Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 5, 2017
Good morning girls and boys. What is light? Yes, of course light is the thing that allows us to see — without it we would be in total darkness. But exactly what is light? How do the scientists explain to us what light is. Can anyone here tell me what travels 186,000 miles per second? The answer is light! The rays of light that start form the glowing yellow ball we call the sun are traveling at 186,000 miles per second! That’s awesome. Someone has described light as a form of energy that stimulates certain nerves in our eyes that cause us to see. So light, the thing that allows us to see is a sort of invisible energy that turns on our eyes. Wow!
Boys and girls in our Bibles we have read that Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world.” Jesus was sent by God to live among us here on earth to shine His special light of goodness on all of us.
Boys and girls can you remember back a few years ago when you were afraid to sleep alone at night in the dark. I know, it can be scary when we feel all alone in the darkness. And your parents probably put a little “night light” in your room or in the hallway so you could see. With that little night light you knew that you weren’t all alone and that your parents were right there in the next room. Well boys and girls it is kind of the same thing with God. We are never alone. He is always right there next to us shining His powerful bright light of love into our lives. When things seem dark in our lives, God is there to light up our way.
In our Bible in the Book of Genesis, we learn that in the beginning everything was covered in darkness. And then we learn that the very first thing God does is create light. “Let there be light,” we read in our Bible. “And God said that the light was good.”
Boys and girls if you look in a mirror you see light reflected from the silver colored glass and that’s how you are able to brush your teeth and comb your hair without poking yourself in the eye! The light in the mirror is a reflection of you. And just like that light in the mirror, you can be a reflection of the wonderful light of Jesus. You can reflect all of the wonderful lessons that He has given us in our Bibles. And the only way to reflect that beautiful loving light of Jesus is in the way you love. When you live the lessons that Jesus has taught then you are one of His brightest shining examples of someone who reflects the light of Jesus.
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 12, 2017
In the old “Bugs Bunny” cartoons, “Daffy Duck” often tries to trick Bugs into going someplace or doing something that would be harmful to him. Rabbits love carrots and “Daffy” would put a carrot on a stick and get Bugs to run after it without caring about where it was taking him. And this always got him into trouble. In these scenes, Bugs is being tempted by the carrot to do something he shouldn’t be doing. And this reminds us of what happens to us very often. Not “Daffy Duck” but the devil himself is always trying to trick us or tempt us into doing something we shouldn’t. He doesn’t use a carrot or a stick to tempt us, but he uses many other kinds of tricks. But whatever trick he uses, his purpose is always the same. He wants to get us to do something that God doesn’t want us to do. He wants us to lie or cheat or disobey. He wants us to be selfish and unkind. He wants us to be hurtful rather than loving toward other persons. “Do what I ask,” he whispers in our ears, “and you will be more popular. Do as I ask and I’ll see that you get all the goodies. Be good only to yourself and forget all these others and you’ll be a real winner.”
Actually, when the devil tempted Jesus, he said, “Forget about God and worship me and I’ll give you everything in the world.” Jesus, of course said “No!” to the devil. “God alone do I worship,” He told the devil. “So you can keep all your goodies!”
There are two things you can do when the devil waves a carrot on a stick before you. You can say “No” to the devil and you can say “Yes” to God. “Yes God, I will do as You ask. I will be the kind of giving person you want me to be. Send the devil on his way and you’ll be a real winner!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 19, 2017
Good morning boys and girls. We read in our Bible today that Jesus said, “Love your enemies . . .do good to those who hate you . . . pray for those who treat you badly. ” And we read further that if we do these things God will be pleased. Sounds tough, doesn’t it?
Boys and girls what is the opposite of hate? Of course, Love is the opposite of hate. And so it should come as no surprise to us that Jesus, the One whose Love for us is greater than anything we can imagine, would ask us to respond to hate with love. It should come as no surprise that He asks us to answer bad deeds with good deeds. And this Lesson, boys and girls, is one of the hardest of all to learn.
When someone does something to us that seems bad our first reaction is to get mad, and then to get even. That’s a mistake that we all make — both adults and kids — and it’s part of being human. For adults, it can be something as silly as someone bumping into them in the supermarket or driving too closely — but sometimes those little things can turn into very bad situations. Some people get so angry with others when they are driving they are said to have, “road rage,” which is a very dangerous thing that you may have heard about.
Boys and girls, I want you close your eyes right now and think about how your classmates might describe you, and how you would describe some of them. Okay. Now tell me, wouldn’t it be nice to be thought of as a boy or girl with a good attitude — someone who is always practicing his or her responsibilities as a loyal follower of Jesus? Someone who is kind, and thoughtful and a good friend? Or would you rather be thought of as someone who answers every bad deed with more bad deeds — someone who goes to school with a bad case of “grumpy-itis.” In the future boys and girls, will anyone really care who bumped into you in the hall or who broke your pencil? Of course not. But in the future it will be important if you are remembered as a shining bright light reflecting the Love of Jesus! How wonderful that would be!
Boys and girls, there are definitely times when we must stay away from bad people and bad things, and your parents and teachers have taught you how to be safe. It’s very, very important that you listen to and obey your parents and teachers. It is also important that you stand up for yourself and the things that you believe and not let others bully you. You see boys and girls, today’s lesson is not about being afraid or timid when you face bad things. It’s about being strong enough to remember the lessons you learned about facing these things. Not a single one of us is perfect and we don’t always follow the instructions that Jesus has given us. But if you really try hard, if you start today by trying to be a little bit kinder or friendlier to someone with “grouchy-itis,” maybe — just maybe, you’ll make a new friend. And that would please God!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 26, 2017
Good morning boys and girls. Today I would like to start out with a story about a boy who was always worrying. He was looking at his test paper that his teacher had just graded. “I worried about this test all night,” he said. “I worried and worried and worried.” The little girl next to him asked, “So what happened?” “I got an A. I guess wasted a good worry!”
In our Bible Lesson today we read about something really important that Jesus does not want us to do. He says, “I am telling you not to worry about your life.” Why would He say this, boys and girls? Jesus is telling us that the best way for us not to worry, the way we can get rid of all of our extra worries is to put our trust in God.
Of course all of us — parents, teachers, adults and all of you children will experience some tough times in life. This is part of growing up and becoming responsible adults. This is part of learning to get along with others, having good feelings in your family, and meeting nice friends. This is part of making your way through you school and Bible Lessons and planning for your future after your school years. And when you are an adult and have your own family, there will be new responsibilities and challenges. But Jesus tells us in our Lesson today that if we have trust in God, we can leave the big worries to him. Jesus is not telling us that we don’t have to be responsible for things that are expected of us as loyal followers, but He is saying, if we spend all of our time worrying about the little things, the constant worrying can get in the way of us becoming the persons God wants us to be.
Boys and girls it is not possible for us to be just like Jesus. But we can follow His great examples instead of worrying about the little things. It is not possible for us to be able to teach just like Jesus, but we can share His teaching with our brothers and sisters in our faith community. It is not possible for us to heal like Jesus, but we can send around the healing love that He asked us to share with our neighbors. And now boys and girls I hope that this week you all do a little less worrying and a little more practicing the Lessons we have learned in our Bibles. The Lessons from the Greatest Teacher ever!
