LET EVERYTHING THAT BREATHES PRAISE THE LORD (PART THREE)
Scripture: Psalm 150
Season/Sunday: Any. Note that this is the third in a three-part series, but it is not necessary that the three parts be done on successive Sundays.
Focus: Anybody can praise God. We can praise God anytime we want. We can praise God with anybody we want. We can praise God anywhere we want. We can praise God in any way we want. Let everything that breathes praise the Lord.
Experience: The children will learn the different ways we can praise God. In this sermon they will use their voices. The sermon below also incorporates the use of instruments and bodies from the previous sermons of the series.
Arrangements: You will need to supply the instruments as you did in part 1, and it would again be helpful to have a narrator to do the reading.
Leader: | Good morning, and what a great day for everything that has breath to praise the Lord! We’ve been learning some of the ways to praise God—what have been your favorites so far? |
Children: | Making noise! |
Leader: | Well, I thought so! But did you know that even if you don’t have anything to make noise with, and even if you can’t use your body, there is something else you can use? Do you know what it is? |
Children: | Our hands? Our selves? Our voices? |
Leader: | That’s right, our voices are another way to praise God! Let’s try that; everyone repeat after me, “Let everything that breathes . . .” |
Children: | “Let everything that breathes . . .” |
Leader: | “Praise the Lord!” |
Children: | “Praise the Lord!” |
Leader: | “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” |
Children: | “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” |
Leader: | Awesome! Well, today we get to put together all the ways we’ve learned to praise God. So first of all, here are the instruments again—everyone take one (distribute), and remember that this is the signal to start (show signal from part 1), and this is the signal to stop (show signal). Okay, to start this we don’t need our instruments, so let’s put those all down and be ready to use our bodies. |
Narrator: | “Praise the Lord!” |
L & C: | (Bring hands up to the sky.) |
Narrator: | “Praise God in [the] sanctuary.” |
L & C: | (Bring hands to the side like a cross.) |
Narrator: | “Praise [the Lord] in [the] mighty firmament!” |
L & C: | (Bring hands to the heart.) |
Narrator: | “Praise [God] for his mighty deeds.” |
L & C: | (Bring hands to prayer position and kneel down.) |
Narrator: | “Praise [the Lord] according to his surpassing greatness!” |
L & C: | (Bring hands outward to share blessings with everyone.) |
Narrator: | Now repeat after me: “Let everything that breathes . . .” |
L & C: | “Let everything that breathes . . .” |
Narrator: | “Praise the Lord!” |
L & C: | “Praise the Lord!” |
Narrator: | “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” |
L & C: | “Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!” |
Narrator: | “Praise the Lord!” |
L & C: | “Praise the Lord!” |
Narrator: | “Praise [God] with trumpet sound; . . . with lute and harp!” |
Leader: | (Signal children to pick up instruments and play a few moments, then stop.) |
Narrator: | “Praise [God] with tambourine and dance . . . with strings and pipe!” |
Leader: | (Signal start and stop.) |
Narrator: | “Praise [God] with clanging cymbals . . . with loud clashing cymbals!” |
Leader: | (Signal start and let the “music” continue for a bit longer this time, then signal to stop.) Let’s do that again, and have that be our prayer of praise to God today. (Signal music to start again, and let continue for as long as you can stand it!) Amen! |
Joyce S. Fong
(The Abingdon Children’s Sermon Library, vol. 1, ed. Brant D. Baker © 2006 by Abingdon Press. Adapted and used by permission.)