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Children's Activity

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Big numbers -- Matthew 18:21-35 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 19 | Ordinary Time 24 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Clean indeed -- Matthew 17:1-9 -- Leah Thompson -- Transfiguration Sunday - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Doin' time -- Matthew 20:1-16 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 20 | Ordinary Time 25 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Dear heavenly Father... -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- Leah Thompson -- Ash Wednesday - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Good works -- Matthew 21:23-32 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 21 | Ordinary Time 26 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Repentance -- Matthew 4:1-11 -- Leah Thompson -- First Sunday in Lent - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Produce aisle -- Matthew 21:33-46 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 22 | Ordinary Time 27 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
No fear -- Matthew 17:1-9 -- Leah Thompson -- Second Sunday in Lent - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Detail work -- Matthew 22:1-14 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 23 | Ordinary Time 28 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Here in this place -- John 4:5-42 -- Leah Thompson -- Third Sunday in Lent - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Money, money, money -- Matthew 22:15-22 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 24 | Ordinary Time 29 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Hard work -- John 9:1-41 -- Leah Thompson -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Love -- Matthew 22:34-46 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 25 | Ordinary Time 30 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Mary stayed at home -- John 11:1-45 -- Leah Thompson -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Copycat -- Matthew 23:1-12 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 26 | Ordinary Time 31 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Betrayed -- Matthew 26:14--27:66 -- Leah Thompson -- Passion Sunday - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Fair play -- Matthew 5:1-12 -- Leah Thompson -- All Saints Day - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Be prepared -- Matthew 25:1-13 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Feet -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- Leah Thompson -- Maundy Thursday - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Wall street -- Matthew 25:14-30 -- Leah Thompson -- Proper 28 | Ordinary Time 33 - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Just deserts -- John 18:1--19:42 -- Leah Thompson -- Good Friday - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
For you -- Matthew 25:31-46 -- Leah Thompson -- Christ The King (Proper 29) - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Arise! -- John 20:1-18 -- Leah Thompson -- Easter Day - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Rate of response -- Luke 17:11-19 -- Leah Thompson -- Thanksgiving Day - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME
Peace be with you -- John 20:19-31 -- Leah Thompson -- Second Sunday of Easter - A -- 2011
SHARING THIS WEEK'S GOSPEL THEME AT SUNDAY SCHOOL AND AT HOME

Children's sermon

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If You Do Them! -- John 13:1-17, 31b-35 -- John Jamison -- Maundy Thursday - C -- 2025
Object: A bowl and a towel.* * *
Seeing Jesus! -- John 20:19-31 -- John Jamison -- Second Sunday of Easter - C -- 2025
Object: This message is a role-play for your children and requires no additional ob
Do You Love Me? -- John 21:1-19 -- John Jamison -- Third Sunday of Easter - C -- 2025
Object: A sheep or lamb stuffed animal.
True Light! -- John 1:(1-9) 10-18 -- John Jamison -- Second Sunday after Christmas - C -- 2025
Object: A small candle and a bright flashlight.
Being Honest! -- Matthew 2:1-12 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany of the Lord - C -- 2025
Object: A large paper bag with candy or stickers inside, depending on what you are
No Junk! -- Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 -- John Jamison -- The Baptism of our Lord | Epiphany 1 | Ordinary Time 1 - C -- 2025
Object: A garbage bag. * * *
Why?! -- John 2:1-11 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 2 | Ordinary Time 2 - C -- 2025
Object: A piece of paper for each child.
The Year of The Lord! -- Luke 4:14-21 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 3 | Ordinary Time 3 - C -- 2025
Object: A 2025 calendar.* * *
The Greatest And The Least! -- Luke 4:21-30 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 4 | Ordinary Time 4 - C -- 2025
Object: A sign that says, “The Home of Jesus!” (
One More Time -- Luke 5:1-11 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 5 | Ordinary Time 5 - C -- 2025
Object: This message is a role play about Jesus and the fishermen.
Backward Jesus -- Luke 6:17-26 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 6 | Ordinary Time 6 - C -- 2025
Object: A mirror.
Little Boxes -- Luke 6:27-38 -- John Jamison -- Epiphany 7 | Ordinary Time 7 - C -- 2025
Object: Two small containers or boxes and several pieces of paper.
The Jesus Shirt -- Luke 9:28-36 (37-43a) -- John Jamison -- Transfiguration Sunday - C -- 2025
Object: A Jesus shirt.
Be Quiet! -- Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 -- John Jamison -- Ash Wednesday - C -- 2025
Object: A phone with a camera, a candy bar, and all kinds of noisemakers.
Temptation -- Luke 4:1-13 -- John Jamison -- First Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
Object: Two pairs of headphones.
Lion or Fox! -- Luke 13:31-35 -- John Jamison -- Second Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
Object: Two stuffed animals: a lion and a fox.* * *
The Fig Trees! -- Luke 13:1-9 -- John Jamison -- Third Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
Object: Two garden plants. One plant is healthy and looks great.
Two Sons -- Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 -- John Jamison -- Fourth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
Object: A rock about the size of a tennis ball, baseball, or even a softball.
The Smell of Money -- John 12:1-8 -- John Jamison -- Fifth Sunday in Lent - C -- 2025
Object: A small pillow or cushion, a bowl, and a jar.
Being Young -- Luke 22:14--23:56 -- John Jamison -- Passion Sunday - C -- 2025
Object: The object for this message is an activity for your children.
The End? -- John 18:1--19:42 -- John Jamison -- Good Friday - C -- 2025
Object: A box of Kleenex?* * *
The Beginning! -- Luke 24:1-12 -- John Jamison -- Easter Day - C -- 2025
Activity: The Easter Game. See the note. 
Understanding -- Mark 4:26-34 -- John Jamison -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B -- 2024
Object: A packet of mustard seeds, or a packet of the smallest seeds you can find.
Tears! -- John 11:32-44 -- John Jamison -- All Saints Day - B -- 2024
Object: A box of tissues.* * *
The Other Side! -- Mark 4:35-41 -- John Jamison -- Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - B -- 2024
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving th

Sermon

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Questions about you -- 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 (11-13) 14-17 -- Proper 6 | Ordinary Time 11 - B
Good morning, boys and girls. How well do you think you know your mother and father?
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John Jamison
Object: A sheep or lamb stuffed animal.

Note: For the best experience, when you ask the questions, take the time to draw the children out a bit and help them come up with answers. Make it more of a conversation if you can.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started! (Hold the sheep in your lap as you continue.)

The Immediate Word

Dean Feldmeyer
Katy Stenta
Thomas Willadsen
Christopher Keating
George Reed
Mary Austin
For May 4, 2025:

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, singing with full voice… (vv. 11-12a)

Phillip Hasheider is a retired Wisconsin beef farmer and an award-winning author who was dead for six minutes and came back to tell about it. If you have ever thought about dying and wondered what it would be like, then Hasheider’s Six Minutes in Eternity is a book you will want to read.

Emphasis Preaching Journal

David Coffin
A medical worker is working long, hard, stress filled hours in an urban hospital setting. One day he or she is called into the administrator’s office to be terminated due to angering professionals in the upper echelon. The worker protests that it is, “My word against their word, why am I to be the scapegoat?” The administrator pulls rank! The worker is asked to turn in their badge and do not come into the premises again unless as a patient. The now unemployed medical worker still feels the calling to be a healer. So, they get a job at an alternative/natural health medicine store.
Mark Ellingsen
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Bonnie Bates
Acts 9:1-6 (7-20)
Martin Luther believed that the story of Paul’s conversion demonstrates that there is no need for special revelation. The reformer commented:

Our Lord God does not purpose some special thing for each individual person, but gives to the whole world — one person like the next — his baptism and gospel. (Complete Sermons, Vol.7, p.271)

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
I've recently spent several hours by the lakeside, for I've been in retreat this past week in the little village of Hemingford Grey, in Huntingdonshire. A great delight for me was to walk to the flooded gravel pits, sit on a bench in glorious sunshine, and watch the water birds. For me, that's a wonderful way to become very aware of the presence of God through the beauty of his created world. And sitting like that for several hours, doing nothing but watching and waiting, I can't help but absorb the peace which passes all understanding.

SermonStudio

Constance Berg
When Beth was a teenager, she lived on the streets. She smoked cigarettes and drank beer and her parents had said that she had to choose: her friends or her family. Beth chose her friends and lived from house to house and eventually in homeless shelters. She barely avoided being raped at one point. About six months of shelter-hopping was all she could take, and she found a shelter that sponsored her until she took the GED. They told her she was brilliant: she was just bored and dissatisfied with the status quo. The shelter supervisors suggested she look into community college.
James Evans
(For alternative approaches, see Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B; and Proper 9/Pentecost 7/Ordinary Time 14, Cycle C.)

The main theme of this psalm is captured profoundly in the movement within a single verse: "Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with morning" (v. 5). Casting life experiences between light and dark is not unique or novel, of course, but the poet's treatment of these themes offers some fertile ground for reflection.

Elizabeth Achtemeier
We have three different accounts of the conversion of Saul in the Gospel according to Luke (9:1-20; 22:6-16; 26:12-18). They differ in a few minor details, but essentially they are the same. In addition, Paul writes of his conversion in Galatians 1:11-16, and in 1 Corinthians 9:1 and 15:8-9, stating that at the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus, he saw the Lord. For Paul, that made him an apostle, equal to the twelve. An apostle, in Paul's thought, was one who had seen the risen Christ and had been sent to announce that good news.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
Once in a far-off land, there was a great king whose dominion extended far and wide. His power and authority were absolute. One day, as events would happen, a young man, a commoner, committed a grave offense against the king. In response, the king and his counselors gathered together to determine what should be done. They decided that since the offense was so grave and had been committed by a commoner against someone so august as the king, the only punishment that would satisfy justice was death.

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