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Choose from the following children's sermons:

• No More Excuses!  based on John 12:20-36
  by Rev. Randy Quinn    (see below)
   
• A Reminder of God's Love? Jeremiah 31:31-34
  by Rev. Randy Quinn     (see below)
   
• What's Written On Your Heart? Jeremiah 31:31-34
  by Rev. Frank Schaefer   (see below)
    
• Unless a Grain of Seed Dies... John 12:20-33
  by Rev. Frank Schaefer   (please scroll down)

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No More Excuses!
based on John 12:20-36
by Rev. Randy Quinn

Before I begin, I need to know something.

Are any of you hungry?

Do you all like apples?

Good.

Here.  (I will give them some apple seeds.)  This is all you need.

Won’t that seed be good enough for you?  Why not?

The seed is only the beginning of the story, isn’t it?  But what happens if we plant these seeds?  Trees will grow.  And eventually there will be blossoms on the trees.  And from the blossoms, apples grow.

Then we can pick the apples and we’ll have plenty to eat.  So all we have to do is plant these seeds, right?

Did you know that Jesus talks about planting seeds?  He said that unless a seed dies, it can’t live (Jn. 12:24).  Now, what do you suppose he meant by that?  (Right!  The seed must be “buried” in the ground to grow.)

He was really talking about his own life, though.  He knew that unless he died and was buried, we wouldn’t have a chance to have real life.

So these seeds are an important reminder of the story of Jesus.  All we have to do is plant them and when we eat the apples, we’ll know the joy that God has in store for us.  But I don’t suppose any of you want to wait that long to eat any apples, do you?

(I’ll give them some apple slices and napkins.)

As you eat these, I want you to remember the seeds that were planted a long time ago – just like Jesus who died a long time ago.

Let’s pray: God, thank you.  Thank you for the miracle of seeds that grow and the reminder that without death, there can be no real life.  Amen.

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A Reminder of God's Love?
a children's sermon based on Jeremiah 31:31-34
by Rev. Randy Quinn

Do any of you have a bicycle? (I suspect most of them do.) Is your name on your bike? (Some will, some won’t.)

Some people engrave their names on their bikes. Do you know what that is? Have you ever heard of ‘engraving’ something? What is it? (It will be interesting to hear their responses; some may actually give us a good definition.)

It’s like carving, when you cut into something to make an impression. Look here. I have a pen set that sits on my desk. It has a piece of brass that has been engraved.

The plaque says,

Randy Quinn

From your Friends at

First United Methodist Church

Vallejo – 1983

(It was given to me when I left that church in California to start seminary.)

Do you think I could erase this? No. My name will always be there. (I suppose I could file it down and smooth it out again, but then there wouldn’t be as much metal as there was before.)

In the Bible reading this morning, we’ll hear about some ‘engraving’ that God wants to do – not real engraving like this, but engraving in a way that helps us always remember. God wants to engrave our hearts. That’s so we’ll never forget that God loves us. We can’t remove that fact, no matter what we do.

And for that, I’m thankful.

Let’s pray.

God in heaven, thank you for coming into our hearts. Thank you for letting us know that you love us and for leaving a permanent reminder of your love written in our hearts. Amen.

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1) What's Written On Your Heart?
based on Jeremiah 31:31-34
seed submitted by Jeanne in CT; further developed by Frank Schaefer

Props: a wipe board, eraser, one erasable and one permanent marker

Lead the children to think about what is written on their hearts. What is on their hearts that God does not want there? What do they leave on their hearts that God wants to erase for them? Have them suggest things as you write them up with an erasable marker; things such as disobedience, anger, bad language . . .

Tell the kids that God has promised to forgive all our sins if we confess them to God.   Have one of the kids use the eraser to symbolically wipe clean the slate.

Then ask: "What does God want to have written on their hearts? Have the kids write with a permanent marker things like: love, kindness, goodness, obedience . .

Let one of the children try to wipe the board, then close by saying that according to Jeremiah 31 God has promised to write his law on our hearts--permanently!
  

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2) Children's sermon seed:
Seeds That Need to Die
based on John 12:20-33

Props: empty plate, little packets of different veggie seeds (tomatoes, beans, peas...)

Have an empty plate and talk about some favorite veggies that the children like to eat.

Then using different seed packets, pouring out seeds onto the plate to serve them some of what they said that they liked.

Using this to emphasize that the seed must be planted in order for it to become what it was intended to become...the seed has to die in order for it to become the vegetable or fruit.

In the same way, Jesus had to die in order to be our Savior.