Watch What You Say

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Hey guys have you ever seen your moms make iced tea? What does she do? She takes water and then adds iced-tea mix to it right? But can you tell me something? Once we mix the powder and water can they be separated? No!! right?

Did you know that very same thing is true of the words we speak? Have you ever said something that hurt someone's feelings? Once you have said it, it is said. You can't take it back just like you can’t separate the water from the iced-tea mix. That is why we need to be very careful about the things we say. The Bible says, "He who holds his tongue is wise."

All of you know the children's rhyme that says, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names can never hurt me." That sounds nice, but it just isn't true. Words can hurt. The Bible says, "Reckless words pierce like a sword." Our words can cut others heart like a knife. We all know that God hears every word we say and he knows every thought we have in our mind. It is very important for us to be careful about the things we think and say.

The Bible says, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer." Once we have said it, we can't take it back, so let's make sure that our words are pleasing to God.

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Source : unknown / Picture : biblicalwomanhoodonline.com / Activity : sermons4kids

Don't Miss Out

Theme: Don't miss out on God's invitation.
Scripture: Luke 14:16-24

Have you ever given a party and at the last minute no one you invited showed up? How did you feel? What did you do? When we have a party or plan a special dinner we only send one invitation to each person we want to invite, but in the time that Jesus lived, people sent out two invitations. The first was to tell everyone about the event and let them know they were invited. The second was to tell them everything was ready and it was time for them to come.

In our Scripture today, Jesus tells a parable about a host who is preparing a great feast. The invitation was sent and those who were invited said they would come. When everything was ready, the host sent his servant to those who had been invited. The servant said to them, "Everything is ready! Please come to the feast." One guest after another began to make all kinds of lame excuses as to why they could not come. "I have bought some land and I have to go and look it over," said one. "I have bought some new oxen and I need to try them out," another said. Still another said, "I have just gotten married, and I can't come."

The host became very angry and told his servant to go out into the streets, the alleys, and the fields and invite the blind, the crippled, and the poor until every seat at the table was filled. Guess who didn’t get to come? That’s right. The ones who had been invited the first time. "Not one of those I first invited will get one bite of my food," the host said.

In this story, the host is God and the feast is at his heavenly banquet. The Jews accepted the first invitation that was sent by Moses and the prophets. The Jews were God’s chosen people. But when Jesus came with the second invitation, they chose not to accept it. They were too busy doing other things that they felt were more important than giving themselves to God and serving Him. So God decided to invite us - the Gentiles. God has invited us to His Heavenly banquet and it is the most important invitation we will ever receive. We don’t want to miss it because we let little things become more important to us than attending his banquet. If we keep making excuses to not accept His invitation, even if we think they are good excuses, one day He will pull His invitation from us and we will miss out on all He has prepared for us.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for inviting us to your banquet. Help us to not let anything seem more important than accepting your invitation today. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Sources : sermons4kids, Submitted by Laquita Ward / Picture Source - Click

God Does Exist

Scripture : Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:8

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about so many things and various subjects. When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: "I don't believe that God exists." "Why do you say that?" asked the customer."Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn't exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things. "The customer thought for a moment, but didn't respond because he didn't want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long, stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: "You know what? Barbers do not exist. "How can you say that?" asked the surprised barber. "I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!" "No!" the customer exclaimed. "Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside." "Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me." "Exactly!" said the customer. "That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help. That's! why there's so much pain and suffering in the world."God loves you and me but we need to learn to go to him with our problems and needs. So kids let us learn to talk to God everyday and ask him to help us with our needs.

Activity For The Day - CrossWord

Sources : Story sent through email, activity - sermons4kids, Picture Source - Click

Walking With Jesus

Portion For Reading John 10:22-30
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

The men had a question for Jesus that was bothering them. They wanted to know if Jesus was the Christ, the "anointed One" of God, and they wanted a simple "yes" or "no" answer. Jesus told them plainly that he was and the works of healing and other miracles he had performed were proof that God had sent him.

Jesus explained that his followers understood the truth of what he told them. Jesus said he would give eternal life to those that believed in him. I would think that would have made them glad -- imagine being able to live forever because you trust Jesus as your Savior! But his words made these men angry because Jesus made himself equal with God. When Jesus said he was the Son of God they did not believe him.

Today the claims that Jesus made then are still true, because no man in this world have ever claimed to be God other than Jesus, he says that I'm the Truth the Way and Life. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior. We must choose if we will walk with Jesus or not. I hope you will choose a life of walking with Jesus. Let us dedicate ourselves to worship Jesus as our Savior and to follow him.

Let's pray. Dear Lord Jesus, Help me to follow you and walk with you every day. Amen.

Activity for Today: Love The Lord Your God

Source:Jim Kerlin picture:Phoenixmasonry.org

Who is Greatest?

Scripture : Mark 9:33-37

One day Jesus and his disciples came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, "What were you arguing about on the road?" But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all." He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, "Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me."

So if you want to be the greatest then you should be the least. How can you be the least? It is by serving others by putting their needs before us like our parents, brothers, sisters etc. By helping them we please our Heavenly father and become the greatest in the kingdom of God.

By Ss.

Activity For The Day - Decode The Messege

Source for activity : sermons4kids

The Prize

Portion For Reading:Philippians 3:7-14

Paul the apostle wrote this........

There is nothing better than knowing Jesus.

I consider everything I have achieved in this life worth nothing compared to the greatness of knowing Jesus my Lord. And I would gladly give up everything in this world for the joy of having Christ call me his friend and brother.

Not that I could ever earn or deserve that. But Christ calls me his friend and brother because I believe in him. He makes me good and holy, and worthy of his friendship and love because of my faith in him.

And so, one thing I do. I forget what happened yesterday, and I keep my eyes on what is ahead. I press on to win the prize that God is keeping for me - and that is to share in an everlasting life overflowing with love and happiness with Jesus.

There is nothing better than that on earth or in heaven.

So, kids let us run a race in order to win, which means to live a life worthy for Jesus and no turning back........ and then you will recieve the prize of eternal life!

Paul from his letter to the Philippians..........

Activity for Today:Crossword Puzzle

Source:Paul Dallgas-Frey

Dinner On The Ground

Theme: God provides for his children.

Scripture:"I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, 'At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.'" Exodus 16:12 (NIV)

Do you like chicken nuggets and biscuits? I do! Wouldn't it be great if every evening at dinner time, we could open our front door, walk out into the yard, and pick up boxes full of chicken nuggets? All the chicken nuggets we could eat! And what if every morning we could open the front door and walk out into the yard and pick up boxes full of the hot biscuits with honey for breakfast? That would be great, wouldn't it?

Did you know we can read in the Bible about a time when something almost exactly like that happened? God's people, the Israelites, had been held as prisoners in Egypt for many years. When they were finally freed and left Egypt, they were looking for the land that God had promised them. After they had been wandering around lost in the desert for a couple of months, the people started to grumble and complain against their leaders, Moses and his brother Aaron.
"We had it better when we were in Egypt," they complained. "At least we had plenty to eat. You have brought us out here in the desert to starve us to death!"

God heard the people complaining and told Moses that in the evening he would send quail to cover the camp so that the people would have meat to eat. Not only that, but in the morning, after the dew was gone, there would be bread on the ground for everyone to eat. All they had to do was go out, pick it up, and eat it. Why did God do this for those grumblers and complainers? He did it so that they would know that he loved them and that he would take care of them. God hadn't brought them out of Egypt to let them starve in the desert! He was going to see to it that they made it to the land which he had promised them.

Sometimes you and I grumble and complain, don't we? We forget that God loves us and that he provides us with everything that we need. Instead of grumbling and complaining, we should be saying, "Thank you," and I think we should do that right now!. Heavenly Father, sometimes we grumble and complain. When we do, help us to remember that every good thing we have comes from you. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Search Me

Source : sermons4kids

The King Is Coming

Portion For Reading John 14:23

Theme: Preparing our hearts for Christ's.

Even though our house always looked just fine to me, I can still remember what it was like around our house when my mother found out one day that a important guest was coming. She brought out the broom, the mop and pail, sponges, window cleaner, bathroom cleaner, dust rags, and furniture polish. Then she called me and my two sisters together and assigned each of us the job that we were to do. When we were finished, mother always checked to make sure that not a speck of dirt or dust remained.

Can you imagine what it would have been like around our house if we had been expecting a visit from a king? Well, that is what I want to talk to you about this morning. A king is coming -- not just any king -- the King of Kings!

Same way our hearts are like a house even though our heart looks clean but the Holy Spirit knows what is not clean, like the mother, he will instruct or assign the works to us to clean those area of our life which do not please the king who is our God. So get ready and here is the good news that Christ the King wants to visit you today, please clean your hearts by obeying his words and commandments so that he can be enthroned in your hearts.

And if you already have Jesus in your life, then prepare yourselves for his II coming, which will occur very soon, in which the king will take us to his home. It will be a great fun then!

Lord Please visit me!

Activity for Today: John the Baptist

Source:sermon4kids.com

The Ten Lepers

On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" When he saw them he said to them, "Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they went, they were made clean. Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice. He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan. Then Jesus asked, "Were not ten made clean? But the other nine, where are they? Was none of them found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?" Then he said to him, "Get up and go on your way; your faith has made you well." Luke 17:11-19

Leprosy was a feared and horrible disease, and still is. To this day, it is incurable. Because it was easy to catch, lepers were not allowed in the city, and were not allowed to approach others. That is why these ten lepers kept their distance and called out to Jesus. These lepers were, in all, a good bunch. They were obeying the laws: they stayed out of the city and did not approach Jesus or his followers. They believed in Jesus' ability to heal. They obeyed Jesus without question when he told them to go to the priests, even before they were healed.*

*In Leviticus Chapter 13 in the Bible explains how leprosy was handled under Moses' law. The priests were the men who decided whether leprosy was contagious or not. The priests had the power to declare these men healed and clean.

So these men were respectful, obedient, and trusting. What they weren't was thankful. Only one of the men, when they learned they were healed, was grateful enough to return and praise Jesus. Do you think he was the only one that was happy? I doubt it. Do you think it was easy for him to be the only one to return to Jesus? Probably not. He wanted to be declared clean by the priests so he could return to his family, his job and his friends. But he was thankful enough to stop right then and thank Jesus and praise God for this wonderful gift.

