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For the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
 Image from Half a World Away exhibit Scripture Reference: 1 Cor. 8:1-3
Preparation: You may bring a hammer and nails or some other construction tools.
The Bible reading from 1 Corinthians today talks about building up the church. If you were going to help build up the church, what sort of tools do you think you might need? (Discuss.) I brought some tools with me (show the tools), but the trouble is, I’m not sure I know enough about how to use these tools to build. And I’m not sure I know enough about other things either—about the church, about the people in church, and about God. I may not know enough to build up the church.
I’d like you to raise your hand if you think you know a lot. Raise your hand if you think you have lots of knowledge and could answer lots of questions about the church and about God. (Let children participate.) Now who thinks your parents know even more than you do? Raise your hand if you think your parents know more about these things than you do.
Okay, now I have a question to ask you. Do you think it is the people who know the most that can really build up the church? Are they the ones that make the church strong and healthy? (Let children answer.) Listen to how the Bible answers that question.
First Corinthians 8:1-3 says, “While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church. Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much. But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for” (NLT). It isn’t the people who know a lot that build up the church, is it? What really builds up the church? (Let children answer.) Love builds up the church. The church is really the people who make up the family of God. The building isn’t as important as the people, is it?
And it turns out that knowing a lot isn’t as important as loving a lot. Being smart may make us feel important, but loving others and being helpful with your words and actions is really what makes the church grow strong. Love makes God’s family stronger, and love also brings more people into God’s family.
It looks like I won’t be needing these tools. I think all of you are plenty skilled enough to build up this church. All of you know how to show love for each other, so let’s get to work. On your way back to your places this morning, I want you to help build up the church by showing two other people that you care about them. You could give them a smile, a hug, or a handshake, or just tell them that you love them.
Loving God, help make us good workers in your church by teaching us how to build up the family of God with love.
For the Third Sunday after Epiphany
Gospel Reading
Scripture Reference: Mark 1:14 – 20
Preparation: (Optional) Bring outreach pamphlets or invitations to your church. Have them ready to pick up by your designated exit door.
Good morning everyone! Nice to see you all this morning. OK, we’ve got to get busy. Everyone, FOLLOW ME! (Get up and immediately start down the aisle or walk towards the nearest exit. When you get to the door, turn around to see how many of the children followed. At this point you may pick up the pamphlets and have the kids help carry them back to the front of the church.)
Come on back to the front of the church. I was checking to see how quickly you all were able or willing to follow me. Today’s Gospel lesson talks about how Jesus called his first disciples to come and follow him. It sounds like he did not have to call twice. He called two brothers who worked as fishermen, Simon and his brother Andrew, and they threw down their nets and followed him. Then he walked up to two other brothers, James and John and told them, “Follow me.” They also dropped their nets and followed Jesus.
I wonder how many of us would be so quick to drop what we were doing to follow Jesus? How many of you jump right out of bed as soon as your alarm clock rings or as soon as your mom or dad says that it’s time to get up? Raise your hand if you jump right out of bed in the morning. (Acknowledge any raised hands.) Okay, now I’m going to ask the parents in the congregation… How many of you have kids that immediately follow your instructions in the morning to get up? (Note any discrepancies in the responses.) When we are called to do what we are supposed to do, we don’t always respond right away, do we?
I think Mark is pointing out something very important in these verses that describe Jesus calling his first disciples. It is a message to us. Jesus is calling each one of us. I hope that we can be like those fishermen and we can realize that the call of Jesus is more important than anything else we are doing with our lives. Following Jesus is the most important thing we will ever do. May God give us the strength and the wisdom to always put Jesus first in our lives. (Here you may send each child back to their places with several invitations to church to hand out to friends and neighbors. Remind them that those first disciples became “fishers of men.”)
Dear Father in heaven, help us to be eager followers of Jesus. Help us to keep Jesus as the first and most important thing in our lives always and forever.
 For the Third Sunday after Epiphany
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference: Jonah 1:1-17
Preparation: Bring a large blanket or dark-colored sheet.
Have any of you heard about a man named Jonah? (Let children respond.) Jonah was a prophet of God; he would listen to God and tell the people what God said. One day, God told Jonah to go to a big city and tell the people who lived there that they were being very wicked and that they needed to change their ways. Jonah did not want to do this. He didn’t like the people in that city, and maybe he was afraid of them. Jonah decided to run away and hide from God, so he caught the first ship out of town and away he went.
