Children’s Story for August 29, 2004

By Miriam Rempel, Home Street Mennonite Church, Winnipeg, MB.

Bible passages

• Luke 14: 1, 7-14
• Hebrews 13: 1-8, 15-16

Themes

• Luke - do not take the place of honour, because you may be humbled. Humble yourself, so that you might be honoured.
• Hebrews - Be hospitable to strangers, they may be angels in disguise. Be content with what you have.

Telling the story

• Start by greeting the children
• Ask them if they know what it means to be humbled (embarrassed etc.)
• Ask them what it means to be honoured (made to feel special)
• Use props of blocks and boats if you wish

Story: Humbled and Honoured

Today I will tell you a story about a friend of mine who was humbled and honoured.

Sarah* was excited because she was going to kindergarten for the first time ever. She was looking forward to making new friends, playing with different toys, and learning new things. But she was also a little bit scared because everything was so new and different in kindergarten.

When her dad dropped her off at kindergarten with a big hug and a kiss, she was still a little bit scared. Soon she saw a big box of brand new brightly coloured blocks on the top of a shelf. Sarah loved building tall towers, so she went straight to the bin and found a stool so that she could reach them. When she managed to get the blocks down to the carpet, another student called Joe, said “You are not allowed to play with those blocks, they are the ones I always play with” and he took them away from her. Sarah felt embarrassed. She did not know that the blocks were the ones Joe always played with. She found other blocks to play with but they were not as nice. Sarah had been humbled.

Later when it was Sarah’s turn to play at the water table, she saw a bright blue boat in the toy box that she wanted to play with. She started reaching for it, but then she remembered what happened with the blocks, so she let the other kids pick the toys they wanted first. When it was Sarah’s turn, the only toy left was a little wooden canoe that looked old with chipped and faded paint. She had just started floating the little canoe when the teacher came up to her and said, “Sarah, can I trade you that canoe for this new toy?” “ I guess so,” Sarah replied. Then the teacher offered her a beautiful new boat, which was blue and purple, and it had a tiny bell on it that rang whenever the boat moved. None of the other toys had a bell on it. Sarah felt special because the teacher gave her the nicest toy to play with. Now Sarah had been honoured.

There will be more examples of being humbled and honoured in our worship service today. Listen for them and talk about them with your parents after the service.

*feel free to change the name and gender of the main character