Today we might not have leprosy but we do get sick such as fever, chickenpox, etc. There so many kids around us who are sick and get sick. But Jesus has healed from all our sickness and problems whenever we have had them. Have you thanked Jesus for them? He not only heals our sickness but also gives us all we need. So next time for anything do not forget to thank Jesus for all he does.

Activity For The Day - Be Thankful

THE WOLF AND HIS SHADOW

Portion For Reading Rom 13:1,2
A WOLF left his lair one evening in fine spirits and an excellent appetite. As he ran, the setting sun cast his shadow far out on the ground, and it looked as if the wolf were a hundred times bigger than he really was.

"Why," exclaimed the Wolf proudly, "see how big I am! Fancy me running away from a puny Lion! I'll show him who is fit to be king, he or I."

Just then an immense shadow blotted him out entirely, and the next instant a Lion struck him down with a single blow.

Do not let your fancy make you forget realities.

So, kids let us not rebell against our teachers, parents and goverment authorties, because by doing so we may rebell against God indirectly, as the bible says that these authorites are given above us to protect and guide us for our peacefull living.

Activity for Today: Luke Chapter One

Source:mainlesson.com

Are You Speaking To God?

Jesus' disciples asked Him to teach them how to pray. Prayer is speaking to God. Jesus gave them a sample - or model - prayer. And Jesus said...

"After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." Matthew 6:9-13

Let's look at what this prayer teaches us.
Who - we are to pray to God - the Father
What - give thanks, ask forgiveness, ask for our daily needs and protection from evil, ask for peace (1 Tim 2:1,2), share our burdens (Phil. 4:6).
Where - anywhere (Matt 6:6 says in secret - or privately)
When - anytime (1 Thess 5:17 "Pray without ceasing")
Why - for peace, forgiveness, health, to know God better, to know ourselves better, to become dependent on God, and because He wants us to.

Do you talk to your parents or friends each time you see them? What would they think if you didn't speak to them? Giving people the "silent treatment" usually indicates that you're upset with them - or that you don't like them. How do you think God feels when we give Him the "silent treatment"? God wants to be involved in our life, like a friend. He wants us to include Him, to be close to us. He is always willing and ready to talk. He leaves it up to us to approach Him. So just like we take and make time to talk to our parents, brothers, sisters and friends let us make time to talk to God through prayers.

Activity For The Day - Prayer

Activity 2 For The Day - Prayer 2

Source : ebibleteacher.

Good Secrets In Life

Theme : Doing Good Things Privately

Scripture : "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)

Why do we do things that are good? (discuss: to please God, because it is right, to make others happy) Is it possible to do a good thing in a bad way? Yes, it is. Sometimes people do good things just to gain popularity or to look good in front of others. Has anyone ever seen someone do that in school - helped the teacher only to look important in front of their friends? Jesus said that if we that, we will not be pleasing to God. We must not be good just to show off. Jesus said that if we do good and no one knows about it, God will reward us Himself. Isn't it better to please God than to please men?

So how does one do good secretly? You can do a chore without announcing to everyone that you did it. You can send an unsigned note to cheer someone up. Adults can donate money to people or causes without signing their name. Sometimes people will find out, and that's ok. The point is that you help people without caring whether anyone else knows you did it. God knows, and He will be pleased.

Source : Ebibleteacher

Activity For The Day - Day Of Pentecost

What Kind Of A Soil Are You?

THEME: Growth depends upon where the seed is planted.

SCRIPTURE: But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. Matthew 13: 23a [NIV]

Have you ever planted anything? Perhaps you took some packages of seeds and planted a garden of vegetables. If so, you know that the type of soil that you have is very important to the success of a garden. If the ground is too hard, or full of rocks and weeds, you probably won't have a very good crop of vegetables.

In our Bible lesson today, Jesus told a story about a man who went out and planted some seeds. Some of the seed fell on the path where the ground was very hard. The seeds just lay on top of the ground and the birds came and ate the seeds. Some of the seed fell on rocky ground. The seeds sprang up quickly, but when the sun came, the plants dried up because they didn't have good roots. Some of the seeds fell among weeds and plants grew for a little while, but the weeds took over and choked them out. Fortunately, some of the seed fell on good soil and the plants grew strong and healthy and produced a good crop.

In Jesus' story, the Word of God is the seed, and we are the soil. Often, when we come to church, the preacher is preaching the Word, but we aren't really paying attention. Perhaps we are thinking about what we are going to do that afternoon or about what we did yesterday. We are hearing the Word, but we are not listening. That is like throwing seed on the top of the ground. It won't ever grow into anything in our life.

There are other times when we hear the Word and we get excited about it, but then our excitement fades and we drift away. That is like the seeds that fall on the rocky ground. The plants spring up, but then die because the roots are too shallow.

Sometimes we hear the Word and we believe what it says, but we want to keep on doing the same things we have been doing. That is like planting the seed in with a bunch of weeds. I can tell you what will happen, the weeds will soon take over!

