Quiet Time
Children's sermon
Object: A hard-boiled egg, a teaspoon, and a bowl. REMEMBER TO USE A HARD-BOILED EGG! If necessary, use a plastic egg. Put the bowl at the spot you want the child to carry the egg to.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? Outstanding! Let's hear our story!
Jesus had been going around talking to people and helping them if they needed help. One day, Jesus asked his friends to travel around the country and help people the way he was helping them. They went out for a few days, and when then they came back to tell him all the things they had done. There was a big group of people around him wanting him to do things for them. There were so many people they couldn’t talk and couldn’t even get time to eat anything. Finally, Jesus told his friends, “Come with me so we can be by ourselves and get some rest.” And then they walked down to the lake and got in a boat to go someplace quiet and rest. But the people guessed where he was going and when Jesus and his friends got to the place the crowd of people was there waiting for them. And even more people heard where Jesus had gone and they all started coming to see him. I don’t think Jesus and his friends got much rest, do you? (Let them respond.)
Now, I have a question for you. Have you ever been so busy that you got tired? I mean, really, really, really tired? (Let them respond.) Have you ever had a lot of work to do, or maybe were with a big bunch of people and it was really noisy and busy? (Let them respond.) What is it like when things get that noisy and busy? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we get a headache and get kind of grumpy, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And when we get that tired, it can be pretty hard to think, can’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when I’m someplace that noisy and busy I just get tired and want to find someplace quiet where I can rest for a bit, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
I have a little game for us to play to see what can happen to us when it is really busy and noise around us. I need someone to help us. (Select the child who will carry the egg, give them the spoon, and have them stand.) First, let’s try it this way. What I want you to do is put the egg in the spoon, and then walk all the way over to that bowl and put the egg inside it. Take your time, there is no rush. Ready? Go! (Cheer the child along and congratulate them when they succeed. If they happen to drop the egg, just tell them to take a deep breath, pick it back up, and keep going.) You made it! Congratulations!
Now, bring me the egg so we can try it again. (Take the egg and start to give it back to them again, but stop.) But this time, let’s try something different. I need everyone else to stand up. (Have the rest of your children stand.) Now, when he/she starts carrying the egg, I want you to move around and make a lot of noise like you are really busy. You can shout and yell, move and jump around, whatever you want, but there is just one rule. You can get as close as you want to the person carrying the egg, but you cannot touch them, and you cannot touch the spoon, or the egg. Okay, let’s see what happens. Ready. Set. Go! (Have fun with this, encouraging the egg carrier and spurring the noise makers to be as distracting as possible while following the one rule. If it helps get things going, go ahead and get in the group and do your part to try and distract the egg carrier.)
How did that go? (Let them respond.) It can be a bit harder to think when there is a lot of noise around us can’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus knew his friends were tired and distracted by all of the people around them, so that’s why he wanted to take them someplace quiet so they could rest, and think. Jesus remembered the story about Elijah.
Elijah was a prophet a long time ago, and there were a lot of people following him around just like the people who were following Jesus. But the people following Elijah were mad at him and wanted to hurt him. Every time he tried to think, someone would show up and cause trouble again. He was tired. And I’ll bet he had a headache, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Finally, Elijah prayed and asked God to tell him what he should do. An angel came and told him to go wait in a cave, and God would come and talk to him there. So Elijah went into the cave and waited for God to come. When he went inside, the wind started blowing outside. It got stronger, and stronger, and blew stuff all over the place. Elijah thought the wind must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the big wind.
Then, the cave started shaking, and there was a great, big earthquake. Elijah thought that must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the earthquake.
Then a bright light started shining into the cave. It was a fire. A really big fire. It burned and burned so big and right that Elijah thought that it must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the huge fire.
Then Elijah heard something. It sounded like a really quiet, teeny-tiny, small voice outside the cave. He went to the door of the cave and peeked out, and the voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” It was God talking to him, telling Elijah how God was going to help him with his problems. God wasn’t in the noise. God was in the quiet.
I have one more question for you. When was the last time you were someplace that was really, really quiet where you could rest and think? (Let them respond.) There was no noise, no people, no phones, no music, no games, no books, no wind, no earthquakes, no fires, just you. Jesus knew that his friends needed that kind of quiet time so they could hear God’s voice, and he knows that sometimes, we need it too. (Hold up the egg and spoon.) Especially when we have things we need to think about.
