This Children’s Sermon was given on Promotion Sunday, August 19, ’18, the day before most of our kids start back to school. It was also written to go with the sermon of the day, based on Obadiah 10-15, titled, “What’s a Bystander to Do?”
See below for the information needed to make a backpack tag, as well as the design. This would be great for a Blessing of the Backpacks. Though we didn’t have the actual backpacks in worship, we did bless the kids. They were excited to get a tag for their backpacks!
Good morning girls and boys. I want to especially welcome our new first graders who may be here for the first time! I’m so happy you’re here!
I have a question for you. The other day I heard two adults talking. I wasn’t trying to listen, but they were talking loudly in line and I couldn’t help but hear them. The man was saying that he was worried about having to stick up for himself in a meeting where he was going to have to give some bad news to some people that they wouldn’t like. She listened and then said to him, “Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.” I wonder what you think that means.
(Allow for responses from the children.)
Yes, I think it means that she’s going to stand up for the man, she’s going to try to make sure that everything goes okay for her friend.
Have any of you helped stand up for a friend?
Standing up for what is right is part of what being a follower of Jesus means, isn’t it?
I’m remembering when Jesus had Zaccheus’ back, and when he had the back of the woman who did something wrong. Do you remember that story? When a crowd was about to throw rocks at her because of what she did, he stopped them and said, “Let him who has never sinned throw the first rock.”
I know most of you will be going back to school this week & that means you might be meeting new people, and at sometime this year, they might need someone to have their back. But you don’t go alone. God goes with you. God has your back. God will be there to love you and help keep you calm, if you ask God.
I have something for you that I hope will help you remember that. You can put it on your backpack or your lunch box to remember it if you want. You’ll see that on the back there is our church logo, because your church loves you and has your back too! We are ready to stick up for you. We want to help you grow into the person God made you to be!
I’d like to give you a blessing first and then I’ll hand them out and we’ll go back to our seats.
Dear God, we ask for your blessing on all of our students in this room- and for the teachers too. Help them to feel a closeness to you as they go into their classrooms. Open their hearts and minds to new friends and teachers. Help them to be brave and generous to everyone around them, showing them your love. Inspire them to do their best and be their best. We love you, God. Amen
The design comes from Illustrated Children’s Ministries, and you can find it and download here. We put our church logo on the back, with the help of the Avery template, here. We didn’t buy the business card paper- I just printed them off on regular paper, double sided. Card stock might have been better, but I was concerned that it might have been too thick for the laminator. It turned out fine on regular paper.
After you purchase and download and print your tags, you’re ready to laminate them. I plan on doing different tags each year, so I went ahead and purchased this small laminator at Staples, here. And I also purchased several sets of ready to laminate luggage tags, like the ones shown here. I was surprised how easy these are to make.
Blessings to you! 🙂
