Luke 9:51-62 Don’t Look Back (Edstrom)
When Jesus came to live on earth, he had a purpose. All his energy was directed toward God's plan. He did not look back, but did what was necessary to reach his destination. He counsels us to do the same.
John 1:6-8, 19-28 Lighting Our Way (Edstrom)
The great thing about a flashlight is that it won't blow out in the wind as a candle would. And the great thing about the love that comes from Jesus is that it will not go away when we are discouraged. It will always be with us, there to light our way.
John 1:6-8, 19-28 The Witness (Wuori)
says that he's a witness and that he's come to testify. Have you heard those words someplace before? What is a witness? (Solicit children's answers.) That's right - a witness is someone who knows something important. Sometimes you hear them spoken about in court. When there are problems to be solved by judges, often they ask witnesses to come and tell what they know. When they do, we call this testifying.
John 1:10-18 What John Said (Miller)
How do you know what a person is like; maybe a new kid at school? [Accept all answers]. What if he doesn't talk? Can you get to know him if he doesn't say anything? [Accept all answers]. If the new kid won’t talk, you can’t really know him. He needs to express himself. He needs to give us some true words; not lying or bragging, but true words. Then we can get to know him. Well, John says that Christ is God’s Word––giving us Jesus to talk with us, and live with us is the way God expressed himself.
Luke 9:28-36 The Vision about Jesus (Miller)
A vision is like having a dream when you are awake. God gave these men a vision—an awake dream. In the vision they saw Jesus with two famous men—Moses and Elijah. They had lived a very long time ago and were special helpers for God. Moses gave God’s law to the people and Elijah was a great prophet who told the people how God wanted them to act. Here is a picture of what their vision might have looked like. [ Let everyone see the picture].
John 1:1-18 We Are Lights (Klein)
John said that Jesus is the Light. He also said, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness hasn’t overcome it." (vs. 5) Remember that light doesn’t shout at us to move this way or that way to avoid danger. Light doesn’t shout anything at us. What does light do? Light shines! That’s right.
Luke 9:28-36 Glory to God (Edstrom)
Now we have a foamy mixture that looks nothing like the ingredients we started with. We can explain how this happened. The change is caused by a chemical reaction that occurs when baking soda and lemon juice are mixed together. This causes the mixture to foam and expand. Some things change and we know the reason why. Other changes are what we call supernatural – something we don't understand.
Luke 9:28-43 When You Need Advice (Edstrom)
There is a story in the Bible in which God gives advice. Jesus was on a mountain with his disciples and he was praying. While he was praying the disciples saw that his face changed and his clothes became dazzling white. Later when the disciples were leaving, a cloud came and surrounded them and a voice came from the cloud and said, "This is my beloved Son. Listen to him!" (9:35). How surprised the disciples must have been to receive advice from God. He told the disciples that Jesus was God's Chosen Son and that they should listen to him.
John 1:1-18 Light of the World (Klein)
At Christmas time, we see lights everywhere: shining from windows, decorating houses, on our Christmas tree and in stores everywhere. Christmas is sometimes called a time of light.
Luke 8:26-39 The Man Who Lived in a Graveyard (Klein)
Now if you were watching a horror movie, you might expect the hero of the movie to get rid of the screaming man. That isn't what Jesus did! Jesus began to talk to the homeless man. He asked the man his name, and before very long the man was standing with Jesus and his mind was healed, and all the things that troubled him were gone.