A Children’s Sermon for the first Sunday after Pentecost: Trinity Sunday – RCL Year A
Scriptures: Matthew 28:16-20 and 2 Corinthians 13:11-13
Today is the first Sunday after Pentecost. It is also called “Trinity Sunday.†This is a Sunday when we remember that God is three persons in one God. Throughout history, humans have struggled with this idea, and some have even started new religions because they could not understand how God could be One being and Three persons at the same time. Just because we cannot understand some things, does not mean that they are not true. The world is full of mysteries. Science has solved many mysteries, that is true, but still the world and the universe are full of mysteries.
Guido Reni (Italian, Bologna 1575–1642 Bologna)
Christ on the Cross with God in Heaven,
Italian,
etching; sheet: 16 3/4 x 10 1/4 in. (42.5 x 26 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1967 (67.809.39)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/397051
Before Jesus returned to God the Father in heaven, he told his followers to go and baptize people who came to believe in Christ. He said, “Baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.†When you see a baptism, you will notice that the pastor says these words, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.†God is three in one.
Saint Patrick, a Christian who lived many years ago was said to have explained the Trinity by using a shamrock, a plant with three leaves on one stem. Sometimes the three forms of water are used to help us understand the Trinity: ice, liquid water and steam are all H2O, water. But they appear in different forms.
I think that your family might be one way to help us understand the Trinity. Think about your mommy and tell me if she has a mommy of her own? (Children can answer here.) Your mommy is also a daughter, right? She is a mommy and a daughter at the same time. If she has brothers or sisters (also called siblings), she is also a sister. You see her as a mommy. Your grandma sees her as a daughter. And her siblings see her as a sister. She is just one person, but she is called three different names.
But the most important thing about a mommy is not what she is called. It’s how much she loves you. It’s the same with God. In 2 Corinthians 13, one of the readings for today, the Bible says, “Live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.†God wants us to live in peace with one another and to love each other. We are all children of our heavenly Father. Jesus came to earth to bring that message. We are part of our own families, but we are connected to each other as well. “Live in peace,†says the Bible. And that verse ends with a Trinity blessing: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God (the Father), and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you.â€
Prayer: Dear Father in heaven, thank you for loving us. Thank you for sending Jesus as a message of peace. May the Holy Spirit help us to love each other and live at peace with our neighbors, welcoming them into the family of God.
It’s Pentecost, and she’s wearing her red scarf in honor of the day, but Baabara the Sheep is gloomy. She cannot talk about God’s love in many languages. She wishes that she could speak fluent Japanese to the kids in the orphanages in Japan where she teaches English. She wants them to know how much she loves them. But isn’t she already fluent in the “Language of Love?”
(Permission granted to include this video children’s message in online Sunday services.)
See JOEE.jp for more information about the nonprofit that brings free English lessons to children in institutionalized care in Japan.
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This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate the birth of the Christian church. Believers from far and wide were gathered together in one place, after Jesus had gone back up to heaven, and they were praying and worshipping together. Suddenly there was the sound of a mighty wind that entered the building, and tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the believers. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned before. The message of God’s love was spoken out loud in many different languages. The Holy Spirit was helping the Gospel reach the many language groups of the world.
Not all of us can speak two or more languages. It’s a wonderful thing if you do; it’s a blessing to be able to talk to people from different countries and continents. But if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, even if you cannot suddenly speak in a different language, you can always speak the language of love.
The language of love, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, does not always rely upon spoken words. When you see someone in need, and you help them, you are speaking the language of God’s love. When you defend someone who is being bullied or harassed or beaten down with words or deeds, you are speaking the language of God’s love. When you show care and give healing to one of God’s creatures, even something as small as a sparrow, you are speaking the language of God.
On that Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit did miraculously cause the believers to speak out in languages that they had not learned. They were able to tell people that did not understand them before about God’s love for the world. But even today, when we let the Holy Spirit fill us and guide us, we can speak God’s language of love in action that shows others the love of God, even if they cannot understand our words.
Prayer: Dear God, please fill us with the Holy Spirit and guide us in the ways of love. Help us to reach out to those who need to see love in action.
 A 5-minute children’s sermon for Ascension Sunday is embedded below. You have permission to use this video to augment an online Sunday service broadcast.
What should we be doing while waiting for Jesus to return? Simply staring up at the sky? After Jesus ascended to heaven on Mount Olivet, the disciples were left standing there, staring and reluctant to move until a couple of angels appeared. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.â€
It was time to stop staring and start preparing by sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Before Jesus ascended into heaven to return to the Father, he said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.â€Â The disciples had work to do.
Spreading the Good News of the Gospel is like planting seeds. You hope that the person who hears about God’s love will accept the message and love God in return. Likewise, when you sow a seed into the ground, you hope that the plant will grow and produce something beautiful or nutritious.
Prayer: Dear Jesus, help us to spread the Gospel of your love for all to everyone that we meet.
Today is the seventh Sunday, the last Sunday of the Easter season. If you were going into the church, into the sanctuary for worship services, you would see the color white on the altar and the pulpit. The pastor might be wearing a white stole draped over the robe. White is the color of Easter. This is the last Sunday in the Easter season, and then comes the celebration of Pentecost. That’s when the color changes to red.
So the Easter season of the church year is still here. Jesus died and rose from the grave. Then he went up into heaven to be with God the Father again. When Jesus returned to heaven, it was called the “Ascension.†Before Jesus ascended, he promised his disciples that even though they would not see him with their eyes, he would be with them always in their hearts. The Holy Spirit would be with them to guide them and let them know that God was always with them.
On Ascension Day, Jesus went up, (or ascended) into heaven right before the disciples’ eyes, on Mount Olivet. And they were so amazed, that they stood there looking up, not moving for a long time. They didn’t move, in fact, until two angels, sent from God, spoke to them and asked them what they were doing. The angels assured them that Jesus would be back. He was not gone forever.
The disciples finally came down from the mountain and began to pray and to wait for the Holy Spirit to come to them.
It was hard for them to come down from that mountain, the last place that they were able to see their beloved Jesus. But they could not stay on the mountain forever. Jesus wanted them to tell the world about his love. Jesus had told them, “You will be my witnesses here in Jerusalem and all over the earth.â€
Because those disciples did come down from the mountain, and did tell others about Jesus, the Gospel has reached every country and every language in the entire world. That is something to celebrate. And we can continue to spread the message of God’s love to all the people that we know.
Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for always being with us, even when we cannot see you with our eyes. Help us to tell others about your love, all over the world. Amen.
Kidsermons – May 17, 2020 Â — Â 6th Sunday of Easter – Year A – RCL
Video sermon link available at bottom of page!
Scripture: John 14:15-21 (NRSV)
Jesus said, â€If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.Â
“I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.â€
Today is the sixth Sunday of the Easter season. The Easter season of the church year is still here. Jesus died and rose from the grave. Then he went up into heaven to be with God the Father again. But before he went, he promised his disciples that he would send the Holy Spirit to be with them. Jesus said, “You know (the Spirit) because he abides with you, and he will be in you.â€
The word, “abide†means to be closely connected, like the feeling of wanting to stay close to home. Nowadays, with the COVID-19 virus still being passed from person to person, we all need to stay close to home to be safe. But “abide†means to be so closely connected that the relationship goes both ways. Like a grape branch connected to the grape vine, the connection is a life-giving one. The leaves of the branch collect energy from the sun and that flows into the main vine. And the water absorbed from the ground by the main vine flows up into the branch, to keep the leaves green.
When the Spirit of God abides with us or lives in us, we are solidly connected with God. Jesus is our life. Our hearts are full of life and joy because of that connection. We communicate through prayer and reading God’s word. God will never leave us. The main vine does not cut off its own branches. If we decide that we want to leave God, and we want to cut ourselves off from God, then the connection is broken. That, for us, is a spiritual death.
If you want to see what this looks like, you could go outside and cut a small branch off from a sprouting tree or bush, and then bring it into the house. How long does that branch stay green and alive when it is cut off from the main plant? You can keep it green for a while, if you put it in water, but it will eventually die apart from the tree.
