We Are Connected in Christ: a children’s message

John 15: 1-9, “I am the true vine.”

You will need a long green ball of yarn and a dead stick. Ask an usher or helper to help grab the string at the end – it gets a bit tangled! This was a great, hands-on way to get the entire congregation involved in children’s time.

I went on a walk the other day with a friend. She pointed out all the leaves that are beginning to come out on the trees.  I found this stick. Will leaves come out on this stick? Why not? Because it is not connected to the life and energy of the tree.

The past few weeks we have the words of Jesus when he said, “I am the light of the world,” and “I am the good shepherd.” Today we will hear “I am the vine.”  Imagine that we are all branches on a big long vine. We are connected. Here, everyone imagine that this yarn is Jesus, the vine. Grab on. We are all connected. Are other people connected? Yes, can we connect everyone here? (pass the yarn down the aisles allowing adults to have a chance to connect, too). Imagine that we took this string vine out the door, down the street and kept going and going and going. Can we connect to all the people in the world? Imagine all the people who follow Jesus, being attached to the longest string ever.  Imagine Jesus’ love and life flowing through this string vine, imagine that just like in the spring we begin to emerge becoming leaves and flowers and fruit. Imagine that love and life are flowing through us and we are healthy, strong and growing.

Wow. While we hold this string and can see this connection we have through Christ, let us say a prayer together.

God, We thank you for the stories Jesus told to explain who he was. We remember that when we follow Jesus, we become connected to the vine. Let your love and life flow through us and out to all the people of the world. We are all connected. We are the body of Christ, the church in the world. Amen.