Lectionary Passage: Acts 2:1-21

Scripture Focus: Acts 2:2

Object: None

Today is Pentecost Sunday! We celebrate Pentecost each year to remind us what happened on the very first Pentecost. After Jesus went back up to heaven, his disciples were gathered in a room. Suddenly, there was a sound of rushing wind. It was very loud and it filled the whole room. Fire appeared above the heads of each of the disciples, and they began to speak in many different languages.

At Pentecost the disciples were filled with God’s Holy Spirit. It’s pretty hard to picture what the Holy Spirit looks like because you can’t see the Holy Spirit with your eyes. But, you can feel the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost, the disciples felt the Holy Spirit like a rushing wind. I want you to fan yourself for a second (fan yourself with your hands to show the children what you mean). Now, I can’t see the wind created by fanning, but I sure can feel it! That’s a lot like God’s Holy Spirit. We may not be able to see it, but we can feel the Holy Spirit doing amazing things.

On Pentecost Sunday we celebrate that God sent the Holy Spirit to help all disciples, including you and me. And though we might not be able to see the Holy Spirit, the more we grow closer to God, the more we’ll be able to feel the Holy Spirit all around us.

Let’s pray: We praise you, Holy God, for the gift of your Spirit who lives and moves all around us. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: 1 John 3:16-24

Scripture Focus: 1 John 3:18

Object: None

Good morning everyone! Valentine’s Day was a long time ago, but that’s not the only day in the year when we tell someone they are loved. We could tell a special person we love them any day of the year. Or we could write it in a letter or make a pretty card that says “I love you.”

But, you know, speaking and writing aren’t the only ways to let people know that you love them. There are a ton of other ways! You could give them a hug. You could smile at them or maybe even hold their hand.

It’s easy for most of us to show love to our family and friends, but God wants us to love everyone. That doesn’t mean you have to hug everyone you meet. But it does mean that God wants us to be ready to help others.

In our Bible story for today, we learn that loving others means that we’re willing to help when they are in real need. Like, when we… (this is a great opportunity to list tangible ways children and/or your church in general reach out to people in need).

I hope we will all remember to show our love by our actions!

Let’s pray: God of love, help us tell others that we love them by using our words and our deeds. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Not Applicable

Scripture Focus: Genesis 1:26

Object: Bathtub fish toy

Preparation: You will need a gallon milk jug, permanent marker, and a box cutter. Begin by turning the milk jug onto its side so that the handle is at the top. Then, with the marker draw a mouth shape on the base of the jug and extending it part way up the sides. With the box cutters, cut along the lines creating a wide mouthed scoop. Finish by adding eyes and a fin. TIP: If you find sharp edges where the mouth was cut, then use an emery board to file them down.

In the very beginning of the Bible, we learn that God choose us to be caretakers of the earth. Just like good moms and dads take care of you (the kids) we should take care of the earth. That means we need to love God’s creation and not hurt it.

One thing we can do is to recycle. Recycling means taking things you have finished using and making brand new stuff with them.

See here, I’ve got an empty plastic milk jug. Now, I could throw in the garbage and send it to a landfill someplace. But that wouldn’t be taking care of God’s creation. Instead, I decided to recycle it…

(very dramatic presentation)… to make a cool new bathtub toy!

You see instead of throwing this away and hurting God’s wonderful earth, I made something brand new out of it. And it’s super fun to play with!

When we recycle we are helping God take care of the earth.

Let’s pray: Creator God, thank you for this beautiful earth. Help us each day remember to take care of creation. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Acts 4:32-35

Scripture Focus: Acts 4:32

Object: Candy (or stickers) to share

Good morning boys and girls! I’ve brought this gigantic bowl of candy with me this morning. I love candy. Raise your hand if you like candy (let the kids raise their hands). You do?! Well. I bet you are wondering if I will share with you… hmmm… hmmm… of course I will share with you! It’s good to share with others.

In fact, in our Bible story for today, we learn that the very first believers in the early church shared everything they had. They didn’t just share candy, they shared everything!! They were so good at sharing what they had that there wasn’t a needy person among them. Because everyone shared, everyone had what was needed. If we ask, God will help us become great at sharing, too. And the more we practice sharing, the better we become at it! So, I want us to remember to share with others.

Let’s pray: God, help us to share all the gifts you have given us. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Mark 16:1-8

Scripture Focus: Mark 16:5-7

Object: Real Easter Eggs (if you’re feeling less ambitious, plastic eggs will work)

Preparation: For this lesson, you will need to hallow egg shells and then fill the shells with strips of paper. To hallow eggs: (1) piercing a hole in each end of the egg, (2) reach through one hole with a needle to gently break up the yolk, (3) blowing air into one hole to force the egg contents to flow out the other end, (4) run cold water into the intact eggshell to clean, and finally (5) dry the shells in the microwave for 15-30 seconds. Once the eggs are ready, cover one hole using white tissue paper and a clear glue stick. Then, write phrases such as “Jesus loves you” and “Jesus died for you” and “Jesus lives” on 1/4-inch strips of paper and gently slide the rolled paper strips through the second hole. Finally, cover the second hole.

You know what, There are a lot of things that remind us of Easter.  There are flowers, chocolate bunnies, and pretty baskets. And there are eggs! Just like this one (hold up the egg for the kids to see). But, this isn’t an ordinary egg. This is a REAL (emphasize the word) Easter Egg. Let me show you why: (smash the egg in your hands or on the altar rail)

I bet you were expecting something else! But, this is a Real Easter Egg and inside are special messages about Easter (read the messages).

