Look back at your personal thoughts and planning for Lent.  

What did you learn or experience during Lent that was . .

surprising,

comforting, or

challenging?

The journey of Holy Week can be busy in the life of a congregation.  Some choose to offer worship every evening or have the sanctuary or chapel open for prayer each day.  Due to busy family lifestyles and the mobility of those working or retired, some congregations focus on one or more of the traditional days of remembrance: Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter.   The Lectionary chooses Psalm 118 as a common text for
Palm Sunday and Easter each year.

“O give thanks to the LORD, for the Lord is good;
the Lord’s steadfast love endures forever!”

What is your earliest Easter memory?

As you approach the remembrance of Holy Week, how has God’s love endured in your life?

Psalm 118

• The children probably have heard bits and pieces of this psalm during their lives as part of the call to worship, in prayers, and hymns. One might consider highlighting verses used from this psalm and talk with the children about how your congregation reads or prays the psalms as part of worship.
• One might introduce the children to the Hebrew word, hesed (see below), and talk with them about what it means.  As the adult leader, you might talk about how you have experienced God’s hesed or have a member or two of the youth group (or some adults in the congregation) ready to briefly say how they have experienced God’s hesed.
• Create a “God’s hesed” banner that the children could draw or write on while you talk with them about God’s love for humanity.
• If you created an “Images of God” poster to use with the children, this would be another opportunity to bring it out and add images of God that reflect the concept of hesed to the list.  For example, you might use Hosea’s image of God as a mother bear.

This Hebrew word, hesed, is usually translated as “steadfast love” and is primarily used in the Hebrew Bible to describe God’s attitude toward humanity.  The typical English translation, though, does not quite express the depths of this kind of emotion.  This is a fierce and relentlessly protective love that God feels for humanity.  In the imagery of Hosea, God’s love is like that of a mother bear robbed of her cubs (Hos 13:8).  Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison

Luke 19: 28-40

• Many will retell the Palm Sunday story during the children’s sermon.  If you choose to do this, it would be helpful to talk with the children about the journey of Lent (the last 40 days) and how we have followed Jesus to this moment when he enters Jerusalem.  Today, we remember that, after a long journey, Jesus and the disciples go into Jerusalem.  If you have an older group on the sacred steps, you could talk with the children about Jesus’ traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover feast, the day when Jewish people remember that God led their ancestors out of Egypt.  Passover helps Jewish people remember an essential part of their story.  Many things will happen this week, to Jesus and to the disciples, that help Christians remember something about our story and the faith of our ancestors.
• Why palm branches and coats? This is an opportunity to talk with the children about how the ancient world recognized leaders. The children have probably seen a parade as a celebration. Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem was a parade of sorts, as the peasants and his followers welcomed him as they would any important leader.

Psalm 126

• If you have the time in the service, you could create a “Rejoice Banner” with the children, while you tell them this psalm.  Get a large piece of butcher paper or whatever works in your congregation, markers, and crayons, and write these words across the top: “The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced” (v. 3).  Enlist the help of some of your high school youth to help the children.  Ask the children to draw or write words about the persons or things they rejoice in or are thankful to God.  To do this well, be prepared for a ten-minute children’s sermon.  Ask the youth to help you hang the banner in the sanctuary or take it to the narthex so the congregation can see it.
• Another way to teach this psalm is to use a story from your congregation’s history.  Was there a time when your congregation felt restored, and it was like a “dream”?  Was it moving into a new building, renovating a part of the building, or rebuilding the church?  Was there coverage by the local media, and did people say, “The Lord has done great things for them” (v. 2c)?
• Maybe your congregation helped build a habitat house, and that home helped bring laughter and joy.  Be creative with your present-day telling and remind the children that we have examples of rejoicing from Psalm 126.

Isaiah 43:16-21

• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the word “exile,” which they may hear during worship or Sunday school from time to time. When a broader understanding of this word is applied, many people may be in exile today. Children experience “exile” through “being left out,” intentionally or unintentionally, at school, at play, in family life, and in congregational life.
• Does your congregation support a refugee ministry or help settle refugees in your state, town, or city?  These persons have fled their homelands for many reasons, but they can also help the children understand the word “exile”.  If you have a refugee family in your congregation, talk with them about joining you on the sacred steps and telling a bit of their story as a way of helping the children understand what this portion of Isaiah might mean for Christians today.
• Another option for this text could be to focus on the broader meaning of “return” or “reconciliation.”  When have the children helped someone be included at school, in their neighborhood, or at home?
• Because the lives of children are a constant “new thing,” this might be a good place to craft a children’s sermon.  Each week, when they come to the sacred steps, odds are they have experienced something new about God, but they may not have “perceived” it.  Their lives, energy, and questions are a new thing for your congregation each week.  This would be a daring question to start your time on the sacred steps, “What new thing about God did you see or learn this week?”
• If you have not taken the time to introduce the children to the prophet Isaiah of the Exile (represented by the words found in Isa 40-55), this is an opportunity to do so.  The Book of Isaiah is a favorite of those who practice the Christian faith.  A children’s sermon could be crafted that introduced Isaiah of the Exile as a character in the bible. You could create a short list of important details that will help the children understand a bit about who this prophet was, his/her (some think this prophet may have been a woman) importance in the First Testament, and in the story of Israel.  A creative way to do this is to think about creating a Facebook page, on paper or a PowerPoint slide, for Isaiah and sharing that with the children.  What would be on Isaiah of the Exile’s profile?

Philippians 3:4b-14

• One way to approach this text could be for the adult or a youth group member to talk with the children about their faith journey or show a faith map.  Paul recounts his journey in faith, and having someone in the present do the same could model for the children a way to talk about their own experiences with God.
• Another option would be to enter the theology of this text by talking with the children about the goal of being more Christ-like in our living.  Paul is working to help the Philippians struggle with these kinds of questions, and maybe this is a place to begin with the children as well.

John 12:1-8

• Talk with the children about the stories that all the gospels have in common.  Make a list, or create a word search, for the children to have.  Are these the most important stories?  That may not be the question to ask.  Another question could be, “Do these stories have a characteristic that makes them relevant to all the gospels, no matter the context?”  Do you have a favorite story that is in all the gospels?  You could share that and encourage the children to learn a story that is in all the gospels, like the one for today.  You could highlight the gospel reading for the day as a reference to talking about the stories that all the gospels have in common.
• If you desire to dip a toe into the perfume of the story with the children, focus on Mary and her recognition of who Jesus is for her.  This moment resembles Peter’s “aha moment” in Mark 8: 27-30.  What do the actions of Mary and Peter tell us about who Jesus was for them?  Can you or someone else in the congregation tell the children who Jesus is for you?  How do the children describe Jesus?  Listen to their responses to recognize that they may see something in Jesus that adults do not.

Psalm 32

• Introduce the children to the word “transgression” or “sin”.  Which word does your congregation use when saying the Lord’s Prayer (transgression, debt, or sin)?  Be prepared to give a definition of that word.  You could talk with the children about what it means to confess our “sins/transgressions/debts”.  Children will relate this to “fessing up” or admitting to having done something wrong or being caught breaking a rule.
• Ask the children to help you understand the “steadfast love” of God.  What do they think this means?  How can we, or how have the children, experienced God’s steadfast love?
• Is there a time in your life when you acknowledged the healing grace of God?  The psalmist tells of her/his experience.  How can you translate your experience for the children in a psalm of Thanksgiving?

Joshua 5:9-12

• God provided manna in the wilderness for the Israelites and safe passage into the Promise Land.  One could talk with the children about how God provides for people today.  How does God provide for the children?  For the Church?  For the Earth?  Are there ways that the children can help God provide for others?
• This is another opportunity to introduce the children to Joshua, as a character in the bible, and help them learn a few facts about him and his relationship to the story of the Israelite people.  Did you create a “Bible Character” list for the children?  If not, this would be a good time to start so that when you do introduce a new character, you can pull out the list to help the children remember who they have met in the biblical stories.  Today, you could add Joshua to the list.

2 Corinthians 5:16-21

• Introduce the children to the word “reconciliation,” which is one of those “big church” words that children often hear.  Be ready to give them a simple, but not oversimplified, definition of reconciliation.  This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the different ways your congregation does the work of reconciliation.
• Has your congregation ever received a grant to support your reconciliation work?  In the Disciples of Christ tradition, congregations can apply for “reconciliation grants” to further their work of being communities of reconciliation.  If you received a grant, talk with the children about how that money helped your work or project.
• Talk with the children about reconciliation by telling stories about what you have witnessed the children doing that meet the definition of reconciliation.  This will help the children recognize what they are already doing and how they participate in your congregation’s mission of reconciliation.
• Many will talk with the children about being ambassadors for Christ.  If you choose to do this, I encourage you to give the children concrete ways they are representatives of Christ.  For example, a person is an ambassador of Christ by helping people make peace on the playground or standing up for someone being teased or bullied.

Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

• You could talk to the children about how Jesus told parables.  You could introduce the word “parable” to the children and talk about what a parable is supposed to do.  You could highlight these parables in Luke and then talk about your favorite parables with the children.
• Children will understand the idea/feeling of being lost.  You may have your own story about being lost and found, as well as of searching for something or someone lost.  This is one way to approach these texts that invite the children to express feelings and consider that God seeks or looks for each one of us with the same urgency that they did when trying to find something that was lost.
• These texts lend themselves to another “images of God” children’s sermon.  If you created a chart or page listing all the images of God that you discover with the children from the bible stories, it is time to get that out.  If not, you might want to create one and begin with these parables.
• Another option would be to talk with the children about where we would find Jesus today.  Can they name the food bank, homeless shelter, emergency rooms, with those seeking work, with migrants, immigrants, refugees, or those suffering with illness?  If you have an older group, you might talk with the children about who is considered “untouchable” or outside the boundaries of grace or acceptance in our culture.

Sit in silence for 15 minutes.

Psalm 63:1-8

• One might talk with the children about being thirsty.  What is that like?  Is anyone thirsty right now?  Though I am not fond of object lessons, it might help children think about how God can be present in them by talking of God as the water that helps them when they are thirsty.  Bring some water to share at the end.
• You might take this opportunity to talk with the children about how the Psalms have inspired many hymns, secular songs, and art.  Spend some time with your hymnal and see how many of your congregation’s “favorite” hymns are based on a psalm.  You could talk to the children about that list.
• One could have the children help create a prayer based on this psalm. Do a simple word- game with the children to create a prayer.  Roll out some paper on the floor.  Ask the children to draw a picture or write a word they think of when they hear the phrases: “walk in your ways, praise you, follow you.”  Create your own words or phrases from Psalm 63.  Post the banner somewhere in the sanctuary or church building.  If you or the preaching minister is a quick thinker, this prayer of words and pictures from the children could be part of the morning’s pastoral prayer.

Isaiah 55:1-9

• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about knowing what is good for us versus what may be bad for us.  You may want to choose one or more of the commandments and talk to the children about how they help us all live together and with God.  If your congregation is following a Lenten theme, you could incorporate this into learning what is good.
• One could set a table (maybe the communion table) and invite the children to join you there.  The conversation around the table could focus on God’s kingdom being like a place where all the food and drinks are free.  What would that be like?

I Corinthians 10:1-13

• Talk with the children about what the biblical story is for you and your expression of Christian faith.  These stories are supposed to help us know something about God.  Do you have a favorite story or two?  Do the children have a favorite story?  What do those stories teach?
• Talk with the children about what it means to be an example for others.  You may have had this conversation with the children earlier, but it is a common biblical theme, and it is the responsibility of Christians to be examples in our living.  Thus, it cannot be visited too often with children.

Luke 13:1-9

• Talk with the children about what the parables of Jesus are.  You could introduce the word “riddle” to the children and talk about what a riddle is supposed to do.  A couple of classic riddles that sound like children’s jokes. 
  1)  Where is the ocean the deepest?  [the bottom] 2) What does an invisible person drink? [evaporated milk]
• You could highlight this parable in Luke and then talk about your favorite parables with the children.
• This is an opportunity to introduce the children to the words “repent” and “repentance.”  Be ready with a simple, but not an oversimplified, definition to give them.  How does your congregation speak of repentance?  Is it a one-time change in heart, attitude, or behavior, or do Christians practice repentance daily?  One option would be to talk to the children about the last time you “repented” or felt “repentance.”  How is your example a teaching story that helps the children on the sacred steps think about times when they “repented” or felt “repentance?”

Fast from judgment, Feast on compassion 

Fast from greed, Feast on sharing 

Fast from scarcity, Feast on abundance 

Fast from fear, Feast on peace 

Fast from lies, Feast on truth 

Fast from gossip, Feast on praise 

Fast from anxiety, Feast on patience 

Fast from evil, Feast on kindness 

Fast from apathy, Feast on engagement 

Fast from discontent, Feast on gratitude 

Fast from noise, Feast on silence 

Fast from discouragement, Feast on hope 

Fast from hatred, Feast on love 

What will be your fast? What will be your feast?
(Unknown Author, “Ash Wednesday.”)

Psalm 27:1, 4-9

• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about how the Psalms have inspired many hymns, secular songs, and art.  Spend some time with your hymnal and see how many of your congregation’s “favorite” hymns are based on a psalm.  You could talk to the children about that list.
• One could have the children help create a prayer based on this psalm. Do a simple word game with the children to create a prayer.  Roll out some paper on the floor.  Ask the children to draw a picture or write a word that they think of when they hear the following phrases:  “One thing I ask of God,”; “The Lord is my light,” and “Teach me your way.”  Create your own words or phrases from Psalm 27.  Post the banner somewhere in the sanctuary or church building.  If you or the preaching minister is a quick thinker, this prayer of words and pictures from the children could be part of the morning’s pastoral prayer.
• Another option would be to talk with the children about your pastoral prayer time.  Do you ask the congregation to voice concerns or joys?  Do you have a list of names in the bulletin that are a “prayer list”?  Your pastoral prayer probably follows the form of this psalm somewhat (i.e., containing both joys & concerns).  This week, ask the children to list their prayer concerns and have them repeat v 1 after each child’s prayer request.  
• If you have not introduced the children to the Psalms, this might be the week to do so.  This is a “mixed-type” psalm that represents many human emotions. During the children’s prayers, they may also express many emotions.  Is there anything you can’t say to God in prayer?

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

• Talk with the children about what a covenant is or what the word “covenant” means.  This story is just one example of God’s many covenants with an individual, nation, or even all creation.  (Think about the Noah story.)  Be ready to give a simple definition for the word covenant, and since it is Lent, invite the children to make a covenant with you and each other to serve at your church in whatever you think is appropriate for them to covenant to do.
• What does it mean when another covenant is made?  Is the last covenant forgotten, or does it become non-binding?  In children’s speak, you are asking if one promise cancels out another.  In the 1st Testament, this is not how it works. God makes and keeps countless covenants at the same time.

Philippians 3:17-4:1

• Talk with the children about what it means to be an “example” for someone.  Can the children name someone they think is a good example of living like Jesus did?  You will want to be ready to provide an example or two of such “persons” to get them started. Since it is the Lenten season, one might ask the elders or other adults in your congregation to be an example for the children on the sacred steps by talking with them or allowing them to shadow them if they have specific responsibilities in the congregation.  
• If you are going to take the “goal” path in this text, be careful.  One could talk to the children about becoming more like Jesus.  How does a person do that?  I would stay away from questions about eternity and heaven.  Please keep it simple with the children but not oversimplified, and have those conversations with your adult peers.

Luke 13:31-35

• This is an opportunity to introduce the word “lament” to the children.  There will be times when they will lament for someone, themselves, or something.  Sometimes, a lament may be just sharing our feelings, and your congregation is a place where the children can do that.  A lament may help us keep from doing what we know is wrong.  When would the children have heard the word “lament” in church?  How does your congregation lament, and what have you done or left undone based on your lament?
• Has your congregation “lamented” for someone or something in your community and then decided to do something?  Maybe you lamented the poverty or hunger in your community and worked to help ease that in your community.  Perhaps some have felt sorrow for your congregation’s shut-ins and decided to help by visiting them.
• For an older group, one might consider talking with the children about how they live “in the name of the Lord.”

Lent. 

Among Christians who observe this forty-day journey with Jesus, many use this time to connect to the suffering of Jesus, specifically his Jerusalem experience, by giving up (doing without) something of significance to their daily life.  Other followers choose to add something to their living, as a way to understand how Jesus lived and perhaps serve those with whom Jesus associated during his journey.  Many communities of faith offer special studies or host mid-week meals during Lent to build community and, though perhaps not explicitly stated, to create accountability loops for those who have chosen a discipline to follow during Lent.  Lent could be a time of intentional hospitality or an invitation for your community to participate in a study, conversation, or weekly meal as an introduction to the practice of Christianity.  If followed, a spiritual discipline can provide a person (believer, practitioner, or skeptic) with a foundation for personal growth.  Like Lent, a spiritual discipline is about the journey, not the destination.  It is a time to challenge a “belief” in or a “belief” about Jesus as a savior by personally practicing the way of Jesus, which can lead to the Truth about God and give meaning to life, even a life of faith.  John Dominic Crossan’s book, The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction About Jesus, would be good for your study or for a small group to read together and discuss during Lent.

A favorite suggestion I offer to persons seeking a spiritual discipline during Lent, for the first time or as a seasoned follower, is to write your own gospel.  Thomas Jefferson completed his The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth in 1820.  This is a way to begin journaling by spending thirty minutes each day writing your account of the life of Jesus of Nazareth.  Like the writer of John, take the synoptic Gospels and some of the non-canonical writings as source material for your gospel.  Weigh those accounts with your experiences.  What would your gospel account include?  What would be the focus of your telling of the story of Jesus?  What does your gospel say about the person of Jesus and the character of God?  Would you be willing to share your gospel account with the youth group or your Sunday school class?  Can you imagine someone reading your gospel as scripture?

One option for the children’s sermons during Lent would be for you to choose the parables of Jesus you think are important for the children to know and then use one each week as the topic for your time on the sacred steps.  What five parables would you choose?  That question would be good to ask in an adult Sunday school class and to explore during Lent.  You might ask several groups in your congregation to identify their top five parables and see what parables are popular.  Your process of choosing and studying these five parables could be your spiritual discipline, as well as the core of the gospel account that you would write.  How will you journey with Jesus to Jerusalem this Lenten season?

Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

• “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”  What does this verse mean to you?  You could craft a children’s sermon around your thoughts on that verse.  What might it mean to the children?
• Does trusting God mean that bad things will not happen?  What happens when your trust in God is broken?  Children may have experienced “broken trust” in many different ways: through the loss of a pet, moving from one community to another, or losing a parent to death or divorce.  Be cautious when talking about “trusting” in God, friends, or family.
• You could bring out the images of God poster and add “bird” to the list: “The Lord will cover you with pinions, under the Lord’s wings you will find shelter.”  God provides “shelter”.  Can the children think of other images for that word?

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the offering ritual (practice) that your congregation observes.  Is there an “offertory sentence” or an “invitation to give” followed by the receiving of “tithes and offerings”?  Does the “doxology” and/or a prayer follow the receiving of the offering?  You could talk with the children about the “why” behind what you do during worship.  Take a risk and ask the children to help you understand what the “offering time” means for your congregation. Then, piece together their observational knowledge on your own to teach them about the meaning of the offering during worship in your congregation.
• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about how your congregation’s offering supports the different ministries in which your congregation is involved.  What exactly does your congregation do with the monies received or the time volunteers give?
• Does your church have a creed or statement of belief that you could teach to the children?  If you are part of a non-creedal tradition, is there an important “story/history” in the congregation’s history that you could teach the children?  The words in Deut 26:5-10a are a way that Israel could briefly recount the “story” of their ancestors.  How can the children claim this story as their own?

Romans 10:8b-13

• If you have not done so, this is an opportunity to talk with the children about Paul. Who is he, what do we know about him, and why is he a key character in the Christian story?
• If you have an older group, one way to put the children into the story is to engage them in the following exercise: “What is more important – to believe in Jesus or to live how Jesus lived?  If you think it is to believe in Jesus, move to the left side of the steps.  If you think it is to live the way Jesus lived, move to the right side of the steps.”  Once they are divided, if they move, you could talk about the story from Romans and how the church that Paul was addressing was having this same conversation.  How are we similar or different from those people in the story?  What did Jesus teach?
• Consider talking with the children about balancing their beliefs with how they practice what Jesus taught.  How would you build the phrase “actions speak louder than words” into a children’s sermon?

Luke 4:1-13

• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about the humanity of Jesus.  Are there common elements of what tempted Jesus and what tempts us today?  One could talk with the children about the motivation to do good or bad things.  How do we make choices in difficult situations?
• In this story, we see an image of Jesus choosing an unpopular path rather than an easy way to answer.  What do Jesus’ answers to the temptations tell us about God and about Jesus’ belief in God that can help us today?
• If you have an older group, you might talk with the children about being tempted or motivated to do something charitable or the right thing, even when it is a hard choice.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday (March 5, 2025) and continuing through Lent, I’ll post weekly ideas to help craft a children’s sermon/moment based on the lectionary texts. My companion and I created weekly commentary, exegesis, and ideas for the children’s sermon for all three years of the lectionary. A few years ago, we simplified that to just an eBook of the ideas.

Here is an example. These are the ideas for Sunday, February 9th.

Psalm 138

• Has someone sent you a thank you note recently?  Have you sent a note?  Bring note cards for the children to draw on, or write, the things or people for whom they wish to give thanks to God.  Ask them to drop those in the offering plate.
• Create a thank you note for the children to complete.  Ask them to write the name of a person, or people, for whom they would like to thank God (older children may help the younger ones).  Take those cards from the children and drop them in the mail this week or ask the children to deliver their thank you notes to God to the persons for whom they are thankful.
• Create a “thanks banner” that the children can draw on or write on that you will hang in a Sunday school room or in the sanctuary.  Ask them to write names of, or draw pictures of, people or things for which they would like to give thanks to God.

Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13)

• Rev. Dr. Lisa Davison reminds Christians that for the Jewish community prophets are cultural and religious critics who tell the people what they need to hear even when, especially when, it isn’t what they want to hear. They are not future tellers or specifically predicting Jesus of Nazareth.¹ Take care when talking with the children about the prophetic writings in the First Testament, and why we continue to read the prophets today.  Be ready to offer a simple definition for the word “prophet” for the children.  One might choose to create a list of the major and minor prophets in the First Testament and use it with the children each time you talk with them about one of the prophets.
• One might compare and contrast the prophet from last week, Jeremiah, with Isaiah.  What do the prophets share in common, and how are they different.  How does this help us understand their writings today?
• Introduce the children to their scared space.  Why is your sacred space adorned the way it is?  Are there works of art, stained glass, or other items that are important to your community of faith?  What is your sacred space suppose to tell the children when they arrive there?
• This could be an opportunity to talk with the children about what it means to “volunteer” or “serve” in your congregation.

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

• If you have not introduced the children to Paul, maybe today is the day.  You may have already covered some of the Pauline texts, but helping the children understand Saul/Paul’s story will help them as they grow in their own understandings of Jesus.
• Maybe this is the Sunday that you introduce the children to the journeys of Paul.  He was a traveling evangelist (preacher).   Do you have maps of the ancient near east in your congregation?  There are maps available online. One could show the children where scholars believe Paul traveled in the known world.
• Talk with the children about how the early creeds were designed to help people begin to learn about Jesus and the Church.  The creeds are examples of early attempts to explain faith.  You can find the ancient Christian creeds in the Chalice hymnal, most of the older hymnals of other denominations, and online.

Luke 5:1-11

• What does it take to get your attention?  This is an opportunity to talk to the children about how Jesus gets our attention with what he teaches or how we experience him.  In telling this story to the children, one could talk about how Jesus meets the disciples in their everyday lives and invites them to follow him.  How might the children experience Jesus today?
• One could talk with the children about where we might find Jesus today?  Would he be found only in Church?  Would he be in a Jewish community?  Would he be among the poor?  Would he be in all of these places and more?
• This is an opportunity to talk with the children about how the gospels share similar stories about Jesus.  Compare Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20.  Talk with the children about how we all see or hear things differently.  One way to illustrate this idea would be to have a picture for the children to look at, or if you have an interesting stained glass window to look at, and then have the children talk about the things they see.  Some will see similar items in the window or picture, but some may see things that others do not.  This is similar to how the gospel writers told stories about Jesus.
• If you have an older group one might briefly retell the story from Luke and ask the children why they think these fishermen wanted to follow Jesus.  Why do the children want to follow Jesus?

1. Rev. Dr. Lisa W. Davison is Vice President of Academic Affairs and Dean and the Johnnie Eargle Cadieux Professor of Hebrew Bible at Phillips Theological Seminary.