Do you think Jonah was able to hide from God? What if Jonah hid way down deep inside a ship? Could he hide from God there? (Let children answer.) Well, Jonah did hide in a ship. But God sent a big storm and tossed that boat around so much that the other sailors thought they were going to drown. They found out that it was Jonah’s fault that their ship was being blown about, so do you know what they did? (Let children respond.) They tossed him overboard, and the storm stopped.
Did God let Jonah drown? No! What did he send to save Jonah? (Children may answer.) A great big fish. And what did the fish do? It swallowed Jonah, and Jonah sat in the belly of the fish. Was it a good hiding place from God? No. God can always see us.
(Here you may offer your own story about hiding. My example follows.) I know a little girl who would tiptoe past me with her hands over her eyes. She figured that if she couldn’t see me, I couldn’t see her. Does that work? No. I could still see her. There are people today—even grownups—who think that if they can’t see God, that God doesn’t exist. Is that true? No. That’s like tiptoeing around with your hands over your eyes.
Should we try hiding this morning? Let’s all close our eyes and try to hide from the congregation. Everyone close your eyes. (Now speak to the congregation.) Can you still see us? That didn’t work too well. But I brought a big blanket with me today. I bet if we all get under it, we’ll be able to hide. Let’s try it! (All get under blanket.)
Now the congregation can’t see us, can they? But can God still see us? Yes. We can’t hide from God. He is always watching over us because he loves us and wants to protect us.
Do you know what finally happened to Jonah? The big fish brought Jonah to shore, and Jonah did finally go to that big city. The people listened to Jonah and stopped doing the bad things. Their lives changed because Jonah finally brought to them the message from God.
Lord God in heaven, we can’t hide from you. You know what we do and what we think. Give us the strength and courage to do all the things that you want us to do.
 For the Second Sunday after Epiphany
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Psalm 139:13-16
Preparation: Bring an ink pad and small squares of smooth, white paper for making children’s fingerprints; or you may use your own pre-made thumbprints to hand out. You may also bring magnifying glasses to help the children study their fingerprints.
The Psalm for today is beautiful. Psalm 139, verses 13 and 14 read, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—and how well I know it” (nlt). God knew us even before we were born. He knows our every detail. He knows us inside and out.
Have you ever thought about what an amazing creation a human being is? There are so many parts to our bodies, and they usually all work together just the way they are designed to work. Our brains send the right signals to control the many functions in our bodies. Our bones support us, our muscles move us, and our skin protects us. We are wonderfully made!
What do you think is the best thing your body can do? Is the best thing being able to taste food with your tongue, or maybe to sing with your voice? (Let the children talk about what they think is the best.)
Our sense of touch is an amazing thing. Have any of you felt a fly or a mosquito land on your arm? That’s an extremely light touch to be able to feel. Our fingers are especially sensitive. Your fingers can feel the slightest little scratch on a smooth glass surface.
Look at your fingertips. Can you see your fingerprints? A fingerprint is the pattern of tiny bumps and ridges on the tip of your finger. Your fingerprints are unique; no one has the same fingerprints as anyone else. Up close, they are amazing. Some are swirls, some are circles or waves. And God knows every detail of each of us, down to the last fingerprint.
I’d like to give you each something to take home with you to remind you that you are wonderfully made and very special. (If you have a small number of children, you can let each do a fingerprint. Have someone help with the process, making sure they wipe their hands afterward.) I brought an ink pad and paper so that we could make fingerprints. (If you have a large number of children, you could quickly pass out pre-made thumb prints and encourage the kids to do their own prints at home.)
God made each one of you unique. There is no one in the world just like you. And God loves you for who you are. He knows everything about you down to your fingertips. Let’s thank God for doing such a wonderful job in creating you.
Prayer: Thank you dear Lord, our awesome Creator, for making us in such a wonderful way. Thank you for all of our senses and for making each one of us different and unique.
