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Here is a quick one to pull together. You just need a pack of black balloons and a pack of brightly colored ones. Then some string or ribbon to tie two together (one of each) for each child. Bring them to church in a big black trash bag, so they can't guess their suprise!
The End Or The Beginning?
Pop quiz! Who is God's Son? (jesus) Who? (Jesus) What did you say? (JESUS!) Boy, you kids are really learning a lot about Jesus!
Remember last time, Jesus was in Capernaum and he helped all the people? Well, someone in the crown in Capernaum got an idea. He said, "Hey, Jesus, I have a good idea! Why don't you stay here in Capernaum forever and be our preacher at our church?!" Then someone else said, "I like that idea! Stay here Jesus, be our preacher." Then pretty soon everyone was saying what a good idea that was. "Jesus, stay here with us. Jesus, stay and be our preacher."
What did Jesus say? If you think Jesus said yes, raise your hand (three hands sneak up). If you think Jesus said no, raise your hand (three hands go up, one is a duplicate!) Okay, if you're not sure what Jesus said, raise both hands (this is fun, and everyone raises both hands, big laugh)! Well, the Bible tells us that Jesus said, (pause for dramatic effect)... He said, "I have to leave." (they are disappointed!) "BECAUSE God wants me to preach His good news to ALL people, not just here in Capernaum."
So, the people of Capernaum were sad, but they understood. Jesus was sad, too because he would miss the people of Capernaum. They loved Him, and He loved them. But also, Jesus was excited to be starting His first big preaching trip to ALL God's people. He wanted to meet them all. And He wanted to help them all. And He wanted to teach them all about God's good news.
And that's the good news! Jesus is for ALL people!
Did you notice that this story is about ending, but also about beginning? Jesus had to end His visit in Capernaum, and He had to begin preaching in other towns and cities. Did you know everytime we have an ending, we also get a beginning? Endings can be sad, right? But beginning can be fun, exciting, happy, joyful, running, jumping, laughing, clapping, GREAT!
When Kindergarten ends, you get to begin first grade!
When Spring ends, we get to begin to enjoy Summer!
When a Christian dies, it is the end of their life here on earth, and people are sad. But it is the beginning of their forever-life in heaven with Jesus, and that is the best new beginning anybody can ever get!
I have something to help you remember. These two balloons are tied together. What color is this one? (black) What color is the other one? (yellow) Which color is a sad color? (black) Which color is a happy color? (yellow) The black balloon is the ending, it is sad. The yellow balloon is the beginning, and it is happy. They are tied together because whenever we have an ending, we also get a new beginning. Just like Jesus got to begin His first big preaching trip to ALL God's people.
Bow heads, close eyes, fold hands.
Dear God,
Thank you for sending Jesus to be for ALL people, even us.
Thank you for endings, even though we get sad.
Thank you for beginnings, and help us to be glad.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Why is it that we don't hear much about John the Baptist, the goofy guy from the wilderness? God had John out there preparing the way for Jesus, and that makes me feel good. If God prepared the way for Jesus, He'll prepare my way for me (and you, and you, and you... ) ;-) I believe this because the Bible teaches we are "joint heirs with Jesus", not lesser siblings, but equal siblings, even though we are different from Jesus (duh, diety!) Since God is "not a respecter of persons" i.e. God doesn't play favorites, what He does for one of His children, He'll do for us all. What He did for Jesus, He'll do for us. What He promised Jeremiah (Jer. 29:11), He promises to us! I think kids can understand this, at least I'll try to teach it to them. Here goes...
Hi Everybody! I invited Dooley to come with me today. (Dooley waves, kids wave back.) We were having Puppet Bible Study at my house last week and someone mentioned John the Baptist. Dooley said, "Who's John the Baptist?" So I invited him to come with me this morning because we are going to talk about John the Baptist.
(speaking to puppet) Dooley, some of these church kids already know some things about John the Baptist. (turning to kids) Who knows what John the Baptist wore for clothing? (camel hair tunic, leather belt) Right! Do any of you know what John the Baptist ate for food? (locusts and wild honey) Good job! Can anybody tell Dooley where John the Baptist lived? (in the wilderness) Impressive!
This question is a little harder. John the Baptist had one main job to do. God gave him this job. What was John's main job? (they'll probably guess baptising people or preaching, etc.) You're getting close, but those are not quite the main job that God gave John the Baptist to do.
John the Baptist was supposed to prepare the way for Jesus! That means he had to get the people ready so Jesus could start His ministry. John the Baptist told the people that the Lord was coming, so they needed to repent from their sins and be baptized.
And you know what happened? (they don't know) Dooley, what do you think happened? (Dooley shakes his head, he doesn't know) Lots of people listened to John the Baptist. They came out of the city and towns just to listen to him. And they did repent from their sins, and they did get baptised by John the Baptist.
So Dooley, now you know! God gave John the Baptist a very important job to do. John the Baptist had to prepare the people for Jesus. Did he do his job? (puppet and kids nod) Yes, and he did a good job, too. He got the people ready for Jesus. So then John's job was done, and Jesus could start His ministry.
You see, God prepared the way for Jesus, and He let John the Baptist be His helper. God prepares our way, too. He said in the Bible, in Jeremiah, "I know the plans I have for you" (point to Dooley) and you (point to another), and you, and you, and all of us (pointing with each "you"), "good plans, not bad plans, to give us a future and a hope". See God has a plan for each one of us, a good plan, and He will help make our plan happen for us, just like he helped John the Baptist make His plan for Jesus happen. How cool is that?!
Now, I don't know how John got people's attention so that they would come out of the city and towns to hear him. I don't know if John blew a horn, but he might have. So I have a horn for each of you today. (Dooley claps his hands) This is not an inside toy! Only blow your horn outside, okay? (they all nod, of course!) Moms, Dads, they all agree to only blow their horns outside. (all laugh, pass out horns)
Let's all bow our heads, close our eyes, and fold our hands. Dear God, You prepared the way for Jesus, and You let John the Baptist help You with that! We know You have a plan for each of us, and thank You for caring about us so much. Please guide us along the paths You planned for us. We want to stay on Your good paths! In Jesus name we pray, Amen.
I can almost guarantee one of them will blow the horn in church, but that's okay. Hopefully no babies will cry! May God continually bless your ministry to His little ones. Thanks for reading :-)
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