Yes Lord - Children's Sermon

written with Jane Redman (my amazing Speech Writer) and going along with Dr. King's sermon God's "Yes" and Ours from the lectionary passage 2 Corinthians 1:18-22

There's a Christian songwriter named Kyle Matthews and he once told of how he visited many different churches while he was in college so he could experience different styles of worship.  One Sunday, he visited an African American church.  When it was time for the sermon, the preacher stood at the pulpit and said "Yes, Lord!" and the congregation responded "Yes, Lord!"
The preacher said it again, "Yes, Lord!"
The people responded, "Yes, Lord!"
They continued this for 20 minutes and each time the preacher said "Yes, Lord!" he got louder and more excited, and the congregation responded more enthusiastically.  At the end of those 20 minutes, the preacher quietly prayed: "Lord, you have heard our answer, now tell us what it is that you want us to do."

They were saying yes to God about something that they didn't even know was being asked of them!
This is important for us to hear because sometimes it feels like we live in a world where he hear "no" too much.  At school and at home, the answer to many of our questions and requests is "no." You probably say "no" a lot, too! When you were very little one of the first words you probably learned was "no" and I bet you used it a lot!

This week, I want you to practice saying "Yes."  When your teacher asks you to help clean up a mess that you didn't make, say "Yes Ma'am." When your mom asks you to do your homework or eat your vegetables, say "Yes, Mom." When your Dad asks you to turn off the video game, say "Yes, Dad."

When you have a choice between doing something that you know is wrong or doing what is right, say "Yes, Lord" and do the right thing. The more that you say "Yes" now to what you know is right, the easier it will be to say "Yes, Lord" when you fell that God is calling you to do something special.

Showing Love - A Children's Sermon for Valentine's Day

Work gloves
Greeting card
Game
 Since Valentine's Day was during the upcoming week, I decided to do the children's sermon on LOVE.

One volunteer held each item and we talked about what each thing made them think of doing and then ways that went along with that item that they could show love to someone else.

 Work gloves: working in the garden with grandma. dad working in the yard.
Ways to show love: helping mom or dad in the yard. helping a neighbor shovel snow.

 Greeting card: made them think of birthdays and holidays.
Ways to show love: send someone a note or a card to tell them that you care and are thinking about them. valentine's cards. Tell someone that you are glad to see them or that you like their smile.

 Game: playing games with friends and family.
Ways to show love: spending time with people. playing games, helping mom with dinner, help parents clean.

 Then I had two children stand up together with nothing in their hands and hug. You can show love by hugging a friend or family member.

 Next, they all stood by the way that they liked to be shown love the most. I told them to think about the ways that they can show love to the people in their lives this week. It could be in a way that they like to be shown love or a way that they know that other person likes to be shown love. God wants us to show love to others and there are many ways to do that. Be creative and come up with more!

Sunday Scenes

Mrs. Jane demonstrates how to make a finger print heart

James works hard

Mrs. Jodie helps Nate

Mrs. Jane helps Carlton

Carlton and his final project

Today we also learned a new song.

"Read your Bible, pray every day

if you want to grow."