1 Corinthians 12:12-31 The Body of Christ
 

Sermon / object lesson: Prior to your talk, have a child lie down on a large piece of cardboard so that you can trace the outline of his/her body. Then cut cardboard body part pieces into a simple “body puzzle.” During your kids talk hold up various cardboard “body parts” and discuss how all alone they are not much good. Get the children to each hold a body part and see if you can quickly hold them in place to make the whole body complete. Congratulate the children and explain how when the body is together it is alive and effective. Explain how each of us, with our different gifts is a part of the body of Christ. We need each other and we need to be together in unity if we are going to be effective in “being Jesus” to a broken world.

 

(As a Sunday school lesson you could go into much more detail about use of gifts, how we need each other, and the idea that we are the “hands and feet” of Jesus. We are the church, the physical manifestation of our risen Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.)

 

Objects Lesson items: Large cardboard body part “cut outs” made out of cardboard. I would suggest about ten body parts (left hand, right hand, head, left foot, etc.)

 

Children’s sermon: Good morning children! One of our bible readings this morning is from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In his letter Paul encourages the believers to all work together as one unit. He said that in the same way a body is made up of many parts, each of us is like a part of the body of Christ – his church. I’ll show you what I mean. (Bring out your cardboard body parts. Hold up some individual parts.) What this? Yes, it’s a hand. If a hand was all by itself would it be much good? Right. It wouldn’t. What’s this? Yes, it’s a foot. Would a foot be much good all on its own? Etc.

It’s pretty easy to see that each part of the body needs each other. Let’s see if we can put the parts of the body together into a whole body. (Hand out the different parts and help hold them in place (upright) so that everyone in the congregation can see. After you have all the parts in place give the children a cheer to congratulate them.) That’s wonderful. Please keep holding the body parts in place for a moment. Now all the parts are together and this person could do all kinds of good things. (You could give some examples.) Each one of us has different and special gifts and talents. Trying to use our gifts alone doesn’t really work. We need other people’s gifts and talents and other people need our gifts and talents. God made us to be together like different parts of the same body.