"Where can we find Jesus?"  – a children's sermon

A supplemental resource from Rotation.org's Jesus the Boy in the Temple Lesson Set, Luke 2:41-52

This children's sermon complements all the lessons in the set, but especially the "Jesus is in the House!"  Story Workshop. 

Books needed:

• A copy of "Where's Waldo?"
• A copy of "Finding Jesus" (which is like Where's Waldo). See source note below.

"Where can we find Jesus?"  – a children's sermon

Open:

Sit down with the kids and open a copy of the book, "Where's Waldo?"  This series was very popular a number of year's back, and some of your students may be acquainted with it.  Let them try to find Waldo on two or three pages.

Now pull out your copy of "Finding Jesus"  – which is just like "Where's Waldo" except that Jesus is the one you're looking for. 

Show a couple of pages and see if they can "find Jesus."

Dig:

Ask: How many of you would like to meet Jesus?  Talk to him?  Give him a hug?  Hear him teaching?  Offer to serve him? Be his best friend?   

Say: Seems kind of hard to do all those things because he doesn't walk around in his body anymore!  He is the Holy Spirit.

So where can you find the Spirit of Jesus?  

Key Point: Would it AMAZE you to learn that the very first words Jesus ever spoke in the Bible are him telling us where to find him?  

Reflect:

Tell the story of Jesus the Boy in the Temple, Luke 2: 41-52.

....When he was a boy.... His parents looked for Jesus everywhere else BUT the Temple (i.e. the church).  And when they found Jesus there talking to his teachers, Jesus said the very first words ever written down about him. He said, "did you not know to look for me in my Father's House?"  

Conclude:

You will look for Jesus and encounter his Spirit in many places and times during your life, but Jesus himself reminds us that it is God's House, places of worship and Bible study and mission, where Jesus loves to hang out the most!  

So keep coming, keep looking for him and you will find him.

And here's the great last part of that: Jesus is here in this place looking for you too. 

Will he find you here and will you be ready to hug him, learn from him and serve him?  I hope so!

About the Book:

Finding Jesus

by Winston Rowntree

Published 2014 by Three Rivers Press.

Available on Amazon

A note about this book 

Finding Jesus is like Where's Waldo, but it has a hip spirit that adults will appreciate too. A cartoon image of Jesus is hidden among a large group of people doing all number of things, including camping, attending a house party, attending a wedding (just like in Cana), and even going to a Led Zepplin concert. "Where" the author/illustrator puts Jesus and what's going on around him would make a great subject for discussion for youth, including, "who would Jesus hang out with today?"

Images from the copyrighted book are used under the "Fair Use" copyright principle.