Category Archives: Romans

Trinity Sunday B

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Day: Trinity Sunday B

Lectionary Passage: Romans 8:12-17

Scripture Focus: None

Object: A banana

Preparation: Bananas naturally divide into three wedges. Before worship, practice this neat trick: Peel a banana halfway, then slowly slide your finger down the center of the banana top until the banana splits itself into three equal parts. Then, slide your hand up the banana to make the three parts stick together again. To see a video of this trick, click here.

Today is Trinity Sunday! Trinity means three. We use that word to help us understand how God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are related. We call them the “Trinity.” But that doesn’t mean there are three different gods. It’s a bigger mystery than that! Let’s see if we can collect some clues to understand the Trinity.

I think a banana can help us. I’m going to show you how to slice a banana into three parts with just one finger (perform the trick and reveal the three slices of banana). This is our first clue: It is possible to make one part into three parts. Now, lets’s see if we can make the three parts into one again (slide your hand up the banana to make the three parts stick together as one piece again). This is our second clue: It is possible to make three parts into one again.

Just like the one banana had three parts, the one true God has three parts. The first person, we call them persons instead of parts, is God the Father who created all things. The second person is God the Son. That’s Jesus! We know Jesus was sent to love us to offer us eternal life through grace. The third person is God the Holy Spirit who is our helper and friend, guiding us to follow God’s ways. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the Trinity! Case closed!

Let’s pray: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, we give you thanks for all the ways you help us and love us. Amen.

Pentecost 12A

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Day: Pentecost 12

Lectionary Passage: Romans 13:8-14

Scripture Focus: Romans 13:10

Object: None

Good morning boys and girls! I have a question to ask you. Do you think it would be easier to remember 613 rules or one rule? That’s 613 (be sure to emphasize the huge number) verses 1. Raise your hand if you think it would be easier to remember 613 rules. (give the kids time) No one? Is it easier to remember only one rule? You bet!

And that is exactly what we are learning in our passage for today. Paul is explaining that God gave us a lot of rules to help us live a better life, but if we remember just one rule then we will cover them all. So instead of learning all 613 rules, you just need to remember one! Are you ready to hear the one rule we need to know? (let the kids respond) Well, alright! The one rule we need to know is… drum roll please… “Love others as yourself.” If we remember to love other people than we will do everything God wants. Because the kind of love we’re talking about is loving others as Jesus loved us. That kind of love is all about helping people and caring for them no matter what, even if they have been mean to you before. When you love others as yourself, then you are all following all God’s rules.

Let’s pray: Help us God to remember the most important rule is to love others as ourselves. Amen.

Lent 5A

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Day: Lent 5

Lectionary Passage: Romans 8:6-11

Scripture Focus: Romans 8:6

Object: “Thinking Cap”

Preparation: Turn a baseball cap (or any hat) into a “thinking cap” by simply writing “Thinking Cap” on a piece of paper and taping it to the front of the hat. On the back of the hat, tape a piece of paper that says “Spirit Cap.”

You know, when I am faced with a tough problem or I’m working on something and can’t quite figure it out, I’ve got to put on my “thinking cap.” (Put the hat on your head but be careful not to reveal the back of the hat) My “thinking cap” helps me get in the zone so I can figure things out.

You know, I think we need a “Spirit Cap!” And that’s what our Bible story is about. It’s telling us that people who follow Jesus need to think like Jesus. That means we aren’t letting bad thoughts make decisions for us. Instead, we’re letting the Holy Spirit guide us each and every day in everything we do. That means, we’ve got our “Spirit Cap” on (turn the hat around to reveal “Spirit Cap”). With our “Spirit Cap” on, we’re allowing the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts so that we are good followers of Jesus Christ!

Let’s pray: Help us God to remember to put on our “Spirit Cap” each and every day so that we can always be guided by your Holy Spirit to follow the way of Jesus. Amen.


Lent 3A

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Day: Lent 3

Lectionary Passage: Romans 5:1-11

Scripture Focus: Romans 5:1-2

Object: None

Raise your hand if you have ever been put in time-out. (Let the children raise their hands and you raise your hand, too) Wow, all of us have been put in time-out! That’s because at one time or another we did something we weren’t suppose to. Like the time that I colored a picture on the living room wall… I was in time-out for a very long time. I did something wrong and so I had to pay the price!

But today I want to tell you about something wonderful that changes all that! It’s called grace. Grace means you are forgiven even when you don’t deserve to be. That means you are forgiven even when you do something wrong. And that’s what God does for every single person who believes in Jesus. When we believe that Jesus is our Savior, God gives us grace so that we are forgiven for all the things we’ve done wrong. There’s no punishment! Even though we deserve to be punished, God’s grace forgives us. And that’s a really good thing because we’ve all done bad stuff and without God’s grace we would be in time-out forever!

Let’s pray: God, we are so thankful that you forgive us even when we do something wrong. Your grace is amazing! Amen.

Lent 2A

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Day: Lent 2

Lectionary Passage: Romans 4:1-5, 13-17

Scripture Focus: Romans 4:4-5

Object: None

I have a question for you: When you get a birthday gift, do you pay the person for it? (Let the children answer no) Well, of course you don’t because it is a birthday gift. What about when you get a Christmas gift, do you pay for that? (Let the children answer no) You don’t have to pay because it is a Christmas gift. What about when you get a gift just because some loves you, do you have to pay for it then? (Let the children answer no) No, of course not because it is a gift!

Whenever we get a gift it is free for us. We don’t have to worry about paying for it. And that reminds me of our Bible story. It’s talking about God’s gift to all of us. It is the gift of salvation. And like all gifts, it is free! God doesn’t expect us to pay for it with money. God doesn’t even expect a payback by us doing good things. All God wants in return for this amazing gift is our faith. Faith means believing in God. When we believe in God, when we have faith in God, we are given the amazing gift of salvation. We don’t have to pay for it. We didn’t earn it. And there is nothing we have to do for it. That’s what makes it a gift! And God wants everyone to have this amazing gift.

Let’s pray: Thank you God for the amazing gift of salvation. We know we didn’t earn it and we can never pay for it, so we are so thankful that you have given it to us for free. Amen.


Lent 1A

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Day: Lent 1

Lectionary Passage: Romans 5:12-19

Scripture Focus: Romans 5:15-17

Object: Cross Gift Box

Preparation: You will need to print out and prepare the cross gift box. You will need a piece of card stock, ribbon, and scissors. After you print out the template, cut along the solid lines. Then, fold the dotted lines inward to create a box. Finally, secure the box together by tying the ribbon around it to make it look like a gift. Please know the box is not very durable since it is only held together with a ribbon, but this will make the sermon much easier. Click Here for Cross Box

This morning I have a very special gift with me. It’s different than any other gift in the whole world. Do you want to see what it is? … Are you sure? … Really?… Okay… (untie the gift slowly in anticipation). Well… what is it… (slowly shake it out and then turn it to reveal the cross). It is a cross! This special gift is the cross.

And the cross reminds us of Jesus! Jesus was sent by God to help all of us get over our bad stuff and love God. He did that by dying for us on the cross. But then Jesus rose from the dead in victory! Now thanks to Jesus, every single person in the whole wide world can believe in God and experience the love of God. All they have to do is follow Jesus. That’s why the cross is such an amazing gift! It reminds us of Jesus Christ who loved us so much that he was willing to die for us to prove that God loves us all.

Let us pray: Lord, thank you for sending your son Jesus to die for us. Help us never forget this great gift. Amen.