Sunday Club 16th December 2018
Theme: Joy is in sharing (information from Sermon4kids)
The children were shown a beautifully wrapped gift by Christine and said "There are a few gifts at my house; some ready to go to Father Christmas and others ready to go under the Christmas tree. If there were any presents under your Christmas Trees would you look to see how many had your name on them?
There is a story of a little boy who checked presents under the tree every day to see how many new presents had been added. He put the gifts in different piles depending who they were for and then counted how many each person had.
One day he discovered that his Sister had more gifts than he did. He became very upset and ran in the kitchen where his mum was cooking dinner.
He said; “Katie has more presents than I do”. Then he turned and ran from the room crying. He went to his bedroom and sat sulking. He couldn’t even enjoy Christmas Day because he was upset that someone else would have more presents under the tree than he did. What this little boy did not understand was that the real joy of Christmas is not how many gifts we receive, but in sharing what we have with others.
Remember last week we talked about how John the Baptist was sent to prepare people for Jesus coming. He told them to repent their sins and prepare their hearts for the coming of the promised Messiah.
“What should we do?” they asked.
John answered them. “If you have two coats, give one of them to the one who has none. If you have food, share it with those who have none.
That is the same message we need to hear today as we look forward to Christmas. If we want to experience the real joy that Jesus wants for us, then we must learn to share! By sharing what God has so generously given to us, we will receive an even greater gift – the gift of joy.
Today the third candle has been lit on our Advent wreath – the candle of joy.
Prayer: Dear Father, help us to learn that it is in giving that we receive the greater gift – the gift of joy. Amen.
Activities: The children made a wreath, several shown below:
