Main Idea:  As Jesus did miracles people saw God.

Scripture Reference:  John 9:1-12

Categories:  Jesus

Supplies:  Clear pitcher of water, a clear jar with a dead bug in it

I have here a pitcher of water.  Who thinks I can change this into Root Beer?  Is it impossible?  (Let children answer.)  How would I do it?  (Let them speculate.)  I can’t.  There is nothing I can do to physically change this water into Root Beer.  It would be a miracle.  What is a miracle?  (Give them an opportunity to answer.)  A miracle is something that can’t be explained, that a person couldn’t do.

Would it be a miracle if I could make this dead bug come to life?  Yes.  Do you think I can do it?  (Let them answer.)  I can’t.  There is nothing I can do to physically make this bug come alive.  It would be a miracle.

Jesus did miracles when he lived on earth.  Do you know what miracles Jesus did?  (Let them answer.)  He turned water into wine.  He made Lazarus who was his friend and had been dead three days come back to life. 

How could Jesus do that?  Because He is God.  As Jesus did miracles people saw God.  Can God do the impossible?  Anything?  Does God have mysterious power?  Yes.

Our God is a God of miracles.  And the biggest miracle was making Jesus come alive after He died on the cross.  And God did that because He loves us.  We have a great God!  And He loves you.

Main Idea:  Jesus can do great things through you.

Scripture:  John 6:1-15

Categories:  Sharing, Equipping the church, Giving, Generosity

Supplies:  Goldfish Crackers, a loaf of white bread in plastic, 5 small loaves of bread

How many people do you think are here in church today?  (Let children answer then give you best guess.)  So there is 250 people here today.  What would happen if we stayed here worshipping for four hours?  It would be noon time and we would be hungry.  Did any of you bring food to church this morning?  (Let children tell what they brought.)

Well this very thing happen to Jesus and 5000 people.  They were listening to Jesus for hours, they got hungry.  No one brought any food, except one little boy.  He brought 2 fish(hold up 2 goldfish crackers).  Is this the kind of fish he brought?  No he had real fish, 2 of them and 5 loaves of bread.  Like this(hold up a loaf of sliced white bread in plastic)?  No it was probably more like this(show small round loaf).

Could all of us in here get enough to eat with 5 loaves and 2 fish?  With Jesus we could.  Jesus took the loaves looked up to heaven, why?  To give thanks to God.  The disciples then gave out the food.  When they went to pick up the leftovers do you know how many baskets were left?  (Let kids guess)  There were 12 baskets from 2 fish and 5 loaves that fed 5000 people.

All from the gift of one boy.

Do you have gifts for Jesus?  Sure you do.  You praise, serve, pray, give and love.  Those are gifts you can give to Jesus.  And Jesus can take those gifts and do wonderful and miraculous things.  Jesus is great!  He will do great things through your gifts!

Take 2 goldfish back with you.  And share one!

Main Idea: God helps us live in the present by taking care of the future and the past.

Scripture Reference: Matthew 6:34

Supplies: Three signs: “Past”, “Future”, “Now”

(Meet the children halfway up the center aisle. Ask one child to hold the sign that says “Now”. Ask two other volutneers–adults or kids–to hold “Future”–at the top of the aisle, and “Past”–at the bottom of the aisle)

You know, as human beings, we sometimes get anxious. We can get anxious about two things. One is the future (point to the person holding the “Future” sign). What does that word mean, “future”?

Kids: “Things that haven’t happened yet.” “What’s going to happen tomorrow or next week.”

Right. The future is anything that hasn’t happened yet. Sometimes we worry about the future, wonder about the future, get scared about the future.

Another thing that we get anxious about is the past (point to the person holding the “Past” sign). What is the “past”?

Kids: “Things that have already happened.”

Right. And sometimes we feel hurt about the past or mad about the past. Kids, God doesn’t want us to worry about the future, because He is taking care of the future. We can trust Him with what is going to happen in the future. He also doesn’t want us thinking too much about the past. God can hela the things that have hurt us in the past.

God wants us to let go of the future and and the past and live right here in (point at the child holding the “now” sign) today! We don’t want to miss what God has in mind for us today by living in the future or the past. LEt’s ask Him to help us.

Let’s pray:

Dear Father in Heaven, Thank You so much for taking care of the future and the past. Help me to live with You, NOW. Amen.

Main Idea:  Pastor teaches us about Jesus, so that we can go tell others about Jesus.

