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Choose from the following Children's Sermons:

• A Place At God's Table, World Communion Sunday
  by Rev. Frank Schaefer

• Coming to the Table, World Communion Sunday
  Karl in Iowa

• World Wide McDonald's? World Communion Sunday

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A Place At God's Table
based on World Communion Sunday
by Rev. Frank Schaefer

Props: piece of paper, marker

Good to see you all, my friends.  Please find a seat on the altar steps and make yourself feel comfortable.  Today, we celebrate World Communion Sunday, and that simply means that all Christians around the world will eat a piece of bread and drink a little wine or grape juice, all in the name of Jesus who taught us to remember him as we do this.

It is like all of us are gathering at a huge table, and we all celebrate our God.

Speaking of tables,  there are so many different forms of tables.   (Take out paper and marker and draw the shapes of table as you talk about them) Some dinner tables are round, some are square, some are oblong, some are oval...   What does your dinner table look like at home? (Let the children share)

Do you all have a special place at your dinner table at home?  Do you always sit in the same place?   (Let some of the children show on the paper where they sit.

Now, imagine mom or dad call you to the dinner table and you run into the dining room (because you're hungry) and there is someone else who sits in your chair, in your space at the table.  How would you feel about that  (let the children share)?  I know I would feel bad about that, too.  It would be like I didn't belong at the table or like I didn't belong to the family any longer.

Whenever anybody of my family wasn't present, their place at our family table was empty, and we would know that they were missing.  That place belonged just to them, and they could always come and be welcome at that table--no matter what!    And I bet you it's just like that in your home as well.  Isn't it good to know that you always have a place at that table--no matter what you did or didn't do?

So it is with God's table too.  No matter what we have done, or what we neglected to do, God always reserves a place for us at his table.  God loves us and he forgives us all our sins if we are truly sorry for them and confess them to God.   Then we can take our place at God's table.

Now God's table, of course, is the communion table, and every believer is always invited to come and partake of the bread and the juice.

No matter what, God has a place for all of us at his table and this morning we celebrate that together with the entire world.  Christians from around the world will celebrate communion today.  And there is enough room at God's table for every single one of us.  Now that's one large table!!

So this morning as we come either to partake from the bread and the juice or to come for a blessing (in many traditions, children before initiation / confirmation receive a blessing instead of the elements) we celebrate the great faithfulness of our God who loves us so much that he forgives us all our sins.  Amen.

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Coming to the Table
World Communion Sunday
Karl in Iowa

This is a week of Holy Communion. Why not ask the children what they do when they are called to come to the table in their homes. Can they remember a special time when everyone gathered? Hopefully that's every family at some time every day. This is a good time to talk about the bread that is served in their homes -- for some it is white bread, others -- brown, still others black, and so many other hues.

Can you think of other things that are the color of bread? The color of our skin. Isn't it interesting that Jesus would choose this symbol for the bread of our being loved by God. When we are invited to the table for special meals at home, we make every effort to be there.

Can you see why Christians around the world make every effort to come on this special day to come to the table, too, to share God's love?! May you enjoy your time of table grace together as God gives you food for the journey in Christ's Holy name. Amen.

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World Wide McDonald's?
World Communion Sunday
by an anonymous DPSer

Yesterday, we had lunch at McDonald’s. And that got me thinking. If I went to Germany, do you think I could have lunch at McDonald’s? If I went to Pakistan, do you think I could have lunch at Micky D’s? If I went to Zimbabwe, do you think I could see those golden arches? If I went to Australia, do you think I could have a Big Mac? McDonald’s is all around the world. Wherever you go, you can always have a Mcchicken and fries.

 McDonald's is all around the world. I can have the exact same lunch in Ireland as I had yesterday in my little neighborhood. It’s the same food around the world. You know what else you can eat around the world? Bread and wine. Today is world wide communion Sunday. Today in every single church, people are celebrating holy communion.

If I went to church in Germany, I would eat bread and wine, symbols of Christ’s body. If I went to a church in Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Australia, or Ireland, I would eat bread and wine to show that we are all Christians, joined together at the Table of Jesus Christ.

There's World Wide McDonald’s and World Wide Communion.