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Choose from the following children's sermons:

• Hope  Isaiah 40:1-11, by Rev. Randy Quinn
   

• Gettin' Ready, 2 Peter 3:8-15, by Rev. F. Schaefer
   

• Visions of the Promised Land, Isaiah 40:10-11, by Rev. Frank Schaefer
   

• 2nd Advent Reading for Children

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Hope
based on Isaiah 40:1-11
Randy L Quinn

Have you ever had a cut or a scrape?  (I’m sure most of them have.)  Did you put a band-aide on it?  (Again, I’m sure they did.)

And did it get better?  (Yes.)

Did the band-aide make it better?  Not really.  The band-aide really just covers the cut so it can get better.  But band-aides do make us feel better, don’t they?

Why do you think that is?  (I have no idea how they will answer this question.)

Do you know what I think?  I think a band-aide makes us feel better because it acts like a sign or a promise that the cut will get better.  The band-aide doesn’t make it better, but it helps us forget how we got cut and helps us look forward to the time when it will be better.

There’s a word for that, you know.  It’s hope.  Hope is when you look forward to something being better than it is.  But it’s not just ‘wishing’ it would be better; hope is when we KNOW it’s going to be better.

 Like putting a band-aide on a cut.  The band-aide doesn’t cure us, God does.

And we don’t just wish it would get better, we know it will.

At Christmas, we hope that God will come to us.

And that’s something we can be certain of.

Let’s pray: God thank you for coming at Christmas and for the promise that you will come again.  Be with us today, be with us this month, be with us for the rest of our lives.  Amen.

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Gettin' Ready
a children's sermon based on 2 Peter 3:8-15
by Rev. F. Schaefer

If your children have a pretty good concept of Advent as the Return of Christ you may want to teach about "getting ready" for Christ.

Props:  an alarm clock and a bible (a children's bible if you have one)

Show the alarm clock and ask the children what it is and what it is used for.  Do any of your children use it to get up in the morning?  Why is it important to wake up on time?  Conclusion: the alarm clock helps us get ready in the morning.

In our bible lesson from 2 Peter, God asks us to get ready for a big event.   That event is when Jesus is coming back to earth.  This time, Jesus is not coming as a baby, but he will be coming with his angels, and he will come to rule the world and make it a better place.

St. Peter also tells us that it could be a while until Jesus will come again. But in the meantime, God has given us something to get ready for Jesus's coming.   I am holding it in my hands. What is it called? (Bible). That's right, it's a bible.

Just like the alarm clock gets us ready for each day, so reading the bible will get us ready for Jesus coming.  It will prepare our hearts as we read about what God wants us to do, and what God wants us to avoid.

Mention a few examples, such as you shall honor mother and father, don't steal, lie, etc.

Prayer

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Visions of the Promised Land
a children's sermon based on Isaiah 40:10-11
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

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saiah 40:10-11: See, the Lord GOD comes with might, and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Props:  an easel with a flip chart sheet, or an overhead projector with a
            blank transparency;   colored pens

Today's Scripture lessons tell us about a great event:   when God comes back to earth, he has promised to make the world a better place.   God promises that He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom.  That means that God will take care of us.  God will feed us, there will be no more hunger and need.

Now, I know that you guys have a pretty good idea what God's Kingdom on earth will be like.  You tell me what you think this great world will look like.   I brought a big drawing canvas with me this morning, and I intend to draw a picture of what you imagine God's perfect world to look like.   Now, I am not a great artist or anything, but I am going to try to capture the essence of everything you tell me to include.  Let's call this picture: "God's Peaceable Kingdom II":

Encourage the children to share and draw the things they mention.  You may want to start by drawing a line for the earth and put some blue sky in, a throne (chair) as a symbol of God with us and, of course, draw Jesus, the messiah and king (perhaps with inviting outstretched arms).  Other ideas:  a tree (of life), a river, people dancing, partying,  a boom box, animals, puffy clouds (not rain clouds), a mansion (with a pool?), etc.  This kids' talk has worked great for me (I do it every year with a different scripture).

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Second Advent Reading for Children

The shepherds The shepherds have always understood lowliness. On the hillside, there were no dwelling places and fewer possessions, only the sheep to watch, and the stars ... and there was the silence. Wind and weather exalted themselves above the shepherds, and drenching rain and scorching sun ruled over them. There was no claim of closeness to God or stature in the eyes of humanity, only rough clothing and hard ground and a rock for a pillow, and silence. Silence until, in the fullness of time, the song of the angels filled the night with words unbelievable and joy unexpectable and the need to rush from the hills to a stable where lowliness was bathed in radiance, and humility became divine, and God came to be with God's creation.