Children’s Sunday Sermon
October 2, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. Today I want to talk about faith. Of course, faith is one of the most important parts of our relationship with God, and our relationship with all the members of our faith community. But what exactly is faith boys and girls? A famous man of God has explained it this way: “Faith means to believe in something that you cannot see — and your reward for having faith is to one day see what you have believed.” In other words, boys, and girls, we loyal followers of Jesus who have faith, who believe that God is always right there with us, will one day be rewarded when we see Him in the Kingdom of Heaven. It means that as loyal followers, we believe all the lessons that Jesus has taught right here in our Bibles. Because we have faith, we believe in the promises that Jesus has made to us if we follow His examples and do the work that is expected of us here on earth. What has our faith taught us boys and girls?
If we think of others first, God will be pleased. If we love one another, we will be rewarded with eternal life with God in the Kingdom of heaven. If we help those who need us; are a friend to those who are lonely; share with those who have less; listen with our hearts; then we will be doing the work of God here on earth. And our faith tells us that this is what we must do.
This reminds me of a story about a little girl who had done something to displease her mother and was sent to the corner of the kitchen. “You will sit there until your father comes home,” the mother said. “I’ll stand in the corner, but I won’t sit,” the girl said. So, the mother put her hands on the child’s shoulders and told her to sit down. With a big frown on her face, the little girl finally did what her mother asked, and she sat down. When the little girl’s father came home, he asked her what she was doing over in the corner of the kitchen. She said, “Daddy, my head tells me I’m sitting here, but my heart tells me I’m still standing.”
Boys and girls that‘s exactly like our Christian faith. Sometimes it’s natural for our head to be telling us something different, especially those times when it is hard to have faith. But if you’ve really been listening to your Bible lessons, if you really have been practicing your faith, then one day, your heart will tell you that if you keep on practicing, you will see what you believe!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
October 9, 2022
Good morning girls and boys. Today we read in our Bibles that as Jesus was traveling along a road, He met ten Lepers and he cured all ten of their disease. Now before we go further, let me explain that in Jesus’ time, Lepers were people who had certain diseases of the skin, some serious and some not so serious. Some only had a problem that caused them to have white patches on their skin. That disease wasn’t very serious, but still people who saw them on the street would avoid them. In fact, these people were not allowed to come close to anyone who didn’t have the disease. They were treated very unfairly until they were cured of their disease.
As I said, we learn in our lesson today that Jesus saw ten people who had a disease, and he cured all ten. That’s awesome. But you know what boys and girls? Even though Jesus had given them this wonderful miracle, a miracle that would allow them one day to be members of their community again, only one of the ten came to thank Jesus. The other nine ran off to church without even trying. So, Jesus, asks, “The other nine, where are they? It seems no one has come back to give thanks to God, except this one man.”
Boys and girls, even though ten people received the miracle of Jesus’ healing, only one of the ten were ready to accept it and give thanks to God. This is an important lesson boys and girls. Just like when we say thank you to someone when they help us with something, we must always be ready to give thanks to God for all the wonderful miracles he has worked in our lives. What are some of these things, boys, and girls?
Look around you. Look at a seed and then think about the wonderful miracle of that seed sprouting into a beautiful flower, or a delicious fruit to eat. Now say “Thank you, God.”
Look at the mountains and the oceans and the beautiful blue sky — all miracles of God’s creation. Now say, “Thank you, God.”
Look at all the wonderful creatures in the world, your pets at home, the animals in the jungle, the birds in the sky — all of God’s miracles of creation. Now say “Thank you, God.”
Now look in the mirror and what do you see? Look and you’ll see one of God’s greatest miracles — the miracle of you! Think about it — in all of time — out of all people ever born, there has never been someone exactly like you! What a miracle! Now say, “Thank you, God!”
Children’s Sunday Sermon
October 16, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. Let’s start today’s lesson with a prayer.
Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be thy name
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
You know the rest of the Lord’s Prayer boys and girls. This is something followers of Jesus recite all the time. I know that most of you say other prayers too — like at bedtime. God bless Mommy, and Daddy, and sister, and brother, and teacher, and my pets. I’m sure you can think of a million things to pray about. These are all wonderful prayers. But you know what boys and girls, as we get a little older and begin college, or start a new job and begin to raise our own families, our responsibilities and even our troubles seem to get a lot bigger. And this is when people turn to prayer and begin asking God to help them through the tough times. And that’s okay. But we must be careful that we don’t always expect God to fix all our troubles. We must be careful that we don’t pray only when we need something. Sometimes, instead of asking for things, we should be listening to God — listening with our hearts to the things that we know God wants of us. It’s all right here in our Bibles. God has already given us all the lessons and all the answers to our prayers right here in the greatest recipe book ever written — our Holy Bible.
You already know boys and girls, these are things we need to practice not just when things get tough. These are things that we need to be practicing every day. Every day we need to exercise our faith and believe that if we do the work of God here on earth — if we follow the examples of Jesus, then we will one day see what we believe when we join God in Heaven for all time. What a miracle!
Let’s all listen as I read this prayer:
Father in Heaven, we pray that we can do better
practicing our faith
We pray we can open our ears to the Lessons we have learned in our Bible
We pray that we can open or hearts to those
who need us
We pray that can open our minds to those
who are different
We pray that we are always thankful for Your awesome goodness! Amen!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
October 23, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. I’m sure you’ve all seen someone on television or maybe in real life who claims to be the best at everything. This person says he has the best car, the best house, the best job. Or maybe she says she is stronger than everyone else, or prettier, or richer. Maybe this person thinks he’s smarter than everyone, or funnier, or faster, or better looking. I’m sure you’ve heard it all.
What do you think when you hear someone like that? I agree — it doesn’t sound very nice, does it, to brag like that? Well, you know what boys and girls, we read in our Bible that there were men who felt that way about their religion. They claimed to be holier than everyone else. They went to church, and obeyed all the religious laws, and as a result, they thought they were better than their neighbors. Now that doesn’t sound so good either, does it boys and girls? A person who thinks he is better than everyone else because he thinks he always does the right thing is said to be self-righteous. He thinks everyone else is a sinner but not him. Well, you know what? Every one of God’s children is a sinner, and the person who says he doesn’t sin isn’t being honest. Jesus’ examples teach us not only to resist sin, but He also teaches us not to be self-righteous.
Boys and girls, none of us are perfect — not you, not me, not anyone! But if we follow the wonderful examples of Jesus that we read in our Bibles — if we love one another, instead of always criticizing one another, then God will be pleased. And remember, God is the final judge — not the self-righteous man!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
October 30, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. There’s a story that I would like to share with you about a little girl who really wanted a kitten. The girl had been asking her mom for many weeks if she could have a cat, but her mother really didn’t want a pet in the house. Finally, the mom gave in and told her daughter to pray to God for the kitten, and if God answered her prayers, then she could keep it. The little girl immediately went into the backyard and began to pray.
In a neighbor’s yard just a few houses away, a man had seen a kitten that was in trouble. The little kitten had climbed way up into a tall tree and was afraid to come down. The man couldn’t reach the poor little creature even with his biggest ladders — so he came up with a plan. He decided to tie a strong rope around the tree trunk, about halfway up. Can everyone picture this? Next the man tied the other end of the rope to his car’s back bumper so he could use the car to bend the tree over far enough so that he could reach the cat. Is everyone with me so far? Can you picture it? (Draw a picture on the blackboard if needed). Next the man started his car and began to pull on the tree. But just as the tree was bending down low enough for him to reach the cat the rope broke! And you guessed it! BAM! The tree snapped back, and the poor kitten went flying and landed in the little girl’s backyard. Of course, she couldn’t believe her eyes. “Look, mom,” she shrieked. “God did answer my prayer.”
Well, that’s a funny story boys and girls but it is also a lesson for all of us. God does listen to our prayers. And even though we don’t receive answers to our prayers as dramatic as the one the little girl received, God is always listening! He is always right there by our side. The next time you see a little kitten or a puppy or any of God’s miracles of creation, remember, He hears our prayers. Now let’s all join in prayer: Dear God, thank You for all the wonderful gifts of life You have given us to enjoy. And not just the kittens and the puppies but for everything. Amen!
