Children's Story on Jesus the bread of Life

Object Lesson for Sunday School or Children's Church: John 6:24-35        

Children's Sermon Idea: Jesus is the bread of life.
 

Copyright 2009 Sundaychildrensfocus.com   Feel free to use this story on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus.com and consider linking to this page. Thank you. A.H.

Jesus the Bread of Life video object lesson (Less than 5 minutes, fun and interactive)

 I am the Gate and I am the Good Shepherd   

Children's Story on the Good Shepherd

Easter 3: Jesus the Good Shepherd     

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Kids Sermon: For God so Loved the World   John 3:16    

Advent - John the Baptist          Lectionary: Luke 3:1-6

Object lessonand children's Advent sermon: John the Baptist sounds the alarm – be prepared  Prepare the way

Kids object lesson on Spiritual Blindness (John 9:1-41)

Idea overview: Show the children an ambiguous picture of a person or thing (Consider the cryptic picture of Jesus (see above). Ask them if they can see the picture of a person (or whatever object you use that is not obvious to all). Show them where the person is in the picture. Discuss how we can sometimes miss what seems to be in plain sight. Explain how Jesus did many wonderful things but some people just couldn’t see that Jesus was the promised savior.

Objects needed: Some ambiguous picture that people might need help to truly see and understand. (If you want to find the picture above, simply do an internet search for “Jesus in the snow”)

(Note: Make sure that some children are not left with the idea that they are spiritually blind. Highlight that this illustrates that we can sometimes miss what is right before us. I would emphasize that many people seem to be blind to Jesus, but thankfully they can see and understand he really is a wonderful Savior.)

Children’s sermon: Good morning, Children! Today I would like you to look at this interesting picture. What do you see? Can you see a person in the picture? (If someone sees the image of a person, have them get up and help explain it to others) Yes, some people see the picture of a person. I think it looks like how I picture Jesus – although no one knows for sure exactly what he looked like. See, here are the person’s eyes, there is his nose etc.

When Jesus walked on this earth many years ago there were some people who couldn’t really understand Jesus. It was like they were “spiritually blind”. In our bible reading today Jesus healed a blind man. Many people saw and believed in Jesus and his wonderful healing power. However, some people were right there but refused to believe in Him. Even when they could see that the blind man had been wonderfully healed! It was like they were blind to understanding that Jesus was the Savior.

I am so thankful that we know Jesus is really the savior of the world. It is sad that many people just can’t “see” what a wonderful savior he is. My prayer is that, as we follow Jesus, others can come to understand and see that he really is the savior of the world.

Children’s prayer: Dear God, thank you for opening our eyes and hearts so that we can believe and know that Jesus really is the savior of the world. Help us to live in such a way that others who seem to be blind to him will come to know him, and his amazing love. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copywrite 2023 Sundaychildrensfocus and Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus    Please "Like" or Link to this page or website. Thank you! - A.H.

Kids Object Lesson: “God Forgets Our Sins!”

Bible Verse: Hebrews 10:17 - “Then he adds: ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’”

Main Point: When we confess our sins, God forgives us and actually forgets our sins! Because of Jesus, God doesn’t remember the wrong things we’ve done.

Materials Needed:

• A handful of sticky notes (Post-its)
• A calendar or planner (optional: use a phone calendar if it’s easier)
• A piece of string or rubber band for each child to put on their finger

Lesson Outline:

1. Introduce the Idea of Forgetting Things
   • Show the sticky notes and say, “Sometimes we have a lot of things to remember, right? Like homework, chores, or something we promised to do.”
   • Write down “chores,” “homework,” and “promise” on the sticky notes, sticking them to your shirt or hand to show you “remember.”
   • Ask the kids: “Do you ever forget things, even when you try to remember them?” (let them respond)
2. Use the Calendar or Planner to Show Memory Aids
   • Show the calendar or planner and explain, “Sometimes we write things down so we won’t forget, like appointments or birthdays. Or we might tie a string around our finger as a reminder.”
   • Give each child a small piece of string or a rubber band to put on their finger, saying, “This is a reminder! Sometimes, even when we try our hardest, we still forget things.”
3. Explain How God ‘Forgets’ Our Sins
   • Say: “Did you know that God chooses to forget something too? (You could ask if they know what He forgets) When we tell God we’re sorry for something wrong we’ve done wrong (what the bible calls sin) and ask Jesus to forgive us, God forgets our sin!” – How amazing is that. He choses to forget our sin!
   • Stick a few sticky notes on yourself with the word “sin” written on them. Explain that these represent the wrong things we do.
   • Say: “These sins “stick to us” sometimes, and we might remember them. But when we say we’re sorry and ask God to forgive us, because of Jesus, He ‘takes off’ these sins and chooses to never remember them again.” Remove the sticky notes and throw them away (or crumple them up).
4. Illustrate ‘God’s Forgetfulness’
   • Emphasize, “God’s forgetting isn’t like when we forget to do something. God actually chooses to forget our sins! He doesn’t hold them against us anymore. Because Jesus took the punishment for our sins, we don’t have to carry them, and God doesn’t remember them.”
5. Connect It to Jesus’ Sacrifice
   • Say: “Because Jesus died for us, He paid the price for all the things we do wrong. That’s why God can truly forget our sins. Jesus has taken care of them completely!” How wonderful is that?!
6. Prayer
   • Encourage the kids to think of something they want to say “sorry” to God for, then take a moment for silent prayer.
   • Close with a prayer thanking Jesus for taking away our sins and asking God to help us remember His love and forgiveness.

Optional Memory Verse Activity

• Have the kids memorize Hebrews 10:17 by repeating, “God says, ‘I will remember their sins no more.’” Let them keep the string on their finger as a reminder that God forgets our sins because of Jesus’ love and sacrifice.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, thank you that because Jesus we can be forgiven and you will forget our sins. Help us to remember that good new always -  In Jesus’ name – Amen!

This lesson helps kids understand God’s amazing forgiveness in a tangible way, showing that when we confess our sins, God remembers them no more

Copyright SundayChildrensFocus 2024 Feel free to use this but please give credit to this we site. Thank you    A.H.

Children’s sermon idea teaching about the cost of following Jesus Luke 14 25-33   

(Ministry idea - work in progress!)

Here is an idea for a children sermon or Bible lesson on the cost of following Jesus: It’s not a perfect analogy (and maybe a little convoluted) but it will allow the children to “see” visually the process of counting the cost of following Jesus. I think it can work. (Of course, the text says we need to give up everything, but this is a tangible way of considering some personal costs Christian kids face)

Object lesson idea: I’m thinking of using some balance scales or improvising a balance scale with a balance board sitting on a pivot point. Explain how weigh scales were used to measure the weight of money or something of worth. Load up on one side items representing the cost of following Jesus. Then on the other side place a big heavy item representing the value of following Jesus and being a child of God.

Object lesson props: Some small dark stones representing the costly weight of following Jesus. A big colorful rock representing the amazing love and life of Jesus. A board balance in the middle as a weigh scale.

Good morning children! Do you see this homemade balance weigh scale here? Many years ago they used to use these to weigh out gold, silver or perhaps some fool like wheat or corn. (Give a simple demonstration). Sometimes it’s very important to know the cost of things. In fact, Jesus said that if we want to follow him (be a Christian disciple) we need to count the cost. Following Jesus is wonderful but there is a cost, things we need to give up.

What are some costs of following Jesus – things we need to consider if we want to follow Jesus? Do you see these small items or stones? Let’s pretend they remind us of the “costs” of following Jesus.

1 Let’s pretend this stone reminds us of money. (or just use coins) If we want to follow Jesus he may want us to give some of our money to help the poor. (Place the stone of the left side of the balance – tipping it down.

2 What are some other costs of following Jesus? Let’s pretend this stone represents some people that might make fun of us because we go to church. (place the stone beside the other stone or money)

3 Instead of a rock, this time let’s put my watch on the scales. It reminds us that following Jesus means letting him plan out how we spend our time.

4. (Keep going – you get the idea)

Now children, it might seem that there are a lot of reasons that make following Jesus difficult. There are a lot of “costs” weighing down this side of the balance. However, compared to following Jesus and knowing his wonderful love these things are worth letting go of. (Reach over and pick up a large gold colored rock) This rock looks like a huge piece of Gold. It reminds me of the wonderful love and life of Jesus. Let’s place it on the other side of the balance. Wow! It outweighs all those other things. Knowing and following Jesus so important.

Kids, following Jesus is often hard. Showing love to our enemies, giving our money, sometime being made fun of, (point to the stones / items on the left) is difficult and costly. But it’s truly worth it! Jesus’ love is so amazing, precious, wonderful, and valuable. It’s of far more value than these things.

