Children’s Ministry for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Curated children’s ministry resources and sermons (object lessons) for Sunday Readings from SermonWriter, Ministry-to-Children, Religion Teacher and other sources.
Curated children’s ministry resources and sermons (object lessons) for Sunday Readings from SermonWriter, Ministry-to-Children, Religion Teacher and other sources.
Objects suggested: A Children’s Bible
I want to begin our lesson this morning by reading a couple of verses from the Bible to you. (Using a Children’s Bible, open it to Mark 10:15-16, but with the Bible turned UPSIDE DOWN.) Hmmm, I seem to be having trouble reading this morning. I wonder what is wrong? Can any of you help me figure out why I am having trouble reading? (The children will, no doubt, recognize that your Bible is upside down and will tell you that you have your Bible upside down. If not, discover it yourself.) Oh, my goodness, I have my Bible turned upside down! No wonder I couldn’t read it. Let’s try again. (Turn the Bible upright and read Mark 10:15-16.)
My little mistake of having the Bible upside down reminds me of a mistake that the disciples of Jesus made on the day that we read about from the Bible this morning. Many people were bringing children to Jesus so that he could lay his hands on them and bless them. The disciples scolded the parents because they thought they were bothering Jesus. They thought that Jesus would be pleased, but he wasn’t.
Why do you think a name is important? Let’s hear your ideas. Names are interesting, and some say your name can effect who you become. A name is your identity. It lets others know who you are. Have you heard the phrase, “making a name for yourself?” That means that someone has done something so wonderful that others notice and remember that person’s name.
Doesn’t it feel good to be called by your name? A friend, a teacher, or someone you just met took the time to know you and remember your name.
In the story of creation, we learn that “… God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name” (2:19). Naming things is about paying attention and caring. The Bible teaches us that God cares about each and every one of us; even the birds, the animals, and the smallest of creatures. They all have names.
Such care went into the creation of our world and all that is in it. Bring honor to your name by honoring God and remembering he cares for you.
SDC is a society of lay catechists that started in Malta in 1907. Worksheets can be downloaded and printed for use during Sunday Mass or handed out to children at school prior to the weekend. They are also used by parents who download them to use with their children at home.
Feel free to copy and paste it into your parish publications.
Clipart © McCrimmons used with permission. All rights reserved; Text © 2018 Diocese of Salford Office for Liturgy
Gospel Reading, Sunday Coloring Page,Lesson Plans, Mass Worksheets, Crossword Puzzle, Word Search
Catholic Online (0:49) – For more family prayers click here.
Choose one of the following activities as a way to further reflect on the Sunday readings:
Materials needed: Paper, pencils/markers/
Sometimes in our Church we tend to forget about the kids. Often Jesus has some very adult messages and uses very adult language. One of the reasons we have Children’s Liturgy of the Word is because of today’s Gospel where Jesus reminds us not to forget the kids. His disciples were trying to keep the kids away from Jesus. But Jesus insists that they let the children come to him. With your eyes open or closed, pretend that you are one of the children that gets to run to Jesus and jump into his lap or onto his back.
For a moment pretend that you are the only kid with Jesus and you get to spend the whole day with him. What would you do? Take him to school with you. Let him sit in the desk next to you and help you with an answer on your math test. Show him your artwork. He is very impressed and proud. Take him home with you. Let him sit next to you at dinner. What do you talk about? Take him to soccer practice with you. Let him watch you play for a while and then pretend that he is playing with you. Let him sit next to you while you watch TV. Does he like the shows that you watch?
Guess what? This isn’t pretend! It is real. Jesus is really with you all day. He is helping, playing and being a friend all the time. Try talking to him throughout your day about what you are doing and feeling. Know that he loves you and is always there for you. Close your eyes and imagine Jesus giving you a hug.
In the story for the first reading, Jody liked her new friend Abigail, but did not like to go to her house. Abigail’s mother did not call Jody by name. Names are important, for they tell us where we fit in. Adam called Eve “woman” to give her a place in the world.
In the story of the gospel, Mr. Gardner and Mrs. Smith got in a fight over two girls living in the neighbor. Mrs. Smith didn’t think much of the girls, just because they were children. Mr. Gardner, like Jesus, said the children were very important.
In these days of single parent and blended families, the subject of divorce is a sensitive issue. Broken relationships can and do hurt those outside the marriage. But, just because a relationship breaks, that does not mean people should be broken or rejected. God wants everyone to enter his Kingdom, especially the young and the innocent.
