God's Love Eclipses All!

This Children’s Moment was given on May 19, 2012.  The next time it can be used is August 21, 2017.  Hey – they can’t all be winners!

There are two Children's Moments here - the one directly below that I gave and which can be adapted to any Moment and the second Children's Moment that I originally intended to give. If you watch the youtube video - at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDlfnfcHnzQ&feature=channel&list=UL- you can see that there is no way either Moment was going to work.

In the first Moment, I had some metal washers which had been painted in "fire" colors.  If you have video screens at your church, you may want to put photos of previous solar eclipses and, as the Children leave, close with Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."  Well, at least that was my plan.

LESSON:  God's Love is Everlasting - with no beginning or end

What is the largest thing you have ever seen - something everybody in this room has seen?  It is so big, it is not even on earth, and you see it every day.  That's right - the sun!  The sun is so huge and we see it every day.  But today, God is using the sun to send us a very special reminder - of how much God loves us and how God's love is everlasting.

This evening, God is going to put the moon between the sun and where we are on earth and we are going to see this amazing ring - this ring of fire.  What God is reminding us is that God's love has no end or no beginning.  As a reminder of that love, I have some fire rings here for you - careful, they're hot - which you can keep and remember that God's love is always present with you.

Let's say "thank you" to God for the amazing love given to us and the knowlege that, regardless of where we are in our lives, God's love will be ever present.  And for this great gift, we say "thank you" and "amen."


SECOND MOMENT (Not Given)
Something is going to happen in about six hours that has never happened before in your lifetime!  Tonight, the moon is going to try and block out the sun!  It’s called an annular eclipse and what it means is the moon is going to exactly between where we are on the earth and the sun.  But even the sun, which has been around, according ot the Bible, since the beginning, cannot be permanently blocked, no matter how big the moon is!

There is another son – one that has been around for about 2000 years – and  many people tried to block this son too.  When he was born, the King tried to block him.  When he was speaking too all the people about God and God’s message for us, the big-shots tried to stop him.  They even tried to block the son from shining by killing him.  But you know what?  Just like the moon is going to move on and let the sun shine, so did the Son of God rise and continues to shine.  Our sun in the sky will shine for our eternity.  And the light from the Son of God – the light from Jesus – will also shine for all our days.  Even today, Jesus is alive and has ascended into heaven and just like our sun, the Son of God lights a path for us to follow – a path of love and peace and eternity.

Let’s say a “thank you” to Creator God – for the light of the day and the dark of the night that is yours to give; and may the light of Jesus, your Son who is with us today, always be before us.

For these gifts and blessings, we say “thank you” and “amen.”