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 4:11-13

Categories:  Equipping the church, Witnessing

Supplies:  Plastice spoons for all the children

(Before the childrens message practice hanging a spoon on your nose.  It helps by gently breathing on it before you gently hang it on the tip of your nose.  Then teach several children or youth beforehand that will be there to help you teach the other children at the message.) 

Look at what I can do.  (Hang spoon on your nose.)  So that is good, but do you know what would be better?  It would be even better if a bunch of us could do it.  How could that happen?  I could teach some people and those people could teach people until all have been taught how to hang a spoon on your nose.

Pastor’s job is to do what?  To teach us about Jesus so we know him more and more.  Is it only Pastor who can teach others about Jesus?  No.  He teaches us about Jesus.  Other people in our church and at home teach us about Jesus.  And then what?  We go tell who about Jesus?  Friends, neighbors, family, teammates, anyone.  It’s not just Pastor.  All us are to tell about Jesus. 

Let’s hang spoons.  I have taught a few people to do it.  Now they are going to teach you.  (Have your helpers hand out spoons and tell a group of children what to do.)  You are learning.  How many of you want to give it a try.  Ready?  Blow warm air gently on your spoon.  Gently press it against the tip of your nose.  Let go.  (Let them do it and as they do some spoons will drop to the floor.)  So do you quit and give up if you can’t do it?  No.  You keep on trying.

That is the same as when we tell others about Jesus.  It might not seem to work at first, but we keep on. 

Who’s job is it to tell others about Jesus?  All of us!  Keep on learning about Jesus and telling others!

Main Idea: God gives us what we need to give ourselves and our lives away to others.

Scripture Reference(s): Luke 6:38

Categories: Giving, Sharing, Stewardship, Generosity, Money

Supplies: medium-sized exercise ball

(Bounce the ball on the way up the aisle to get attention. Welcome children to the front.)

This is my green ball. I love this ball. I keep this ball in my office because I like to play with it and it makes me smile. What happens when I drop it?

Kids: “It bounces.”

Right. Bouncing is just what this ball does. When I drop it or push on it, it bounces. What if I put it on the ground like this (put the ball on the ground) and say, “OK, ball. bounce.” It just sits there. Maybe if I yell at it: “Ball. Come on. You’re not trying hard enough. BOUNCE. I said BOUNCE.”

We’re kind of like this ball, boys and girls. God wants us to give ourselves and our lives to other people. He wants us to give love, peace, forgiveness, food, stuff, money. Kind of like this:

(As you send the ball down to the ground, say): God gives love.

(As it bounces, say): We give love away.

Main Idea: God wants us to be in relationship with Him, with other believers, and reaching out in love to the world.

Scripture Reference: Ephesians 1:18-19, 3:18-19, 5:15-16

Categories: Love,  Relationship with God, Relationship with Others, Lectionary Series B, Ascension

Supplies: Couch Cushion, picture of friend and a Box Brownie Mix

Note:  The couch cushion represents a place where I spend time reading the Bible and praying.  The Brownie Mix represents something I would do to show God’s love to someone who doesn’t know Him.  Personalize these for yourself.

Hold up three fingers.  There are three things that God wants us to do.  (Hold up one finger)  Here’s the first.  (Hold up the couch cushion)  God wants us to meet with Him.  This is the cushion on my favorite chair where I sit to pray, read the Bible and think about God.  God wants us to get to know Him more.  And we can do this anywhere.  Where is your favorite place to meet with God?  (Let kids share) Number one is meet with God.

Number two thing, God wants us to have good friends.  (Show picture of Sue) This is my good friend Sue.  She lives far away in New York.  But we both love Jesus and we love to laugh and talk and we pray for each other.  What do you do with your good friends?  (Let kids share) God loves for us to have good friends.

(Hold up three fingers) And the number three thing God wants, is for us to invite people to get to know God.  People can get to know God when we show love to them.  (Show Brownie Mix) I like to cook and bake.  I can show love to others who don’t know God is great, by baking and giving them brownies.

What are the three things God wants us to do?

Number one. (Hold up one finger and the cushion) Meet with Him.

Number two. (Hold up two fingers and the picture) Have good friends.

Number three. (Hold up three fingers and the Brownie Mix) Invite people to get to know our great God by showing love to them.

Can you do all of these?  Yes you can, with God you can, because God is amazing and powerful and great!

Welcome to Best Friends Children’s Messages. Cheri and I will get started on this next week…