Enough Room?
Children's sermon
Object:
pad and pencil (optional)
First Thoughts: If we look at the entire passage here we see questions about the nature of relationship. How and when should relationships be started or ended? Who is or is not expendable? Jesus teaches that maintaining healthy relationships is of paramount importance, and EVERY person is important to us. It is in relationships that we are able to truly live out the principles of the gospel. Some people tap into our loving natures and give us a chance to really experience the flowing of the Spirit's joy. Others present a challenge to us, not because of their own failing, but because they have touched on an area of our lives that needs tending and healing. We can understand that every relationship is sacred and deserving of honor. This fits in nicely with the theme of World Communion Sunday today: the table is always expanding, the bread and cup always multiplying. Reflect for a moment on a person in your life who easily brings out your compassion and love. Give thanks for the gift of that person. Then reflect on someone who is difficult for you to deal with (maybe one of your children!). What is the lesson that person brings to you? Hold that relationship in prayer for a moment, receptive and open to the growth God is doing in your life. Carry your kindness and your openness with you in your time with the children.
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), you look a little worried. What's wrong?
Leader 2: I have a birthday party coming up, and I'm having it at this place that only holds twenty people.
Leader 1: And you have more than twenty people you want to invite?
Leader 2: Yeah. Maybe I should only invite the people who gave me the best gifts last year or maybe just those who are really good at soccer. Or maybe I should just get rid of all the girls.
Leader 1: Hmmm. I think you're trying to solve the wrong problem.
Leader 2: What do you mean?
Leader 1: Every person in our lives is important. We can't just go through a list and figure out who is more important than everyone else. I don't think you should make your list shorter.
Leader 2: What should I do then?
Leader 1: I think you need to find a bigger place for your party -- a place with room for everybody! You know, Jesus' disciples also thought there wasn't enough room. They were always trying to figure out who was important, who really needed to be with Jesus, and who should be put aside. You know who they thought was less important? Children.
Leader 2: That's not right!
Leader 1: That's what Jesus said. He told them that children were very important to God's work on earth, and the disciples were making a mistake in trying to keep the children away. Sometimes we get stuck in our own idea of things. We think there's not enough love or space to go around.
Leader 2: Like me, thinking about the room that only holds twenty people.
Leader 1: We forget that God has unlimited space and unlimited love too. There's enough space and love for God to take care of everybody. Our job is to remember how important we are and how important everyone else is to God and to learn how to be welcoming to everyone.
Leader 2: I am going find another place to hold my party, and I'm going invite everyone!
Leader 1: Sounds like you'll have a great time.
Teaching On Your Own: Hey guys, I have a problem. I have a birthday party coming up, and I'm having it at this place that only holds twenty people. Can you guess the problem? I have more than twenty people on my list to invite. So who should I take off the list? Maybe I should only invite the people who gave me the best gifts last year or maybe just those who are really good at soccer. Or maybe I should just get rid of all the girls. I don't know what to do. What do you think? Wait a minute. Maybe I'm trying to solve the wrong problem! I mean, every person on my list is important. I can't just go through a list and figure out who is more important than everyone else. I shouldn't make my list shorter. I just need to find a bigger place for the party. Right?
You know, Jesus' disciples also thought there wasn't enough room. They were always trying to figure out who was important, who really needed to be with Jesus, and who should be put aside. You know who they thought was less important? Children. But that's not right, is it? That's what Jesus said too. He told them that children were very important to God's work on earth, and the disciples were making a mistake in trying to keep the children away. Sometimes we get stuck in our own idea of things. We think there's not enough love or space to go around. We forget that God has unlimited space and unlimited love too. There's enough space and love for God to take care of everybody. Our job is to remember how important we are and how important everyone else is to God and to learn how to be welcoming to everyone. You know what I'm going do? I am going find another place to hold my party, and I'm going invite everyone, and I'm going have a great time!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for all the people in our lives and all the people right now around the world who are gathering around your table as family. Help us to remember that just as there's always room in your heart for another person, there's still also room for us. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment we want to talk more about all the relationships that make up our lives. First encourage the children to think of very close relationships: parents, best friends, siblings. Then help them to think of people they see but don't know very well: classmates, teachers, neighbors. Next, think about people who really bother them: bullies, younger siblings, people who are clingy or demanding. Finally, think about all the people in the world who they don't know personally but who still share this world with us God's heart: people from the past, people from other parts of the country, the world. Which of these groups is most important to us? There is a group that feels more significant, because we are attached to them. But the truth is each group is part of God's plan for our lives, and we learn from and are shaped by each other.
