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Pentecost Proper 14
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Eph. 4:25-27
Preparation: Bring a clean cooking pot and a large spoon for pretending to stir. Also, if possible, bring along a pot that has a burned crust in the bottom.
I’ve brought something with me this morning. (Show the pot.) Can anyone tell me what this is used for? Do you have any of these in your kitchen? (Let children tell what pots are used for.) We cook food in these pots, don’t we? You might put the ingredients for soup or chili in this pot, set it on the stove, and turn on the heat. After it’s cooked for a while, it’s ready to eat.
If you were going to cook something in this pot, what do you think you would make? Do we have any good cooks with us this morning? (Children can share their ideas. You can use one of their culinary suggestions for the illustration, stirring the pot and pretending to cook as you talk.) Let’s say we make a pot of chili (or other suggestion), and we put it on the stove to cook. It gets really hot and starts to boil. Then we turn down the heat, cover it, and let it simmer. After a couple of hours, we have a delicious pot of chili to eat.
What do you suppose would happen if we put the pot on the stove, turned up the heat, and then let it cook there all night? That would be a very dangerous thing to do, of course. Do you think the food would be any good to eat? It would be all dried up and burned to the bottom of the pot, wouldn’t it? Do you think it’s easy to clean a pot that’s been sitting on the stove all night? It is really hard to get that burned crust out. Sometimes, it’s impossible. You just simply have to throw the pot away. (Here you may illustrate with the burned pot.)
When we get angry, we’re a lot like that pot on the stove. It’s okay to get angry, but is it okay to get so angry we hit someone? No, it’s not. Almost everyone gets angry with someone sometime. But is it all right to stay angry all day and all night and to keep that anger boiling like a pot on a stove? If you let anger simmer for too long, what do you think happens? (Child may offer answer.) If the anger cooks too long, it turns into burned anger and then it’s really hard to get it out of your heart.
The Bible says, “Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil†(Eph. 4:26 nlt). So the next time you’re angry with someone and you feel yourself boiling over, what do you think you should do? Should you ask Jesus to give you enough love to forgive the person who has hurt you? (Let children answer.) It’s better to take a pot off the stove before it burns, and it’s better to get the anger out of our hearts before it hurts us and others.
Prayer: Â Dear Jesus, help us never to let anger simmer too long. Take the anger out of our hearts and replace it with forgiveness and love.
Pentecost Proper 13
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â John 6:24-35
Preparation: Bring a loaf of bread that has been broken into pieces and placed in a basket for easy distribution.
I brought some bread in a basket this morning. I’ll pass it around. You can help yourself to a piece of bread and then pass it to the next person. (Pass the bread around; continue talking as the children help themselves.) When we’re hungry, we can eat bread and it satisfies our hunger. Now this doesn’t happen very often, but once in a while we get so hungry that it hurts. And then even plain bread will taste good and it will stop our hunger. But if we eat this bread, will we get hungry again after a while? (Let children respond.) This bread doesn’t keep us from getting hungry again sometime in the future.
Every day we get hungry, and we need food. Wouldn’t it be great if food just fell from the sky and we could go out and collect it and then eat it? Do you know that actually happened once upon a time? Many, many years ago, God’s people, the Israelites, were traveling through a desert with Moses. They didn’t have enough to eat, and they got hungry and worried. So God sent bread from heaven. The people called that food “manna,†which means “what is it?†Every morning they went out and collected the manna. There was just enough food for everyone every day. They didn’t have to worry about being hungry any more.
Manna was bread God sent from heaven long ago. But do you know that God has sent us bread from heaven, too? Jesus is the true bread from heaven. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry again†(John 6:35 NLT). Jesus was not really talking about tummy hunger, but about heart hunger. People need spiritual food—the kind of love and care and goodness that God can give. When Jesus comes into their lives, they’re never heart-hungry again.
Heart hunger is sort of hard to explain. How many of you have felt tummy hunger before? (Children can raise their hands or talk about feeling hungry.) How many of you have ever really needed a hug or a snuggle, or needed to hear someone say, “I love you� (Let children respond to your questions.) That’s heart hunger; it’s like spiritual hunger. That kind of hunger can hurt even more than tummy hunger. With Jesus in our hearts, we know for sure that we are always loved. Jesus fills us up with his love and forgiveness and we’re full. We’re not hungry anymore.
