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Choose from the following children's resources:

• #1: Patience
• #2: The Greatest Gift
• #3: 3rd Advent Reading for Children

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Patience
A kids' talk based on James 5:7-10
by Rev. F. Schaefe

Props: children's game that requires patience (e.g. puzzle; rubics cube, brain teaser game, "ball-in-hole" type game, etc.)

Greetings, my little friends; who knows what Sunday in Advent it is today?  That's right; today is the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  One of the  topics in today's Scripture lessons is something really hard to learn: patience.

Is anybody here an expert on patience?  What does it mean to be patient?

O.K., I brought a game with me.  (Show game) What d you think, does it take patience to complete this game?  You bet it does.  I tried it myself and, after 15 minutes,  I gave up.  I did not have the patience to finish it. I think you guys have much more patience for a game like this.

What else do you need patience for in life?  What about standing in line somewhere?  Yep.  And what about doing homework?  Cleaning your room?  Sometimes we need to be patient with people, too.  Or else we may get annoyed with them. Like sometimes I have no patience in traffic, and I get annoyed at people that go slow.  But it's not really good to get annoyed at people, it's really my problem--because I do not have enough patience.

According to the apostle James, God wants us to be loving and caring toward others; and one thing we really need for that is patience.   Patience is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit; so we really need to invite God into our lives more often and then we may become more patient.

How do we invite God into our lives.  We can do it by prying, singing church songs, by thinking about God, and by reading the bible.

Let us invite God into our lives right now and let us ask him to help us become more patient. Let us pray: "Lord God, we want to invite you to be part of every part of our lives.  We want you to walk with us every minute of the day and night. Please give us more patience, especially for the people you put into our lives, so that people can see your light shining brightly in us.  Amen."

 

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The Greatest Gift
A kids' talk based on Advent Joy
by Rev. F. Schaefer

Props:
a) take a baby Jesus figure in a manger and box it up, wrap it with Christmas gift paper;
b) a piece of paper with John 3:16 printed on it in large letters.

Good morning guys and girls; today is the third Sunday in Advent already.  Who knows what the theme is for today?  Let's see who paid attention during the lighting of the advent wreath.  Joy--that's right.

The Scripture calls us to rejoice today.  Why do you think that is?  What can we as Christians be joyful about?  Actually there are a lot of things that we can be joyful about.  What do you think?  (Let them share and acknowledge all of their answers).

Today, I brought with me the greatest gift ever made. And I got it right here (hold up the little box with baby Jesus inside).  Do you know what it is?   Who wants to take a guess what's inside?  What's the greatest gift ever given?   (Have some fun with the answers they give).

(Unwrap the gift box slowly while you continue to talk) Let me give you a little hint: it's what we celebrate on Christmas Eve.   (Hold up the Jesus figure in the manger)-- it's the birth/arrival of the Lord Jesus.  And who sent the Lord Jesus to us?  God.

Let's hear what the bible says about that.  Can I have a volunteer to read this (hold up the piece of paper with the Scripture verse). Let a child read the verse.

God gave us god's only son, because God loves us so much.   That's the greatest gift ever given.  God sent his son into the world to save us and to help us find our way back to God.

And that's exactly the reason why we give presents to others on Christmas Day.  Let us pray:

"Dear God, thank you for Christmas.  Thank you for giving us the greatest gift ever given; thank you for Jesus.  Jesus shows us the way to you, he teaches us and he helps us.  Thank you God and have a merry Christmas. Amen."

 

Advent Reading for Children

THIRD SUNDAY OF ADVENT: The wise men The promise of a king wove itself into the study of the stars and the pondering of the prophecies, as some intricate pattern in brocaded tapestry. Throughout the dreariness of life, royalty was heralded; in the darkness of the night, a star was encountered. The travel preparations were costly, but the gifts were even more valuable, and it seemed likely that they would be laid at the foot of a dazzling throne as instruments were played and servants offered lodging and legions of subjects bowed in obeisance.

But when the journey was fulfilled, the star's light on the straw was glowingly golden, and the breathing of the cattle in the stalls was a finely orchestrated hymn, and the tapestry was woven with the realization of prophecy patterned against the changing of direction, and it was all so much richer than anything ever had been before: rich in purpose and implication, rich in surprise and imagination, rich in love.