The Great Thanksgiving (Litany)
Children's sermon
Let Them Answer
(Ask the children to come forward at the usual time for the children's sermon to avoid interrupting the great thanksgiving, or following the offertory prayer.)
Good morning! Does anyone here like Thanksgiving? (LTA) What happens at Thanksgiving? (LTA) We get to eat a lot of turkey. Some of us go to visit relatives. Some of us watch a parade on television. We do lots of things, don't we? When I was growing up I remember going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was always a great time when we would get the whole family together. All of my aunts and uncles and cousins were there.
Let's pretend we are all going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Let's knock on the door. (Pretend to knock) Grandma comes to the door to greet us. My grandma was a hugger. Does your grandma like to hug you? (LTA) What do grandmas usually say when you come to visit? (LTA) They all have a different way of saying "Welcome to my home. I'm glad you are here!" don't they? (LTA) What do you say in return? (LTA) "Happy Thanksgiving!" or "It's good to be here!" Do you like to give Grandma a hug, too? (LTA) In the service we do something similar. This morning I'd like to talk with you about the first part of the Great Thanksgiving. The pastors says: "The Lord be with you." and we respond "And also with you." It's like giving one another a hug from the Lord, isn't it? My grandma always asked us if we were hungry. Does yours? (LTA) I think she knew the answer already, don't you? (LTA) Then, before we sat down to eat, Grandma would send us all off to do something. Can anyone guess what it was? (LTA) That's right. We went to wash our hands and clean up so we would come to the table with clean hands and faces. In our worship the pastor tells us to prepare something else. Does anyone know what that might be? (LTA) He says, "Lift up your hearts." and we respond, "We lift them to the Lord." What do you think that means? Do we take out our hearts and hold them up? (LTA) Our hearts are symbols of our deepest thoughts and feelings. So we are lifting them up to show them to God. Did your mom ever make you hold out your hands to see if they were really clean? (LTA) Mine did, too. And that's one thing we do in this prayer we sing together with the pastor. Lifting up our hearts, instead of our hands, can also be a way of showing God how happy we are to be here. We aren't sad or feeling down because we lift our hearts to the Lord.
What is one more thing you do at Thankgsiving, before eating? (LTA) Yes. We always give thanks. That's what the pastor is leading us to when he says, "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." After that we respond and say, "It is right to give him thanks and praise." It's fun to remember Thanksgiving, isn't it? Each time we sing those words in worship we can have those good memories. We can think of Jesus greeting us at his door, giving us a wonderful hug, inviting us to come to his Thanksgiving table, asking us to be happy and thankful, and joining us in prayer. What a wonderful meal it will be!
Good morning! Does anyone here like Thanksgiving? (LTA) What happens at Thanksgiving? (LTA) We get to eat a lot of turkey. Some of us go to visit relatives. Some of us watch a parade on television. We do lots of things, don't we? When I was growing up I remember going to Grandma and Grandpa's house. It was always a great time when we would get the whole family together. All of my aunts and uncles and cousins were there.
Let's pretend we are all going to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving. Let's knock on the door. (Pretend to knock) Grandma comes to the door to greet us. My grandma was a hugger. Does your grandma like to hug you? (LTA) What do grandmas usually say when you come to visit? (LTA) They all have a different way of saying "Welcome to my home. I'm glad you are here!" don't they? (LTA) What do you say in return? (LTA) "Happy Thanksgiving!" or "It's good to be here!" Do you like to give Grandma a hug, too? (LTA) In the service we do something similar. This morning I'd like to talk with you about the first part of the Great Thanksgiving. The pastors says: "The Lord be with you." and we respond "And also with you." It's like giving one another a hug from the Lord, isn't it? My grandma always asked us if we were hungry. Does yours? (LTA) I think she knew the answer already, don't you? (LTA) Then, before we sat down to eat, Grandma would send us all off to do something. Can anyone guess what it was? (LTA) That's right. We went to wash our hands and clean up so we would come to the table with clean hands and faces. In our worship the pastor tells us to prepare something else. Does anyone know what that might be? (LTA) He says, "Lift up your hearts." and we respond, "We lift them to the Lord." What do you think that means? Do we take out our hearts and hold them up? (LTA) Our hearts are symbols of our deepest thoughts and feelings. So we are lifting them up to show them to God. Did your mom ever make you hold out your hands to see if they were really clean? (LTA) Mine did, too. And that's one thing we do in this prayer we sing together with the pastor. Lifting up our hearts, instead of our hands, can also be a way of showing God how happy we are to be here. We aren't sad or feeling down because we lift our hearts to the Lord.
What is one more thing you do at Thankgsiving, before eating? (LTA) Yes. We always give thanks. That's what the pastor is leading us to when he says, "Let us give thanks to the Lord our God." After that we respond and say, "It is right to give him thanks and praise." It's fun to remember Thanksgiving, isn't it? Each time we sing those words in worship we can have those good memories. We can think of Jesus greeting us at his door, giving us a wonderful hug, inviting us to come to his Thanksgiving table, asking us to be happy and thankful, and joining us in prayer. What a wonderful meal it will be!
