Jhn 12:12-16 - (CEV) Jesus Enters Jerusalem The next day a large crwd was in Jerusalem fr Passver. When they heard that Jesus was cming fr the festival, they tk palm branches and went ut t greet him. They shuted, Hray! Gd bless the ne wh cmes in the name f the Lrd! Gd bless the King f Israel! Jesus fund a dnkey and rde n it, just as the Scriptures say, Peple f Jerusalem, dn t be afraid! Yur King is nw cming, and he is riding n a dnkey. At first, Jesus' disciples did nt understand. But after he had been given his glry, they remembered all this. Everything had happened exactly as the Scriptures said it wuld. PALM SUNDAY Palm Sunday is a great pprtunity fr a family-fcused service, building n the feeling f celebratin and cmmunity assciated with Palm Sunday and the entry f Jesus int Jerusalem. Yu might like t put tgether sme children s packs (as suggested belw) fr the children t use during the sermn, r the children culd g ut fr a shrt time (using ne f the suggested activities) and return at the end f the service t finish the celebratin tgether. INTERACTIVE MESSAGE: Fr this message yur will need: Sme ftball gear Sme streamers Phts f fans (peple) at the airprt waiting fr a rck grup (a mdern pht and ne f the fans waiting fr The Beetles.) A bag f gdies (chclate frgs r llly pps) A cpy f the first verse f O Bundless Salvatin. I wnder what yu get excited abut. One f the things that I get excited abut is when I g the ftball and watch my favurite team, the Cats, play. I lve the atmsphere f being with ther peple fllwing the same team. I lve all the cheering and chanting and the excitement every time a gal is scred. I lve waving my banners and flags arund and spend a lt f energy screaming ut at the players and the umpires!!! I wnder hw many here fllw the ftball? (allw respnses) Oh that s quite a few f yu. Ok let s have sme fun. Let s see wh can barrack the ludest fr their ftball team. I have sme streamers here t help us get int the atmsphere. (Hand ut streamers t the children and sme adults) On the cunt f three I wuld like yu t scream ut, G Cats r the name f yur team and thrw yur streamers. Are yu ready, 1 2 3 G. Ww that was pretty lud and I lved yur enthusiasm. I can t imagine if we all went t the ftball tgether the lud racket we wuld make. The thing abut the ftball, is that everyne wh ges t a game is there fr the same purpse and this is t see yur team win. Imagine hw disappinting it Palm Sunday Page 1
wuld be if yu lined up fr fty tickets and yu gt t the frnt f the line and there were n tickets left. Hw disappinting that wuld be nt t be part f that crwd cheering fr yur team. Imagine if yur favurite music grup r rck star flew int the airprt. Maybe One Directin r Five Secnds f Summer. (Shw an image f screaming fans lined up at the airprt.) Or fr the lder peple present tday maybe yu can imagine r actually remember when The Beatles r ABBA r The Rlling Stnes arrived at the airprt (shw an image f screaming fans at the airprt fr the Beetles.) Imagine being part f the crwd waiting at the airprt. All the chanting and screaming, all the placards and signs being held up. Imagine all the different peple lining up fr a glimpse f yur favurite star. Nw picture the disappintment f driving t the airprt and getting ut f the car, walking up twards the airprt but there were s many peple already there that there was just n space fr yu t stand and see yur favurite star. Yu had wken up that mrning s excited and had been driven t the airprt nly t be s disappinted that yu gt back in the car and went straight hme. Hw disappinting that wuld be? Nw because I am in such a generus md tday I have a bag f gdies here that I wuld lve t give away. S if yu wuld like smething frm this bag please cme t the frnt nw t receive yur surprise. (Of curse mst f the children will flck up t the frnt s yu need t make sure that yu have ne item fr each child. Yu will need t arrange fr a specific adult t cme up fr this bject lessn. Tell the chsen adult befre the service that they need t stand at the back f the line and that they are ging t miss ut n receiving smething frm the bag.) (Hand ut the treats t everyne in the line but when yu get t the chsen adult at the end f the line, pretend yu dn t have anything left in the bag and that they have t