When we hear the word, and we listen and try to understand what it says and put it into practice in our daily life, then we are like good soil. We are like soil where the seed takes root and grows and produces a plentiful harvest. That is the kind of soil that Jesus wants us to be. What kind of soil are you?

Activity For The Day - Jumble Jumble

Activity 2 For The Day - Color Away

Source : sermons4kids

He Bears Our Burdens For Us

Theme: We don't have to bear our burdens! We can give them to the Lord.

Scripture: Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19

School will start soon and I am sure most of you will be back into your daily routine. I know that most of you use a backpack to carry all of your school supplies and books back and forth to school. I have seen some children with backpacks that are almost as big as they are! Sometimes their backpacks are so loaded with all those heavy books that it is just about more than they can carry!

Life is a lot like that too. Sometimes we have some pretty heavy burdens that we try to carry around with us. Some of you may be worried that you won't have any friends in your class, or that the other kids won't like you, or that you just won't fit in. Maybe some of you are worried that you won't have the right clothes. Maybe you are still wearing a "Star Wars" t-shirt and all the other kids are wearing "Pokemon" t-shirts. Maybe some of you are worried that you might not be able to do the work in your new grade and are afraid you might fail. Those can be pretty heavy problems to carry around with us.

Well, I have some good news for you! You don't have to carry all those worries around with you! The Bible tells us that God will carry those burdens for us. So, even before you start your schools with a load of worries and problems, today itself you can give them to Jesus. He will carry them for you and help you through your problems. Pray to Jesus that Lord, we are giving you all our worries and problems today. And we are thankful that we do not have to carry the heavy burdens of life ourselves. We are thankful that you are there for us to help us through and carry our burdens. Amen.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Jesus The Name Above All Names

Building Bridges

Theme: Living in harmony
Scripture: "If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him--work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you've made a friend." Matthew 18:15 (The Message) Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10 (NLT)

Once upon a time, there were two brothers. Their father had a large farm and when he became too old to work, he called his sons to him. "I am too old to work anymore," he said. "I will divide my farm in half and give each of you one half. I know that you will always work together and will be good friends."

When the brothers first started farming on their adjoining farms, they were the best of friends and would share everything together. Then, one day there was an argument between the two brothers and they stopped speaking to one another. For many years, not a word was spoken between them.

One day, one of the brothers was at his house when a carpenter came to his door and said, “I would like to do some work. Do you have any work that I can do?” The brother thought for a moment and then replied, “I would like for you to build a fence on my property. Build it down near the stream there that separates my farm from my brother’s. I don’t want to see my brother any more and I would like for you to build a high fence there please. I’m going into town and I’ll be back this evening.

When he came back that evening, he was shocked to see that the carpenter had not followed his instructions. Instead of building a high fence there, he had built a bridge over the stream. The man walked down to take a look at the bridge, and as he did, his brother walked toward him from the other side. His brother said, “After all the terrible things I’ve done to you over the years, I can't believe that you would build a bridge and welcome me back.” He reached out to his brother and gave him a big hug.

The brother then walked back up to his farmhouse to talk to the carpenter. “Can you stay?” he asked. “I have more work for you to do.” The carpenter answered, “I’m sorry but I can’t stay. I have to go, for I have many other bridges to build.”

Sometimes you and I have a disagreement with our brothers and sisters in Christ. When that happens, we often build a fence between ourselves and them. We stop talking to them. We don't want to see them. We don't want to be around them. That isn't what Jesus wants us to do. Instead of fences, he wants us to build a bridge of love between us.

Dear Father, we know it is your desire for us to live together in peace and harmony. Help us to love one another. Amen.

Activity For Today: Matthew 1

Citation: Author unknown. Adapted from various sources on the Internet.

Fishing for People

THEME: Telling others about Jesus
SCRIPTURE: Matt 4:18-20
Do you enjoy fishing? Have you ever caught a fish? Fishing is a great sport, and if you have ever been fishing and have caught a fish, you know that there is a great feeling of excitement when you catch a fish. One of the things that makes fishing such a great sport is that it doesn't matter if you are young or old or if you are a girl or a boy -- you can still be good at fishing.

What does it take to be good at catching fish? First of all, you need to be properly equipped. You can't just get piece of string, put a hook on it, and tie it on the end of a stick and expect to catch very many fish, can you? No! If you are serious about fishing, you will make sure that you have all the right equipment. You will want a nice rod and reel, like this one I have this morning.

The next thing you need to know is that you can't sit around talking with your friends about fishing or reading fishing magazines and expect to catch any fish. You have to go where the fish are to catch fish!

Finally, if you want to be good at fishing, you must learn patience. Sometimes the fish just aren't biting. I guess that is the main reason I was never very good at fishing. I thought that you should catch a fish the minute your hook hit the water -- and if I ever went fishing and didn't catch anything -- well, that's why I gave up fishing.

One day, Jesus was walking along the seashore when he saw two brothers named Peter and Andrew. Jesus knew that they made their living by fishing, so he called out to them, "Follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!" Do you know what they did? They laid down their fishing nets and followed Jesus.

