CHILDREN – 6th Sunday of Year B

OBJECTS: None

ou might remember that last week Jesus helped to heal Simon’s mother-in-law, who was sick in bed.

He probably hadn’t visited Simon’s house for that reason, but when he found out that someone needed his help he jumped right in and made her well. It might not have been something he went there to do – or had to do – but he made the choice to help anyway.

In this week’s Gospel story Jesus meets a man who is very sick. The man had leprosy – which is a terrible skin disease – and came to Jesus begging for his help. He tells Jesus that if he chose to help him, he could make him clean.

And then Jesus says one of the best things in the whole Bible – one of it’s most important lessons. He says, “I do choose” and heals the man.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer

OBJECT:  Items that represent different textures

We touch many things with our hands. A pencil feels smooth. When you touch a stone you can sense how hard it is. A pinecone is sharp and may prick your finger. On a cold day it feels good to wrap your hands around a cup of hot cocoa.

Sometimes we are reluctant to touch something that looks creepy, like a slug, or a crawly bug. We may decide not to touch something because it is too hot, too cold, or too dirty.

In the Bible there is a wonderful story about the importance of touch. At that time some people had a disease called leprosy. Now we have medicines that cure leprosy, but at that time there was no way to make the disease go away. Because leprosy could be passed from one person to another, people with leprosy were made to stay far away from other people. No one touched them. It seems this would have been a very unhappy way to live.

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OBJECT: arious items that provide tactile response such as sandpaper, ice cube, a silky piece of fabric

We learn many things by touching objects with our fingers. If we touch something hot we immediately understand to pull our fingers away so as not to get burned.When we touch something sharp we feel pain and stop what we are doing. Touch warns us of danger.

Touch also allows us to feel when something is cold such as an ice cube, rough as sandpaper is rough, smooth like this silky piece of fabric, or sticky. You probably know what it feels like to have honey on your fingers. (Provide items of various textures for the children to touch.)

Touch is very useful. A pianist knows just how to touch the keys of the piano to make beautiful music and a potter knows how to touch clay to mold it into a lovely shape.

Doctors and nurses use their hands to examine patients so they can determine what causes their patients to feel sick. A caring touch can make people feel better. Think of how you feel when your parents give you a hug or a friend holds your hand or pats you on the shoulder. That kind of touch can make you feel loved and help you have courage when you feel afraid.

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SOURCE: Sermon Writer