Category Archives: Holidays

The Story of Saint Valentine

Share

The story of Saint Valentine is partly myth, but it’s hard to tell which parts. We do know that at least one man, a priest and a bishop, was martyred in Rome under Claudius II and buried on February 14th. The story of his life has some great applications you can use with your students.

Saint Valentine was born in Rome during the third century. He was a priest and then a bishop. During that time, the emperor of Rome, Claudius II, wanted to end Christianity, so he outlawed Christianity and killed Christians.

Claudius waged war on many nations to make the kingdom of Rome larger, but he had a hard time recruiting soldiers. He believed this was because men didn’t want to leave their wives, so he outlawed marriage.

Saint Valentine continued to preach about God, and whenever a Christian couple wanted to be married, he would perform the marriage ceremony. Because of this, he was arrested and jailed.

Emperor Claudius liked Saint Valentine and invited him to the palace many times to talk to him. Saint Valentine knew Claudius needed to ask Jesus into his heart and be saved, so Saint Valentine talked to Claudius about Jesus often.

This made the emperor furious, and he order Saint Valentine to not mention Jesus again. Saint Valentine knew Claudius would have him killed if he didn’t stop talking about Jesus, but he also knew Claudius needed to hear about Jesus. He made the decision to share the Gospel with the emperor.

The emperor became so furious that he order Saint Valentine to renounce his faith. Valentine wouldn’t do that, and Claudius order him to be beaten with clubs. When he still wouldn’t renounce Jesus, Claudius ordered him stoned to death and beheaded. Saint Valentine was buried on February 14th.

Children’s Sermons For Valentines Day

Share

Here’s a couple of links to children’s sermons that work well for the Sunday before Valentine’s Day.

The Heart Test

The Broken Heart

Merry Christmas

Revival Fire For Kids is not posting anymore blog posts until after Christmas. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas this year.

How A Children’s Pastor Gets Ready For Christmas In One Week

Share

 As a children’s pastor, you may have been so busy preparing for the Christmas program, Christmas parties, and Christmas lessons that you haven’t had time to get ready for your own family’s Christmas. Don’t worry. Here’s a guide on how to get ready for Christmas in only one week.

Sunday: You should have all your children’s ministry obligations done after this Sunday service except for the Christmas day service. If you haven’t planned a service for Christmas day yet, do it right after church so you won’t have it hanging over your head. I suggest you do a different kind of service that’s easy to plan. Sing a few Christmas carols, watch a Christmas movie, and serve Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. Here’s a list of Christmas movies you can use.

After planning next Sunday’s service, watch a Christmas movie, go to a Christmas musical or play, or go to dinner at a restaurant with friends or family. Then in the evening, drive around to see all the Christmas decorations. This should put you in the mood.

Monday: In the morning, clean the house and get it ready to decorate. In the evening, order all presents online. You may not be able to get the latest gadget that everybody is running out of by shopping online, but the peace of mind is worth it.

Tuesday: Decorate the house. This is more fun if you play Christmas carols and involve the whole family. Or if you’re not married, invite some friends over for a decorating party.

Wednesday: Now that the house is decorated, spend the day doing Christmas cards, planning menus, and making grocery lists. Use email cards if most of your list is online. Take a couple of hours off to watch your favorite Christmas movie. Here’s a great list of movies to watch.

Thursday: This is your shopping day. Since you’ve bought all your presents online, use this day to go to the grocery store and buy the things you need for baking and for Christmas dinner. You can also get any stocking stuffers you need like batteries, candy canes, and chocolate. If you enjoy holiday decorations at the mall, this is the time to go. You’ll be able to enjoy it without having to stand in line for hours because your shopping is done.

Friday: This is your baking day. Have the family help and spend the day baking cookies, deserts, and holiday dishes you can prepare ahead of time.

Saturday (Christmas Eve): Spend the morning wrapping the presents that should have arrived by now. Hide them or place them under the tree. Buy some donuts or pastry for everyone to eat while they’re opening up gifts. In the evening do something special. Since Christmas is on Sunday this year, many churches are having Christmas Eve services. Before you go to bed, set the table with your best linens and china and lay out your children’s church clothes. Also have a bag packed with everything you need for children’s church.

Christmas Day: Get up early before the kids and fix a pot of hot chocolate and place the pastries on a Christmas tray in the livingroom. Get your roast, ham or turkey in the oven on low. After opening gifts and eating breakfast, get ready for church. Enjoy knowing you have everything under control.

Christmas Cards

Share

A great idea to help children focus on other people at Christmas is to have them make their own Christmas cards. Here’s some ideas of who they could send them to.

Missionaries: Missionaries have a hard time at Christmas. They’re away from their families, many times in places that don’t celebrate Christmas.

Shut Ins and Nursing Home Residents: Some of our senior members feel alone at Christmas especially if they have no family nearby.

Widows and Widowers: Those who have lost their spouses have a hard time during the holidays.

Parents: Parents are usually the ones who give to their children at Christmas. Sometimes it helps to give a little something back.