I hope we can remember that God did not create us to be like the wind, or an earthquake, or a fire, but God created us to quietly take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And 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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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? Outstanding! Let's hear our story!
Jesus had been going around talking to people and helping them if they needed help. One day, Jesus asked his friends to travel around the country and help people the way he was helping them. They went out for a few days, and when then they came back to tell him all the things they had done. There was a big group of people around him wanting him to do things for them. There were so many people they couldn’t talk and couldn’t even get time to eat anything. Finally, Jesus told his friends, “Come with me so we can be by ourselves and get some rest.” And then they walked down to the lake and got in a boat to go someplace quiet and rest. But the people guessed where he was going and when Jesus and his friends got to the place the crowd of people was there waiting for them. And even more people heard where Jesus had gone and they all started coming to see him. I don’t think Jesus and his friends got much rest, do you? (Let them respond.)
Now, I have a question for you. Have you ever been so busy that you got tired? I mean, really, really, really tired? (Let them respond.) Have you ever had a lot of work to do, or maybe were with a big bunch of people and it was really noisy and busy? (Let them respond.) What is it like when things get that noisy and busy? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we get a headache and get kind of grumpy, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And when we get that tired, it can be pretty hard to think, can’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when I’m someplace that noisy and busy I just get tired and want to find someplace quiet where I can rest for a bit, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
I have a little game for us to play to see what can happen to us when it is really busy and noise around us. I need someone to help us. (Select the child who will carry the egg, give them the spoon, and have them stand.) First, let’s try it this way. What I want you to do is put the egg in the spoon, and then walk all the way over to that bowl and put the egg inside it. Take your time, there is no rush. Ready? Go! (Cheer the child along and congratulate them when they succeed. If they happen to drop the egg, just tell them to take a deep breath, pick it back up, and keep going.) You made it! Congratulations!
Now, bring me the egg so we can try it again. (Take the egg and start to give it back to them again, but stop.) But this time, let’s try something different. I need everyone else to stand up. (Have the rest of your children stand.) Now, when he/she starts carrying the egg, I want you to move around and make a lot of noise like you are really busy. You can shout and yell, move and jump around, whatever you want, but there is just one rule. You can get as close as you want to the person carrying the egg, but you cannot touch them, and you cannot touch the spoon, or the egg. Okay, let’s see what happens. Ready. Set. Go! (Have fun with this, encouraging the egg carrier and spurring the noise makers to be as distracting as possible while following the one rule. If it helps get things going, go ahead and get in the group and do your part to try and distract the egg carrier.)
How did that go? (Let them respond.) It can be a bit harder to think when there is a lot of noise around us can’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus knew his friends were tired and distracted by all of the people around them, so that’s why he wanted to take them someplace quiet so they could rest, and think. Jesus remembered the story about Elijah.
Elijah was a prophet a long time ago, and there were a lot of people following him around just like the people who were following Jesus. But the people following Elijah were mad at him and wanted to hurt him. Every time he tried to think, someone would show up and cause trouble again. He was tired. And I’ll bet he had a headache, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Finally, Elijah prayed and asked God to tell him what he should do. An angel came and told him to go wait in a cave, and God would come and talk to him there. So Elijah went into the cave and waited for God to come. When he went inside, the wind started blowing outside. It got stronger, and stronger, and blew stuff all over the place. Elijah thought the wind must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the big wind.
Then, the cave started shaking, and there was a great, big earthquake. Elijah thought that must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the earthquake.
Then a bright light started shining into the cave. It was a fire. A really big fire. It burned and burned so big and right that Elijah thought that it must be God coming to see him, but God did not come with the huge fire.
Then Elijah heard something. It sounded like a really quiet, teeny-tiny, small voice outside the cave. He went to the door of the cave and peeked out, and the voice said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” It was God talking to him, telling Elijah how God was going to help him with his problems. God wasn’t in the noise. God was in the quiet.
I have one more question for you. When was the last time you were someplace that was really, really quiet where you could rest and think? (Let them respond.) There was no noise, no people, no phones, no music, no games, no books, no wind, no earthquakes, no fires, just you. Jesus knew that his friends needed that kind of quiet time so they could hear God’s voice, and he knows that sometimes, we need it too. (Hold up the egg and spoon.) Especially when we have things we need to think about.
I hope we can remember that God did not create us to be like the wind, or an earthquake, or a fire, but God created us to quietly take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And 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.