You see, Easter isn’t really about bunnies and baskets. It’s about Jesus. On Easter, the disciples went to the tomb and discovered that Jesus was alive! Jesus died a few days earlier but because God is more powerful than any of the bad stuff in the world, God raised Jesus from the dead. That’s the real message of Easter. As followers of Jesus, we need to remember to share the real message of Easter: Jesus is alive! And that’s very good news.

Let’s pray: God, we are so excited to celebrate that Jesus is alive! It proves that you are greater than any of the bad stuff in the world. Help us to always remember that Easter is about Jesus.

Lectionary Passage: Mark 11:1-11

Scripture Focus: Mark 11:8-10

Object: Palm branch

Have you ever been to a wedding? At most weddings, there is a flower girl. And her job is to walk down the aisle just before the bride comes down and scatter flower petals on the ground. She just tosses a few here and a few there so that when the bride walks down she is walking over flowers. It’s one of the special ways that the bride is honored on her special wedding day.

Well, something like that happened to Jesus. He wasn’t getting married, but he was making a big entrance into the city of Jerusalem. As he came through the gate and down the city streets, people threw palm branches on the road for him to walk over. You see, palm branches are symbols of victory and carpeting Jesus’ path with them was a sign of praise for Jesus. They were honoring him!

Today we celebrate Jesus’ big entrance into Jerusalem by waving palm branches and putting them on the altar table. That’s also the reason we call this day “Palm Sunday.”

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sending your Son Jesus. Help us to always remember that he is special and worthy of our praise. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Psalm 51:1-12

Scripture Focus:  Psalm 51:1-2

Object: Laundry stain remover

Good morning everyone! I bet all of us have gotten a stain on a shirt or pants before and needed to use some of this stain remover to get it out. It’s great that we have things like this to help us get clothes clean, even from really bad stains!

Our lesson for today talks about getting clean. We think King David wrote this psalm after he had done something very wrong. He was sorry for what he did, and he asked God to forgive him and make him clean again.

He wasn’t talking about dirty laundry. He didn’t need laundry stain remover. He needed forgiveness from God. Forgiveness is a little like stain remover. When we sin, we have a stain on our lives. And just like we need something to remove a stain from a shirt, we need forgiveness to remove the stain of sin from our lives. All we have to do is admit that we’ve done something wrong. Then, God forgives us and makes us clean inside. Forgiveness is powerful stuff!

Let’s pray: Thank you God for the power of forgiveness. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Ephesians 2:1-10

Scripture Focus: Ephesians 2:8

Object: A favorite gift

Good morning everyone! I brought with me one of my favorite gifts of all time (show the children the gift and describe how it was wrapped up and presented to you on a special occasion, be sure to emphasize its tangibility). I will always treasure this gift.

In our Bible story today, we learn that God has given us a gift, too. It’s not like this. It’s not something we can see or hold or touch. We can’t even wrap it up in pretty paper. But it is a very precious gift. It is called grace. Grace is God’s special gift to us.

God gives this grace to us when we believe in Jesus Christ. This grace is powerful stuff because it wipes away our sins, that the bad stuff we’ve done. Without God’s grace, we would be in big trouble, like eternal time out! But, thankfully God loves us and gives us this amazing gift of grace. Of course, we don’t have to pay for this gift and we can’t do anything to earn it. All we need to do is believe in Jesus Christ and God will give us the gift of grace.

We may not be able to wrap it up in pretty paper, but God’s gift of grace is the best gift we can ever receive!

Let’s pray: God, we are so thankful that you give us the gift of grace. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Exodus 20:1-20

Scripture Focus: Exodus 20:7

Object: None

Hello everybody! Our Bible story for today comes from the Old Testament. It’s about a time when God gave the people of Israel commandments to follow. Commandments are rules, like the rules you have to follow at home or at school. But these are even bigger because they are given by God! They show us how to love God and how to love others, too. God gave a lot of commandments, but I just want to talk about one this morning.

It says “Don’t misuse God’s name.” That means we should only use God’s name respectfully. We follow this rule by not saying bad words or using God’s name like a bad word. Would you like it if someone misused your name by making fun of it? (let the children answer) Of course not! God doesn’t like it either. God wants us to respect the name of God and use it faithfully when we need to talk with God or share about God.

Let’s pray: Your name is holy God and we ask for your help to always remember your commandments. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: Mark 8:31-38

Scripture Focus: Mark 8:33

Object: None

Good morning boys and girls. Raise your hand if you have a best friend (let the children raise their hands). Oh good! Best friends are wonderful. My best friend is… (name your best friend and then describe why you are such good friends).

Jesus had close friends, too. The Bible talks a lot about one of Jesus’ closest friends. His name was Peter. Jesus called Peter a “rock” and he was a good friend. But one day Peter didn’t like what Jesus was saying and tried to make him be quiet. Peter didn’t understand that Jesus was telling the truth about what was going to happen: That Jesus was going to die on the cross. Peter didn’t believe that was true and wanted Jesus to stop talking.

But God sent Jesus to save us from our sins and Jesus knew he was going to die on the cross. To make Peter understand, Jesus told him “Get behind me, Satan!” Jesus wanted everyone to know that no one was going to stop him from following God’s plan and anyone who got in his way was going against God. Even though Peter was Jesus’ close friend, Jesus knew that he couldn’t let Peter stand in his way of doing the right thing. That’s a good lesson for us to remember. Even our closest friends may try to stop us from doing what’s right or they may try to get us to do something wrong, but we need to stand up to them just like Jesus stood up to Peter.

Let’s pray: Thank you God for sending Jesus to save us from our sins. Help us remember to follow him always. Amen.