Lectionary Passage: John 16:12-15

Scripture Focus: John 16:12-15

Object: Can String Phone

Preparation: To make a can string phone you need two clean tin cans (or paper cups), a piece of string, and a nail and hammer. First, punch a small hole in the bottom of each can using the nail and hammer. Each hole should be just large enough to that the string will go through. Then, from the outside, insert one end of the sting into the hole in one can. Tie several knots so the string will not slip out. Repeat with the other end of the string using the second can. The trick to the can string phone is to be sure the string is tight, then when a person talks into the can the vibrations are sent along the string to the other can.

When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to play house and we used a can string phone to talk. Like this one. The trick to a can string phone is to make sure the string is really tight and straight so that you can talk to the other person. It really works! The only drawback is that you have to be pretty close together for the can string phone to work. But, what happens when someone is really far away?

That’s something that worried Jesus’ friends when he told them that he was going to go back to Heaven to be the Father. But then Jesus told them some really good news: He was going to send the Holy Spirit. And part of the Holy Spirit’s job is to pass on messages from Jesus. So, even though Jesus is Heaven, we can still learn about following him through the Holy Spirit. That means, you don’t have to have a can string phone or a cell phone or any other gadget to talk with Jesus because we already have the best thing: the Holy Spirit.

Let’s pray: God, thank you for giving us the Holy Spirit who continues to teach us and help us learn the way of Jesus. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 14:8-17, 25-27

Scripture Focus: John 14:15-17

Object: A lamp that plugs in

Today I’ve brought a pretty simple thing with me. It’s a lamp. Let’s turn it on (switch the unplugged lamp on an off). Well, that’s strange. My lamp is giving us any light…. oh, that’s because it isn’t plugged it! (plug the lamp in) And we have light! A lamp needs more than just a switch to work. It needs electricity. We can’t see the electricity but we know it’s there because it powers the lamp.

And that reminds me of the Holy Spirit. We can’t see the Holy Spirit but we know it’s there because it powers us to follow Jesus. The Holy Spirit gives us energy and keeps us going even when things get tough. Can you imagine that something invisible can be so powerful?! But that’s exactly the case with the Holy Spirit. We can’t see it, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t powerful.

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to live inside of us and power us to follow Jesus. Amen.

I have omitted the staged beauty pageant from our VBS plans and I am urging other churches to do the same. I don’t think the omission takes away from the lesson and in fact may help to focus children on the greater meaning of Esther’s story.

May God’s peace be with us,
Danyelle Ditmer
author of littlepeoplebigword.com
Associate Pastor
North United Methodist Church

Lectionary Passage: John 17:20-26

Scripture Focus: John 17:20-21

Object: Paper Chain People

Preparation: You will need scissors and a piece of butcher paper. First, fold paper accordion-fashion so that all sections are equal. The number of folds determines the number of people in the chain. Then on the top section, draw a person whose hands extend the folds of the paper. Third, carefully cut around your person. Finally, open out the paper and reveal your paper chain people. TIP: Don’t try to fold the large paper while you’re talking with the kids. Instead, have the paper folds done in advance and just make the cuts to create the people chain.

(Begin making the paper chain people) I don’t know about you, but one of the things I love most about coming to church is that I get to see some friends. And you know we’re not just friends because we like the same tv shows or cheer for the same teams or play the same games. Even though that stuff is cool, we’re friends because of something even greater. We’re friends because we all love Jesus.

In our Bible story for today, Jesus says that he wants us all to be one. I think that means that Jesus wants everyone who loves him to be stuck together with other people who love him (reveal paper chain people). By sticking together, we are one. So together we can learn about following Jesus, we can teach others about Jesus, and we do a lot of other cool stuff that we couldn’t do on our own. So, I’m glad that we are one big group all stuck together!

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sticking us together so that we can all grow closer to you through Jesus. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 14:23-29

Scripture Focus: John 14:25-26

Object: String tied around your finger

You know, it is really hard to remember things sometimes. That’s why I have a fool proof system for remembering stuff. You see, I also remember to tie a piece of string around my finger to remind me there’s something important I need to remember. The only problem is that I can’t always remember what that something important is. I guess my system for remembering things isn’t very good.

Luckily, Jesus gave us something much better than a piece of string to remember what he taught us. In our Bible story for today, Jesus tells us that God sent the Holy Spirit to help us remember all that Jesus said. The Holy Spirit does that in a lot of different ways, like helping teachers and preachers and each of us whenever we read the Bible. I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad we have the Holy Spirit instead of a silly string to help us remember about Jesus.

Let’s pray: God, we give you thanks for the Holy Spirit who helps us remember the really important stuff like Jesus and what he taught us. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 10:22-30

Scripture Focus: John 10:27

Object: Cell phone with various ring tones

I’ve got my cell phone with me today. One of the things that I love about my phone is that I can have a different ring tone for everyone who calls. So, I don’t even have to pick up the phone to know who is calling. Like this one… (give two or three examples of callers and play the ring tone – have fun with it!). Having different ring tones for different people makes it really easy to know who’s calling!

Jesus says kind of the same thing in our story today. He’s not talking about cell phone, but he does say that his followers know his voice and follow him. And that’s good news because Jesus gives all his followers eternal life. That means that Jesus wants to save us and bring us up to Heaven with him one day. It’s a good thing we know the voice of Jesus!

