CHILDREN – 4th Sunday of Year B

OBJECTS: None

Have you ever done something you shouldn’t have?

I know that I have. Sometimes I’m grumpy – or selfish. Sometimes I say things that aren’t so kind. Those aren’t things I’m proud of, but I must admit I make those mistakes sometimes.

In this week’s Gospel story, Jesus meets a man who has an “unclean spirit.” The story describes it almost as if there was a ghost that had taken over the man’s body and was making him act in ways that he shouldn’t have. So Jesus tells the spirit to be quiet and get out of the man’s body – and guess what? It does! It comes right out of his body.

The people watching were all amazed that Jesus was able to do this – that even spirits did what he asked! This is one of the ways that Mark tells us that Jesus’ fame began to spread.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer

OBJECT:  hammer, nails, and a short length of soft wood such as pine or fir.

Suppose you want to learn to build things out of wood. Who would be the best teacher? Yes, the best teacher would be an experienced carpenter. A carpenter spends many hours measuring, sawing, and nailing pieces of wood together.

Many of us, when we try to hammer a nail into place, will bend the nail so it doesn’t go in straight or miss the nail altogether. (Let the children try to pound a nail into wood if situation permits. Pastor or teacher may demonstrate.) When you watch a good carpenter work there is no doubt he knows what he is doing. He swings the hammer with power, hits the nail squarely, and drives the nail easily into the wood. He is an authority in working with wood and is able to show others how to do it.

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OBJECT: Pictures of Wild Geese, Picture of Ducklings

We get and receive calls for many different reasons. When we are faced with an emergency, perhaps someone is very ill or has had an accident, how do we get help? Yes, we call 911, an operator answers our call and sends help.

Maybe a friend arrives at your door and says, “Come out and play.” That is another type of call and, if it is okay with your parents, you follow your friend outside to play.

Even in nature we see this idea of calling. During the autumn season birds migrate from their summer feeding areas and head for a warmer climate to spend the winter. You may have heard the wild geese call to one another as they lift into the sky and follow each other for their journey south in a beautiful V formation.

A mother ducks calls to her babies with a quack, quack, quack. They obey and follow where she leads.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer