Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 1, 2018
Good morning girls and boys. Happy Easter! I’m sure many of you have gone to an Easter Egg hunt, either at home or at school. And when you got out of bed on this Easter morning perhaps you found an Easter basket containing brightly colored eggs and other good things to eat! It seems at Easter time everywhere we look we see candy eggs, or colored eggs, and egg decorations. But do you know, boys and girls what eggs have to do with Easter? Exactly what is the meaning of the Easter Egg?
For centuries people thought of the egg as something very special. When you look at an egg it just seems like a solid object. But when it hatches, out comes a live baby chick or other bird. The hatching of the egg truly is a miracle! And the life it produces has become a symbol of many wonderful things. Things like springtime when everything comes alive — when the trees and grass turn green, and all of the beautiful flowers start to bloom.
It is also a symbol of Jesus. After His Resurrection, the egg became a religious symbol. And many years ago the tradition was for Christians to exchange colored Easter Eggs with each other and announce “Christ is Risen.”
Boys and girls that’s how the tradition of the Easter egg — this wonderful symbol of life — became so important at Easter time.
So, the next time someone asks you if you know what the meaning of the Easter Egg is, you can say, “Yes, I know egg-zactly how it started!”
Boys and girls, this week, as you enjoy all of the treats in your Easter basket, especially the Easter Eggs, remember those special words, “Christ has Risen.” Today and every day, those words have special meaning for us because we have Jesus Christ in our hearts!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 8, 2018
April 19, 2009
Good morning boys and girls. Today I want to talk about a great big word — the word is:
PROCRASTINATION. — that’s pro-cras-tin-a-tion
Now that’s a word that we usually don’t learn until we are little older, but it is a word that you already know the meaning of.
The word procrastination means to put off something until tomorrow, or later, that you should really be doing today. And the fact of the matter is we should never put off until tomorrow the things we should do today. That’s good advice — but especially when it’s something that God wants us to do today!
There may be a lot of reasons for putting things off — maybe you are feeling lazy, or maybe you are a little afraid. But whatever the reason — if you know in your heart that it is something God wants you to do, you should do it today!
Boys and girls, in your everyday lives, you may say, “I’ll clean my room tomorrow” — or “I’ll work on my school assignment next week” — or “I’ll help my mom or dad after I watch TV” — but you know that’s not always the right thing to do.
But what about putting off until tomorrow the things God expects us to do? What about the important work God has for us, like …
Being nice to our friends
Being obedient to our parents and teachers
Helping others who need us
Listening to others with our hearts
Being generous
You know already those are some of the things we should never put off until another day or another time.
Now is the time to do what God wants us to do!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 15, 2018
Good morning girls and boys! How many of you have been to a real surprise party? I’m talking about a party where the person who is having a birthday or is celebrating some other special occasion doesn’t know about it. Even if you’ve never been to one, I’m sure you know how it works: The person walks into a room and everyone jumps out and yells, SURPRISE! And you can always tell by the look on his or her face if it really was a surprise. And the surprised person usually doesn’t know what to say.
Today we learn in the Bible about the biggest surprise party of all time. We find out that the disciples are more than surprised when Jesus suddenly appears before them after He has risen from the dead. The Bible says that they were scared. “They thought they were seeing a ghost.” And they couldn’t think of the right thing to say at that moment, so they didn’t say anything. Only the voice of Jesus was heard. “Peace be with you,” He said. Jesus appeared alive and in person after He had died on the Cross! Boys and girls, imagine what a surprise party that must have been! When we read the Bible stories about Jesus, we learn that the disciples often were surprised by Jesus’ teachings. But to us 21st Century people, Jesus’ teachings about what God expects of us come as no surprise. The world has known for centuries that God wants us to do His work on earth — work like being kind to your friends, helping others, listening with your hearts, obeying your parents and teachers and to show all of the members of your Christian family how much you care about them.
A boy who was known as a bully at school said to his friend, I went to Joey’s surprise party on Saturday.
That wasn’t a surprise party, the friend said. I was there and Joey knew about it.
Yes, it was a surprise party, the first boy answered. I was surprised they invited me to the party!
Even though the boy was mean at school it was nice of Joey to invite him to the party so they could try to become friends. That’s a good example of someone trying to do Gods work here on earth. And remember boys and girls, it pleases God when we do His work here on earth — and that should come as no surprise!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 22, 2018
Good morning boys and girls! Who are your favorite musicians that you like to listen to on the radio?
Katie Perry? Yes she’s a popular singer. