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4th Sunday in Lent
From “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32Â Â 
Preparation: Bring a poster or flyer with a picture and notice about a lost dog. Or make up your own poster for class.
Have any of you ever seen a paper like this posted in your neighborhood? (Hold up lost-dog poster for all children to see.) Can you see what it is? Why do people put these notices up? (Let children discuss the poster.)
When someone loses a pet they really love, it is almost like losing a member of the family. The pet’s owners will search for that lost pet day after day until they find their pet again. Sometimes they even offer a reward.
(You may share your own lost-pet story or use the following paragraph.) I feel sorry for any family that has lost a pet. If I see a sign like this, I keep my eyes open for a pet that looks like that. It would feel wonderful to be able to bring a lost pet back to its family again, wouldn’t it?
The story in the Gospel today tells about a son who had left home and was living a miserable life. He had spent all his money. He had done some very bad and very foolish things. He didn’t have a proper home, and he didn’t have enough food to eat. He was so unhappy. In a way, he was lost.
The young man’s father was very worried about him. This was the child he had kissed and fed and hugged and loved since the young man was a baby. A lost child is an awfully sad thing. But this story has a happy ending. The lost son finally decided to return home. When he came back to his father, he looked terrible, ragged, dirty, and hungry. He was afraid he wouldn’t be welcomed home. But as soon as his father saw his son coming, he ran to him, hugged him, and threw a big party to celebrate his return. How do you think that lost son felt when he got back home? (Let children describe.)
Sometimes it seems like people feel sorrier for lost dogs than they do for lost people. It may be easier for us to care about a poor, ragged dog than to care about a poor, ragged human. Lost people take a lot more work. They may not look as cute as lost dogs, they may not ask for our help, they even may say mean things to us. But anytime people are unhappy or lonely or sinful—anytime they feel far away from God—they are lost children of the Lord. And they need our help to come home to God.
Jesus used to hang around with lost people when he lived on Earth. This was why Jesus came—to guide the lost children back to the heavenly Father. And our job as Christians is to tell people about God, to help bring them back to God. You are God’s search and rescue team.
Prayer: Â Jesus, make us your search and rescue team; help us bring lost people home to you. Amen
3rd Sunday in Lent
From “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â Isa. 55:1-9Â
 Snow Monkeys; photo by Kiyoshi Ookawa Preparation: Bring brief, favorite Bible verses printed on cards or bookmarks—enough to give one to each child. If possible, also bring a flipchart and marker to jot down kids’ responses.
What do all people and animals need to survive? (Let children share thoughts. If you have a marker and chart, note their answers.) We need food and water. We also need to stay warm. Animals have fur and feathers to keep them warm. How do people stay warm? Clothes and homes help keep people warm. So, we need food and clothing and homes. Do we need anything else to live?
Can baby animals that come from eggs survive all by themselves? (Let children speculate.) Some baby animals manage pretty well by themselves soon after they are hatched. Tiny turtles race for the ocean after they hatch from eggs; little alligators don’t need much help; even some birds can start taking care of themselves soon after leaving their eggs.
But we don’t hatch from eggs, do we? Just like monkeys and cats and dogs, we’re born from our mommies. And babies like us need help to survive. We need to drink milk, and we need to be protected. Our parents find food for us. Humans take a long time to grow up. People are often about eighteen years old before they can survive on their own.
But you know, it’s not just food and water and shelter that people and animals need to survive. If a baby doesn’t get love and hugs, he or she may not survive. If a baby mammal in a zoo loses its mother, the zookeepers feed it, and they also snuggle and hold the little baby animal to make sure it stays healthy. People need lots of love to stay healthy, too. Where do we get love and hugs and snuggles? (Let children answer.)
People also need a special kind of food to stay healthy and happy on the inside. In the Old Testament book of Isaiah, we hear God’s voice calling to us to come and eat and drink. “Is anyone thirsty? Come and drink—even if you have no money! . . . It’s all free! . . . Listen, and I will tell you where to get food that is good for the soul!†(55:1-2 NLT).
Jesus is sometimes called the Bread of Life: the love he gives us and the things he teaches us help us to grow into strong, happy people. And Jesus is free for the asking. We need God’s love for our souls to survive; and we need the Word of God, the Bible, to feed our lives—way past the age of eighteen. (Hand out the bookmarks/Bible verses.) Here is some food for your souls. Take these home and then snuggle up to your parents as you read the message together.
Prayer: Â Thank you for giving us all we need to grow healthy and strong, Lord. Help us learn more and more about you by reading your words in the Bible.
2nd Sunday in Lent
From “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â Luke 13:31-35
Preparation: Bring pictures of a fox and/or a hen and baby chicks to illustrate talk.
In today’s Gospel lesson from Luke, we are told that some leaders of the Jewish people (called Pharisees) came to Jesus after he had finished preaching to a crowd of people. They told him, “You’d better get out of here if you want to live, because Herod Antipas wants to kill you.†Herod was the ruler of the land, and he was powerful. But Jesus answered, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and doing miracles of healing . . .†(Luke 13:32 NLT).
Jesus called Herod a fox. Why do you suppose he would call someone a fox? What do you think Herod was like? (Kids can give their ideas.) Foxes are hunters. They kill other animals for their food. Foxes also can be very sneaky. Many farmers don’t like foxes, because foxes love to kill chickens. And foxes don’t just kill for food; often times they will get into a chicken house and kill chickens just for the fun of it. Jesus called Herod a fox, so Herod probably wasn’t a very nice person.
If a fox sneaked into a chicken house and met a mother hen in there with her little chicks, what do you suppose would happen? Would the hen run away or fly away from the fox to save her life? (Let children respond.) No, even if the hen were very frightened, she would stay to protect her chicks. If the fox attacked, the hen would spread out her wings, and all the chicks would run to her and hide under her wings. Then the hen would peck at the fox, trying to drive it off with her sharp beak. The mother hen never leaves her chicks, even if it means that she might be killed.
After Jesus called Herod a fox, he looked out over the city of Jerusalem and said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me†(Luke 13:34 NLT).
Jesus says that he is like a mother hen. What do you think he means? How is Jesus like a mother hen? (Let children respond.) How can Jesus protect us from danger? (Kids may respond.)Â
Jesus was willing to lay down his life for us—to die to save us from sin and death. When Jesus died on the cross, he died for the wrong things that we do, so that we don’t have to. Jesus covers us and protects us like a mother hen protects her chicks. All we have to do is go to him and let him save us and forgive us for our sins.
Prayer: Â Lord, always keep us safe beside you. Help us never to wander away from your protecting wings.
1st Sunday in Lent
From “Scolding the Snakes”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Rom. 10:9-13Â 
At most beaches and pools there is a person who sits in a tall chair and watches swimmers in the water. If someone in the water calls for help, this person jumps in the water and saves the person in danger. Can you tell me what this person is called? (Children may answer.) He or she is the lifeguard. The lifeguard’s job is to make sure swimmers are safe.
Imagine that you’re at the beach. Big waves are rolling in and crashing against some large boulders. It’s a wonderful place to explore, and you’re climbing this way and that, investigating the tide pools and looking at starfish and little crabs. A lifeguard is sitting in a tall chair watching over all the people. The lifeguard tells everyone, “If you’re ever in trouble and want me to come and save you, all you have to do is yell, ‘Help!’ and I’ll come right away.â€
So you know what to do if you have any trouble at the beach. But what if there is one girl at that same beach who thinks she can handle anything—that she can always take care of herself. This girl figures that she won’t ever need help from anyone. So she wades through the water, tries to squeeze between two rocks, and gets stuck! She’s not big enough to move one of the rocks and free herself; she needs somebody to help. The lifeguard can’t see the girl because she’s behind the big boulder. The tide is coming in and the water is getting deeper and deeper. What should the girl do? (Let kids offer suggestions.)Â
If she calls for help, the lifeguard will come right away and save her. What if this girl isn’t the lifeguard’s sister—what if she isn’t related to the lifeguard at all—will the lifeguard still save her? (Kids may help in answering.) Yes, of course. What if she isn’t a friend of the lifeguard? Will the lifeguard still save her? What if the girl in trouble is from a different country? Will the lifeguard still save her? Anyone who calls out for help will be saved by the lifeguard. But what if the girl doesn’t call out for help? What if she were too stubborn to ask for help? Can the lifeguard save her? Probably not. In this case, if the lifeguard cannot see her, there’s no way for the rescuer to know that help is needed.
When we sin and do bad things, it’s kind of like we’re drowning. We feel worse and worse, but it’s like we just can’t stop ourselves. We’re like the girl caught in the rocks: we need a lifeguard to help save us. The Bible tells us how to be saved from our sins. In Romans, chapter 10, the Bible says, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be savedâ€Â (v. 13 NIV).