Let’s pray: God, thanks for sending your Son Jesus Christ. He calls us all to follow him and when we hear his voice and follow then we get amazing blessings from you. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 21:1-19

Scripture Focus: John 21:17

Object: Big Spoon

You know we have a lot of great cooks in our church. And I bet you have a great cook at home who makes all your favorite meals. One thing I love about cooking is that there’s a job for everyone. Even if your small, you can still help by stirring the pot (make a stirring motion with the big spoon). That way everyone helps make a great meal.

In our story for today, Jesus meets up with the disciples on the shore where they’ve been fishing. The disciples had been fishing all night but they didn’t catch anything until Jesus told them where to cast their nets. The next thing you know, they have a huge catch of fish! When they get back to shore, Jesus has cooked a meal for them. It was pretty simple: just bread and fish but I bet it tasted really good after their long day of fishing. After the meal was over, Jesus said to them: “Feed my sheep.” Jesus wanted to make sure that his followers would always know to take care of other people. And that includes feeding them when they’re hungry.

So next time your helping in the kitchen or eating your favorite food, remember that you can help feed others too. One of the ways we can do this in our church is… (elaborate on ways kids can help at your church, like bringing can goods to a church food pantry, or helping at community meals by setting the table or making fun place mats, etc.)

Let’s pray: God, help us remember to care for other people by feeding them. Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 20:19-31

Scripture Focus: John 20:22

Object: None

One of my favorite superheroes of all time is Superman. He has all kinds of amazing powers, like superhuman strength, flying, and x-ray vision. But the one that always catches my attention is Superman’s super breath. Superman has the ability to inhale and exhale huge volumes of air with great force, so he can put out fires and move heavy objects like cars. He can also freeze stuff with his breath!

As cool as Superman’s breath is, it still isn’t as powerful as Jesus’ breath. You see, in our story today, Jesus finds the disciples hiding out in a house. After Jesus greets them, he does something really strange: He breathes on them. And when he does, the Holy Spirit comes! That’s how powerful Jesus’ breath is! It gives us the Holy Spirit. And with the Holy Spirit we can do amazing things like pray to God in Heaven. Now, that’s some powerful breath Jesus’ got.

Let’s pray: God, thank you for sending Jesus who breathed into us the power of the Holy Spirit so that we can do amazing things!

Lectionary Passage: Luke 24:1-12

Scripture Focus: Luke 24:6

Object: Basket with several plastic eggs, jelly beans, and a rubber band

Preparation: Fill the basket with several plastic eggs with jelly beans inside, you may want to have enough for each child to take one home. Place one empty plastic egg in the basket – be sure you can easily identify this egg. Fill a small plastic egg with jelly beans and attach it to a rubber band. It is very important that this egg fit up your sleeve and is fully concealed. The key to the trick is simple: when you shake the empty egg with one hand, it will sound like it’s full of jelly beans because you have the egg up your sleeve. But when you shake it with the other hand, it will not make any sound, which allows you to reveal the empty egg.

Good morning everyone! Well, as you can see I’ve got a basket full of Easter eggs. I love Easter eggs, especially the surprise inside. (Pick up an egg with jelly beans inside and shake it) It sounds like this one is full of jelly beans. (Open the egg to reveal the jelly beans to everyone before putting it aside). 

(Pick up your empty egg) Of course, Easter isn’t really about eggs and and jelly beans (shake with the appropriate hand to make the jelly beans rattle). It’s about Jesus. It’s about the amazing truth that God became human just like me and you in order to save us (rattle the egg). On Good Friday, Jesus died on the cross and was buried in a tomb (rattle the egg). Some people probably thought that was the end of the story, but it wasn’t. (Transfer the egg to your other hand) On Easter morning, some of Jesus’ friends went to the tomb and discovered (shake the empty egg) it was empty. The stone was rolled away and Jesus was not there (open the empty egg). 

Jesus wasn’t there because God had raised him from the dead! On Easter we celebrate God’s amazing power and love. The empty tomb proves God wins!

Let’s pray together: Thank you God for sending Jesus Christ to love us. We are so glad the tomb was empty on Easter because that means your love wins! Amen.

Lectionary Passage: John 12:12-16

Scripture Focus: John 12:13

Object: Palm branch

Preparation: Learn how to make a cross out a palm branch. This site has a great tutorial with pictures.

Good morning everyone! Today is a special day in the church. It’s Palm Sunday! On this day we remember when Jesus entered Jerusalem and the crowds cheered and waved palm branches in the air (wave your palm branch around). 

(Begin to make a cross out of the palm branch as you talk about Holy Week) Palm Sunday begins a very special week in the church calendar. It’s called Holy Week. It’s the seven days between Palm Sunday and Easter. In the Bible we learn a lot of things happened in this week. Jesus didn’t just go to Jerusalem for a parade, he went there to celebrate Passover. Every year Jews would travel to Jerusalem to celebrate when God saved them from slavery in Egypt. Jesus and his friends were no exception. On Thursday night of Holy Week, they celebrated the great feast together (at this point, elaborate on details about the Last Supper for as long as you need before the reveal of the cross).

Later that night Jesus was arrested. Then on Good Friday he died on the cross (reveal the cross). During Holy Week we remember that Jesus came so that he could save us from our sin. He died on the cross for us. In just a few short days, Jesus went from being praised by a crowd waving palm branches to the cross.

Let’s pray: Holy God, help us to celebrate Jesus as the king with great joy but to also give our deepest thanks that he died on the cross for us. Amen.