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Contents:
#1: The Cobbler And His Guest
#2:What Will the Future Bring?
#3: What is Advent Really?
#4: Advent Wreath Lighting with Children
#5: Advent Reading for Children |
The Cobbler and His Guest
a children's story for Advent
There once lived in the city of Marseilles an old shoemaker. One Christmas Eve, as he
sat alone in his little shop reading of the visit of the Wise Men to the infant Jesus, and
of the gifts they brought, he said to himself. "If tomorrow were the first Christmas,
and if Jesus were to be born in Marseilles this night, I know what I would give Him!"
He rose from his stool and took from a shelf overhead two tiny shoes of softest snow-white
leather. “I would give Him those, my finest work."
During the night the cobbler had a dream. It was like Jesus told him: “Tomorrow I
will pass by your window. If you see Me, and bid Me to enter, I shall be your guest at
your table."
The cobbler did not sleep that night for joy. And before it was yet dawn he rose and
swept and tidied up his little shop.
He sat by his window and saw an old street-sweeper pass by, blowing on his hands to
warm them. "Poor fellow, he must be half frozen," thought the cobbler. Opening
the door he called out to him, "Come in, my friend, and warm, and drink a cup of hot
tea." And the man gratefully accepted the invitation.
An hour passed, and he saw a young, miserably clothed women carrying a baby. "Come
in and warm while you rest," he said to her. "You do not look well," he
remarked. The woman said: "I am going to the hospital. I hope they will take me in,
and my baby boy," she explained. "My husband is at sea, and I am ill, without a
soul."
"Poor child!" said the cobbler. Why, you have put no shoes on the boy!"
"I have no shoes for him," sighed the mother sadly. "Then he shall have
this lovely pair I finished yesterday." He slipped the white shoes on the child's
feet...and shortly the poor young mother left, with tears in her eyes.
Hour after hour went by, and although many people passed his window, and many needy
souls shared his hospitality, the expected Guest did not appear.
"It was only a dream," he sighed, with a heavy heart. "I did believe;
but Jesus has not come to be my guest."
Suddenly, so it seemed to his weary eyes, the room was flooded with a strange light.
And to the cobbler's astonished vision there appeared before him, one by one, the poor
street-sweeper, the sick mother and her child, and all the people whom he had aided during
the day. And each smiled at him and said. "Have you not seen me? Did I not sit at
your table?" Then they vanished.
At last, out of the silence, the cobbler heard a gentle voice repeating the old
familiar words. "Whosoever shall receive one such in My name, receives Me...for I was
hungry, and you gave Me food; I was thirsty, and you gave Me a drink; I was a stranger,
and you took Me in...truly I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the
least of these, you have done it unto Me."
What
Will The Future Bring?
a kids' talk based on all lessons
by Rev. Frank Schaefer
props: none
Greetings, my dear little friends, today I would like to talk to you about
the future. The future, of course, is about what will happen tomorrow, or the day
after tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year.
What is your feeling about the future? Do you think things will be
better? Or will they get worse? Do you think that one day people will come to their
senses and live together in peace and share what they have? Or will there be more
wars and bombings, more hunger, and crimes? (Allow the kids to share)
Now, some people think that there will be terrible disasters and wars and
everything; these people believe that the whole planet earth, as we know it will be
destroyed. Other people think that things will get better in the future; that
finally we will be able to solve all the world's problems; that no one needs to go hungry
anymore; that there will be peace, and joy, and people getting along. And some
people think that first things will get better ("thousand year reign of
Christ"), but then they may get really bad again.
Does that kind of talk scare you, or does it worry you? Well, you
should not let it worry you, because what all of our Scripture lessons this morning have
in common is that no matter what happens, God is in control of the future. And what
else they have in common is God's promise that things will be better in the future--in
fact, they will be a lot better.
You may quote or paraphrase some of the hopeful elements from the
lections, such as...
Be up and awake to what God is doing! God is putting the finishing
touches on the salvation work he began when we first believed. Romans 13.
The LORD will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat
their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop, and
military training will come to an end. Isaiah 2.
How does that make you feel? Isn't it good to know that God is in our
future and that God will take care of us, and that God will make things better?
Children's Prayer: "Dear God, we thank you that you are in control of
our future and of our lives. Thank you also that you have promised to make the world
a better place. Thank you that we can know that whatever happens, we know that you
are with us and that nothing can separate us from your great love. Amen."
What is Advent Really?
by Rev. F. Schaefer
1. In what form did
Jesus come to us at Christmas? (human, baby, child)
2. If Jesus were to come back to earth again, what form would he choose to come a second
time? A king? A politician? A Homeless Person? Ask them to explain their
answer. You also may want to further stir their imagination by alluding to contemporary
concepts. Ask them if they think Christ will come back as a super-hero, an alien, angel...
Ask the children if they think people
recognized Jesus as God's Son when he came the first time (slightly shake your head to
encourage a no answer).
Ask whether they think that people
will recognize Him as the Son of God when he will come a second time?
Share with them that Advent is really
about waiting for Jesus's Second Coming, and about preparing our hearts for this event.
You may also want to share about the Christian hope and vision that once
Jesus returns, he will make this world a good and safe place. Prayer.
Advent Wreath Lighting
with the Children
1st Advent:
Today we light the first candle. It stands for the light which God promised would break
into our world. During the Advent season we await the coming of Christ who brings that
light.
Prayer: God of light, in you there is no darkness. Be with us, we pray as we prepare
during this Advent season to celebrate the coming of Christ. May we be open enough to
welcome the light you offer us, so we may come out of darkness into your glorious light.
In Christ's name we pray, AMEN
Advent Reading
for Children
FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT: The Angels The angels have always known the good
news: that God longed to be known by God's creation. From the moment humanity first walked
upon the earth, God accompanied those steps and shed light upon that path. God in
greatness and majesty has always stooped in lowliness to be close to the beloved creatures
whose feet roam and whose hearts wander. The angels have always known of God's love for
humankind. And when in the fullness of time, God's majesty took on human form and God
lived upon the earth as a human baby, the news was too good to bear in silence, and had to
be proclaimed in song, in angel song. The angel brought good news to Mary: behold, God
shall dwell with God's creation. The angels greeted the shepherds: Christ is born!