Jesus wants you and me to fish for people too. That means that he wants us to tell others about what he has done for us and what he wants to do for them. What does it take to be a fisher of people?

First, we need to be properly equipped. We need to know what the Bible teaches and learn how to share it with others.

Next, we need to remember that we can't just sit around reading the Bible and talking about fishing for people and expect to bring them to Jesus. We have to go out where the people are and tell them about Jesus.

Finally, we must learn patience. Everybody we tell about Jesus isn't going to believe. Some people just won't be interested, but we can't give up. We just have to keep telling people about Jesus and let Jesus take care of the rest. If we will do these things, we can really become fishers of people like Jesus wants us to be. If you think there is a great feeling of excitement in catching a fish, just imagine how exciting it must be to bring someone to Jesus!

Dear Jesus, help us to become fishers of people. Help us to tell others what you have done for us and what you want to do for them. Amen.

Activity for Today: Fishing For People
Source: Sermons4Kids

A Real Taste Test

Theme: Trusting God

Scripture: O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him. Psalm 34:8

I went to the grocery store to buy some cookies. There were so many different kinds and flavors of cookies that it was really difficult to decide which ones to buy. Finally I decided to buy these. Why did I choose these? Well, for one thing, I have heard from other people that these are very good cookies. Then I saw the name of the company that makes them and I know that they have a very good reputation. Nabisco, that is a name I can trust. Finally, the price was right! This big bag of cookies was only $2.69! Well I made my choice, but there is only one way to know for sure if it was the right choice. Can you guess what that is? That’s right, the "taste test." Let me see how they taste. Oh my, they are good. I made a good choice.

Did you know that all of the things that I used to decide on which cookies to buy might be used to decide whether or not to invite Jesus into our heart? We have heard from other people that Jesus is a wonderful Savior. We have all heard of the name of Jesus. We know that Jesus is a name we can trust. And finally, the price is right; it is free! Jesus paid the price when He died on the cross. These are all good reasons to choose Jesus, but the best reason to choose Him is the "taste test." The Bible says, "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." If we really want to know if Jesus is good, we must take the "taste test" and put our trust in Him.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Psalms 100

In Everything Give Thanks

Theme : Give thanks to God for everything.

Scripture : Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One day a man dreamt that he is in heaven and an angel was giving him a tour of heaven. The angel takes him to a line where angels were very busy. The man asked the angel what are the angels doing, they seems so busy. And the angel replied, this is the place we receive all the prayers as emails, faxes, telegrams etc. The man was very pleased to see how peoples prayers were acknowledge with so much priority.

Then the angel and the man moved on and came to the next place. There the man saw so many angels and they were busy packing and sending boxes. And the man asked the angel what are these angels up to. The angel replied, this is the place where all the prayers are answered and packed up and sent back to earth. The man was so happy.

As they kept going they came to a place where there was an old angel sitting down and sleeping. The whole place was silent and so slow and dead. The man was confused and stopped. He asked the angel in surprise why is this angel sleeping. What kind of a department is this? The angel said this is the place where we receive all the thanks and acknowledgement for all the good things God did and the prayers that were answered. This department is very slow because no one sends a thank you once they receive what they have prayed for such as job, clothes, food, money home etc.

Activity For The Day - Search The Books

Source : Unknown

Tails You Loose

Theme: The wisdom to make right choices come from above.

Scripture: Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Matthew 7: 7

What do you do when you have an important decision or a difficult choice to make? Some people flip a coin and say "If it's heads, I'll do this and if it is tails, I'll do that." I can remember doing that when I was a little boy. If it came up tails and that wasn't what I wanted to do, I'd flip it again and say, "Let's try two out of three." I'd just keep flipping until I got the answer I wanted.
Here's another way that some people make important decisions. It is a fortune cookie. When you break it open, there is a little piece of paper inside that is supposed to tell you what choices to make in your life. I guess if you don't like what it says, you can just keep opening cookies until you find one that says what you want to hear.

Some people use the "eeney, meeney, miney, moe" method to decide what they will do. There are a lot of ways that people use to choose what they are going to do, but I don't think they are very good ways to make an important decision. What should we do when we have to make an important decision? The Bible says, "Seek and you will find, ask and it will be given to you, knock and the door will be opened to you."

"Seek" - the first thing we should do when we have a decision to make is to look for the answer. Where should we look? I think the best place to look is in the Bible. The Bible is God's word and it is true and reliable.
"Ask" - The next thing we should do is to ask. When we have an important decision, we should pray and ask God to tell us what we should do.
"Knock" - We will face many doors of opportunity in life. When there are several doors and we don't know which to choose, we should knock on the door and wait to see if God opens that door. If it is what is best for us, God will open the door of opportunity and let us in.

So, what should we do when we face important decisions? Seek for the answer in the Bible, ask God in prayer, knock and wait for God to open the door.

Dear Lord, help us to remember to ask you for the answers to the difficult decisions that we face each day.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Find Me

Elijah's Simple Plan For Life

Portion For Reading 1 Kings 17:14

Once upon a time, Elijah the prophet and servant of God walked off to the town of Zarephath, he found a widow there. She was gathering up a few dry, dusty sticks.