Prayer: Â Dear Jesus, Bread of life, thank you for filling us up and satisfying us with your love.
Pentecost Proper 12
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â John 6:1-21
If it was a hot day and I was really, really thirsty, what would be the best thing for me: a chocolate milkshake or a glass of water? (Let children respond.) I would need water. After I had gotten my water, I might want a milkshake. But if I were very thirsty, plain water would be the best thing for me. What if I were starting school at a brand new place and I was lonely: then what would I need? Would I need great new clothes, or would I need to know all the answers on the test, or would I need one good friend? (Children can answer.) I would need a friend, wouldn’t I?
Do you think God knows what we need? (Discuss.) God knows everything about us. He knows how we feel, what we think, and what we need. We can trust God to take care of all our needs. Some things we may have to wait for. Some things that we think we need may be just things we want. God is good at sorting out those kinds of things.
One day, Jesus was near the Sea of Galilee and a huge crowd of people came to hear him teach. It got to be quite late—past suppertime—and everyone was getting hungry. There were thousands of people. One small boy offered to share his lunch; he had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus took that small amount of food and started to pass it around. And then a miracle happened: the little boy’s lunch was enough to feed everyone in the crowd. It wasn’t fancy or rich food, but it was what the crowd needed.
Usually, God provides what we need in ordinary, everyday ways. But sometimes God surprises us with miracles that show his power and wisdom. (Here you may share your own story of God meeting a need in an ordinary or miraculous way. My example follows.) When I went to Trinity Lutheran College in Washington, my parents helped me pay some of the costs, and I earned some of the money by working at school. One spring, around Easter, I found that I did not have quite enough money to pay for that semester. I was about $80 short. I didn’t know how I could raise the money in time, so I prayed about it. The next morning, while I was working as a receptionist at the front desk, an elderly couple, whom I did not know well, dropped off an Easter basket containing a large egg. They told me to keep the egg. It was very heavy and when I opened it up, I found that it was full of quarters and dollars! I counted the money, and it added up to $80. God had provided just what I needed!
God won’t give us everything we want. We may sometimes want things that would not be good for us. But our Father in heaven knows what we need, and he will make sure that, somehow, we will receive those things that we truly need.
Prayer: Â Thank you, Jesus, for giving us all the things we need. Help us trust you and not worry, because you will take care of us.
Pentecost Proper 11
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Mark 6:30-34
The Gospel reading for today talks about sheep without a shepherd. Mark 6 says that when Jesus saw the crowds of people who came to listen to him, he felt sorry for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.
You may never have seen sheep without a shepherd, but have any of you ever seen a child without a parent? A lost child is a very sad thing. Have any of you ever gotten lost? (Let children respond.) It can be very frightening to lose sight of your parents when you’re in a strange place and you don’t know where to go. You can feel scared and confused and not know which way to turn or where to start looking for your mom or dad. The best thing to do in that situation, of course, is to stay put and wait for your parents to come back and find you.
Kids usually pay attention and stay close to their parents, or they yell for their parents if they get lost for a few moments. But do you know what sheep tend to do when they are without a shepherd to lead them? Sheep are not very smart. They easily panic and run in circles; and if no one is guiding them or leading them down a safe path, they have been known to run straight off the edge of a cliff.
Sometimes there is trouble when a shepherd rounds up his sheep at night to get them into pens. The sheep don’t understand that the pens are there to keep out danger, to keep wolves from jumping in and eating them. They get scared of the walls, and they run away from the place where they would be safe.
And when a sheep runs away from its shepherd, do you know what you have? You have a sheep “on the lam.†The expression “on the lam†means running away or escaping from something. A prisoner “on the lam†is one who’s escaped from jail. A sheep on the lam is in big trouble. The sheep has no sense of direction, and it can’t find its way home. It can’t stop and ask for directions. It could run straight into trouble. The sheep may be free from the walls and the pen, but without the protection and guidance of the shepherd, it is in danger.
Jesus said that people are like sheep because sometimes people are just as foolish as sheep. We run away from God, or we turn away from rules that God gives us to keep us safe and protect us from evil. And when we run away from God and his loving care, we are like sheep without a shepherd. And that is a baaaaad thing to be. Even though sometimes we don’t like rules, remember that God’s rules are like walls that protect us and keep us safe.
Prayer: Â Dear Jesus, thank you for being our Good Shepherd and giving us rules and boundaries to keep us safe. Help us listen to your voice and follow the good path that you lead us on.Â
Pentecost Proper 9
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference:Â Ezek. 2:3-5
 Image from 1916 pub. "A Textbook of Physics," Alexander William Duff et. al. Preparation: Bring two large, strong magnets that can be turned to attract or repel each other. Large bar magnets with clearly marked north and south poles should work well.
I’d like to read to you from the Old Testament book of Ezekiel, chapter 2, verses 3-5. “‘Son of man,’ [God] said, ‘I am sending you to the nation of Israel, a nation that is rebelling against me. . . . They are a hard-hearted and stubborn people. But I am sending you to say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says!’ And whether they listen or not—for remember, they are rebels—at least they will know they have had a prophet among them†(NLT).
Did you hear the words rebel and rebellious in those verses? Does anyone here know what it means to rebel or to be rebellious? (Let children respond.) When you get to be teenagers you may know a little bit more about rebellion, but even young children sometimes rebel. To rebel means to turn against the one in charge or the one in authority. If children won’t obey a parent and decide to go their own way, those children are rebelling. If students won’t obey a teacher or if they refuse to listen in class and try to disturb others, those students are rebelling.
When someone rebels, it’s like she is pushing against the grown-up who is trying to teach her. Let me show you what I mean by using these magnets. I can make one of these magnets “rebel†against the other by turning it so that the magnets push each other away. (Demonstrate with the two magnets.) When the forces of the magnets are turned against each other, it’s impossible to get these magnets together. But if we turn the one magnet around, suddenly they come together very easily, almost as if they’re hugging each other. It takes just one turn and the rebellion is gone.
The people of Israel were rebelling against God. They were pushing God away like magnets turned in the wrong direction. If they would repent or turn back toward God and start listening and obeying, what do you think would happen? (Let children speculate aloud.) It’s just like when I turned the magnet around; the people of Israel would be pulled back close to God.
People sometimes turn against God and do bad things and try to push God away. But God always wants to pull us back to him; he wants to have a close friendship with us. The next time you feel like a rebellious magnet—pushing against your parents or your teachers or even God—remember to turn yourself around and let that push change into a hug.
Prayer: Â Forgive us, Lord, for rebelling against you and sometimes pushing you away. Help us to change our direction and turn toward you again so that we can be close to you.
Pentecost Proper 8
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Mark 5:21-43
Preparation: Bring an alarm clock with you as an illustration.
What time did you get up this morning? (Let children answer.) Did you get up by yourself, or did someone wake you up? Maybe you had an alarm clock, like the one I have here, to help you get ready for church on time. (Show the children your alarm clock. You may even demonstrate how its alarm sounds.) Sometimes if you’re really tired and have trouble waking up, you might need someone to knock on your door or come into your room and shake you. Have any of you ever been so tired that someone has actually had to pull you out of bed and help you stand up on your feet? (Let children share their experiences.)
Did you know that Jesus once pulled someone out of bed and helped her stand on her feet? Yes, Jesus helped a twelve-year-old girl get up. You can find the story about it in the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5. But there was something very special about this story. This little girl couldn’t be awakened by an alarm clock. She couldn’t be awakened by a knock on the door. Her parents couldn’t even shake her awake. No one could wake up this little girl, because she was in a deeper sleep than anyone here has ever experienced. This little girl was in the deep sleep of death.
At the beginning of the story, the little girl was very sick. Her father, Jairus, could see that she was dying, so he ran to get Jesus. He begged Jesus to come to his house and heal his daughter.
While Jesus was on his way to heal Jairus’s daughter, a messenger came running up and told them that Jesus did not need to come anymore. The daughter had died. This did not bother Jesus; he told the father to trust him and kept walking to Jairus’s house. Everyone was crying when they arrived. Jesus calmly told the people that the young girl was only sleeping. Some of those people made fun of Jesus when he said that, because they could see that the girl was dead. Jesus went to the girl’s room, took her gently by the hand, and told her, “Get up, little girl†(Mark 5:41 NLT). And she got up, and she was alive and well.
Many of us have had someone take our hand and help us out of bed in the morning. Sometimes it’s hard to get up, and we need help to step out of the world of sleep into the wide-awake world. When we reach the end of our lives and enter our last sleep here on earth, we know that Jesus will take our hand and help us step out of this world into heaven, where we will wake up to a wonderful life with him.
Prayer: Â Dear Jesus, we thank you that you will be waiting for us at the end of our last sleep to pull us into the light and life of heaven.Â
Pentecost Proper 7
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference: Job 38:1 – 11
Do any of you have questions that no one has been able to answer? Are there any really tough questions you would like to have answered? If you have one, go ahead and ask it now. I’m not going to try answering the questions, but I’d just like to hear them. (Let children ask their questions.)
(Give some examples of tough questions that you have encountered. My examples follow.) My kids have asked me tough questions, and sometimes I don’t know how to answer them. When my son was about four years old, he asked me, “What makes gravity and what holds it down?†I didn’t know the answer to that one. And after our pet rat, Tutu, died a year and a half ago, my daughter asked me what I thought rat heaven was like. I really didn’t know how to answer that one either.
There are many questions that we can answer. We’ve learned a lot about this world we live in. But do you think there is anyone who can answer every question? We continue to discover more and more about this world. Scientists discover creatures that live way down deep in the ocean and don’t need sunlight to live. People who study the stars and deep space discover new galaxies and places where bright stars are formed. There is already so much to know and to learn, and every day there is even more!
The book of Job in the Old Testament is about a man who had some tough questions, and he wanted answers. Why is there suffering? Why do bad things happen? He got many answers from people who thought they knew. But Job didn’t believe their answers. In the end, Job realized that the real answers had to come from God. God is the one who created the world and the whole universe. Only God has all the answers. Some of our questions will have to wait until we get to heaven, but they will be answered.
Questions are very important. We learn by asking questions. God created us to be curious, to want to know. It’s good to ask “Why?†I hope each of you will ask questions all through your life. Today during the service, think of a really tough question to ask your folks. If they don’t know the answer, they may know someone you could ask or a book you could check. Or you might come up with a question that can’t be answered yet. But keep asking anyway. You’ll learn some amazing things.
Prayer: Â Thank you, Creator God, for our incredible world and our curious minds. Help us always to seek out the true answers to our questions.
Pentecost Proper 6
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Scripture Reference:Â Mark 4:26-34
Preparation: Bring dry seeds in a glass jar, as well as seeds that have sprouted with visible roots and young shoots. Large, sprouted bean seeds work well for illustrating your talk; the roots and sprouts are easy to see.
Take a look at the seeds I brought with me this morning. I’m storing them in this glass jar. I take them out every day to look at them, but they always look the same. I thought that maybe they should have leaves or roots by now, but nothing has happened. Why do you suppose that is? (Let the children explain that you have to plant the seeds before they will grow.) I have to plant the seeds?
You’re right. A seed needs warmth and water to sprout. If I just leave these seeds in this dry jar, they’ll never sprout, will they?
I have some other seeds with me, seeds that have been soaking in water. Do you see what has happened to these seeds? (Show the children your sprouted seeds and let them comment.) These seeds are changing, aren’t they? They have the beginnings of little roots going down and a little sprout going up. Because these seeds were put into water, they had the chance to sprout.
Jesus explained many things to us by using picture stories or parables. He compared the kingdom of God to a seed. The seed must be planted in order to start sprouting and growing. Then it grows and grows on its own. Once a seed has sprouted, do you have to pull on its roots or help to stretch out its leaves and branches? (Children may respond.) No, of course not. The plant gets bigger even if no one is watching it.
