Wine Into Water
Children's sermon
Children's Sermons A To Z
Exegetical Aim: Miracles do not make a Messiah; the Messiah made miracles.
Props: A bottle of unopened grape juice and two clear glasses the same size. One glass should be filled slightly more than half way with liquid bleach which you will pretend is water. You will want a tray or a small firm table on which to put everything. Place the two glasses side by side.
Lesson: Good morning! (response) Has anyone ever been to a wedding? (response) Was it fun? (response) Why was it fun? What do you do at a wedding? (response) There is a lot of food and drinks. There's also a big cake and everybody is dressed up. Jesus went to a wedding once and there were a lot of people. So many people were there they ran out of wine. Wine was very important at weddings during Jesus' time. So everybody was standing around and they had run out. What do you think happened? (response) If they don't know, don't answer yet.
What do I have here? (response) Grape juice, that's right. Grape juice is a kind of wine. It's a brand new bottle so I will have to open it. Pour the glass half full, and then take a drink to further prove it's grape juice. You will want the glass slightly less than half full. So what do you think happened at the wedding when they ran out of wine? (response) Mary came up to Jesus and asked him to do something about it. And, Jesus went up to the jars which were full of water and he touched them. When he touched them, do you know what happened? (response) The water turned into wine? (response) How did that happen? Point at the glasses: It's like turning water into grape juice. How did he do that? (response)
Do you think we could do that this morning? Turn this water into grape juice? (response) I don't think that I could do that, but I think I might be able to turn the grape juice into water. Do you think I can do that? (response) You don't think so? Pour the bleach into the glass with grape juice. It will turn clear. What do you think about that? (response)
Application: Now don't ask me to turn it back into grape juice. I can't do that because what I did was a trick. But, Jesus didn't have to use tricks. He simply touched the water and it turned into wine. You know how he was able to do that? (response) It's because he was God. And God can do anything.
Let's Pray: Jesus, we know you can make miracles happen. You can take the water and make it red wine. You can take ours lives and make them shine. Amen.
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Epiphany 2
1 Corinthians 12:1--11
Many Members, One Body
Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the unity of the body of Christ.
Props: A hula hoop.
Lesson: Today I want us to play a game. It is called "Pass the Hula Hoop." Do you want to play? (response) Okay, let's stand up. Form a circle and join hands. Place the hula hoop on one of the children's arms and then ask the children to form a circle holding hands. If there is not enough room for a circle, form a straight line. The object of this game is to make the hula hoop go all the way around the circle, but you cannot let go of each other's hands. And you cannot touch the hula hoop with your hands. You have to wiggle your body and step through the hoop in order to pass it to the next person. Are you ready? Go! Allow the children to wrestle with the problem. They will figure it out soon enough. Once the hoop has successfully passed around the circle a couple of times, have the children sit down.
Did you like the game? (response) Good! Let me ask you a question about the game. What were the different things that you had to do in order to pass the hula hoop? (jump, bend down, move the head, move the legs, etc.) Did you do all of those things at once, or did you have to do them at different times? (response) Yes, different times. And if someone on the other side of the circle was passing the hoop, were you still doing something? (response) You were still holding on, and some of you gave encouragement to those who had the hoop. But you were still one group doing one task.
Application: In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminded the Christians that the body of the church is one big body but it has many members. Your body has arms and legs and a head and feet. They don't do the same things, but they are still part of the same body. The same is true in your game. Not all of you did the same thing, but you were part of the same group. In the church, many people do different kinds of work, but we are all one church. Some people are good at encouraging others, some people pray, some people spread the word, some people help others a lot. But we are still part of the same church. All of you have something that you can do for the church. No matter what it is you can do, it is important. So I want you to think about what God wants you to do for the church. And remember to help others when they are doing what God wants them to do. Because the body is one and has many members.
Let's Pray: Thank you, God, for giving us the church. Thank you that you have given us different gifts to share with the church and for your sake. Amen.
?
Props: A bottle of unopened grape juice and two clear glasses the same size. One glass should be filled slightly more than half way with liquid bleach which you will pretend is water. You will want a tray or a small firm table on which to put everything. Place the two glasses side by side.
Lesson: Good morning! (response) Has anyone ever been to a wedding? (response) Was it fun? (response) Why was it fun? What do you do at a wedding? (response) There is a lot of food and drinks. There's also a big cake and everybody is dressed up. Jesus went to a wedding once and there were a lot of people. So many people were there they ran out of wine. Wine was very important at weddings during Jesus' time. So everybody was standing around and they had run out. What do you think happened? (response) If they don't know, don't answer yet.
What do I have here? (response) Grape juice, that's right. Grape juice is a kind of wine. It's a brand new bottle so I will have to open it. Pour the glass half full, and then take a drink to further prove it's grape juice. You will want the glass slightly less than half full. So what do you think happened at the wedding when they ran out of wine? (response) Mary came up to Jesus and asked him to do something about it. And, Jesus went up to the jars which were full of water and he touched them. When he touched them, do you know what happened? (response) The water turned into wine? (response) How did that happen? Point at the glasses: It's like turning water into grape juice. How did he do that? (response)
Do you think we could do that this morning? Turn this water into grape juice? (response) I don't think that I could do that, but I think I might be able to turn the grape juice into water. Do you think I can do that? (response) You don't think so? Pour the bleach into the glass with grape juice. It will turn clear. What do you think about that? (response)
Application: Now don't ask me to turn it back into grape juice. I can't do that because what I did was a trick. But, Jesus didn't have to use tricks. He simply touched the water and it turned into wine. You know how he was able to do that? (response) It's because he was God. And God can do anything.
Let's Pray: Jesus, we know you can make miracles happen. You can take the water and make it red wine. You can take ours lives and make them shine. Amen.
?
Epiphany 2
1 Corinthians 12:1--11
Many Members, One Body
Exegetical Aim: To demonstrate the unity of the body of Christ.
Props: A hula hoop.
Lesson: Today I want us to play a game. It is called "Pass the Hula Hoop." Do you want to play? (response) Okay, let's stand up. Form a circle and join hands. Place the hula hoop on one of the children's arms and then ask the children to form a circle holding hands. If there is not enough room for a circle, form a straight line. The object of this game is to make the hula hoop go all the way around the circle, but you cannot let go of each other's hands. And you cannot touch the hula hoop with your hands. You have to wiggle your body and step through the hoop in order to pass it to the next person. Are you ready? Go! Allow the children to wrestle with the problem. They will figure it out soon enough. Once the hoop has successfully passed around the circle a couple of times, have the children sit down.
Did you like the game? (response) Good! Let me ask you a question about the game. What were the different things that you had to do in order to pass the hula hoop? (jump, bend down, move the head, move the legs, etc.) Did you do all of those things at once, or did you have to do them at different times? (response) Yes, different times. And if someone on the other side of the circle was passing the hoop, were you still doing something? (response) You were still holding on, and some of you gave encouragement to those who had the hoop. But you were still one group doing one task.
Application: In 1 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul reminded the Christians that the body of the church is one big body but it has many members. Your body has arms and legs and a head and feet. They don't do the same things, but they are still part of the same body. The same is true in your game. Not all of you did the same thing, but you were part of the same group. In the church, many people do different kinds of work, but we are all one church. Some people are good at encouraging others, some people pray, some people spread the word, some people help others a lot. But we are still part of the same church. All of you have something that you can do for the church. No matter what it is you can do, it is important. So I want you to think about what God wants you to do for the church. And remember to help others when they are doing what God wants them to do. Because the body is one and has many members.
Let's Pray: Thank you, God, for giving us the church. Thank you that you have given us different gifts to share with the church and for your sake. Amen.
?