Elijah said to her, “Please, would you bring me some water in a jar to drink?” As she was going to get some water for this complete stranger, Elijah called out to her, “And please, bring me some bread!”

Well, that did it! This guy must be crazy! Didn’t he know it hadn't rained for months?! There was barely any water, and hardly a scrap of food left.

“Sir,” the woman said to Elijah, “As sure as the Lord your God lives, I don’t have any bread!” At least the poor widow seemed to know there WAS a God in heaven, she just wasn’t sure who he was, or why he was making life so difficult.

The widow said, “All I have left in this world is a handful of flour and a little jar of oil. I am gathering up these sticks so that I can make one last meal for my son and me. And then we will die.”

Things looked pretty bad.

But, no matter how bad things might have seemed, God was still there.

Elijah said to the widow, “Do not worry. Go home and do just what you planned to do. But before you do, make a small loaf of bread for me. And then, from what you have left, make a loaf of bread for you and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel has promised, ‘The flour will not be used up and the jar of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ ”

What a simple plan for life!

Don't worry. Make your plans, do what you think is best - but give to God first, and God will take care of the rest.

And so, that is exactly what the widow did.

And day after day there was water to drink and food to eat. The flour was not used up, and the jar of oil did not run dry - just as God had promised!
But there is no end to God and his love for us.

And that is worth more than all the treasures in the world.

Activity For Today: All Sins Forgiven

Source:essex1.com

The Five W's Of Prayer

Theme: Prayer

Scripture: Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. James 5:16 (NIV)

Every morning I read the newspaper to keep up with what is going on in the world. Do you ever read the newspaper? Did you know that the people who write the stories for the newspaper have a special way of deciding how to write their story? Well, here is what the reporter does. To make sure that the facts of the story are complete, a reporter makes sure that the article answers five important questions. Those five questions are: Who, What, When, Where, and Why. When we read a story, it is good for us to ask ourselves those same questions to help us fully understand the story.

Today, we are going to read some verses from the Bible. These verses were written by James, the brother of Jesus. In these verses, James is teaching about prayer. After we finish, let's see if we can answer the who, what, when, where, and why questions about prayer. (Read James 5:13-16)

Well, let's see if we can answer the five questions about prayer.

• Who should pray? Anyone! These verses tell us that anyone who needs God's help or anyone who has received God's blessing should pray -- and that is all of us.

• What should we pray about? Anything! We should pray for healing when we are sick and for forgiveness from sin. We should offer prayers of thanks when we are happy, and ask for help in times of trouble.

• When should we pray? Anytime! If we should pray when we are in trouble, when we are sick, when we are happy, or when we have sinned, that is just about any time, isn't it?

• Where should we pray? Anywhere! These verses don't come right out and tell us where we should pray, but I figured it out. If we should pray any time we need God's help, then I guess it just makes sense that we should pray anywhere we are, because wherever we are, God is there!
• Why should we pray? Because God answers prayer! These verses tell us that prayer is powerful and effective and that if we will pray, God will hear our prayers, heal the sick, and forgive our sins.

The five W's of prayer. Who? Anyone. What? Anything. When? Anytime. Where? Anywhere. Why? Because God answers prayer.

Dear Father, thank you for hearing and answering our prayers. Help us to remember that you want to heal us when we are sick, help us when we are in trouble, forgive us when we sin, and rejoice with us when we are happy. Amen.

Activity For The Day - Decode The Message

Souce : sermons4kids

Who Do You Trust?

Theme: We can trust God to provide every need.

Scripture: Psalm 23

A long, long time ago before any of you were born there was a television game show called "Who Do You Trust?" This is how the game is played first The leader will ask you are asked a question that you have to answer for example a Bible question. Then you will be asked "Who do you trust?" And you have to choose a person you trust to answer the question correctly for you.

Playing the "Who Do You Trust?" game can be a lot of fun, but in real life, it is very important to know whom we can trust. I know where to find the answer. We can find the answer to that question in the Bible. Psalm 23 is one of the best-loved passages in the whole Bible. When we read the 23rd Psalm, it sounds as if someone may have just asked David the question,"Who do you trust?" What was his answer? His answer was, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

David was himself a shepherd and he knew that sheep can trust the shepherd in every situation. When the sheep are hungry, the shepherd takes them to green pastures where they have plenty to eat. When the sheep are thirsty, he leads them to a quiet stream where the can drink. When the sheep are in danger of being eaten by wild animals, the shepherd is their protector. The sheep can trust the shepherd in every situation.

Each day we find ourselves facing difficult situations and we have difficult choices to make. We often ask ourselves, "Who can I trust?" The answer is, "Jesus." The Bible tells us that Jesus is "The Good Shepherd" and we are his sheep. Just like David, we can say, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." We can trust him in every situation.

source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - Can You Decode It

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

ABRAHAM LINCOLN was the President during this dark time in our nation's history,—the Civil War. He was not a handsome man, not an educated man, not a society-mannered man; but a more honest, more loyal-hearted, more grand-souled man than Abraham Lincoln, never stood at the head of our government. He was as honest as George Washington, as sturdy as Andrew Jackson, as brave as the bravest General, and, in the end, as noble as the noblest martyr.

