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The Torn Curtain

Children's sermon
Alleluia!
Messages For Children On Lent And Easter Themes
There is a story that says there was once a very large religious statue in a temple, but one day a mighty storm tore down and destroyed the temple and the huge statue stood exposed to sun and rain and wind for many years. When a priest began to raise money to rebuild the temple, the statue came to him in a dream and said, "That temple where you put me was a prison, not a home. I prefer the storms of life, for that is where I belong."

In our sacred story for today we hear of the curtain of the Temple. In the Temple in Jerusalem was a room called the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could enter, for this was the dwelling of God. In it was a curtain, keeping out the people and the light. When Jesus died on the cross, the curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom.

There is another story that says a teacher asked his very wise friends, "Where is the dwelling of God?" They spread their arms wide and said, "All the creation, the universe, is God's home!" Then the teacher answered his own question. "The dwelling of God is wherever people let God in."

Talk together: Where do you think God is? Is God in the church? Is God in the world? Is God within us? The good news is that God cannot be confined nor completely explained. Jesus called God a Loving Parent, so we talk with God as with a loving parent.

Prayer: Dear Loving Parent, thank you for being closer to us than our own breathing and further away than the farthest star. Amen.

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Object: A pig stuffie.

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Leader: I'm so glad you're here! There are seats for everyone; there's slight air movement; the windows engender tranquility and imagination and words will stimulate fresh thoughts.

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