It’s that simple. Ask God to forgive you and help you, and God will. God will save you from your sins. It doesn’t matter who you are; you just have to ask.
Prayer: Â Lord Jesus, you are our lifeguard. You have promised to forgive us whenever we ask. Help us to ask.
4th Sunday after the Epiphany
Adapted from “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â 1 Cor. 13:1-13
Preparation (Optional): Bring a stuffed dog and cat or a picture to illustrate the story.Â
Would you like to hear a love story? Don’t worry; there’s no kissing in this one. This is a story about an old dog and a little kitten. (If you brought the stuffed animals, use them to help you tell the story.)
Once upon a time, there was an old dog who really knew what it was to love. He was patient and kind and very happy when something good happened to someone else, even if it didn’t happen to him. The dog was never rude and didn’t brag when he had done something good. He was a very loving dog.
One day, a kitten wandered into the life of this dog. He found her cowering behind a garbage can. She was all dirty and half-starved. The kitten, though she needed help, was frightened of the dog. And she hissed and spit when the dog came near. The dog was very patient, though, and even though the kitten scratched his nose and bit his ears, he gently carried it over to his own bowl of food and let it eat every last crumb. The kitten had a full tummy now and was stronger; and when the dog tried to wash its matted fur by licking the kitten, it snapped at the dog and scratched him even harder. But the old dog’s love was patient and kind. It was not irritable. The old dog’s love did not insist on its own way. So the dog kept caring for the kitten.
Other dogs came around and looked at the raggedy kitten scratching the old dog every time he tried to help, and they told him, “Why do you bother with that dirty little kitten? Look at all the scratches it has given you! You should give up on it.†But the old dog’s love never gave up, never lost faith, and it lasted through every difficulty. So the dog kept caring for the kitten.
By the end of a week, the dog had a very sore nose and chewed-up ears, but the kitten looked much better. Its fur was clean and groomed and soft. Its little belly was plump. Its whiskers were straight, and its eyes were bright.
And the next time the other dogs came around, there sat the loving old dog: his scratches were healed, and he was happily curled around a little purring ball of a kitten. The old dog had not only saved the kitten’s life, he had also taught it how to love.
What do you think made that kitten change? How did the old dog teach the kitten about love? (Let children answer.) When you get home today, have your parents read 1 Corinthians 13 to you. It will teach you about love.
Prayer: Â Lord, teach us to love you more and more, and help us love one another just as you love us.
Note: See the puppet script, “A Love Story (with No Kissing)” in the Puppet Script section of this website.
3rd Sunday after the Epiphany
Adapted from “Scolding the Snakes”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â 1 Cor. 12:12-27Â 
What do you think is the most important part of your body? (Let children share ideas; challenge their choices.) If you had strong muscles but no nerves to send signals to your brain, would you be able to do anything with those muscles? No! If you had good eyes and could see the tiniest thing from far away, but your eyelids wouldn’t stay open, would you be able to see anything? No! If you had a good brain, but your hands or eyes didn’t do what the brain told them to do, would your brain do you any good? No! Every part of the body is important. And it is important for all the parts of the body to work together in order to do the things you need to do.
The people in this church are the body of Christ. (Point around—at children, at adults: “She is part of Christ’s body; you are part of Christ’s body; they are part of Christ’s body.â€) All of us do the work of Jesus here on Earth. And just as the human body has many important parts that need to work together, the church has many members who are good at doing different things. Would it make sense if all of us were Sunday school teachers? Who would go to class and learn? What if all of us were ushers? We’d all be in the aisles and no one would be sitting in the seats.
Do you think the children in this congregation are a very important part of the body of Christ? (Discuss.) You are very important. We need you in our church. Your part in the body of Christ is very important. What are some important things you do for Jesus? (Let children discuss. If necessary, supply examples: show kindness, smile, and help one another, tell others about Jesus, sing hymns, obey parents and teachers, etc.)
Sometimes we might be tempted to think that some people or some jobs in the church are more important than others. But this is not at all what the Bible teaches! First Corinthians 12 talks about how all the members in Christ’s body are important. It says, “In fact, some of the parts that seem weakest and least important are really the most necessary†(v. 22).