He had had a hard life as a boy. He had been brought up on a Kentucky farm, where he had learned to hoe and to plant, to drive oxen, to build log-houses, to split rails, to fell trees;—everything that a farmer boy away out in a new country would have to do, this boy had done.

But for all his hoeing and his rail-splitting, for all his poverty and his hard labor, for all his rough home and his common companions, Abraham Lincoln soon proved that he had a something in his head and in his heart that any gentleman might well have been proud to own—a something that a world of fine houses and fine clothes could not buy— something which, by and by, prompted him to set all the poor black men and women free.

Psalms 25:9

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.

Matthew 18:4
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Activity for Today: Abraham Lincoln

Source:mainlesson.com

Jesus Can Handle All Problems

THEME: Jesus will help you carry the load.

SCRIPTURE: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11: 28 [NIV]

How strong are you? How many of you think you could pick up a brick? How about a dumbbell like this one? Well, you must be pretty strong then. How many of you think you could pick up a car? Oh, you don't think you could pick up a car? Well, I think you could if you had some help. Here is something that would help you. It is an automobile jack. If you put this jack underneath the car and pump the handle, you can easily lift a car that weighs over 3,000 pounds like in the picture below! Yes, with the help of a jack, you can lift a car, but you couldn't do it alone, could you?

Some of you have some pretty heavy burdens to carry in life. Perhaps you have a physical handicap that makes your life difficult. Or, perhaps your father has lost his job and your family is having financial difficulties. Maybe someone in your family has some serious illness and you are worried about them. You may be having a hard time making passing grades in school. I don't know what the burdens are that you have in your life, but I do know that there are some that you just can't handle by yourself. Well, guess what? You don't have to!

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." There is no reason for you to struggle with burdens that are too heavy for you. If you will turn to Jesus and trust in him, he will help you.

Does that mean that if we will ask him, Jesus will take all of our troubles away? No. In fact, we may need some of those struggles to help us to grow and become stronger. We may need those burdens to help us to learn to trust in Jesus. But when the load is too heavy, he will help us to carry it. And there is no burden that is too heavy for Jesus.

Activity For The Day - Come To Jesus

Source : sermons4kids

Don't Get Cheated

Theme: Don't be deceived by Satan's tricks

Scriptures: "For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3: 5 [NKJV]

How many of you have ever eaten Cracker Jacks? Cracker Jacks have been around for a long time. I used to eat them when I was a boy so you know they have been around for a long time. Do you think I ate Cracker Jacks because I liked them? Well, the taste pretty good, but that isn't why I ate them. I ate them because of what it says right here on the box. "A prize inside!" I wanted that prize! You know, after I got the prize, I was always disappointed because the prize was some cheap little toy that wasn't worth anything. You could say, the prize wasn't what it was "cracked up to be!" But I kept on buying those Cracker Jacks and hoping that some day I would get a really great prize. I never did.

Do you know that it is the oldest trick in the Book? It is the same trick that Satan used on Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan went to Eve and said to her, "If you will eat of that tree over there, you will be like God. You will be as wise as He is." So, Eve ate the fruit and gave some to Adam, and it sure wasn't like Satan promised. In fact, they lost their place in that beautiful garden. That is one of Satan's very best tricks and he still uses it today. He will promise us great things if we will just do what he wants us to do, but the prize is never what he promised. In fact, it may just end up costing us our place in God's kingdom.

Always remember that Satan will use every trick he knows to get us to do what he wants us to do. But let us pray that Lord, help us to remember that nothing he promises can compare to what we have in You.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - CrossWord Puzzle

Daily Bread

Theme: God supplies our every need.

Scripture: When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. Exodus 16:15 (NIV)

Do any of you know what this bread above that you see is called? It is called Monkey Bread. I don't really know why it is called Monkey Bread, but I have heard some people say that it is called Monkey Bread because when you eat it, you pull it off and eat it one piece at a time much the same way that a monkey eats his food.

When I saw the Monkey Bread, it reminded me of a story in the Bible. It is a story about something that happened to the Israelites when Moses was leading them out of Egypt. The Israelites had been wandering around in the desert for many years. Things were difficult and the people began to grumble and complain to Moses that they didn't have enough to eat. Moses told God about their complaining and God said, "I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you, and each day the people can go out and gather enough bread for one day."

The next morning when the people went outside their tents, the ground was covered with a fine, flaky substance. When they saw it, they asked, "What is it?" Moses answered them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat." God told the people to gather only enough bread for one day. Do you know why he told them that? He said that because He wanted them to trust Him to send the bread that they needed each and every day.

God still provides what we need for each and every day just like he did for the Isralites, doesn't He? That is why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread."

Dear Father, just as you provided daily bread for your children in the time of Moses, you provide all our needs each and every day. For all of your goodness, we give thanks. Amen.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - RIDDLES FOR YOU

O Yes You Can

Theme: If God tells you to do it, you can do it.

Scripture: But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:7-8 (NIV)

"I just can’t do it!" Have you ever said that? Of course you have, we have all said that at one time or another. Maybe you said it when the soccer coach asked you to take the penalty shot that would win the game, or when your piano teacher asked you to play a difficult piece on a recital. Maybe it was when the teacher called on you to give a book report in front of the whole class.

