Children's Conversations at the Lutheran Church of Honolulu

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- Today is Ascension Sunday. In our Gospel and lesson from Acts, Jesus goes up into heaven after being with the disciples for 40 days, and they stand there looking up because they don't want to loose Jesus again. Do you think we could reach up and get Jesus back from heaven if we used this big grabber? You're right; no matter how long we made it, we couldn't grab Jesus. But the truth is that Jesus is still with us in the Holy Spirit. This is the gift God gives us today and every day.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- In our Gospel, Jesus is sitting on the beach while the disciples are out fishing. They haven't caught anything, so Jesus has they let down the nets on the other side, and the catch lots of fish. The story is not so much about the number of fish they catch but about God's abundant and steadfast love that is always with us.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- If you're sad or hungry or people yell at you, you don't feel blessed. However, in our Gospel Jesus calls the poor and hungry blessed. When I was ordained 29 years ago, a friend that I didn't like very much gave me this painting, and it has blessed me ever since. God blesses us when we don't expect it. So here I have a shell lei for each of you, and I have a bunch more so you can give them to others and bless them.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- In today's Gospel, Jesus and the disciples go out fishing with a net and catch lots of fish. Then Jesus says from then on they will fish for people. We don't want to go out with a net, catch people in the net, and drag them to church. Just like the disciples encircled the fish with their net, we can encircle people with the net of God's love.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- You all have a favorite excuse. In our first lesson, Jeremiah tells God he cannot answer God's call because he's too young, but God tells him that God chose him and prepared him before he was born, and Jeremiah answers the call. God loves each of us, no matter what excuse we give.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- All the candles on the Advent Wreath are lit, so we know Christmas is coming soon. Over here with have a Christmas tree with Chrismon ornaments--symbols of Christ. There is a butterfly for the resurrection, a candle to symbolize the list of Chris, and the Chi-Rho that forms the first letters of "Christ" in Greek. All together, the tree tells us the story of Jesus.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- I have a problem because I forget things, especially my keys, and I can't find them today. Sometimes God sends signs to help us remember things. Jesus talks about that in the Gospel today. Today we have a special sign, the Advent Wreath, that tells us Jesus and Christmas are coming. There are four candles, and when they are all lit, we know that Christmas is just around the corner and Jesus is coming again.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- When Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James, and John, they all probably expect to be fishermen all of their lives. But they accepted Jesus' call and got new jobs as people telling others about the love of God. All the different jobs you want to do are good, but your first calling is as children beloved of God.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- Today we remember the baptism of Jesus by John. When Jesus came up out of the water, a dove descended and a voice said, "You are my child, my beloved." We sometimes need to be reminded of our baptism and that we are beloved of God. So let's go and bless everyone here with water from the font.

A children's conversation by Pastor Jeff Lilley -------------------------------------------------------- Today we continue looking at characters from the Bible with R for Rachel. She was the beautiful daughter of Laban that Jacob fell in love with. He had to work 7 years to marry first her older sister Leah and then 7 more years to marry her. They were the mothers of the 12 tribes of Israel.