The way that one person feels can affect the whole body of Christ. If you break your pinky toe, you may not be able to walk at all for awhile. A toe is such a small thing, but if it is hurt, it affects your whole body. If one of the members of our church is sad or hurting, it matters to all of us. That’s why we pray for one another and meet together and encourage one another. That’s why we say good things to one another and tell others how helpful they are, how much they mean to us. Before you go home today, make sure that you talk to another part of this body of Christ and see how he or she is feeling.
Prayer:  We are all your children, Jesus—and each of us has important work to do for you. Help us remember that and help us love one other and work with one another. Amen
Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
From “Barefoot in the Snow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Rom. 10:12-13 & Eph. 4:4-6Â 
Preparation: Bring enough treats to hand out to all the children.
It’s nice to see you this morning. I notice that you are all dressed differently with clothing of different colors, styles, and sizes. I like to see the different colors people wear.
This morning, we’re going to try something. We’re going to pay close attention to the differences in the clothes you’re wearing. I would like those of you who are wearing red or yellow to sit on the right side of me and the rest of you to sit on the other side. (Try to split group evenly. Separate groups by colors or other differences in clothing.)
Now, what would you think if I only talked to the group on my right and ignored the rest of you? Would that be fair? (Turn and speak only to group on right.) You see, I’m only talking to the children on my right. When I ignore the children on my left, it makes it seem like they don’t matter. It’s not much fun to be ignored, is it? Is what I’m doing right now fair to those who are sitting on the left? (Let children on right respond.) Maybe we should ask the children over there what they think. (Turn to left group.) How does it feel to be ignored? (Let children respond.)
I brought a big bag of treats, and I think I’ll hand some out. What if I gave treats only to those on my right and didn’t give anything to the rest of you? (Hand out treats to children on right only.) Is this fair? (Discuss.)
Martin Luther King, Jr., was a Christian man and a preacher who lived during a time when unfair things were happening in this country. People were being treated differently, not because of the clothing they wore, but because of the color of the skin that they wore. If their skin was brown, they weren’t treated very well. If their skin was white, they had lots of privileges. Martin saw this happening, and he knew that it was not fair. He knew that God loves everyone equally and that no one should be ignored because of skin color.
The way we have separated or segregated our group today is not right. We need to make sure everyone is treated the same. For starters, let’s hand out treats to the group on the left. (Hand out treats to the children on left.) This is better. It seems to be fair. But now I still have you separated. Let’s all get up and find the place where you were sitting before. Let’s mix and mingle these groups so that we’re all one group again. We really are one family, after all. We are all one in Christ.
Prayer: Â Lord God, help us to see others as you see them; all of them children of yours, worthy of love and respect. Gather us all into your family, Lord.
Key Words: Prejudice, Acceptance, Diversity, Tolerance
First Sunday after the Epiphany
Adapted from “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â Luke 3:15-17Â
Preparation: Bring a pan with clean popsicle sticks in the bottom covered by a fine layer of flour or other fine meal that can be blown away. You may print the following statements on the popsicle sticks: “Listen to God†and “Obey God.â€Â
Today is the first Sunday after the special day we call Epiphany. The season of Christmas has come to an end. On Epiphany we remember how the wise men followed a star to find the child Jesus.
Today we also remember the time when Jesus was baptized by his cousin John. Before Jesus came to him to be baptized, John had been baptizing people in the Jordan River. The people John baptized repented of their sins—that is, they said they were sorry and wanted to follow God.
Jesus didn’t need to repent; his baptism was very special. But the other people who came to be baptized did need to repent. They knew they had not put God first in their lives, but they decided to change. Some might have decided to change after hearing what John said about the coming Messiah, Jesus. John said, “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. He is ready to separate the chaff from the grain with his winnowing fork. Then he will clean up the threshing area, storing the grain in his barn but burning the chaff with never-ending fire†(Luke 3:16-17 NLT).
Does it sound like it would be better to be the grain or the chaff? (If necessary, read the second part of the above verse again. Discuss.) The grain was stored in the barn. But what happened to the chaff? (Children may answer.) The chaff was the straw and tough husks that covered the grain. In order to separate chaff and grain, farmers used big forks to toss this mixture into the wind. The grain was heavier, so it fell down; but the wind blew away the lighter chaff, and it landed in a pile farther away. The pile of useless chaff was burned. The good grain was kept and made into bread and cakes.
The people who came to be baptized by John did not want to be like chaff. They wanted to be useful in God’s kingdom. So they stopped doing things they knew they shouldn’t and started to listen to God and to obey God.
