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Is God Here?

Children's sermon
Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a)
Transfiguration Sunday - C
John Jamison
Peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As the men were leaving Jesus, Peter said to him, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” (vv. 32-33)

Object: Have two cards to show. One should be a card for a celebration like a birthday card, and the other should be a card for something sad, like a ‘get well’ or sympathy card.

Hello, everyone! Are you ready for today’s story? (Let them respond.)

But, before I tell you the story, I have something to show you (Show the two cards.) Who can tell me what I have here? (Let them respond.) They are cards we might send to people, aren’t they? This one (show the happy card) is one we might send to someone who is having something happy happening in their life, like a birthday. Can you think of other times we might send someone a happy card? (Let them respond.) Yes. And this one (show the sad card) is one we might send to someone who is having a sad or difficult time, like they are sick, or can you think of other sad times we might send someone a card like this one? (Let them respond.) Yes.

In our story today, Jesus and his disciples were really tired because of all the people who had been coming to see them every day. They were exhausted, and if we were there, which kind of card do you think we might have sent them? (Show the two cards and let them respond.) Probably a sad card, right? Because they were so tired and worn out. Well, Jesus didn’t give them a card, but he did take them on a short trip so they could get away from all the people and get some rest. Have you ever been really tired and just needed some quiet time for yourself? (Let them respond.) Yes, that has happened to me, too.

Jesus took them on a hike to a mountain a few miles away. When they got to the top, they all just sat around and rested for a while. But while they were there, something happened. Something happened that let them know that God was right there with them on that mountain. It would probably be pretty exciting if God showed up with us right here, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) Well, the disciples got all excited on the mountain top, and were having a great time. Which kind of card do you think we would send them now? A happy card or a sad card? (Let them respond.) Probably a happy card, right? They were having a great time, and thought it was a lot better than the time they spent back down the mountain. In fact, they were having such a great time on that mountain, they didn’t want to go back down with the people, and they begged Jesus to let them stay up there where everything felt good and happy.

I think we usually like the happy times better than the sad times too, don’t we? (Let them respond.) We would rather get happy cards than sad cards, wouldn’t we? (Let them respond.) And, sometimes when we are having a sad time, we even think maybe God isn’t with us anymore, don’t we? (Let them respond.)

Well, Jesus didn’t let them stay on that mountain top. He took them all back down the hill and back so they could help the people who were waiting for them. He took them back to the hard work, instead of staying where everything was happy. But Jesus told them not to worry about it, and that God would be with them no matter what kind of day they were having; a happy one or a sad one. And Jesus wants us to remember that God is with us all the time. Even when we are feeling really sad, or really scared, or really alone, Jesus wants us to know that we are never alone. God is always with us.

So, the next time you are having one of those sad times, remember that God hasn’t left you or forgotten about you. God is with us no matter what kind of day we are having. And the next time you see someone who is having one of those sad times…I hope you will remember that God loves them and wants us to help take care of them. So maybe we can do something or say something to let them know they aren’t alone. Because remember, God loves every one of us no matter who we are, what we have, where we are from, or even what kind of day we are having.

I hope you will remember how much God loves you, and how much God wants us to love other people and help them know how much God loves them, too.

Let’s have our prayer and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other.

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. Please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
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