New Year

  • A New Year and a New Start

     Kids Sermon - "Time for a New Start!"

    (Items needed: A Clock or an Hourglass)

    New Year Clock

    Good morning, Children!

    I hope you're all excited because something special is about to happen (or has just happened) —can you guess what it is? That's right, a brand new year is just around the corner! It's like we're about to open a brand new book with 365 blank pages. How amazing is that? The old year of 2023 is all finished. Now we are about to start a brand new year!

    Today, I brought something with me that I think will help us understand the importance of the New Year. Look at this (show a clock or an hourglass) – what do you see? That's right, it's a clock! It helps us know what time it is, and it never stops ticking. Just like this hourglass, time is always moving forward. (If you use an hourglass you made to do some explanation first)

    Now, think about the past year. Can you remember the fun times, the things you learned, and the friends you made? It's like each second, minute, and hour on the clock represented something special that happened in our lives.

    But guess what? In just a few days, we're going to get a brand new clock / brand new year! It's like God is giving us a fresh start, a chance to make new friends, learn new things, and do kind and helpful stuff. Thankfully, the things that were not so good last year are in the past now. (You could also use this as a time to talk about forgiveness and putting old sins in the past)

    You know, the Bible tells us that God's love and mercy are new every morning. So, when the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve, it's like God is saying, "I'm giving you a new chance to shine bright and make the world a better place."

    Just like the hourglass, the sand keeps moving, and so does time. But with each passing moment, we have the opportunity to do good things, to show the love and kindness of Jesus to others, and to grow closer to God.

    So, as we step into the New Year, let's remember that God has a special plan for each one of us. Let's use our time wisely, be kind to one another, and make this new year an amazing adventure with God!

    Happy New Year, everyone! Let's make it the best one yet!

    Childrens Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the gift of time and the chance to start anew. Help us use each moment of this brand new year to love others and grow closer to you. In Jesus’ name - Amen.

  • Children's Sermon - A New Year

     

    A Fresh New Year - Children's Sermon / Object lesson

     

       (Church year: Season of Ephiphany - as an alternate to this talk about The Three Wise Men (in progress - check it out)
    Happy New Year

    Children’s Sermon idea: This is an object lesson about starting afresh in the New Year. Show your day timer or notebook from the previous year. Show that it is a little messy and discuss some regrets, mistakes and the fact you didn’t do some things that you believe God wanted you to do. Then show them your brand new day timer or notebook representing the New Year. There is no point in trying to change the past but we have an opportunity to start afreshand write on our planner / calendar the things that God wants us to do for the coming year. Consider getting the kids to suggest some things to put on your “to do” list. (For dramatic effect you could throw you old day timer or notebook in the garbage bin.)
     --- Another idea: Show some Old items and contrast them with New items you recieved at Christmas. Use this to discuss that we have a brand new year that God has given as a gift to us. 
    (Note: Churches that follow the liturgical calendar will recognize that Advent is the beginning of the church year. However, most kids still recognize this as “the New Year.”)
     
    Object lesson props: Old day timer, calendar or notebook and a clean, new day timer, calendar or notebook.
    Alternative: If children are very young you could also use a used coloring bookand a new coloring book instead of a calendar.
    Or....use a dirty blackboard representing last year and clean it off to demonstrate that God has a brand new year full of new excitement. 
     
    Full Children’s Sermon: Good morning children. I trust you all had a good Christmas. At this time of year you often hear people saying “Merry Christmas.” Sometimes you hear people say “Merry Christmas and a happy _____ _____ ?” That’s right, a Happy New Year. A brand new year started on January 1. This is the new year of 2010. Now is a good time to think about planning to do the things that God wants us to do in this New Year. I want you to look at these two notebooks. This book is the planning book that I used for last year and this is my new planning book. Let’s look at the old one that I used last year. Wow. It’s a bit messy isn’t it? Let’s look through it. (Discuss successes, failures, mistakes and things you didn’t get around to doing.) Now look at this new planning book that I’m going to use for the coming year. (Show them the nice clean pages.) Doesn’t this look nice? Nothing has happened yet so I have the opportunity to start afresh. I can’t change the past but I can plan to do the things that God wants me to do this year. The beginning of the year is a good time to pray and ask God to show you the things he wants you to do in the coming year. There also might be some things you don’t want to do in the coming year. It’s also good to ask God to give you his strength and power to do his will. We can’t do the work of God in our own strength; we need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us. (Consider getting the kids to suggest some good activities and write them into your notebook right there. After you have finished you could throw your old day timer or notebook into the garbage)
     
    Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you that it is the beginning of a new year. Please forgive us for the things we’ve done wrong in the past year and give us your strength to live for you in the New Year to come. This is the beginning of an exciting new adventure. Thank you that you promise to be with us and guide us every day. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

    Copyright Andrew Hewlett - Sundaychildrensfocus.com   Feel free to use this on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider putting a link to this site. Blessings, Andrew