SYMBOLS OF OUR FAITH
Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Season/Sunday: Any
Focus: To introduce some of the symbols of Christianity to the children.
Experience: The children will explore the symbols that you have in your place of worship (and/or elsewhere in your church buildings) and relate them to symbols they are familiar with in the community.
Arrangements: Make drawings of symbols around your community (or if preferred, download from the Internet); use symbols for such things as restrooms; handicapped parking, traffic signs, no smoking signs, school crossings, and others. Explore your place of worship for symbols that convey our Christian faith. Choose the explanations below that are appropriate to your congregation.
Leader: | Good morning! I have some drawings that may be familiar to you. What do these mean? (Hold up one symbol after another for them to identify.) |
Children: | (Varied responses) |
Leader: | These are symbols that we see around our community. They are like talking with pictures. We have symbols that we use in our church too. Some of them are here in this room, and some are elsewhere in our buildings. Let’s look at some of the symbols. (Ask the children to move with you to the place where some of the symbols are displayed in your worship area. The ones that were brought in or the pictures you took of symbols canbe explained as you sit together. Be sure to use symbols that you find in the architecture, such as circles, squares, triangles, and arches, as well as those that are obvious.) |
| • Arch: God is over us as the heavens above. |
| • Bread/wheat and chalice/grapes: Communion. |
| • Candle: Christ is the Light of the World. |
| • Circle: God’s eternal love. |
| • Colors (seasonal): |
| • Purple (Advent = royalty, getting ready for the King; Lent = penitence, admitting our mistakes) |
| • Blue (Advent = hope) |
| • White (Christmas and Communion = purity) |
| • Green (Epiphany and Ordinary Seasons = growth and outreach) |
| • Red (Pentecost = flame of Holy Spirit) |
| • Cross: Christ died for us and has power over death. |
| • Dove: Peace or Holy Spirit. |
| • Flame: Holy Spirit. |
| • Rainbow: God’s covenant with us. |
| • Square (or anything with four parts): Four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). |
| • Stained-glass window: The story/message the picture tells. |
| • Triangle (or anything with three parts): Trinity (God, Jesus, Holy Spirit). |
| • Water or baptismal font: Washed clean at baptism. |
Leader: | These are some of the symbols that help us understand more about God and about what we believe. Let’s have a prayer and thank God for the symbols of our faith. (Prayer) |
Delia Halverson
(The Abingdon Children’s Sermon Library, vol. 2, ed. Brant D. Baker © 2007 by Abingdon Press. Adapted and used by permission.)