Kids closing prayer: Dear God, thankyou that knowing you and your son Jesus is the greatest thing in all the world. When we are finding it difficult following Jesus, remind us that your love and life is worth more than anything in the whole world. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

Copyright 2022 Sundaychildrensfocus.com Andrew Hewlett - Feel free to use this but please consider linking to this page or website Thank you!  A.H. 

Children's sermon - Behold I stand at the door and knock - Rev 3:20 -

Basic idea: Use a door knocker (or knock on a small door or piece of wood) and explain how Jesus said he was standing at the  door of our hearts, knocking, and wanting to come in. 

Full children's sermon: Good morning children! I'm so happy to see all your smiling faces today. Today, we're going to talk about something really special—a door knocker! Have you ever seen a door knocker before? It's that cool thing on doors that you can knock to let someone inside know that you're there! Many houses just have a button and buzzer or bell, but many houses still have a knocker like this.

Now, I want to tell you about an amazing Bible verse. It's from the book of Revelation, which is kind of like the last part of the Bible. The verse is Revelation 3:20, and it says something very interesting. It says that Jesus is like a friend who knocks on the door of our hearts. Isn't that awesome?

Let me show you this door knocker I brought. (Show them the door knocker) See, just like this door knocker, Jesus is always knocking on the door of our hearts. He wants to come into our lives. But here's the thing—he doesn't force his way in. No way! Jesus is like the best friend ever, and he waits for us to open the door and invite him into our lives.

You see, Jesus wants to be a part of everything we do—when we play, when we learn, when we're happy, and even when we're a bit sad. He loves us so much that he wants to be with us all the time. He loves us so much. How amazing is that?

Now, let's imagine our lives are like houses, and Jesus is standing at the door, knocking. Can you pretend to knock on a door with me? Knock, knock, knock! Great job!

So, when we share love with our friends, when we're kind to others, when open our lives to Jesus in prayer, and when we do what we know God wants us to do, it's like we're opening the door to Jesus. We're saying, "Come on in, Jesus! Be a part of my day!" Lets go through this day together!

And you know what? Jesus is always there, ready to join us. He loves us so much, and being with us makes him really happy.

So, my friends, let's always be sensitive to Jesus knocking on the door of our hearts. We may not hear a sound like this (bang on the door knocker) but we can sense that Jesus is wanting to come in and be a big part of our lives. Let's welcome him in every part of our lives—when we play, when we eat, when we learn, and when we rest, when we are happy and when we are sad. Jesus is the best friend we could ever have, and having him with us makes everything even more wonderful!

I hope you remember this the next time you see a door knocker or hear a knock on the door. Jesus is always ready to come in and be a part of our lives because he loves us so, so much!

Children’s Prayer: Dear God – thankyou that Jesus loves us so and wants to be a central part of our lives. Help us always to “open the door” of our hearts and welcome him in. That way we can know that he will guide us and lead us into the wonderful life that he has for us. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Sunday School ideas for teaching that Jesus is the Shepherd and the Gate - John 10:1-10

In the account of John 10:1-10   Jesus is both the shepherd and the gate to the sheep pen. The latter part of the text focuses on Jesus being the gate.

A. Illustrate the Sheepfold and Gate: You can create a homemade sheepfold and toy sheep to illustrate the concept of Jesus being the gate of the sheep. (A miniature sand box would work too) Show the children how the shepherd would lead the sheep into the sheepfold at night for protection. Often the Shepherd would lie across the opening to the pen making himself literally a “gate”. Explain how Jesus is the gate, and that only through Him can we enter the Kingdom of God.

B. Blindfolded Obstacle Course: Set up an obstacle course and have the children take turns navigating it while blindfolded. At the end of the obstacle course you could have a sheep pen. Then, remove the blindfolds and guide the children through the course to illustrate how Jesus is the good shepherd who can lead his sheep. He is also the gate into the sheep pen. We must enter through this gate (Jesus) to enter the sheep pen.

C. Sheep Costume: Dress up a child in a sheep costume and have the other children pretend to be wolves or thieves. (Note: This can get a little chaotic!) Explain how the sheep only follow the shepherd's voice and that Jesus is our Good Shepherd who protects us from harm. Use a homemade shepherds staff to protect the sheep from the wolves. It could be a lot of fun! That will help them remember.

D. The Life / Maze Game: Create a maze on a large piece of paper and have the children take turns finding their way through it. Then, explain how life can often feel like a maze, but by following the Jesus (and his wisdom) we can find out way without getting lost.

Note: You may have a ready made object lesson if there is any “gate” on your church property. Alternately you can use any door in your church as a gate.

Kids sermon - A new commandment love (John 13)

By this shall all know you are my disciples

Children’s sermon: John 13:31-35 The commandment to love one another

Children’s sermon idea: (Have on hand items of clothing, hats or badges that represent various occupations and people.) Discuss with the children how they can recognize various people by what they wear. Discuss how we might recognize a group of Christians. Jesus said “By this shall all know that you are my disciples.” It’s our love for one another that should show that we are Christians.

Object lesson items: Clothing items worn by various people / professions. You might need to borrow some clothing items from members of your congregation.

Children’s sermon: Good morning children. In this box I have various garments that people wear. (Bring out a hard hat.) What person might wear a hat like this? That’s right. If you saw someone wearing this they might be a workman or a carpenter. (Hold up a fireman’s coat and hat.) What kind of person would wear this clothing? Right – a firefighter. (Continue with some more items of clothing that are easily identifiable.) You did very well. I have one more question. How can you recognize that someone is a Christian? If you saw a group of people how would you know they were Christians?

That’s right. Christians wear different kinds of clothing. It’s not that easy to tell right away. However, in our bible reading today from the gospel of John, Jesus said that there was one thing that would let others know we are Christians. Jesus said that if we had love for one another other people in the world would be able to tell that we are Christians. Others can’t tell that we follow Jesus by looking at what we wear. However, they should be able to tell that we follow Jesus by how we love each other. Jesus said, “by this shall all know you are my disciples, if you love one another.” Let’s pray and ask God to help us love each other so that other would recognize us as Christians and want to know about Jesus and his love.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, please give us power through the Holy Spirit to grow in our love for each other. In that way others might be able to see that we follow Jesus and that they too might decide to follow him and know his wonderful love. In Jesus’ name – Amen.

Children's message Feed my Sheep (Short idea via video) Jesus is the good shepherd who looks after his sheep and feeds them

Children's sermon for after Christmas - object lesson - The Gift that lasts forever -

This is an idea for a Children’s sermon soon after Christmas. Most kids will have received presents at Christmas and will soon find out that they break down, wear out and ultimately don’t bring lasting satisfaction. Perhaps it’s a good time to remind them of the greatest gift that lasts forever – Jesus.

(This is based on a kid’s story posted on this site about “Treasures in Heaven”)

Basic childrens sermon idea: Ask the children what gifts they received at Christmas. Ask them if any of these gifts have been broken. Show some items that you received that have been broken, worn out or didn’t really meet your expectations. Explain that material “things” bring happiness for a while, but they don’t bring lasting meaning or joy. Only the gift of Jesus will last forever. He will never leave us or forsake us.

Object lesson items needed:  Old broken or worn-out gifts that you may have around the house. (You could have some fun with this)

Full kids Bible talk: Good morning Children! How was your Christmas? Did you receive any gifts? What sort of things did you get? (Spend some time interacting) Did these items bring you a lot of joy?

I want to show you some things I have in this box. (Pull various items out one by one) Look at this toy. I received this many years ago but it’s broken now. Look at this gift item I received. It looks nice but it doesn’t work. Look at this item…(You get the idea. You could also include items that still work but you are no longer interested in them. They don’t mean that much to you anymore. The happiness and excitement of getting the gifts doesn’t last long.)

At Christmas you probably received lots of good things that made you happy. But don’t be surprised if one day soon you find out that they don’t bring lasting happiness. When I was young I would say to myself, “If I get that gift then I will be happy forever!” But before too long I discovered that those gifts didn’t bring happiness that lasts. Have you ever had that experience?

Christmas is a great time of year. One nice thing about Christmas is that we get gifts. It’s always wonderful to receive new gifts and toys. However, one day we will discover that those toys don’t bring lasting happiness. There is one gift that will never break down and disappoint us. It’s the greatest gift of all – the gift of Jesus. Although we can’t see him with our eyes, he promises to be with us forever. He will always love us and will never leave us.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, we are thankful for all the gifts we received at Christmas. They are wonderful but we know that they won’t bring us lasting peace and joy. Thankyou for sending Jesus; the greatest gift of all. Thank you that he loves us, he guides us, he lives forever, and he will never forsake us. In Jesus’ name – Amen!  

