This series focuses on words that Jesus spoke. The board game Scrabble may come to mind as you think of children’s games that use “words.” Throughout this series, you will pass out a different Scrabble letter each week as a visual to reinforce teaching to the children in attendance. In the final week of this series, you will help the children “discover” the word that the game pieces will spell. This will build excitement for the children.

If you are able, provide each child with his or her own Scrabble game piece each week during this series. You may not have enough Scrabble game pieces of the letters that you need. With the help of a local arts and crafts store, you could create your own game pieces. Find a one-inch by one-inch square piece of pressboard or a small wooden tile and use a sharpie marker to draw the four letters that you will hand out to the children.

If you offer children’s messages during a worship service, you should also plan to create a larger version of the four game pieces. This way, the entire congregation will be able to see the visuals and participate in the messages.

Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C: Counting the Cost

September 4, 2022 – Luke 14:27-30, 33, NIRV

The Cost of Being a Disciple

Whoever doesn’t carry their cross and follow me can’t be my disciple.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you sit down first and figure out how much it will cost? Then you will see whether you have enough money to finish it. Suppose you start building and are not able to finish. Then everyone who sees what you have done will laugh at you. They will say, ‘This person started to build but wasn’t able to finish.’

In the same way, you must give up everything you have. Those of you who don’t cannot be my disciple.

Scrabble letter

“P”

Message

What is your favorite board game? (Allow children to answer.) Those are all great games. One of my favorites is a game called Scrabble. Have any of you played this game? (Allow children to respond.).According to Google, Scrabble is word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles (hold one tile up to show them), each with a single letter on it, onto a game board. The tiles must form words that create a crossword design. The words must connect to one another, read left to right in rows or downward in columns, and be “real” words found in a dictionary. Each letter (tile) has a point value, and the bigger the word, the more points you receive.

For the next few weeks, we are going to create a Scrabble word! I will give you a tile each week; then at the end, we will discover what word we may be able to spell.

Today’s words from Jesus are about following him.

Did you know that Jesus said there is a cost for following him? In the Gospel of Luke, he said to people who wanted to be his disciples that they must give up everything to follow him. Jesus told them that if they wanted to follow him, they had to count the cost. By a show of hands, let’s see what Jesus meant. I will ask a question, and if you agree that this is an example of what Jesus meant, raise your hand.

To follow Jesus, you must be willing to follow rules in life. (Allow children to raise their hands.)
To follow Jesus, you must pay a price of $25 a month.
To follow Jesus, you may choose to not say hurtful things to others.
To follow Jesus, you might have to give up things that you feel are very important.
To follow Jesus, you must make him first in your life. A lot of people today say that they want to follow Jesus. Sadly, sometimes they don’t follow through with growing as disciples. Being a true follower of Jesus is not always easy, but it is always worth the effort — if you are willing to pay the price.

This week, I wonder what following Jesus would cost you. Pay attention this week to that question. See if you might notice what seems more important in your life than Jesus. Today’s tile or square with a letter on it from the Scrabble game is a “P.” Does anyone know what the letter “P” stands for? (Allow children to answer.). “P” stands for price. This doesn’t necessarily mean money; price also means something that you are willing to give up in exchange for something else. (Give each child a tile with the letter “P” on it.). Hang on to this tile from the Scrabble game, and each week, you will get another letter. Are you excited to discover what word we will spell?

Prayer

God of love: Sometimes you might want us to pay a price for following your Son Jesus. Remind us daily, with the help of this game piece, that in the words of Jesus, there is a cost to following him. We do love you and want to show others how much we love you by the way we live. Give each of us opportunities to look just like Jesus. Amen.