During the week, pray as a family for those who suffer from divorce. Pray for ex-spouses, family, or friends. Pray especially for the children of such relationships. There is a special place in God’s Kingdom for them.
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Scripture Reference: Genesis 1:24-27; 2:7, 18-25
Suggested Emphasis or Theme: God made animals and people on the sixth day. Also emphasise that people are different than the animals in that we are made in God’s image (to have a relationship—or friendship—with Him).
RECOMMENDED: Resources for Catholic Educators
GRADES 4-6
Materials Needed: None
Write on the board the word promise. Ask the group what it means to make a promise to another person. Invite them to name some examples of situations in which a promise might be made to another person (for example, a parent might promise that a child can watch a special TV show, a child might promise to clean up his or her bedroom after breakfast, or one child might make a promise to another to play basketball after school).
Do you always keep your promises? Do other people keep the promises they make to you? What are some things that might make it difficult for us to keep the promises we have made to another person? (Accept all reasonable answers.)
Say: We named some examples of promises that people might make to one another. Sometimes people can keep these promises easily, but sometimes keeping a promise is difficult. There are some kinds of promises that ’s Gospel, Jesus is asked a question about marriage. Let’s listen carefully to this Gospel.
Images from the Readings: Right kind of partner, names, here is someone like me, let the children come to me, Jesus took the children in his arms
8-12 Year Olds
This beautiful book is one of the best stories for helping children understand how all of God’s creation is interconnected. The story begins with an argument between the mountains and the rivers, the ants and the stars, the lions and the bears—all regarding the nature of God. A terrible noise of quarreling voices rings out until wise Old Turtle quiets the argument, explaining that God is all that we dream of, and all that we seek…all that we come from and all that we can find. This silences the creatures of the world, except for humans. The disagreement is heard again when people raise their voices and their fists and harm each other and the natural order given to them by God. The story makes the plea for unity and oneness clear for humans and for all of creation.
This passage from the Book of Genesis is known as the “second account of creation.” In this passage, we meet a God who does not want us to be alone and isolated, but rather wishes for us to be in relationships that show oneness or unity. This is not to be mistaken for uniformity, but rather as a way that those who are joined together complement one another. This unity also refers to people being one with and caretakers of all creation. Most recently, this is the emphasis of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudate Si, Care for Our Common Home.
The writer of this Letter to the Hebrews admits that Jesus was, for a time, less than the angels, and explains why this was. Jesus chose to be inferior to the angels in order to establish oneness and unity with people on Earth. This meant that, like all of humanity, Jesus had to suffer and experience death. This letter asserts that through the person of Jesus, God became one with humanity to be a brother and helper to us.
In this scene, we find the Pharisees trying to trap Jesus in legal troubles. The rabbis had consistently debated the legitimacy of divorce. However, when Jesus is posed with this question from the Pharisees, he answers with a question of his own. Jesus roots his fundamental response not in Moses, as the Pharisees did, but reaches back to the creation story heard in today’s first reading. The focus is the oneness and unity of those who have been joined together in something sacred. Jesus regards both individuals in a marriage to be equal partners because both are images of God, for God created the male and female in his image. This indicates that the essence of marriage is for the two partners to create oneness so that they become an unbreakable unit.
Step One: This activity is physical in nature and will most likely need to be shown to the students, so you may want to enlist the help of some older students to demonstrate this activity.
Step Two: Pair the students up and have them sit on the floor with their backs against each other. Have them link arms with their partner and invite them to stand up together. The only way that they will be able to accomplish this is by working together and exerting enough force on each other’s backs to stand together. This may take a few tries as the students will need to figure out how to be one with each other so that they are able to stand. The fact that it takes time, energy, coordination, and focus to accomplish this activity can illustrate that being one and doing something in a unified manner takes effort.
Step Three: To extend the idea of unity, you might invite three and then four students to try this activity together.
POSITIVE FAMILY SPIRITUALITY (11:38) – Unity and Oneness — Lesson taught by Stacy Butters and Dr. Barry Ebert. Have you ever played a game or worked on a puzzle only to discover some pieces are missing? How much better life is when we see all are connected and all are included. Click here for a short conversation about UNITY and ONENESS with Stacy and Barry. Watch with your kids or tune in to have a great conversation with them later.
ALI SHAH LAKHANI (3:40)