God wants to be connected with us. God wants to abide with us. How do we stay connected? We pray to God. We read the Bible. We talk to others about God. We listen to what God is saying to our hearts. Lately, it is harder to stay connected to people, but it’s not impossible. We call people on the phone. We chat with our family and friends over computers and digital devices. In that way we stay connected, even though we cannot physically touch them. In the same way, we need to stay connected with God. “Abide with me,” says Jesus. May the Spirit abide in us deeply and keep us strong in our faith.
Let’s pray:
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to stay connected with you. Help us to remember to pray and to listen for your voice. Be with our family and friends and help us to keep those connections strong, even when we cannot see them in person or give them hugs. Thank you for your love that will not ever let us go. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
We are all trapped in a time of waiting. The world is waiting for it to be safe once again to go outside and meet up with friends. The world is waiting, staying put for safety, knowing that we are helping others by keeping our distance. It seems like a long time to wait.
I wonder if any of you have ever tried watching a flower that’s all closed up. The flower will eventually bloom; it just takes time. Trying to pull the flower open will not help. That will only damage the flower. For some things, you just have to wait patiently. Eventually you will be rewarded by getting to see a beautiful flower opened up to the sun.
When Jesus was walking around here on earth, the Jewish people, God’s chosen ones, were waiting. They were waiting for the Messiah, a Savior who had been promised by God. They trusted that the Messiah would come, but they did not know when or where. They may not have known it, but they were waiting for Jesus.
The coming of Jesus is sometimes described as a flower blooming. Here is a song that we sometimes sing at Christmas:
“Lo, how a rose is blooming; from tender stem has sprung. From Jesse’s family coming, as men of old have sung.â€Â
The prophets in the Old Testament told us that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. But this birth was a long time in coming.
Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus being revealed for who He really is. Like a flower opening up, the people finally saw the beauty, the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was the one! Jesus was the Savior! The people in Jerusalem knew that this was true and so they had a parade.
As Jesus came riding into town, seated on a young donkey, the people cut down palm branches and waved them overhead as a sign of welcome and celebration. They were so happy that the time of waiting was over.
This Palm Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is our Savior but we are sad that we cannot all celebrate together in church. We are waiting. We are waiting for this virus danger to pass, but we are also waiting for Jesus to come again. And while we wait for both, God wants us to be patient and above all, to be loving towards others. We show love in our words and actions, especially in our families. We are spending lots of time with our families now and we need an extra share of love and patience.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, help us to be loving and patient while we wait. We trust that the world will open up once more like a flower blooms in the spring. We thank you for sending Jesus to be our loving Savior. Watch over all of us on this Palm Sunday. Amen.
I’m sorry for the long delay in posting to Kidsermons. I’ve been working full-time as a teacher-librarian at a Christian K – 12 school here in Tokyo, and starting up a non-profit foundation called JOEE, “Joyful Opportunity English Education.” The website is up now at: http://joee.jp  Take a look if you are interested in a ministry that brings active and entertaining English lessons to kids growing up in orphanages and children’s homes in Japan.
I will be posting a weekly video children’s sermon along with the text in case pastors would like to include it in their online weekly worship service broadcasts. Thank you for continuing to connect with your congregations remotely and keeping them safe by practicing social distancing during these difficult times dealing with a global pandemic.
Let me help you in any way that I can. I will try to respond to messages in a timely fashion, but I do have multiple responsibilities currently. I am also attempting to teach students, read stories and provide English instruction through JOEE all through the use of video conferencing and posted YouTube video links.
Keep logging in to Kidsermons.com for youth ministry resources! God bless you as you continue to safely care for your flock.
Scripture Reference: Matt. 17:1-8 and Luke 9:28-36
Preparation:Â Bring a lamp or flashlight with a translucent shade that allows a little, but not all, of the light to show through. Have the light shining as you begin your talk. Â
Do you know what this Sunday is? It isn’t Easter or Christmas, is it? No, but today we do celebrate a very important happening in Jesus’ life. Today is Transfiguration Sunday. One day Jesus took three of his disciples away from the crowds that usually followed Jesus around and they went on a long hike. Those four friends hiked up a big mountain and when they got to the top of the mountain, do you know what happened?
