2 Timothy 4:6-8, NIRV

I am already being poured out like a drink offering. The time when I will leave is near. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is a crown waiting for me. It is given to those who are right with God. The Lord, who judges fairly, will give it to me on the day he returns. He will not give it only to me. He will also give it to all those who are longing for him to return.

Object/visual

Race medal or ribbon. (If you are able to do so, show the children a crown as well. You could get a Burger King cardboard crown and decorate it with your own touches. If you do, make sure you cover the words and logo of “Burger King.”)

A creative way to reinforce this message and this series would be to have someone hand out crowns or ribbons from their trunk to all children at the trunk or treat event. This person could have the last vehicle in the line of trunks to suggest “finish line.” If you use ribbons, create your own and use the opportunity to place words on them to reinforce this passage of scripture and your church as another element of outreach.

Message

We are getting close to the time for the trunk or treat activity. Are you excited? (Allow children to respond.). Once you have gone car to car or house to house, and your bag is filled with treats, you may want to eat those treats. I wonder how quickly you will want to get into your treats. You may even want to run back to your own house or find a spot near the church parking lot to pour out the contents of the bag.

Today’s Bible verse from 2 Timothy talks about a race. Have you ever run in a race? To run better, maybe you trained by practicing or eating certain foods before the big race. By training ahead of the race, you build up endurance to continue to run, even when your body is tired, and you may feel like quitting.

Paul compares Timothy and his life of faith to running a race. He mentions that Timothy has fought the good fight and did what was right in the sight of God. His time is near, and his race in this world is almost finished. Throughout his life, Timothy kept his faith in God, and Paul states that there is a crown waiting for him.

If you have ever run in a race, you know that it feels good to cross the finish line. If you did run in a race, did you win a ribbon or medal? (Allow children to respond with their own stories.) If crossing the finish line feels good, it feels even better to win an award for the way you ran in the race.

Paul says that he has kept his faith and says there is a crown waiting for him. The crown is waiting for him because he has won his race with the way he lived his life following Jesus.

Are you ready to run? Are you ready to keep your faith in Jesus for the rest of your race? How does it feel knowing there is a crown waiting for you at the finish line? Do you think only the first-place finisher gets a crown? Is Paul the only person who gets a crown? Do you think everyone will receive a crown? Does that include you? (Allow children to answer, either with verbal response or nodding of their heads in response. Build excitement as you add the next question,)

What does it mean to finish the race? When do we know we have finished the race? Is finishing the race only for old people? (This is a perfect spot to plug in John Wesley’s striving toward perfection. Don’t try to explain it in depth; just use language about all of us continuing to run the race and striving for perfection—having the mind of Christ and walking as he walked [or in this case, running).

Prayer

Faithful God, thank you for reminding us that following you in faith is like a race. Give us the opportunity to train, to live life to honor you. As you did with Timothy, help us to fight the good fight and finish the race. We are excited to know that there is a crown waiting for us too! Amen.

To Testify to the Truth

Poured Out

Not Ashamed

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