Star-shaped Chrismon ornament, or a different sort of star ornament.
Good evening, girls and boys. This is it. It's Christmas Eve. This is what we have been waiting for. This is the night. All during Advent we have been looking at our Chrismons. A Chrismon is a Christ-monogram. They remind us of something about Jesus Christ. The one we look at tonight is a star. Look at our tree and you...
Object: A blank piece of paper and a pencil with an eraser
We are still at the beginning of a New Year and many people like to think in terms of getting a fresh start. In a sense, starting over again.
Something like a blank sheet of paper, such as I hold in my hand this morning. There is nothing written on this paper. Let's say we haven't done anything in the New Year yet. Most of us would like ...
by Edward G. Hunter
13
Children's Sermon · Isaiah 2:1-5, Matthew 2:1-12; 24:37-44
Object: Some Christmas wrapping paper
Good morning, boys and girls. Sometimes we get very busy at Christmastime buying gifts and wrapping them in pretty paper like this and forget the true meaning of the season. There is an old Christmas story from Russia that tells about a lady who also made that mistake. It's called BABUSHKA. According to this tale, a Russian peasant woman named Babushka was vi...
Object: Get a piece of white or light-colored construction paper. Cut out 2 stars from the construction paper. Color one star a very pale blue. Color the other star reddish-orange.
Good morning, boys and girls. This morning we're going to talk about stars. Have you ever gone outside at night and just looked up at the stars? They're beautiful, aren't they? Did you know that we can see about 2,000 ...
Object: A Star Ornament
Lesson: The decorating of our tree is still not finished. I purposely saved one spot for a special decoration I have brought. It is something for the top of the tree. What do you think it is? Of course, a star! We shall put this star on the top of the tree.
The reason for the Christmas star is the story of the wise men, a story we tell after Christmas, in the season we ca...
The Lighting Of The Second Candle: The Star Candle
In the first book of the Bible, the Book of Genesis, it tells how God made the world and everything else. It also tells us that God created the heavens and the skies.
God has made the sky full of light both in the day and at night. What do you see in the sky at night that gives light? Yes, and we human beings have even looked at the stars and ma...
Object: a mask
Today, we are going to meet a famous man. His name is Pilate, and he was the governor of Palestine during the time of King Herod. He was appointed the governor by the Emperor Caesar of Rome. He was also the person who finally allowed the hateful people in Jerusalem to crucify Jesus. He is famous, but not for the things he wanted to be famous for. I am going to let him tell his stor...
Object: None
Does anyone know who Caesar Augustus was? (Let them answer) That’s right: he was the Emperor of Rome. Caesar Augustus was the most powerful man in the world. He had the world’s biggest army. He conquered people everywhere and made them subjects of his empire. He was bigger and "badder" than Darth Vader! Why, the people around Caesar even said he was a god.
Caesar Augustus was so pow...
Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate how Christ offers access to God.
Props: A combination lock and an item that can be locked.
Lesson: What do I have in my hand today? Hold up the locked item, and point to the lock. That's right. It's a lock. In fact, it's a combination lock. The only way to open it is to know the numbers in order that will open it. Would you like to try and open it? Allow one of the...
Exegetical Aim: To explain the meaning of "heirs" in terms of salvation. Key verse: 6.
Props: Two sheets of paper with the word "Will" written across the top, a coffee mug, and a piece of jewelry.
Lesson: Good morning! Today I want to talk to you about something very important. Gather closely to me. Sometimes people own things that are very special to them. And if they die, they want their child...
Object: a slide rule, a cook book, and a map.
Good morning, boys and girls. Isn't it wonderful that we know so much about so many different things? It is also amazing that the things we don't know about somebody else does. Where do we get all of our answers? Let's suppose that you wanted to have a chicken dinner today, but you wanted it fixed differently than you have ever eaten it before. What w...
Object: A football huddle.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to have some fun while we are learning about the way in which God shares himself with us. How many of you ever watch football games on television or go to the stadium to see your favorite team play? A lot of you. We are going to do something that you see the men who play football do forty or fifty times during a game. We ...
Object: a world globe
Good morning, boys and girls. Today is a special day in the church year. It's one of the few times we can talk about it right on the very day it is. This is a day called Epiphany. Try to say it with me: E-PI-PHA-NY. (Say it slowly with them.) Epiphany is on January 6, so it isn't on a Sunday every year. But this year it is! The word Epiphany means "an appearance". What do yo...
Object: A globe and a flashlight
Boys and girls, I have a globe with me. What is a globe? That's right. It's a small representation of our earth. Suppose I shine this flashlight on the globe. What would the flashlight represent? That's right. The sun. Throughout history, when people have talked about the world having problems, they have referred to it as a dark world. The Bible calls it that. But...
Object: An acorn which has begun to sprout and a plain-looking rock which has been split in two to reveal a bright red interior. (A geode would also be very useful for this sermon.)
Lesson: Revelation; light; brokenness; life
Text: "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD...
Object: None
Text: Isaiah 60:1-5 "Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." (v. 1)
How many of you are afraid of the dark? (Let them answer.) Are you afraid to sleep with the light off? Don’t be embarrassed to admit it! It will be our little secret, just between you and me.
What is it that scares you about the dark? (Let them answer.) Maybe it’s the w...
Object: A kite (a balloon could be substituted if a kite is not available)
Boys and girls: It is not very often I bring my kite with me to church. Particularly in January. Usually we associate kites with Springtime and Summer. Why would I have a kite with me this morning? Maybe it's because somebody was angry with me and told me to go fly a kite! No, that's not it.
I have my kite with me this mo...