As a craft idea, give each child a template of a loaf of bread. Explain that this represents communion bread, a symbol of Christ's body that sustains and nourishes our spiritual life together. Invite the children to cut the bread into four pieces, maybe even creating some jagged, puzzle-like shapes. Then on each piece have the children either write the name of one of the groups discussed or draw a picture representing that group. Have the children then piece the loaf together again, like a puzzle, and glue it onto a larger piece of paper. How can we help God glue our world together? Invite the children to think about how they can increase their relationships with each group. For example, with our family we can increase our loving acts of kindness. In our classroom, we can spend time with people we don't know very well. For those who bother us, we can engage in intentional prayer for them, healing our feelings of annoyance or fear. For those people around the world we don't know, we can learn more about them, pray for them, and ask if there's a way we can support them. Close your class in a time of prayer.
Teaching As A Team:
Leader 1: Hey (name), you look a little worried. What's wrong?
Leader 2: I have a birthday party coming up, and I'm having it at this place that only holds twenty people.
Leader 1: And you have more than twenty people you want to invite?
Leader 2: Yeah. Maybe I should only invite the people who gave me the best gifts last year or maybe just those who are really good at soccer. Or maybe I should just get rid of all the girls.
Leader 1: Hmmm. I think you're trying to solve the wrong problem.
Leader 2: What do you mean?
Leader 1: Every person in our lives is important. We can't just go through a list and figure out who is more important than everyone else. I don't think you should make your list shorter.
Leader 2: What should I do then?
Leader 1: I think you need to find a bigger place for your party -- a place with room for everybody! You know, Jesus' disciples also thought there wasn't enough room. They were always trying to figure out who was important, who really needed to be with Jesus, and who should be put aside. You know who they thought was less important? Children.
Leader 2: That's not right!
Leader 1: That's what Jesus said. He told them that children were very important to God's work on earth, and the disciples were making a mistake in trying to keep the children away. Sometimes we get stuck in our own idea of things. We think there's not enough love or space to go around.
Leader 2: Like me, thinking about the room that only holds twenty people.
Leader 1: We forget that God has unlimited space and unlimited love too. There's enough space and love for God to take care of everybody. Our job is to remember how important we are and how important everyone else is to God and to learn how to be welcoming to everyone.
Leader 2: I am going find another place to hold my party, and I'm going invite everyone!
Leader 1: Sounds like you'll have a great time.
Teaching On Your Own: Hey guys, I have a problem. I have a birthday party coming up, and I'm having it at this place that only holds twenty people. Can you guess the problem? I have more than twenty people on my list to invite. So who should I take off the list? Maybe I should only invite the people who gave me the best gifts last year or maybe just those who are really good at soccer. Or maybe I should just get rid of all the girls. I don't know what to do. What do you think? Wait a minute. Maybe I'm trying to solve the wrong problem! I mean, every person on my list is important. I can't just go through a list and figure out who is more important than everyone else. I shouldn't make my list shorter. I just need to find a bigger place for the party. Right?
You know, Jesus' disciples also thought there wasn't enough room. They were always trying to figure out who was important, who really needed to be with Jesus, and who should be put aside. You know who they thought was less important? Children. But that's not right, is it? That's what Jesus said too. He told them that children were very important to God's work on earth, and the disciples were making a mistake in trying to keep the children away. Sometimes we get stuck in our own idea of things. We think there's not enough love or space to go around. We forget that God has unlimited space and unlimited love too. There's enough space and love for God to take care of everybody. Our job is to remember how important we are and how important everyone else is to God and to learn how to be welcoming to everyone. You know what I'm going do? I am going find another place to hold my party, and I'm going invite everyone, and I'm going have a great time!
Closing Prayer: Thank you, God, for all the people in our lives and all the people right now around the world who are gathering around your table as family. Help us to remember that just as there's always room in your heart for another person, there's still also room for us. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a home or classroom environment we want to talk more about all the relationships that make up our lives. First encourage the children to think of very close relationships: parents, best friends, siblings. Then help them to think of people they see but don't know very well: classmates, teachers, neighbors. Next, think about people who really bother them: bullies, younger siblings, people who are clingy or demanding. Finally, think about all the people in the world who they don't know personally but who still share this world with us God's heart: people from the past, people from other parts of the country, the world. Which of these groups is most important to us? There is a group that feels more significant, because we are attached to them. But the truth is each group is part of God's plan for our lives, and we learn from and are shaped by each other.
As a craft idea, give each child a template of a loaf of bread. Explain that this represents communion bread, a symbol of Christ's body that sustains and nourishes our spiritual life together. Invite the children to cut the bread into four pieces, maybe even creating some jagged, puzzle-like shapes. Then on each piece have the children either write the name of one of the groups discussed or draw a picture representing that group. Have the children then piece the loaf together again, like a puzzle, and glue it onto a larger piece of paper. How can we help God glue our world together? Invite the children to think about how they can increase their relationships with each group. For example, with our family we can increase our loving acts of kindness. In our classroom, we can spend time with people we don't know very well. For those who bother us, we can engage in intentional prayer for them, healing our feelings of annoyance or fear. For those people around the world we don't know, we can learn more about them, pray for them, and ask if there's a way we can support them. Close your class in a time of prayer.
