Sermon of the Week - September 15, 2013

Sermons 4 Kids
Sermon of the Week
Proper 19 Ordinary 24 Yr. C
September 15, 2013

Sermon of the Week

Title: God's Lost and Found

Theme: Jesus came to save lost sinners. Proper 19 (24) Year C

Object: A large box labeled "Lost and Found" and filled with items that children might lose.

Scripture: "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." Luke 15:10 (NIV)

Does your school have a "Lost and Found?" I'm sure does. Kids are always losing things. Early in the school year, there probably isn't very much in it, but it won't be very long until the "Lost and Found" is running over like this box. Let's see what we can find in our "Lost and Found" box.

Look! Here is a shoe. How in the world can a person lose one shoe? Wouldn't you think they would notice that they were only wearing one shoe?

Here's a pair of glasses. Now, how can a person who wears glasses do their homework without their glasses? Well, I guess that's a better excuse than telling your teacher the dog ate your homework. Teachers never believe that one.

Hmm...here's a lunch box. I was always losing my lunch box when I was in school. That is why my mom started making me take my lunch in a brown paper bag.

Here's a nice pair of wool mittens. Maybe the person who lost these isn't too worried about them right now, but when cold weather gets here, they will sure wish they knew where they were.

Have you ever lost something that was really important to you? What did you do? Did you just say, "Oh well, no problem, I can always get another one?" No, I imagine that you probably searched until you found what you had lost. In our Bible lesson today, Jesus tells two stories about people who have lost something very important to them.

The first story Jesus told was about a man who had a hundred sheep. One of his sheep strayed away from the flock and became lost. Every one of the man's sheep was important to him, so he left the ninety-nine and went to search for the one lost sheep. When he found it, he was so happy that he called all of his friends together and said, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep."

Next, Jesus told a story about a woman who had ten silver coins. Each of the coins was worth a day's wages. The woman counted her coins, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. Oh no! I have lost one of my coins," she cried. Do you know what she did? She turned on every light in the house, swept the floor, and searched until she found the one lost coin. When she found the lost coin, she called all of her friends and neighbors together and said, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin."

Jesus told these two stories to demonstrate God's love for us. We are God's children, but sometimes we get lost. When that happens, God doesn't give up on us. He searches for us and he won't stop until we are found. In fact, the Bible tells us that God sent his son, Jesus, to seek and save the lost. And just as the people in the story rejoiced when they found what was lost, Jesus said, "There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

I'm glad that God loves us so much that he doesn't give up on us when we get lost, aren't you?

Father, we are your children and you love each and every one of us. We are thankful that you don't give up on us when we get lost. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Coloring Pages and Activities

GROUP ACTIVITIES PAGE

COLORING PAGE

CROSSWORD PUZZLE (PDF) (HTML)

DECODER PUZZLE (PDF) (HTML)

FILL IN THE BLANKS (PDF) (HTML)

WORD SEARCH PUZZLE (PDF) (HTML)

WORD SHAPE PUZZLE (PDF) (HTML)

WORSHIP BULLETIN (DOC) (PDF) Save this document to your computer and personalize it with your church's name. Print side one then reinsert it into the printer and print side two.

Sermon Links

PRINTER-FRIENDLY AND ALTERNATIVE SERMONS

A PRINT-FRIENDLY VERSION OF THIS SERMON: "God's Lost and Found"

AN ALTERNATE SERMON BASED ON LUKE 15:1-10: "The Lost Sheep"

Support for Sermons 4 Kids

Sermons4Kids is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported entirely by the voluntary donations of those who use our services and feel that our ministry is worthy of their support. If you find our Sermons4Kids helpful, won't you please consider making a donation?

To make an online donation using PayPal, click the button below.

If you wish to send a donation by mail, send your check or money
order to:

Sermons4Kids, Inc.
3273 Falcon Drive
Abilene, TX 79606-3312

Tools to Help Your Children's Ministry

CURRICULUM: A complete curriculum for a year. There is a lesson for each Sunday of the year which includes group activities, song suggestions, a coloring page, and several puzzles. All is on one CD in PDF format! We created this especially for those who may not have Internet access and because many of you asked for it for advanced planning. We hope you will not regard this as a replacement for your Sermon of the Week emails. Sermons4Kids is a work in progress and you will always see our latest efforts in the weekly emails!

· YEAR A CURRICULUM CD

· YEAR B CURRICULUM CD

· YEAR C CURRICULUM CD

· SERMONS IN PRINT: Three years of sermons are available on 8 1/2 x 11 paper. These are sermons only -- there are no coloring pages or other activities. Since these sermons are available on the CD below, there is no need to order both items. You may print the sermons as needed from the CD.

· KID CONNECTION CD ROM: This CD contains three years of sermons, a large collection of coloring pages, more than 300 Bible puzzles, and thirteen PowerPoint presentations featuring the art of Henry Martin plus the eight new presentations by Stacy Hagler. A great resource for enriching your lessons.

There is never a charge for any products or services, but donations are gratefully accepted. Sermons4Kids is supported entirely by your voluntary donations.

Click here to complete an order form. If you have the latest version of Adobe Reader, you can type directly on the form and then print it out for mailing.