3rd Sunday after Pentecost
Pentecost Proper 8
From “Saving the Ants” (click at left to purchase ebook)
Scripture Reference: Matt. 10:40-42 Â Â 
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Preparation: Make a large invitation card, inviting Jesus to have supper at your house.
I brought something with me this morning. Can you see what it is? (Show the card around.) It’s an invitation. Can someone read who the invitation is made out to? (Let one of the children read the card.) That’s right, I want to send this invitation to Jesus. And what is it an invitation for? (Have “invitation to supper” written on the card.) Yes! I want to invite Jesus to have supper at my house tonight at 6:00.
How do you think I should send this invitation to Jesus? How can I make sure that he’ll get it? (Let children come up with their own ideas.) It’s going to be pretty hard to deliver this invitation to heaven, but there is a way I can invite Jesus to dinner. The answer is in the Bible.
Jesus sent his disciples out into the world to tell everyone the good news about God’s love. But before they left, Jesus gathered them together to tell them some important things. In Matthew, chapter 10, Jesus said to his friends, “Anyone who welcomes you is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the Father who sent me” (v. 40 NLT). Jesus also said, “And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded” (v. 42 NLT).
Jesus told his disciples that whoever welcomes or invites them, welcomes Jesus. So how could I invite Jesus to my house? (A child may answer.) I can invite one of Jesus’ disciples, one of his friends, to my house. How many disciples or friends of Jesus do you see here? Raise your hand if you are a friend of Jesus!
There are a lot of disciples here, aren’t there? Do you think you would be able to invite Jesus to your house? (Let children respond.) Yes, you could. When you invite one of Jesus’ friends into your home, it’s as if you are inviting Jesus himself. So now we all know how to give an invitation to Jesus, and we don’t even have to travel all the way to heaven to get it to him!
Prayer: Â Jesus, we invite you into our hearts and lives. Help us to serve you by opening our hearts and homes to others.