Davison's Doodle

the Sacred Steps December 22

Bethlehem is no longer on the distant horizon. Only a few days journey remain in Advent. Here are some ideas and questions to consider for some of the Lectionary texts for the week. These might help you craft five to seven minutes of a children’s sermon or for your words from the pulpit.

Micah 5:2-5a
Introduce the word “mystery” to the children and build a sermon on the idea of the “mystery” during Advent. Be ready with a definition. Other words children might understand would be wonder or amazement. Can the children talk to you about what they think is a mystery or is mysterious? Sometimes we think that a mystery is something to be solved, but when applied to Advent or religion, it could mean something different. Other questions for your preparation: Are some mysteries meant to be experienced more than understood? How would you answer this question, “What is the mystery of Advent?”

This is an opportunity to talk with the children about how God works in the world? Micah reminds us that God works through the supposed insignificant to serve, to lead, to remind, and to bring God’s kingdom into being. Preparation for this kind of sermon would include writing your own brief explanation of how you believe God works in the world. Look at what you wrote. Are their words or ideas that the children could understand?

Hebrews 10:5-10
I can imagine a children’s moment introducing the word koinonia and talking about how we share in, fellowship with, and participate in the congregation and ministry of the church.  This can relate to the Advent season, as persons often come back to Church, seeking to hear stories and rekindle their relationship with Christ, God, or persons in your congregation.

One might choose to focus on a small group of friends at church or a Sunday school class and how this group has helped you grow.  Do the children attend Sunday school?  What are they learning that helps them grow?  Talk with the children about community and the need for believers in Christ to participate in a community.

One could talk about how to stay connected to friends in your congregation or friends the children might have met.  If you have an older group, you might ask how they stay connected (in touch) with friends from church camp or another camp experience.  One could suggest that the children write a letter to a friend or, better still, here in the Advent season, it would be wonderful for the children to write letters or make cards for your congregation’s “shut-ins” (homebound), in a nursing care facility, or hospitalized.

Could your answers to the questions above provide the framework for a children’s sermon on this text?

Luke 1:39-55
Have you introduced the characters of Advent and Jesus’ birth to the children?  If so, add Elizabeth and Mary to the cast.  If not, consider doing so this week.  As Christmas Eve approaches, many of the children will hear Jesus‘ birth narrative again (some maybe for the first time), so it would be important to help them know something about all of the people in the story.  Make a list of the characters from Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth, note something about each person, and do a brief introduction so that when the children hear the complete story, they know something about each character.  What did a character do in the story?   What are the reasons or characteristics of a person in the story that we remember or that you think are important for the children to know?  Think of the Christmas story as telling a family story.  The goal is for the children to know this story like they know a family story.  As the children grow in knowledge and faith, they will better appreciate the “myth and truth” of the story. 

Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison offers excellent background on this text in her book, Preaching the Women of the Bible (Chalice, 2006). Read chapter 9, “A Prophet in Her Own Time.” There is a wiki on the Magnificat that would be a starting point to learn about this bit of scripture.  It has several translations, including the Greek, as well as other background you may find helpful, but remember to be cautious about information found on Wikipedia.

A children’s sermon could be crafted on the idea that God desires to be in relationship with us.  Mary’s intimate sharing with Elizabeth and the Magnificat is an example of how we can be in relationship with God.  Ask the children to tell you about their relationship with God.  What do they think is important?  During Advent and Christmas, we have the opportunity to focus on mending relationships, rekindling family connections or friendships, and maybe starting over with our relationship with God.

One could tell the story of Elizabeth and Mary and have a member of the youth group prepared to step out from the congregation and recite Mary’s song.  Following Mary’s words, one could talk with the children about their relationship with God.

Mary’s words are prophetic.  She sings of a time when the world will be turned upside down (v. 51-53).  Following Jesus can turn a life and the world upside down.  

If you have a Chrismon tree in your sanctuary or close enough to walk to with the children, it would be fun to have an ornament to put on the tree each week that could be a visual reminder of the children’s sermon or the season of Advent (hope, peace, joy, love, and Christ).  A children’s sermon could be built around that image and why we use it. You could invited the children to put it on the tree.