miss ut.) Oh, n, I m s srry but I have just given the away last treat. I m srry but yu will have t miss ut. Gee srry abut that, I feel really bad. (Have the adult sulk when returned back t their seat.) Oh that was really awkward! Imagine being part f the crwd n Palm Sunday tw thusand years ag waiting fr Jesus wh was the King that everyne had been waiting fr. Imagine waking up that mrning and hearing that Jesus was ging t make an appearance. The Jesus that yu had heard abut frm s many peple. The Jesus that had perfrmed miracles, the Jesus wh had ministered t s many peple. I wuld think that n the day there wuld have been a huge a crwd but maybe nt everyne gt t physically see Jesus that day. Sme peple may have walked away disappinted because they culd just nt get thrugh the crwds t see Jesus. The gd news is that tday we dn t have t wait r line up t see Jesus. Jesus lves us and invites all f us and wants all f us t be part f His crwd. Jesus wants us t be part f his family and the invitatin t be a friend f Jesus is pen t everyne in the wrld. Jesus lves all f us, everyne, n matter wh we are and n matter what we have dne. Nbdy will ever miss ut n Jesus, He is here fr everyne. Nbdy will ever be excluded. I wnder if there is anyne wh can tell me what Jhn 3:16 talks abut. Jhn 3:16 (CEV) Gd lved the peple f this wrld s much that he gave his nly Sn, s that everyne wh has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. That s right, it says Gd lved the peple f this wrld s much that he gave his nly Sn, s that everyne wh has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. It desn t say, Gd lved a select few peple f this wrld, it says that Gd lves lved the peple f this wrld. That is everyne in this wrld. We all have the pprtunity t be part f Jesus crwd. We all have the pprtunity t be a friend f Jesus and t be redeemed/frgiven n matter what we have dne. Palm Sunday Page 2
There is a sng that the Funder f the Salvatin Army wrte called O Bundless Salvatin. I wnder if smene wuld read the first verse ut fr us. O bundless salvatin! deep cean f lve, O fullness f mercy, Christ brught frm abve, The whle wrld redeeming, s rich and s free, Nw flwing fr all men, nw flwing fr all men, Nw flwing fr all men, cme, rll ver me! It says, the whle wrld meaning: everyne in the wrld, everyne in this rm, everyne that lives in yur street, everyne in yur family, everyne that yu g t schl with. We are all welcme t be part f the crwd that fllws Jesus. As we think abut the cming week leading up t Easter let s remember that we are all welcme f be part f the crwd fllwing Jesus. At this pint yu might like t get the children t either cllect their activity bags r t g ut t Kids Church. ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS: These activities can be used in a variety f settings as yu explre the theme with yur kids, e.g. kid s church, kids club during the week, n sme tables during church r as the kids g ut during the message. All ver the wrld: Fr this activity yu will need: A wrld glbe r a wrld map Sme pins r stickers On the wrld glbe/map I wnder if yu can find the fllwing cuntries: Italy, Africa, Sctland, Thailand, Greenland, Brazil, Russia and Australia. Place a pin r sticker n the cuntry when it has been fund. When all the cuntries have been fund stand back and lk at all the cuntries and hw it represents many peple in the wrld. When we talked earlier abut everyne being part f Jesus crwd d yu think it included all the peple that lived in these cuntries? And there are s many mre cuntries still! Did yu knw that Gd lves and knws peple everywhere in the wrld and we are all invited t be part f his crwd? I wnder if yu find that amazing. I am curius, d yu think there is anyne that Jesus wuld nt want t be friends with? Let s have a think abut smene at schl r in yur neighburhd wh yu may nt get n with r yu dn t necessarily like. D yu think Jesus lves them mre than yu? That s right, Jesus lves us all the same, smetimes he may be disappintment with ur actins but he still lves us and n matter wh we are we can all be part f His crwd. Part f the crwd: Fr this activity yu will need: Strips f clured paper Textas Staplers Palm Sunday Page 3
