Children
Children Activities for 5th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
Curated children’s ministry resources and sermons (object lessons) for Sunday Readings from SermonWriter, Ministry-to-Children, Religion Teacher and other sources.
5th Sunday of Easter (C)
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A B C D E F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
THEY WILL KNOW WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY OUR LOVE (2:17)
Ways to Love
YOUNG CATHOLICS
The readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter Year C tell us that suffering can be a part of discipleship, but we can look to the future with hope. In the first reading Paul and Barnabas speak of the hardships which much be endured for the Kingdom of God. In the second reading John describes his vision of heaven. And in the gospel, before he is betrayed by Judas, Jesus tells his disciples that they must love as he loves.
MAIN THEMES
- Ways to love
- Community
- Heaven
- Difficulties of discipleship
FEATURED RESOURCES
SOURCE: Young Catholics: Catholic Youth Ministry, Vacation Bible School (VBS), Catholic Religious Ed, Catechist, Parish School of Religion (PSR), CCD, and Catholic Family Resources
Today’s Symbol is a HEART
Catholic CHILDREN’S LITURGY
SOURCE: Catholic Children’s Liturgy Program Plans (Used worldwide since 2000)
PDF Handouts for Children
Society of Christian Doctrine (SDC)
S.D.C. is a Catholic Society in the United Kingdom that works in the field of Catechesis and the spreading of the Word of God in different ways. Its website provides catechists and teachers with free resources that can be used in different situations to help passing on the faith to others.
Click on image to view full page
Catholic Kids Bulletin
SOURCE: The Kids’ Bulletin: A fun way for Catholic kids to learn about the Faith every week.
SUNDAY WORDSEARCH
SOURCE: Diocese of Salford Office for Liturgy
Liturgical Activities
THE LITURGY CENTRE
SOURCE: the Liturgy Centre, Catholic Diocese of Auckland. Click to download PDF
Family Activities
OUR SUNDAY VISITOR
Jesus gave us a new commandment, to love one another. Make a sign for the refrigerator with the message Love One Another on it. Let each member of the family help decorate the sign.- Have each family member cut out a heart from construction paper and write his or her name on one side of the heart. Then discuss how your family can be a better sign of God’s love. After the discussion, each family member should write down one thing he or she will do this week to make God’s love more alive in your home.
- Work together to make a collage with the theme “Love is…” Look through magazines to find pictures that illustrate Christian love.
- Discuss television commercials that distort the meaning of love. Ask each family member to come up with a television commercial for Christian love. Have fun as a family presenting the commercials.
SOURCE: Our Sunday Visitor: Lifelong Catechesis
The Family Mulch Pile
Word Sunday
“I am the vine and you are the branches.” Jesus used a plant analogy to teach us about life with him and life away from him.
Do you have a lawn that needs mowing or bushes that need trimming? Do yard or garden work with your family members. Then, take the trimming and create a small mulch pile. Take you family members to the pile a few days or a week later. What happened to the trimming in the pile? How do they compare with lawn or the branches that still remain on the bushes? After the comparison, share John 15:5-8. Stress that our hearts, like the branches of the bushes, would die if we cut our hearts off from Jesus.
SOURCE: Word-Sunday.com All materials found in word-sunday.com are the property of Larry Broding (©1999-2021). Viewers may copy any material found in these pages for their personal use or for use in any non-profit ministry. Materials may not be sold or used for personal financial gain.
LOYOLA
PRESS
LOYOLA PRESS
JESUS GIVES HIS DISCIPLES A NEW COMMANDMENT
Making the Connection
1️⃣2️⃣3️⃣
Grades 1-3
Help younger children to understand that when Jesus calls us to love others as he loves us, he is calling us to express our love in our words and actions.
SOURCE: SUNDAY CONNECTION (LOYOLA PRESS) – All Rights Reserved
Making the Connection
4️⃣5️⃣6️⃣
Grades 4-6
Children learn by example. Jesus not only talked about love, he gave us his life as an example to show us how to love.
