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Choose from the following children's sermons:

• Journey and Stages, Genesis 12:1-9
  by Rev. Randy Quinn       (see below)
   
• Promises, Genesis 12:1-9, by Rev. Frank Schaefer (see below)
   
• Being Sent, Genesis 12:1-9, by Rev. Frank Schaefer  (see below)

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Journey and Stages
Genesis 12:1-9
by Rev. Randy Quinn

            How old are you?  (Most of the children who come to the Children’s Time are 10 or younger.)

            And how many houses have you lived in – that you can remember?

            Are you good at math?  Let’s see if we can figure out what the average length of time we’ve lived in a house is.  I’ll use my calculator because I’m not sure I can get the numbers right.  For you, it’s 7 divided by 2, equals 3.5 years per house.  (I’ll do that for several of the children.)

            What do you think that number is for me?  Want to figure it out?  I’m 43 years old, and I’ve lived in . . . are you ready? . . . I’ve lived in 47 houses.  That’s less than one house per year.  It’s about 11 months each.

            Let’s see, what about since I’ve become a pastor?  I became a pastor in 1985, 14 years ago.  And this is the third house I’ve lived in.  That’s 4.7 years at each place.

            We move a lot, don’t we?  All of us!  But you know what?  No matter where I’ve lived, no matter where you’ve lived, God has been there.  God never moves.

            And for that I’m grateful.

            Let’s pray:

            God, thank you for being with us when there are changes in our lives.  Thank you for knowing where we live and for being with us when we move.  Thank you for being with us whenever we move and even when we don’t.  Amen.

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Promises
a children's sermon based on Genesis 12:1-9
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Good morning boys and girls.  Today's bible lesson is about a an old man by the name of Abram who lived in the land of Ur, which is modern day Iran.  One day, God made a promise to Abram.  God said to him:  "take your wife. Sarah, and your animals and go to a far-away land.  And if you do this, I will give you many children. 

What do you think?  Did Abram trust God's promise?  Do you think he did what God asked him to do?  Did he leave all his other family behind and to to the far-away land?  Yes, he did.  Even though that was probably not easy for him.

But Abram had faith in God.  So he left everything behind in his old country and traveled to the far-away country together with his wife, Sarah.

Do you think God ever breaks God's promises? I don't think God ever does. In fact, the bible says in many places that God is faithful to God's children and keeps all promises.

What do you think?  Did God keep his promises to Abram?  Did he give him children?  Now before you answer this question, keep in mind that Abram was already very old and so was Sarah.  But you are right, Abram believed God and God gave him children.

In fact, we are all Abram's children, because from Abram and Sarah came the people of Israel and the Messiah, our Lord Jesus Christ.

And because Abram had faith in God, God fulfilled his promise to Abram and he also gave him a new name; God named him from Abram to Abraham (which means father of many).

What do you think?  Does God also keep promises he makes to us?  You better believe it.  Did God make any promises to us?  Yes.  One of God's promises is that he will take care of us and love us and that he will always be with us--even to the end of the earth.  Do you believe that God will take care of you and love you?

Let's pray: "All loving and faithful God we thank you for the many promises you make to us and that you always keep your promises.  Thank you for blessing us and for watching over us. Amen."

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Being Sent
based on Genesis 12:1-9
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Today, our theme is: to be sent. It's all about Abraham, and how God sent him to a foreign land.  (Repeat story in your own words. 

There is an animal story I once heard which I would like to share with you.  I believe this story may help us understand what it means to be sent a little better:

Once upon a time there was a drought in the jungle. It hadn't rained for a very long time. Soon the sun had dried up all the water so that the animals could not find a drink. This was a serious situation, so the old, gray-haired lion called all animals together under the big old palm tree for an emergency meeting.

After the animals had arrived, the old lion said: "the reason I have asked you to gather under this old palm tree is, the palm tree can give us all water. See, its roots go far down where there is plenty water, and the water will come out of this hollow branch. The only problem is, the lion said, you have to say a secret word to make the water run. And the only one who knows the secret word is the old owl who lives at the edge of the jungle. But whom can we send to find the owl?"

That was the cue for the leopard. He said, I am the fastest animal in the jungle, let me run, I'll be back in no time. The lion and all the animals approved. So the leopard ran as fast he could and got to the owl in half a day. The owl listened to his story with concern and said, the secret word to make the water run from the palm tree is: muka muchacha kakau.

The leopard said, "thank you so much dear owl." And ran back as fast as he could. When he got back to the palm tree, the old lion went, "well, what is the secret word?"  The secret word is....it is... O dear, the leopard had run so fast that he had forgotten the secret word.

"There must be somebody else we can send, the lion said with concern. "Send me," said the elephant, "everybody knows that I have the best memory of all animals, including some humans." The lion and all the animals approved.

So the elephant trotted as fast he could. A day and a night later he got to the owl and told her what happened. The owl said, the secret word is muka muchacha kakau.  So, the elephant trotted back. But shortly before he arrived at the old palm tree a coconut fell right on his head, and he suffered a mild concussion and could not remember the secret word.

O dear, said the lion, whom can we send now?" "Send me," said the tortoise. Everybody looked down to the tortoise. Yooouuuuu? You are the smallest and slowest of all of us, why should we send you?" "Trust me" said the tortoise. And after some talk, they decided to send him.

Now it took the tortoise two days and nights to get to the owl. And the owl shared the secret word a third time.  The tortoise was slow, but he used a trick; with every little step he repeated the secret words: muka muchacha kakau...muka muchacha kakau....

When the tortoise arrived, another coconut fell down from the tree, but it didn't hurt the tortoise because of his shell.  And so it came that the animals learned the secret word and after they said it, the water started to gush out the hollow branch of the palm tree and all the animals survived the drought.

The moral of this story is that it doesn't matter who you are, God still calls you, as he calls all of us to send us on a journey.  You don't have to be the fastest, or the smartest, or the biggest or the strongest.  God knows what you are able to do.  God may send you to be a missionary in Africa or God may just send you to live in this town; it doesn't matter: the instructions God gives us are the same: to rely on God and to take him with us everywhere we go.  Amen.