Some of my favorite Epiphany children's sermons

Children’s Message—January 4, 2004
Epiphany

Today is the Sunday when we celebrate Epiphany. It is the day when we remember the wise men bringing gifts to baby Jesus. And a lot has been said about those gifts. . . Gold, Frankincense, Myrrh—what is a baby going to do with all of that? Give him some onesies, a swing, maybe some of those rings that click together to play with!

Well, I can talk to you as a real expert on baby gifts right now. As most of you know, at the end of the month, Robert and I are going to have a baby. So using my own expertise and a little research, I have figured out that the gifts that the wise men gave Jesus weren’t quite as crazy as we may have thought.

Gold—That is the one that we all know. It is a very precious metal. When someone gives something that is gold, they are saying, you are special and deserve something very nice. When I was born, I was given this cup and bowl set. It is not gold, it is silver, but it is very precious, and I still have it today! Jesus was given Gold because he was to be called “King of the Jews”, and kings deserve precious things.

Frankincense—This is a strange word. It has the word “incense” in it, and some of you may know that incense is something that you burn to give off a sweet smell. Frankincense is known for its calming and soothing properties. One of the gifts that we have been given for our baby is a CD of nursery songs to help soothe the baby when he or she is fussy. Now I am going to guess that there will be times when I think that this CD is the best gift ever made! Jesus was given Frankincense to show that in his ministry, he would soothe and calm people.

Myrrh—Another funny word. No clues in this one. I found out that Myrrh is a sort of sappy product that comes from a tree. It is thought to have healing properties. And I thought about all the medicines and ointments that a baby needs for colds and diaper rash, and realized that that too was a good gift. Our baby already has a thermometer and some ointments. The gift of Myrrh symbolized that Jesus was to become a healer.


Let’s Pray: Loving God,
As we look at the Gifts that Jesus was given,
We remember the gifts that Jesus gave
As our leader,
Our Comforter,
And our healer.
Amen.

Children's Message--Advent week 3

Children’s Message
Sunday, December 11, 2005—Advent Week 3
Worship the babe

I talk to you up front here a couple of times a month, and there is a little part of my brain that is always thinking of what I might share with you when I talk to you all together like this.

So this week, I thought and thought and thought. I thought about Advent, this week’s scripture, holiday traditions, songs and books. My daughter’s favorite books this week is one called “Sleepy Jesus” and it tells the story of the nativity centered around the sleepy baby Jesus.

Now when we first got the sleepy Jesus book at my house, I remember looking at the title and thinking, “well I don’t know if that is a very respectful title!” I mean, we are talking about Jesus here—teacher, healer, SAVIOR of us all!! Except, this month, we are talking about the amazing miracle that this teacher, healer, savior came to us as a babe—as a small child—even smaller than all of you.

Have any of you ever had the chance to hold a sleeping baby? I actually was lucky enough this week to get to hold TWO sleeping babies. Little babies—one just a few weeks old, one a few DAYS old. If you have ever done it, you know that it is quite a special feeling. They are soft, and warm, and they kind of melt right into your arm or shoulder. I don’t think a person can feel more needed or useful than when they are holding a sleeping little baby.

The Junior choir sang these words a few moments ago, “Worship the babe, who in weakness is might.” While we spend most of the year thinking about Jesus as a healer, teacher and savior, we have spent the last few weeks, and will continue to spend the next few preparing to celebrate and worship Jesus as a tiny babe.

Let’s pray:
Loving God
Be with us the next few weeks
As we continue to prepare to celebrate
The birth of the Baby Jesus. Amen.