Jesus was transfigured in front of those disciples. His face shone like the sun and his garments were glowing white. Do you think the disciples were surprised? They’d never seen Jesus like this; usually he looked ordinary and human just like them. And Jesus was human, but his disciples knew he was also special. They knew that he was God’s own Son, the Savior of the world. But maybe they sometimes forgot just how powerful and amazing he was. Perhaps they doubted that he was the Son of God.
The disciples knew that Jesus was the Light of the world; he had told them so. They had seen in his life, words, and miracles, a glimpse of the glory of God. It was as if they were looking at a lamp with its light shaded from view, sort of like this lamp. (Show lamp with shade.) When Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, it’s as if the shade was taken away and the disciples could see the true brightness of God’s glory.
Well do you know what happened next? A bright cloud came over them and God’s voice came from the cloud and said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with him. Listen to him” (Matt. 17:5 NLT). Do you think those disciples had any doubts about who Jesus was at that moment? There was no doubt about it. Jesus was God’s Son. He was shining with heaven’s glory; God was speaking. There was no doubt.
This Sunday we remember what happened on that mountain, and we know without a doubt who Jesus really is. He is God’s own Son, the Savior of the world.
Prayer: Â We praise you, Jesus, God’s own son, the Savior of the world. Remind us every day of your power and your glory.Â
Preparation (Optional): You can bring a picture of Jesus as the Shepherd or point out a picture in the church. Show your illustration after asking the children if they know who the Good Shepherd is. Pick your volunteer “wolf” out ahead of time.
Who is the Good Shepherd? Can anyone tell me? (Let children respond.) Yes, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. (You may show your illustration here.) In the Gospel lesson read today, Jesus says, “I am the gate for the sheep” (John 10:7 NLT). So besides being a shepherd, Jesus is the door.
Did you know that in Bible times, a couple thousand years ago, being a door was part of a shepherd’s job? The sheep pen was usually a stone wall built in a circle with only one opening. So after the shepherd had gathered all the sheep into the pen for the night, he would have to lie down across the opening to guard the sheep. The only way a wolf could get in was through that door, so the wolf would have to deal with the shepherd first. Do you think a good shepherd would let a wolf through that door? No sir! The shepherd would drive the wolf away!
Let’s see if we can build a sheep pen here at the front of the church. I need some volunteers to be part of the wall. (Choose some kids and help to arrange them.) You stones sit here along the altar rail and don’t move. You’re part of the wall. We’ll pretend that the wall goes all along the altar rail, so a wolf can’t get in that way. We’ll leave an opening here for the doorway.
Now the rest of you are sheep. It’s getting dark, so you’d better get into the fold. You’ll be safe there. Now, I need a good shepherd. The good shepherd comes over here and lies down in the doorway. The shepherd is the door to the sheep fold. It’s a good thing too, because there’s a big, scary-looking wolf out here who’s on the prowl for a late-night snack of leg-of-lamb. See the wolf? (Choose somebody ahead of time from the congregation who would be willing to help.)
The wolf is going to try to sneak past the shepherd without waking him up to get at the sheep. If the shepherd touches the wolf, then the wolf has to run away and the sheep are safe. (Let players act it out.)
Thank you, shepherd, for protecting the sheep. We can be thankful that Jesus is our Good Shepherd and that he always watches over us. We remember that Jesus gave up his own life to save us from sin and death.
Prayer: Â Dear Jesus, you are the Good Shepherd. Thank you for keeping us in your care.
I’m sorry for the long delay in posting to Kidsermons. I’ve been working full-time as a teacher-librarian at a Christian K – 12 school here in Tokyo, and starting up a non-profit foundation called JOEE, “Joyful Opportunity English Education.” The website is up now at: http://joee.jp  Take a look if you are interested in a ministry that brings active and entertaining English lessons to kids growing up in orphanages and children’s homes in Japan.
