Coming Soon: FIX-US JESUS

My husband and I have served as children's pastors at our church for a little over a year now.  We were able to be a part of our first ever Kids Krusade last weekend.  Our church has been hosting them for years; however, my husband and I had never even heard of one prior to becoming children's pastors.  We both grew up attending VBS. 

This year, our Kids Krusade program was adapted from the TOYS Sermon Series written by Steve and Angie Patrick at Daystar Church.

Now, that we've learned the ropes, I'm already excited about next year's Kids Krusade.  After watching WRECK-IT RALPH at the theater this weekend, I've been prayerfully considering next year's theme.  It's all just a rough draft with a basic outline, and I still don't know if God will want it used in children's church or if He'll want us to save it for next summer.  The graphics may change slightly as well as the nightly lesson themes.  Wreck-It Ralph provides an assortment of creative possibilities for children's ministry. Our Kids Krusades consists of three services, so I've only listed three lessons.

FIX-US JESUS
"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise" - Psalm 50:17

This children's sermon series is loosely based on the new Disney film WRECK-IT RALPH. "Bad guy" Wreck-It Ralph breaks everything in Niceland and "good guy" Fix-It Felix, the star of their game, fixes everything Ralph breaks.  Wreck-It Ralph decides he's tired of being the bad guy.  He sets out to prove he's got what it takes to be a hero, too.  Using the plot of WRECK-IT RALPH and the Biblical stories of Paul, Moses, and Peter, children learn they they, too, can be used by God regardless of their past, their "glitches", or their slips and stumbles along the way. 

Anybody Can Be A Hero
Even though Wreck-It Ralph is the bad guy in Niceland, in Sugar Rush he saved the day and becomes Vanellope's hero.  Simarlarly, God changes the Christian oppressor Saul into one of the most well known and well respected preacher/evangelists of Jesus Christ.  Saul was so drastically changed that God even changed his name from Saul to Paul!

Power Verse: "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

God Uses Glitches
No one believes in Vanellope.  They call her a glitch, tell her she's just the product of messed up coding, and throughout the whole movie she is told she was a mistake and should have never existed.  Vanellope won't give up.  She knows she's supposed to be a racer.  She "feels it in her coding".  Vanellope quickly becomes a very talented racer after Ralph creates a track for her.  In the Bible, God also uses Moses even though he had a "glitch".  He stuttered.

Power Verse: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -  Philippians 4:3

Even Heroes Make Mistakes
King Candy convinces Wreck-It Ralph that Vanellope will be destroyed if she races.  Ralph makes the great mistake of believing King Candy and destroys Vanellope's race car to keep her from racing.  Later, it is revealed that finishing the race is the only thing that will fix Vanellope's glitch.  Fix-It Felix Jr helps Ralph fix Vanellope's car, and she wins first place.  King Candy is revealed to be Turbo, a really bad dude.  In the Bible, Peter, one of Jesus' closest disciples, denies Jesus not once, not twice, but three times!  Jesus forgives Peter and Peter is redeemed.

Power Verse: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

(Additional lesson ideas include:
The Body of Christ - all of the people in the game serve a purpose.  If someone is missing, the game will be out of order and eventually unplugged.

True Friendship - laying down one's life for a friend.  Wreck-It Ralph risks his life to save Vanellope.  Jesus died to save us on the cross.

Glitches to Royalty - Vanellope goes from a mocked glitch to a princess.  Those who mocked her weep and ask for forgiveness when they realize she's the princess.  Jesus was mocked, despised, and rejected before His brutal death.  Still today, people mock, despise, and reject Him though He's the King of Kings.  When we all stand before Him, those who have denied Him will weep and beg for forgiveness.  We don't have to wait until it's too late, we can receive Jesus king of kings right now!
I'm going to have to work that one in somewhere

Judge Not - Because Wreck-It Ralph is the "bad guy" in the game, after the arcade closes, everyone treats him coldly.  We shouldn't judge others by the way they seem.)