THEME: Good luck really comes when we read the Bible.
PROPS: Chinese fortune cookies in a container.
MESSAGE: Do you ever wish for good luck or for something nice to happen to you? Sure you do. Nobody walks around thinking, "Gee, I wish I would go out and get run over by a truck," or "Boy, it would be great if somebody dropped a piano on my head when I walk down the street." Of course not, everybody looks to have good fortune. You want to win a million dollars, you hope things will be good in the future.
Which brings us to the children's message for today. It is named, "zing yun bing," which is Chinese for "good luck cookie." (display Chinese fortune cookies so kids can see)
Now the funny thing about Chinese fortune cookies is that they were invented by the Japanese, in San Francisco, California, USA. Plus the Chinese people in China never eat fortune cookies. Kind of confusing. The way I understand it is that some Japanese cooks created them for a dessert at Asian restaurants around 1918, but when World War II came along folks were not real interested in something they thought was Japanese. So "xing yun bing" or Chinese fortune cookie will do just fine.
Now the rest of the story is that last week I went to my favorite Chinese restaurant where this little fella not much taller than you kids was my waiter. After we ate all of the main food he brought us a little plate of Chinese fortune cookies. I asked him if the Cookies would bring me good luck if I opened the right one. He suprised me by saying that these cookies were special, rather than being good luck cookies, they were good news cookies.
After I opened my good news cookie I understood what the little fella meant and so today I brought some of his good news cookies to share with you. (open a cookie and pretend to read) "Jesus loves you." Now that is better than any fortune cookies. (open another and pretend to read) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son." (repeat 1 or 2 times with verses of your choice)
I wonder, if we would take a whole bunch of Bible verses and cut them up into strips just like in these cookies and then put them in a jar on the table and then after every meal we could pull out a Bible verse and read it. Then we would have great news and good fortune. That is better than any cookie.
PROPS: Chinese fortune cookies in a container.
MESSAGE: Do you ever wish for good luck or for something nice to happen to you? Sure you do. Nobody walks around thinking, "Gee, I wish I would go out and get run over by a truck," or "Boy, it would be great if somebody dropped a piano on my head when I walk down the street." Of course not, everybody looks to have good fortune. You want to win a million dollars, you hope things will be good in the future.
Which brings us to the children's message for today. It is named, "zing yun bing," which is Chinese for "good luck cookie." (display Chinese fortune cookies so kids can see)
Now the funny thing about Chinese fortune cookies is that they were invented by the Japanese, in San Francisco, California, USA. Plus the Chinese people in China never eat fortune cookies. Kind of confusing. The way I understand it is that some Japanese cooks created them for a dessert at Asian restaurants around 1918, but when World War II came along folks were not real interested in something they thought was Japanese. So "xing yun bing" or Chinese fortune cookie will do just fine.
Now the rest of the story is that last week I went to my favorite Chinese restaurant where this little fella not much taller than you kids was my waiter. After we ate all of the main food he brought us a little plate of Chinese fortune cookies. I asked him if the Cookies would bring me good luck if I opened the right one. He suprised me by saying that these cookies were special, rather than being good luck cookies, they were good news cookies.
After I opened my good news cookie I understood what the little fella meant and so today I brought some of his good news cookies to share with you. (open a cookie and pretend to read) "Jesus loves you." Now that is better than any fortune cookies. (open another and pretend to read) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son." (repeat 1 or 2 times with verses of your choice)
I wonder, if we would take a whole bunch of Bible verses and cut them up into strips just like in these cookies and then put them in a jar on the table and then after every meal we could pull out a Bible verse and read it. Then we would have great news and good fortune. That is better than any cookie.