Copyright 2023 SundayChildrensFocus and Andrew Hewlett  - Feel free to use or share this but please give credit to this site. Please "like" this, share this or do whatever you can to promote this site! Thank you! A.H.

Children's sermon ideas: “In my father’s house are many rooms (or KJV Mansions) if it were not so I would have told you…”-

Check out these children's Sunday school object lesson ideas for John 14:1-14, which talks about the many rooms in our Father's house: Stress that we don’t need to worry that it is short of space. Highlight that Jesus said he was going there ahead of us to prepare this wonderful place.

Involve the kids in Building a house: Bring in some toy building blocks and ask the children to help you build a house. Talk about how just as we need many rooms in a house for different people to live in, there are many rooms in our Father's house for all of us. Stress the idea there is lots of room.

Finding Our Way to our true home with God our father: Give each child a small compass and ask them to follow the direction of "home." (You may need to give a bit of an explanation about what a compass in and how it works) Talk about how just as a compass helps us find our way, Jesus is the way to our true home in heaven.

"The Key to Heaven": Bring in a large key (have a wood working friend make one) and talk about how it represents the key to heaven. Ask the children what they think it takes to get the key and discuss how by believing in Jesus, we are given the key to eternal life. Discuss what might be the characteristics of “our our heaven father’s house”.

Work with the children to produce a “Map to Heaven": Bring in (or make) a large map and talk about how it represents the journey to our Father's house. Discuss how by following Jesus, we can find our way to our ultimate destination and home.

The Joy of the Lord is our Strength

Nehemiah Chapter 8Lectionary

Children’s sermon idea: Involve the kids in some strength exercises. (Get them to join in with some sit-ups, push-ups, pretend to lift some weights etc. Make it fun!) We want our bodies strong, but God can help us to be strong on the inside. Explain how Ezra said that the “Joy of the Lord is our strength”. If we turn to Jesus, remember His promises and follow Him we can know this Joy and Strength on the inside. That will give us inner strength and help us through the hard times of life.

Objects items needed: None. However, you could bring in some weights or other exercise devices.

Children’s Sermon:

Good morning, children! How many of you are feeling strong this morning? It’s important to keep our bodies healthy and strong. Let’s do some exercises. First, join with me in doing some jumping jacks… Now, lets do some running on the spot… Now let’s do some push-ups… Now let’s pretend to lift some weights… How did that feel? Join with me in flexing your muscles (like Arnold Schwarzenegger or Rosie the Riveter.)

Ok, let’s take a rest. Our bible lesson today is from a bible book call the Nehemiah. The bible reading is about a leader called Ezra. After God’s people returned to Jerusalem, they needed to rebuild the wall that was in need of repair. When they had finished, they had a great celebration and promised to stay close to God. They were feeling pretty week and tired, but Ezra told them to celebrate because the Joy of the Lord would keep them strong. (Read 8:10-12)

From time to time all of us can get tired and discouraged. Sometimes life is hard and it’s not easy to keep going. But in those times, it’s important to remember all the good things that we have as followers of Jesus; children of God.

We know that Jesus loves us.

We know that He promises to be with us always.

We know that one day he will “wipe away every tear from our eyes”.

We know that nothing can separate us from His love.

When remember things (from the bible) we can have a deep down Joy that will be like an inner strength. Every day we can spend some time remembering God’s wonderful promises so that the Joy of the Lord will be our strength.

Children’s Prayer: Dear God, Thank you for all the wonderful promises we have as children of God. Help us to remember these promises each day so that the Joy of the Lord would be our strength through the hard times of life. In Jesus’ name – Amen!

Copyright 2022 Andrew Hewlett - Feel free to use this at your church but please give credit to Sunday Children’s Focus and consider linking to this site. Consider “Liking” us on facebook or wherever! Peace – A.H.

 Children’s sermon on Galatians 3:23-29   

Kids Sermon: Jesus Calms the Storm -- (He can also calm the storms of life)

Mark  4:35- 41     Even the Wind and Waves obey him:     "Peace,  be still "

Object lesson props: None   

Short Fun Children's sermon - The Authority of Jesus questioned

Children’s Prayer: Thank you God for sending Jesus. Help us to learn from Him and follow him each day of our life. In Jesus’ name – Amen.

Copyright sundaychildrensfocus.com  2011 Andrew Hewlett   Feel free to use this on Sunday morning but please give credit to Sundaychildrensfocus