Jacob was a good student. Oh, he wasn't the smartest kid in class, but he worked hard and made pretty good grades. His worst subject was arithmetic. Addition and subtraction didn't give him any trouble, but when it came to long division, he just didn't get it. One day as he sat struggling with his assignment, he finally threw down his pencil and cried out in frustration, "I just can't do it!" His teacher, Mrs. Davis, smiled at Jacob and said, "Can't never could do anything. Here, let me help you." Mrs. Davis went over to Jacob's desk and showed him step by step what he had to do to solve the problem. With his teacher's help, suddenly long division didn't seem so hard after all.

Our Bible lesson today is about a man named Jeremiah. One day, God spoke to Jeremiah and said, "Before you were even born, I chose you to be my prophet to all the nations." Jeremiah answered, "I can't! I'm not a good speaker, and besides, I'm too young." "Don't say 'I can't'" the LORD answered Jeremiah. "If I tell you to go and speak to someone, then go! And when I tell you what to say, don't leave out a word!" Then the LORD reached out his hand, and touched Jeremiah's mouth and said, "I am giving you the words to say, and I am sending you with authority to speak to the nations for me."

There will be times in your life when God will come to you, as he did to Jeremiah, and ask you to do something special for him. He may call you to be a preacher, a missionary, or a Sunday School teacher. Whatever it is that God calls you to do in this life, remember what he said to Jeremiah, "Don't say, 'I can't!'" If God calls you to do something, he will reach out his hand and touch your life to give you the ability to do it.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - WORD SHAPES

Mustard Seed And Yeast

Theme: Size doesn't matter in the kingdom of heaven.

Scripture: He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough." Matthew 13:31-33 (NIV)

Today we will talk about two things that may not be familiar to some of you. Do you know what mustard seeds are? Take a look at the picture above to see what these mustard seeds look like. See how tiny these mustard seeds are? They are the smallest seeds I have ever seen. The other thing I have brought today is some yeast. Yeast comes in very small packets. Both of these things are very small, yet, in our Bible lesson today, the mustard seed and yeast are used by Jesus to describe what the kingdom of heaven is like

Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." What can we learn from the mustard seed? Well, I think we can learn that we are never too small to be important in God's eyes. You and I may be small, but we can help to grow the kingdom of God.

Look at this small packet of yeast. Do you know what happens when you take this small amount of yeast and mix it with water and flour and a little salt and sugar? It grows all through that mixture and gives us big loaves of bread. Large, soft, fluffy, delicious loaves of bread. The flour and water and sugar and salt just can't do it alone. The yeast has an affect on everything - just from a tiny piece of it. Jesus said: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." That is what Jesus wants us to do. He wants us, as part of his kingdom, to change the world around us and make it better.

We may be small, but like the mustard seed and the yeast, we are important in the kingdom of heaven.

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - ARRANGE IN ORDER

Flock Of Geese

THEME: Using our gifts to serve and encourage others.

SCRIPTURE: We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Romans 12:6-8 (NIV)

You have probably heard someone call another person who has done something Silly, "A silly goose!" Well, I can tell you that geese are not silly! We can learn a lot from the goose. For example, when geese fly, they fly in a "V" formation. Have you ever wondered why the geese fly in a "V" formation? Recent scientific studies have given us the answer. It has been learned that as each goose flaps its wings, it gives a lift to the one immediately following. It has been determined that flying this way gives the geese about 70% more flying range.

Of course, that means that the lead goose is working harder. When the lead goose gets tired, he falls back into the formation and another takes his place. Now, that's team work!If you have ever seen a flock of geese flying, you have also noticed that all the time they are flying, the geese are "honking." They do this to encourage one another. It is always easier to do something difficult when you know you aren't flying alone, isn't it?

Sometimes, a goose becomes sick or is injured and falls to the ground. When that happens, two other geese go down and stay with it until it is well. Do you think the geese are silly? It sounds to me like they are pretty smart!

We can learn a lot from these geese like that it is important for all church members to share the responsibility within the church rather than letting the same loyal ones work until they drop! We can learn that it is important to "honk" encouragement to other workers in the church. We can learn that it is important for us to look after those who are sick or in need.And in that way we can also use the gifts that God has given us to serve and encourage others.

Source : sermons4kids Submitted by Geoff Wilson

Activity For The Day - SEARCH AND FIND

The Trinity Snowman

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

When you see a snowman

Three snowballs round,

He is reminding you

That in God, Three in One are found.

The bottom reminds us of God the Father,

Our strong rock and foundation,

The Creator of all living things,

People, tribes and nations.

The middle shows us God the Son

With His arms spread open wide.

Who died on the cross for each of us

Our sins Jesus’ blood did hide.

The head reminds us of God the Holy Spirit

Who is our counselor and friend,

He speaks to our hearts and minds

Transforming us in the likeness of Him.

So when you see a snowman

In the midst of all the wintertime fun,

Listen carefully and he’ll tell you,

“Remember God is Three in One”

By: Maureen Spell

Source : sermons4kids

Activity For The Day - UNSCRAMBLE IT