Children's sermon - Free the Prisoner

Well last week was my turn to do children's sermon, and as I was looking over the verse and the sermon title for that Sunday, I couldn't think of anything.  The verse was Isaiah 61:1~

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me,

    for the Lord has anointed me

    to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted

    and to proclaim that captives will be released

    and prisoners will be freed.

The title was "Setting Prisoners Free."  Sometimes when I look at the verse and/or the title of the upcoming sermon, I immediately start coming up with ideas and things to talk about.  This was not the case this time.  It's not that that verse isn't inspirational.  It totally is!  I love the message and the sentiment it conveys.  It's just relating that message to a group of kids from preschool up to 5th grade is not an easy task.  I went to my trusty Google to search other children's sermons on that verse and the topic of setting prisoners free to build some inspiration.  No luck.  Apparently not many children's sermons have been derived from this verse.  Finally I was able to find a sermon about Martin Luther King Jr. which gave me a little spark, especially since MLK Jr. day was the day after I was giving my sermon (sometimes it's just a God thing).  After that I started brainstorming different ways to convey what prison must feel like, and I thought about how we may not be prisoners in the sense that we have committed a crime and gone to jail, but in the way that we create our own prisons everyday.  I thought of how I feel when I create my own prison when I let the things of this world become more prominent that God.  Trapped.  How could I show this to the kids though?

Sunday morning, I ran up to the Sunday School supply closet (because it has EVERYTHING!) and grabbed my supplies.  I went back into the sanctuary and set them down where I would be speaking.  When it came time for children's sermon, I had my son sit in front of me, so I could use him for my demonstration.  I asked the kids about why they would be out of school the following day, and they excitedly told me about Martin Luther King day.  I asked why he was important, and they spoke about how he fought for civil rights.  I told them yes, that he like many others in this world fought for freedom for everyone, no matter what you look like.  I asked them if they knew about prison, then I asked them if they knew that you could be in prison without actually going to jail.  I had my son stand up and hold a piece of yarn that I had grabbed.  I asked the kids how we might create our own prisons, and they called out things like - lying, saying not nice words, being mean to your dog, hurting others, etc.  Everytime that they called something out, I would have my son spin around holding the yarn thus wrapping his body and arms up in the circles of yarn.  The pastors and I called out a few more things to help them out, like unforgiveness (who me?), fear (yep), and getting a bad case of the "I wants" (ouch).  AT the end I asked if he could get out, and he said "no."  We talked about how he was trapped in this "prison" and how he felt trapped.  I also tried to show that even if I tried to help him by pulling on the yarn, I couldn't set him free. Then I brought out my scissors, and I told the kids that the scissors represented Jesus.  As I easily cut through the yarn, I explained that Jesus is the only one who can set us free when we create these "prisons," and we need to turn to him for help when we are feeling trapped.  We finished up with a prayer thanking God for Jesus and all the others who fought for freedom.  

Not exactly something based on the scripture, but I felt it was a success.  Kids stayed interested and engaged, and I am pretty sure they got the point.  It also made me realize some of the prisons I have created for myself recently, and now that I am aware, I can begin to turn to Jesus to set me free.  :)