 John the Baptist (right) with child Jesus, painting by Bartolomé Esteban Perez Murillo For the First Sunday after Epiphany
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Mark 1:4-11 and Acts 19:1-7
Can anyone tell me what the word repent means? (Child may offer a definition.) If you are doing something bad and you repent, what do you do? You stop doing the wrong thing and begin doing the right thing. The word repent means “to turn around and go the other way.” Could I have a volunteer to help demonstrate the word repent? (Pick a volunteer.)
I would like our helpful volunteer to walk down the center aisle toward the back of the church until you hear me say, “Repent!” That word is almost the same as “About face!” When you hear “Repent!,” you turn around and come back. Let’s try it. (Let the volunteer get partway down the aisle and then call them back with the word repent.) Did this person repent? Yes, they turned around and came back. If only we all could repent as quickly as that!
Before Jesus began preaching, a man named John the Baptist told people to repent. He told them they were going the wrong way; they weren’t thinking about God at all. He wanted them to stop walking away from God, to turn around and walk toward God. And when someone had repented, John the Baptist would baptize him or her in the river.
Was this the same kind of baptism that happens here in church on some Sundays? Was this the same kind of baptism that you had when you were a baby? No, not quite. John’s baptism and Jesus’ baptism were different. John was sent by God to get people ready for Jesus. He turned them around and got them to face the right direction. John baptized with water to show that the people had repented and were now living good, clean lives. When you are baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, your sin is washed away and something else happens: you are brought into God’s family. In baptism, you become a child of God.
But even though we belong to God and have been baptized into God’s family, we sometimes go in the wrong direction. We sometimes turn away from God and do bad things. That’s when we need to remember the word repent. Then we can turn around and face the right direction. And God will help us repent and turn around.
(After the prayer, you may have all the children practice “doing” the word repent by having them face forward and then turn around to face their parents before returning to their seats. You may say something like the following.) Let’s have everyone face me. Now I’m going to ask all of you to repent and turn to face the other direction. You can all turn around and face your families, and go join them once again.
Prayer: Forgive us, Lord Jesus, when we go the wrong way. Help us to repent, to turn around and walk with you down the right path. Thank you for forgiving us and walking with us.
For the Sunday of New Year’s Day
From “Barefoot in the Snow”
Scripture Reference: Luke 3:21-22 ”You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
It’s a new year, isn’t it? Happy New Year! Did any of you stay up until midnight to greet the New Year? (Let children respond. You may share how your family celebrated the New Year. You may have your own traditions that would work as an illustration, or use this one.) Some families in the Midwest have an interesting New Year’s tradition. If you are daring enough and figure you can run fast enough, at midnight you can race around the house outside through the snow in your bare feet! Do you think you would try that? I’m sure those crazy enough to do that wouldn’t be yelling just because it was New Year’s. They would be yelling because their feet were freezing! As soon as they got back in the front door, they could dry off their cold feet with towels and then toast their toes by the fire or a heater and maybe have some hot chocolate.
Running barefoot through the snow was a way to wake up to the New Year; to challenge yourself to meet hardship with exuberance and even laughter. It would be exciting and exhilarating to run through the snow. Do you think you could do it? (Children may respond.) You couldn’t stay out too long or you might get frostbite. On the other hand, you could just stay warm and snug by the fire. You wouldn’t have to go running through the snow, but it would be a challenge to see if you could do it. I’m sure the snow runners would hesitate more if there wasn’t a warm house with slippers and hot cocoa waiting for them. The thought of warming up by the fire probably gives them the courage to run.
During this next year, all of us are going to have to do things that to us might feel like running barefoot through the snow. We’ll have to clean up our rooms. We’ll have to tackle a mountain of dirty dishes. Maybe we’ll have to break a bad habit; something like calling people names when we get mad or fighting with our brothers or sisters. We may have to do things that are hard for us to do, but we have to do them anyway. It’s like gritting your teeth and running like crazy through the snow.
But when you’re through with that difficult task, you know that Jesus is there waiting, proud that you made it. And your mom and dad are waiting with a big hug to show you how happy they are that you finished. So the next time you have to do a job that you really don’t feel like doing, pretend you’re running through the snow . . . and remember there’s a warm hug waiting for you at the end.
Prayer: Jesus, help us to go ahead and do those things that are hard for us, but must be done. Give us courage and comfort.
