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Choose from the following Children's Sermons:

• Green Season --start of the "Ordinary Time"  (see below)
   

• The Bottomless Cookie Jar, 1 Kings 17:8-16
  by Rev. Frank Schaefer    (see below)

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"Green Season"
a children's sermon seed based on the start of the "Ordinary Time"

This Sunday marks the beginning of "ordinary time" in the church year. We dress our sanctuary in green. The greens in God's creation are rich and varied, from dark green fir needles to bring green willow leaves.

In advance of this Sunday invite the congregation to dress in green. Point out that all of us are part of God's amazing creation. Consider introducing the first two stanzas of "All Creatures of Our God and King"

In the upcoming Sundays add a stanza until you have introduced all seven stanzas. Young children will quickly learn the refrain and will feel at ease as they sing a familiar hymn with their church family.

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The Bottomless Cookie Jar
a children's sermon based on 1 Kings 17:8-16
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
 
props: a cookie jar

Good morning, my little friends, today I brought one of my favorite items from the kitchen area, my cookie jar.  Do you guys like cookies?  I do too.  I love cookies, especially M&M chip cookies.  I could finish a whole jar of those by myself.  Anyhow, what kind of cookies do you like?  (let them talk  for a while)

Today's bible story is about a lady who hosted a very special guest; she had Elijah, the prophet of God for dinner.  Problem was that times were hard and she didn't have much to eat for herself or her son.  In fact, she had lost her husband and tried to eke out a living by herself, raising her son as good as she could by herself.

But, even though she only had a little bit of food, she shared it with the man of God.  And guess what happened?  Because she shared the little that she had, God rewarded her.  She had a jar in her kitchen, perhaps it looked a little like this one, except she didn't keep cookies in hers, she kept flour in it.  The four she used for making bread.

And this is how God rewarded her for her willingness to share: the jar never got empty, she took flour from it every day and each day she opened the lid, there was just as much in the jar as the day before.  It was a miracle.  She had a bottomless jar of flour.  Isn't that amazing?

I wish this cookie jar was bottomless too.  What do you think, if I share my cookies with you all, will God reward me too?  You bet, sharing is a spiritual law that will return many blessings.. So, what do you think, should I share these M&M chip cookies with you?  Keep in mind that they are my favorite?  OK.  why don't you all dip in and take one of my delicious cookies?

Prayer: Dear God, thank you for the lesson of sharing.  Thank you for rewarding the widow and her son for sharing the little they had. Help us to be able to remember how important it is to share with others.  Help us share.  In Jesus name, Amen.