Children's Message

Sermon

What makes you happy? Like the most happy you’ve ever been in the whole wide world? (Take a few answers.) For me, it’s [insert thing that makes you super happy]. I am so happy, I’m filled with joy when I get to do that!

In our Scripture today, Paul tells his friends to be filled with joy always. When they’re walking on the beach, playing with friends, making a craft, be joyful. That’s the easy part, right? It’s easy to be joyful when we’re doing things we like. But how can we be joyful when we’re doing boring things?

I think Paul knew his friends might have this same question because after he tells them to have joy always, he then tells them that it all starts with our brain. How many hundreds of things do you think about every day? (Let the kids tell you the big big numbers they think up.) I probably think of 10,894 things every day. Some of those thoughts are happy, some are boring, and some are sad. Paul says though that when we think about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, and pleasing, it’s a lot easier to be joyful. The things we think about can control our emotions and how we act. So if we think about doing good, we probably will end up doing good. If we spend all our time thinking about being naughty, we’re probably going to end up doing something naughty…

But what if we just can’t think about something good? What if things have gone bad and we’re sad and there’s just nothing else we can think about? Have you ever felt that way? Paul tells us that’s okay too. When we feel that way, we can pray. We can tell God that we don’t feel so joyful, in fact we feel really really sad or mad or frustrated. And maybe in that we can find a teeny tiny piece of joy because we know that God hears us. God hears our prayers and cares about the things that make us sad too.

So this week let’s try to think about what we’re thinking. Take a few minutes each day to consider, “Is this good? Is this true? Is this fair?” I think we might all come back a little more joyful next Sunday!

Prayer

God of all joy, help us to experience your joy this week. May we find it in the big and exciting, and may we find it in the small and mundane. And when we just can’t find it at all, may we turn to You in prayer. Amen.

Wonder Questions

I wonder what brings you the most joy?
I wonder if you’ve ever been happy and sad at the same time?
I wonder if there’s a person that helps you feel happy?

Church Activities

Make a Joyful Noise: Play some worship songs, break out the noisemakers or children’s instruments, and dance and sing to the Lord. Make sure to worship in an area with enough space to move so kids can let their bodies celebrate too.
Encouragement Letter: Just like Paul, we can write letters to encourage our friends. With paper and pencils, write a note (or for younger children, draw a picture) to a friend, encouraging them to keep going. Kids can take it home to share with a friend at school or consider having prestamped envelopes available at the church for them to mail it in.

Family Activities

Brain Games: Our brains are a muscle that needs exercising. Try a word puzzle, crossword, or word search this week.
Karaoke Challenge: Work together to make a list of all the songs that include the words “joy” or “always.” For more outgoing kids, try turning it into a game of karaoke!