For the First Sunday after Christmas
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Luke 2:22-35 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation”
Have any of you ever waited a very long time for something? (Let children answer.) How long did you have to wait? A week? A month? Maybe even a year? Have any of you waited your whole life for something? (Children may respond.)
Simeon was a man who lived a long time ago in Jerusalem, and he waited his whole life—eighty or ninety years—for something very special to happen. He was waiting to meet somebody very important. Do you know who that important person was? (Someone may volunteer the name.)
Simeon was waiting to meet Jesus, the Savior of the world. God had let Simeon know that before he died, he would get to see Jesus in person. Simeon waited his whole life for that moment, and finally when he was an old, old man, it happened.
When Jesus was just a baby, his parents brought him into the temple in Jerusalem. They came to thank God for sending them a special son. They came to thank God for sending them the Savior of the world. That same day that Jesus was brought to the temple, Simeon felt that God was telling him to go to the temple. Simeon knew something very special was going to happen. He was even more excited than the way we feel on Christmas morning. Even though Simeon was an old man, he may have run all the way to the temple.
And when he got there, he knew right away who that little baby was. He took that precious baby in his arms and he burst into song. Simeon, without hesitating, without planning what he was going to say, began to sing a beautiful song.
Have you ever felt like bursting into song? Sometimes you just can’t help yourself. (You may ask one who responds what they might sing when they burst into song. If you like, you can give your own impromptu song.) Mary and Joseph must have been surprised, don’t you think? A dignified old man comes up to them, asks to hold their baby, and then bursts into song.
Actually, I think that was a good thing—in fact, just the right thing—for Simeon to do. We should burst into song more often when we think about Jesus. God sent us a Savior. God sent Jesus! So if you feel like singing today, you go ahead and sing. God will be listening.
Prayer: Dear God, we praise you for filling our hearts with songs to sing. We praise you for sending Jesus to us and giving us something wonderful to sing about.
For the Christmas Eve Service
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Isa. 9:2 “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them has light shined”
Preparation: Bring a flashlight or a candle. Arrange with the ushers to turn off the lights at the appropriate time.
It’s Christmas Eve! It’s a wonderful and magical time. On Christmas Eve, we make our final preparations for the arrival of the Christ Child. Jesus, the Light of the world, is coming! In the weeks before Christmas, there are many reminders that the Light is coming. People string lights around their houses, we light the candles on the Advent wreath, around the world people light lanterns, and luminaries line the pathways to house and church.
(Here you may add your own descriptions of the symbolic use of lights at Christmas. My example follows.) I remember when I was a little girl on Christmas Eve, Mother would decorate the Christmas tree with real candles. Then the family would file into the living room singing and see that glorious tree with all of its glowing lights, and we would all gasp! The tree was a reminder of Jesus, the beautiful Light of the world.
Thousands of years ago, before Jesus was born, the prophet Isaiah told the Israelites that a special light was coming. Isaiah said, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them has light shined” (Isa. 9:2 nrsv). In much of our world today, even the darkest nights are lit up with street lamps and house lights and car headlights. So our “darkness” often isn’t as dark as that in Isaiah’s world. But even so, when we are in the dark, one light can make a difference.
Now I want everyone to quietly hold someone’s hand and try to sit very still while the ushers switch off the lights. We’re going to pretend that we are the people who live in the land of deep darkness. (Lights off.) Now that it’s dark, let’s see what a difference one light makes. (Light candle or flashlight.)
Jesus comes at Christmas as the light to the people in the dark. And even though we modern people have our electric lights and flashlights and streetlights, we are all born in the darkness of sin. Jesus, the Light of the world, comes to push back the darkness of sin, to shine so brightly in our lives that there is not the tiniest bit of dark sin left.
As the ushers turn the lights back on, I invite you to open your hearts to the coming of Jesus, the Light of the world, while we pray together.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, our Savior, thank you for coming into the world as the great Light. Thank you for pushing back the darkness of our sin and surrounding us with the warmth and healing light of your presence. We praise you for Christmas, Lord. Help us to celebrate your glory.
For the Christmas Day Service
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Luke 2:8-20 “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.”
Preparation: Bring a picture of a shepherd’s staff, or, if possible, a life-size model of a staff. A picture of a bishop or other church official holding a ceremonial staff may also be used. You may also bring shepherd staff-shaped candy canes to hand out.
A very Merry Christmas to you! Are you happy that Christmas is finally here? (Let children respond.) Have you heard people call out to each other, “Merry Christmas!”? That is a wonderful sound to my ears. Merry Christmas! Did you ever wonder what the very first Christmas greeting sounded like? Now people send Christmas greetings with cards or phone calls or even e-mail, but they also still call out to each other, “Merry Christmas!”
Who do you suppose were the very first people to shout out the news that Jesus was born? (Children may answer.) The very first people to shout out the good news that Jesus was born were shepherds. The angels told them where to find Jesus, and they ran to the stable and saw the Son of God lying in a manger. They knew right away that this was important news and they told everyone who would listen about the baby Jesus.
Those shepherds were the first preachers. They told everyone the good news. They couldn’t keep quiet. The shepherds were probably not used to speaking out in public, and they were certainly not used to having people listen to them. In those days, shepherds usually did not have much education. They couldn’t read or write. They might never have gone to church. But God sent the angels to the shepherds. They were the first to hear the good news, and they were the first to shout the good news. They had seen and heard something wonderful! God had come to earth. God was right there, lying on a bed of straw.
Have you seen the picture or symbol of a shepherd’s staff anywhere in the church? (Here you may hold up the staff you brought in and/or point out the staff on the church paraments or on a pastor’s stole.) It makes sense for a pastor to wear, or at times even carry, a shepherd’s staff, because shepherds were the first people to tell the world that Jesus was born.
All of you can be honorary shepherds, too. You have heard the good news. You know what Christmas is all about. You can shout out to the world that Jesus is born—just as loud as those shepherds did two thousand years ago. Let’s all be shouting shepherds together, shall we? Let’s all shout, “Merry Christmas! Jesus is born!” (Try it with the children. Afterward you may hand out candy canes for a treat to take home. Show the children how the canes are shaped like shepherd staffs.)
Prayer: We shout and sing, Merry Christmas, dear Jesus, because you have come to earth. Help us to spread the good news far and wide that you were born for all of us.
For the Fourth Sunday of Advent
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference: Luke 1:35-38 “Nothing is impossible with God”
Preparation: Bring a doll wrapped in swaddling clothes to represent Jesus.
Today is the fourth Sunday in Advent. Christmas is very near. In the middle of all the busyness and decorations and excitement about presents, are you remembering who we are getting ready for? What is Christmas all about? (Let children respond.) That’s right, we’re waiting for the baby Jesus. This is not an ordinary baby; this is the Son of God. When this baby comes, incredible things will happen.
Now I know that you are never supposed to bring dangerous weapons to church, but in my bag, I have a model of an extremely powerful and dangerous weapon. What do you think it could be? (Let children guess.) This weapon has already been used here on earth. It was used to save all of us. And it broke down the gates of hell and destroyed the devil’s power. (Retrieve baby Jesus doll and show everyone.)
You wouldn’t normally think of a baby as a dangerous weapon, would you? Babies are helpless and soft and sweet. What could a little baby do? But baby Jesus was no ordinary baby. In sending Jesus to earth, God did the impossible. Is it possible for the power of God to be contained within a tiny infant? It happened. Could God love us so much that he would send his only son to save us from our sins? It happened. Could God, as a human, take on all the powers of the devil and sin and destroy that power with love? It happened. With God, nothing is impossible.
When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her that she was going to give birth to God’s Son, it was hard for Mary to believe. The angel told Mary, “Nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1:37 nlt). A wonderful song by an English composer named Benjamin Britten describes Baby Jesus as a weapon who came to destroy evil. Britten’s song tells how tiny Jesus—just a few days old and shivering in the cold—made the Devil and all the powers of hell shake with fear. Without any weapons or armor, Jesus surprised “the gates of hell” and defeated Satan.
A tiny baby can change the whole world. The power of evil is destroyed by a tiny baby. The baby Jesus comes this Christmas to save us all. The baby Jesus is the Son of God; and with God, nothing is impossible.
Prayer: Praise to you, Lord God, for sending your only son, Jesus, to our earth as a little baby. Thank you for sending Jesus to save us from our sins and to bring us eternal life!
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