Talk t the children abut wh they think wuld be included t be part f Jesus crwd. As yu are talking abut this, encurage them t write dwn names f everyne that they knw, family, friends, schl mates, neighburs, their sprt cach, teachers etc. n the strips f paper. The children can make their wn chains with the strips f paper and take it hme and place in their bedrm. Encurage the children t pray fr the peple n their chain. They culd pray that Gd will give them the pprtunity t share with the peple n their chain, that Jesus lves them and they are invited t be a friend f Jesus. CHILDREN S ACTIVITY BAG SUGGESTIONS: Belw are sme suggestins fr yu t use in creating a children s activity bag fr use during the secnd half f the service. It wuld be gd t hand these ut t the children after the interactive message. Easter invitatin card: Fr this activity yu will need t prvide each child with a piece f card stck flded like a card as well as sme pencils/textas, Easter stickers and decratins. Ask the children t make an invitatin card that they wuld like t send during the cming week t smene special in their lives. Place all the items that the children will need, plus sme instructins, int a small snap lck bag and place it int the activity bags. Draw/create a card that yu wuld like t send this week t smene special in yur life. Explain in the card that the persn receiving card is welcme t be part f the Jesus crwd and that He wants t be their friend. Invite them t attend church next Sunday with yu. Crwded Palms: Fr this activity yu will need t prvide each with a large blank sheet f paper cut ut in the shape f a palm as well as sme pencils/textas. Yu will need t prvide a set f instructins. Smetimes we frget that we are part f the big crwd f Jesus and every nw and then we need t be reminded. Using this sheet f paper, draw as many peple n the sheet f paper as pssible with yurself right in the middle f the page. Alng the tp f the sheet write the wrds, I will always be part f Jesus crwd. Take this hme and place in yur bedrm r yur bathrm mirrr as a reminder. Yu are welcme: Fr this activity yu will need sme dr handle signs and sme pencils/textas. Yu will als need t prvide the children with a set f instructins. Wuldn t it be great t let all ur family and friends knw that Jesus lves them and that they are welcme t be part f the crwd f Jesus. Smetime it s the little things that peple see r hear that make them think abut becming a friend f Jesus. Why nt create yur wn dr handle sign that says All are welcme t enter int a friendship with Jesus. Hang it n yur bedrm dr at hme s that yur family and friends can read it and maybe they just may think abut what this may mean. Other items t include: Themed Kidzne fr Palm Sunday (this will include puzzles and stries etc. fr tday s theme). Hme and Beynd card r swing tag fr the family t cntinue the cnversatin at hme. Lllypp, sweets, shapes r smething t eat depending n the children that yu have, keeping in mind allergies and eating in church plicies etc. This culd als be dne by having a cntainer where the children can chse smething t put int their bag when they cllect it OR making up the bags individually with names n them, thus catering fr thse with special needs, as well as having spares fr visitrs. Palm Sunday Page 4
Invitatins r fliers fr the families fr the family Easter celebratins. HOME AND BEYOND: It is vitally imprtant, as leaders within ur churches that we help equip parents with suggestins, activities and language as they help their children t navigate their spiritual jurney. A Hme & Beynd card placed in the activity bag r used as a swing tag n the activity bag is a great way t help them take the key message hme and cntinue the cnversatin in the rhythm f their daily lives. Map Prayers: Phtcpy a page f the Melways r a lcal map utlining a five blck radius f the area arund yur huse. Place the map n yur fridge and encurage the members f yur family every time they pen the fridge t pray fr the peple wh live in this cmmunity. As a family pray fr the peple wh live in this area. Pray that they will hear abut the lve f Jesus and have the pprtunity t knw that they are welcme t be a friend f Jesus. Jhn 3:16 (CEV) Gd lved the peple f this wrld s much that he gave his nly Sn, s that everyne wh has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. Palm Sunday Page 5