Idea #1

Children are often asked this considerate (if ungrammatical) question when it’s snack or mealtime. So, many children will understand that we can be hungry for different things – for an apple, a cookie, a big bowl of ice cream, etc. Ask the children if they are hungry now, and if so, what they are hungry for.

But to hunger does not always mean to want food. We can be hungry for other things, which is something some of them may not have considered. Some times we are hungry for things that we want for ourselves, like a new bike or a trip to someplace special. Ask the children if they have ever been hungry for something that was not food.

Then you can explain to the children that as Christians, we hunger for special things, things that we want for others as much as we want them for ourselves. We want people to be treated kindly and fairly. We want everyone to have a house and to have people who love them. And yes, we can even be hungry for food for other people to eat! Talk a little about how Week of Compassion helps us direct our hunger so others can eat!

Remind the children that to be a Christian means to be hungry for justice, for the wellbeing of all people. Remind them that when we are hungry, that can be a reminder to us that others are hungry and do not have the access to food that we have.

You might consider closing with a prayer that little ones in Nicaragua pray. It is a prayer before meal time: Dear God, please give bread to those who hunger, and give hunger for justice to those who have bread. Amen.

Did You Know . . .
Out of 100 children born in 2000, 30 will most likely suffer from malnutrition in the first five years of life, 26 will not be immunized against the basic childhood diseases, 19 will lack access to safe drinking water and 40 to adequate sanitation, and 17 will never go to school. (www.unicef.org)



Idea #2

For this children’s sermon get a copy of the popular children’s book “The Rainbow Fish” (by Marcus Pfister). Ask them if they know the story of the Rainbow Fish and remind them that it is a story of a little fish with beautiful scales that shine in the colors of the rainbow. But although the Rainbow Fish was very beautiful, he was also very lonely. He liked to show off a little bit, and once, when another fish asked if the Rainbow Fish would share one of his scales, the Rainbow Fish got angry. He said he could never share his scales. Pretty soon, none of the other fish would play with him.

Then ask the children if they know what the Rainbow Fish did to solve his problems. Remind them that he followed some wise advice and agreed to share his special scales with all the other fish. After a while, every fish had a shining rainbow scale.

Ask the children if they ever had to share something with others. Was it an easy or a hard thing to do? Acknowledge that sharing can sometimes be hard, because the things that people usually want us to share with them are special things, things we might like a lot.

Then, ask if anyone remembers what happened to the Rainbow Fish after he shared his scales. Remind them that the little fish made friends with everyone and he still had beautiful scales. Even though sharing can be hard sometimes, it feels good – and it makes the things that are special to us even more special.

Conclude with how Week of Compassion helps us share what we have with others.