When we tell people about Jesus, when we tell them that God loves them and that God sent Jesus to earth to show that love, it’s like planting a kingdom seed. Our words may help to start that person’s faith in God. Even though we help to introduce someone to Jesus, are we the ones who make their faith and trust in Jesus grow? No, God gives us faith, and God makes that faith grow.
It’s always amazing to watch a plant grow. A tiny seed can become a huge plant. A mustard seed, which is as small as the head of a pin, can grow into a huge plant with strong branches where birds can rest and find shelter. We may not think that our own faith is very big, but just like the tiny mustard seed, with God’s help, our faith will grow and grow into something big and strong that can help others.
Prayer: Â Thank you for the gift of faith, dear Lord Jesus. Help us to plant seeds of your kingdom by introducing others to you, so that you can grow the faith in their lives as well.
Pentecost Proper 5
From “Sitting on the Rainbow”
Artwork by Elsa Ingulsrud
Scripture Reference:Â Gen. 3:8-15
Preparation: Bring a jar with enough cookies to distribute to the children at the end of your talk. (Optional) You might bring a giant foam hand with one pointing finger.
Would you like to play a game this morning? It’s a kind of game that all of us have played before. It’s called the “Blame Game.†Let’s pretend someone has stolen a cookie from my cookie jar. I will ask the first child on my right if he or she took the cookie. That person will say, “I didn’t do it. He did it,†and point to the next person. The next person will say, “Not me. She did it,†and point to the next person. This will continue until the pointing comes all the way back to me. (You may let the children point with the giant foam hand, passing it around as they go.)
Have any of you played this game before? How many of you have gotten into a fight with a sibling or a friend at school and then tried to blame the fight on the other person? (Children may share.) I know I’ve blamed others before, and I’ve been blamed, too. Did you know that the “Blame Game†is very old? It goes way back in history to the very first people God created, way back to Adam and Eve.
God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a beautiful garden. The garden was full of good and beautiful things, and they were allowed to pick and eat almost anything they liked. There was only one rule; they could not touch the tree in the middle of the garden or eat any of its fruit. Along came the devil in the form of a serpent, and tempted Eve to try one of the fruits God had forbidden them to eat. Eve ate some of the fruit and offered it to Adam, and he ate some of it, too.
Did they both know it was wrong to do? Did they both know better than to eat from that tree? (Let children answer.) They both knew it was wrong, but they disobeyed. And then, when God caught them, Eve blamed the serpent. Adam blamed Eve, and he even blamed God. “But it was the woman you gave me who brought me the fruit†(Gen 3:12 NLT, author’s emphasis).
The problem is, nobody wins in the “Blame Game.†If you’ve done something wrong, you eventually have to admit it. And after you admit that you have done wrong, after you confess your sins to God, God will do something amazing. God will forgive your sins and erase the wrong that you have done. Blaming gets us nowhere, but asking God for forgiveness brings us peace and life.
Now, because nobody really did steal my cookies, I have plenty to share with everyone. Help yourself to a cookie before you go. (Pass the cookies around.)
Forgive us, Lord God, for the times when we disobey. Help us to not blame others but instead to go to you and ask your forgiveness.
 Summary: Mercy Me is worried about Sunday because she does not know what Pente costs. Milo and his French friend, Pierre, explain that a free gift was given at Pentecost; the preaching power of the Holy Spirit.
Cast: Mercy and Milo (muppet-style puppets), Annmarie and Pierre (puppet with a French accent)
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Mercy:Â (Enters looking down and counting…) One, two, three, four, five… oh boy. I don’t think I have enough.
Milo: Umm. Mercy Me? What are you doing?
Mercy: I’m counting my money. I don’t think I have enough money to go to church this Sunday.
Milo: What do you mean?
Mercy: How much does Pente cost?
Milo: Pente WHAT?
Mercy: Pente cost. How much does Pente cost?
AnneMarie: Hey, Mercy! Did you find out how much Pente costs at church?
Mercy: No, I still don’t know how much it costs.
Milo: Wait a minute you two! Pentecost is not something that you can buy!
Continue reading What Does Pentecost?
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