People in God’s World: Older People

People in God’s World: Older People
“Thus all the days of Methuselah were 969 years.” Genesis 5:27
Call to Worship
(Sung to “The Bear Went over the Mountain”)
Let’s worship God, let’s worship God, let’s worship God,
With joyful hearts, with joyful hearts, with joyful hearts,
Let’s worship God with joyful hearts!

Joys and Concerns
Have the children share a few joys and concerns they have and follow with a prayer thanking God for our joys and asking God to be with us in our concerns.

Sharing
Ask: Can you tell me the name of someone you know is an adult? (My grandma, Mrs. Smith, etc.)
Listening
Tell the children that you are going to slowly begin to count. When they hear their age, they are to stand up. Begin counting until all of the children are standing.
Say: I didn’t need to count very long! That’s because even though you are growing up and having birthdays every year, you aren’t very old yet. (Invite the children to sit back down for the rest of the story.) There is a man in the Bible named Methuselah who was very, very old. (Say the name again and ask the children to repeat it with you.)Methuselah was the grandfather of Noah. He lived to be nine hundred and sixty-nine years old. If we played the stand up game with Methuselah we would have to count for a very long time before Methuselah stood up!
In God’s world many people live long lives. We gain wisdom as we live. Do you know what wisdom is? Wisdom is knowledge. Wisdom comes from learning. When you live a long life and grow to be old, you learn many things. At church, in our families, and our neighborhoods, it’s good to listen to the wisdom of older people.
Exploring
Invite an older member of your congregation to visit with the children, and to share some of their wisdom. Remind your guest that the children are young and may have a limited attention span, but they will love to hear lively stories and anecdotes. Encourage your guest to bring along any visual aids such as photographs, awards, or souvenirs. Begin by introducing your guest to the children. After the guest has finished speaking, invite the children to ask questions.
Benediction
Say: Loving God, let us show our love for you. Help us to show our love for other people, for our families, for our teachers and for our friends. Thank you for being our guide. Amen.