I’d like to show you what the chaff was like. I have some messages written on sticks. But the sticks are covered up. I’ll blow the “chaff†away and then show you the messages. (Blow to remove flour; pass sticks around.) When we disobey God, we are acting like chaff. We cannot be useful in God’s kingdom if we don’t obey him. But when we repent and start listening to God, we are like the precious grain.
Prayer: Â Lord, help us to obey you, and forgive us when we fail.
Sunday of the Epiphany
Adapted from “Barefoot in the Snow”
Scripture Reference:Â Matt. 2:1-2; 9-12Â 
How many of you have seen a searchlight shining in the night sky? (Let children respond.) Those lights are meant to lead people to a certain spot in the city. If a store is having a grand opening or if there is a big sale on cars at a dealership, a searchlight might be set up in the parking lot. The bright light can be seen all over town. People can easily follow the path of the light to its source. The light leads them right to the parking lot where the light is set up. The store owner hopes that after the people have followed the light to the store, they’ll do some shopping and buy something. Usually when I see a searchlight in the sky, I don’t follow it because I know it’s there to advertise something that I probably don’t need anyway. The light is fun to watch, but it doesn’t get me to follow it or to change my direction.
This Sunday marks the last day of the Christmas season. There are really twelve days of Christmas, and today is the twelfth day. Today, on Epiphany, we remember the wise men who went to find Jesus. The wise men also followed a light in the sky. What kind of light did the wise men follow? (Listen to the children’s answers.) They followed a bright star, didn’t they? That star led them to something so much more than a just a car sale. That star led them to the new king of heaven and earth; the star led them to Jesus, born in Bethlehem.
The Christmas star was sent by God to announce the birth of a Savior. It shone brightly in the sky to lead people to the manger. The wise men must have admired that new brilliant star in the sky, but if they had never made a move to follow it and search for the king, they never would have found Jesus.
Christmas is a beautiful time of the year. Decorations go up all over. Christmas trees are lit with thousands of lights. Beautiful nativity scenes are displayed in churches and homes. For some people, the brightness and beauty of Christmas is only something to admire and enjoy from a distance. But God doesn’t want us to just admire Christmas, he wants us to follow the star to the manger. He wants us to kneel down next to the baby Jesus and offer our whole selves, heart and soul, to the King of heaven and earth.
We can’t travel back in time two thousand years to kneel at that manger, but we can kneel down on this day, on Epiphany, and invite Jesus to come into our hearts to stay. We can open our hearts to him for the first time or invite Jesus to fill us again with his spirit of love.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, may we always follow the star to the manger. Thank you for coming to earth as a little baby. We welcome you into our hearts this Epiphany and throughout the coming year.
First Sunday after Christmas Day
From “Scolding the Snakes”
Scripture Reference:Â Luke 2:41-52
 Do any of you have a favorite teacher, a teacher at school or Sunday school whom you really like a lot? (If they wish, children can name some of their teachers.) Teachers are wonderful, aren’t they? They make learning fun and exciting. They make us happy to go to school. (You may tell about one of your favorite teachers and what made that teacher special.)Â
Jesus was a teacher. People often called him “Rabbi,†which means “Teacher.†Jesus was an excellent teacher. He used interesting stories to teach. He used examples from the world around him; he used things that people could see to teach about heaven and other things that people could not see. Jesus taught old people and young people. He taught people from many different countries and cultures. Most people know that Jesus was a great teacher.
But do you know how old Jesus was when he began to teach? (Let children guess.) Is anyone here twelve years old? (Invite a twelve-year-old volunteer to stand up.) This is how old Jesus was when he first began to teach at the temple in Jerusalem. He was only twelve years old, and already he was asking and answering difficult questions about God.
Are any of you teachers yet? (Let kids respond.) Well, you may not be teachers at a school, but children certainly are teachers at times.
Children teach grown-ups to stop and look closely at flowers and rocks. They teach bigger people to hunker down low so they can get a better view of a line of ants busily working. They teach us adults to stop and take time for really important things like snuggling and reading books.
There are so many things that kids like you can teach adults. From you we learn how to have fun and how to be surprised and curious and how to believe and trust.
Jesus is a great teacher, and we hope we’ll always be willing to learn from him. But don’t forget that you are teachers too! When you go back to your seats, you can ask your parents what you have taught them. Then talk about how you can learn together from Jesus.
Prayer: Â Jesus, you are our very best teacher. Help us learn what you want us to be and do.
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