Psalm 139:13-14, NIRV

¹³You created the deepest parts of my being.
You put me together inside my mother’s body.
¹⁴How you made me is amazing and wonderful.
I praise you for that.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know that very well.

Word:

Mend

Message:

Today, I want to begin a fun way for us to learn and remember our stories from the Bible. We are going to continue with our game called “Rhyme Time.” Does anyone remember last week’s rhyme-time word? (Have the board with last week’s word still written on it in view for the children and allow the children to answer.) That’s right, last week our word was “send.” That means, that this week, our word must rhyme with “send.” I will remove the letter “s” from the board as we will discover a new word that rhymes with “send.”

Ready? Let’s play “Rhyme Time.” Together, as loud as you can, say, “Hit me with a rhyme!” One, two, three… (“Hit me with a rhyme” collectively).

I want to read to you part of a psalm from the book of Psalms. The book of Psalms is a collection of songs that express directly to God almost every human emotion and feeling that we may experience in life. There are psalms of lament, which is crying out in grief. There are psalms of thanksgiving, giving God thanks in all things. Many of the Psalms express fear, anger, joy, and praise to God. As we read the Psalms, we can use them to be honest with God about our feelings. As I read this psalm, I want you to think about what feelings this psalm expresses.

(Reinforce or read Psalm 139:13-14 if you haven’t already done so.)

Today’s rhyming word begins with the letter “M”: M-E-N-D. Mend means to free from faults or defects, to put into good shape or working order again, or to restore to health. (Write/affix the word “mend” on the board.)

Do you know that God knew you first? Did you know that God knew you before anyone else did? Did you know that God knew you even before you were born? That is because God made you. God created you. You are a special, wonderful creation of God. There is nobody else in the entire world exactly like you. You are unique. You should praise God for that.

I wonder what type of psalm, from those we mentioned earlier, Psalm 139 is. Did you hear fear, or anger, or maybe thanksgiving? (Allow children to respond.) That’s right; this is a psalm of giving thanks to God.

Sometimes it may seem difficult to give God thanks because it may be hard to feel that you are so special to God. This may be because you may not like the way you look. You may think that your body is too small or too big. You may feel that you are not athletic enough or smart enough.

But if you remember that God made you uniquely special and there is no one just like you, you then realize that your body and life are gifts from God. You should always respect yourself, no matter what because God made you to be loved exactly the way you are. God created, and God can mend you too. When you start to feel sad or upset about something, remember our rhyming words. God can mend, heal, and restore us. That’s because God knows us better than anyone and loves us so much! Once we realize that, then we can learn to treat other people with respect as wonderful works of God too!

Before we pray, to help us remember our “rhyme-time” word, I have a hand motion to teach you. First, raise your right hand over your head. Then take your left arm and raise it over your head. (This should resemble the hand/arm gesture of the “Y” in the song “YMCA.”) Then, bring both arms in and hug yourself. Three steps:

God – right hand/arm in air
Mend – left hand/arm in air.
Me! – self hug.

Let’s try it while I say the words, then a second time with no words, just the motions. (Walk children through the steps as described.)

Now let’s pray.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for giving me this body. Help me to love it and love you, just the way I am. Amen.

Family Conversation Starters

To assist with conversations within the family during the week, a series of conversation starters has been added to each children’s message series. We encourage families to use these questions to guide them through conversations and subject matter discussed during the worship service, including the children’s messages on Sundays. These conversations will reinforce the learning as and nurture faith formation for the entire family.

Share a time when you felt God calling you to do something. How did you respond?
Give one example of how God used you to share the good news of the gospel.
How does it feel knowing that God knew you first before anyone else (including your parents)?
Talk about a time when you witnessed God giving you the strength to face a challenging time in your life.
Together as a family, listen to the song, “Bound to Come Some Trouble,” written and performed by Rich Mullins. Regardless of age, we will all go through tough times in life. How do the lyrics of Rich’s song speak to you? How do they compare to Psalm 20:1-5, 9, NIRV? How does it make you feel knowing you can rely on the words of this song and the words of the psalmist?
Throughout this worship series, we have used rhyming words—send, mend, depend, and tend—to describe our relationship with God. As a family, discuss how each word makes you feel in your relationship with God. Find other rhyming words to add to the words send, mend, depend, and tend that could describe your relationship with God and one another. Spend time searching the Bible to discover scripture passages that reinforce your “rhyme time” words. How many new words did you discover?