SOURCE: SUNDAY CONNECTION (LOYOLA PRESS) – All Rights Reserved
Making the Connection
7️⃣8️⃣
Grades 7 and 8
Young people in junior high are very tuned in to the notion of being authentic. They can spot phoniness a mile away. For them, words must be backed up by actions. In today’s Gospel, Jesus gives words about love that he backs up in his actions.
SOURCE: SUNDAY CONNECTION (LOYOLA PRESS) – All Rights Reserved
Family Connection
Is love the first word your family members use to describe their interactions? Love is difficult. Jesus’ sacrifice for us is an example of this. Yet because of love, the glory of God is fully revealed in Jesus. God’s glory is revealed in us when we act as the Body of Christ, as individuals and as a community. In the love we have for one another—difficult, challenging, sacrificial love—we find Jesus.
SOURCE: SUNDAY CONNECTION (LOYOLA PRESS) – All Rights Reserved
Lectionary Resources
Catechist Background and Preparation
Primary Session
Intermediate Session
Junior High School
Catholic Doctrine
Love One Another
PRIMARY SESSION – The new commandment to love one another is a law that has been placed in the hearts of all God’s people. Jesus makes the law new by the example of his life, death and resurrection. The new law of Jesus is written in our hearts and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. In baptism we “put on” Christ and become a new person. Jesus shows us how to love one another as he himself loves us. As followers of Jesus, love is our mission and the Church helps us to live out our mission in the world.
SOURCE: LECTIONARY RESOURCES (RCL Benzinger) – All Rights Reserved
CATHOLIC KIDS MEDIA (5:32) – The New Commandment! A fun Catholic reflection for kids based on the readings for the 5th Sunday of Easter, cycle C. (2022)
CATHOLIC KIDS BULLETIN
Teacher and mom, THERESA, creates Kids’ Bulletins, a resource for Catholic kids about the readings for Sunday’s Mass every week. More resources.
Word-Sunday
Love
Children’s Readings
Opening Question: What is the best thing to say or do to someone who feels down?
Mary and Kim were runners on a track team. Both girls ran in the 2 mile race. Kim was one of the best runners in the area, while Mary had potential. In almost every race, Kim won, but, complaining of sickness, Mary ran slower and slower. Mary felt down about her running ability.
Kim lost a race she could have easily won for the good of another person and the good of the team. She lost the race so she could encourage another person to win. Paul and Barnabas gave up a lot to travel and encourage new Christians in their faith. Like Kim, Paul and Barnabas thought more of others and their new relationship with Jesus than themselves. Like Kim, they helped others by being with them and talking to them.
Sometimes we can help others just by being with them and speaking words of encouragement to them.
Bridging Question: How do you plan to celebrate Mother’s Day? Why do you celebrate Mother’s Day? How much does you mom love you?
Margaret’s family wanted to plan a special Mother’s Day for their mom. She volunteered to get photographs of her mom and make a collage poster. As Margaret arranged the photos on the poster, she began to realize how much her mother did for her family. She had a job at the school. She made dinner every night and cleaned the house. She always volunteered to be the team mom for all the children’s sports. She did the family bills and much of the gardening in the yard. And she drove the children everywhere. Her mom was busy!
In today’s gospel, Jesus wants us to love each other like our mom’s love us, with encouragement, a helping hand, and TLC. Since today is Mother’s Day, let us not only honor our moms but imitate them. Let us treat each other the way our moms treat us.
Do something small for your mom or grandma today. And tell them you love them.
Closing Question: How can you help your mother or grandmother this Mother’s Day?
SOURCE: Word-Sunday.com; Used with permission.
Interdenominational
Use your own judgment when including and adapting these lessons in your children’s ministry.
WOODS KIDS (16:43) – When race car drivers hear the call to “start your engines,” the mission is clear, and they are ready to go, go, go! The same can be said for those of us who follow Jesus. Join us this week as we learn that when you love like Jesus, you can love everyone!
SERMONS 4 KIDS – GOSPEL
Jesus Loves Us All
OBJECT: A package “Dum Dums”® suckers. (Any brand of suckers with a variety of flavors will do.)
EXCERPT: This morning I have a bag of “Dum-dums.” As you can see, “Dum-dums” come in many different flavors. There are lemon, cherry, grape, watermelon, orange, and butterscotch to name just a few. I sometimes give “Dum-dums” to the children who come to Sunday School. One thing I have noticed is that when I allow the children to choose the flavor they want, some children are very picky about which flavor they choose. The favorite flavor seems to be blue raspberry. I don’t think it is because kids like the taste, I think it is because they like the way it turns their mouth blue! Whenever I let the children choose, I always wind up with all of the butterscotch left when all of the other flavors are gone. For some reason, children seldom ever choose the butterscotch suckers.
I don’t know why the children don’t like butterscotch. I guess butterscotch is a little bit different. Maybe it isn’t quite as sweet as grape or cherry, or some of the other flavors, or maybe they just don’t like the color of the paper wrapper. Do you know what I do with the leftover butterscotch suckers? I eat them myself, because I love all the flavors!
Coloring Pag e› Coloring Page › Group Activities › Crossword › Dot to Dot › Word Search
SOURCE: SERMONS 4 Kids – All Rights Reserved; Click on title to read entire sermon.
SERMON WRITER
Love One Another
Objects: Stuffed sheep and/or shepherds crook
EXCERPT: Do you like rules? Most of us don’t. We get tired of hearing “don’t do this and don’t do that.” But rules are necessary to teach us how to get along in the world. Rules help us learn polite behavior.
It seems as if most rules are about what we should not do. Your parents ask you to respect certain rules because they want you to learn and grow to be a happy, helpful adult. Let’s list some of the “do not” rules.
• Do not lie.
• Do not hit others.
• Do not say hurtful things to others.
• Do not forget to brush your teeth.
• Do not eat with your mouth open.
• Do not put on dirty clothes.
The list goes on and on, doesn’t it? Adults have lists of rules too. There are many, many things we must think about – things we should not do.
Now Jesus says,“A new commandment I give to you…” (13:34). A commandment is a rule.
Sermon Writer: Children’s Sermons – All Rights Reserved | © 1997-2020 Richard Niell Donovan; Click on title to read entire sermon.
SERMON WRITER
The New Commandment
Objects: Pictures of birds. A bird-watcher’s book. (If there is a bird-watcher in your congregation ask them to help with the lesson.)
EXCERPT: Today is a special day. We call it Maundy Thursday and it is the day we remember the Last Supper – which was the last meal that Jesus shared with the disciples before he died.
During the Last Supper Jesus shared bread and wine with the disciples – and he spoke the words that we repeat each week at communion. He also did something that surprised some of the disciples. He washed their feet.
Does that seem like a funny thing to do? Before we have supper we wash our hands, but not usually our feet!
During that time many people wore sandals, and – because there were no cars or busses, people mostly walked from place to place. So washing your feet wasn’t unusual, and when people had guests visit their homes they often washed their feet – or even had a servant whose job this was – as a way of showing their respect and friendship.
Now one of Jesus’ disciples – Peter – was very surprised that Jesus planned to do this for him. Jesus was Peter’s teacher, and he didn’t think it was right for such a great man, the Son of God, to be doing such a thing. Not for a person like him! He told Jesus he would never let him wash his dirty feet.
Sermon Writer: Children’s Sermons – All Rights Reserved | © 1997-2020 Richard Niell Donovan; Click on title to read entire sermon.
Dollar Store Children Sermon
DOLLAR STORE CHILDREN’S SERMONS (6:14) -This video is presented by John Stevens, a Lutheran (ELCA) pastor.
TEXT: John 13:31-35
Dollar Store Item: A game of, “Who am I?” or walking through a piece of paper. FOLLOW THIS LINK
The Take Away: Jesus tells us to love one another, and the world. People can tell we are followers of Jesus when we love. Our understanding of God’s Grace continues to expand.
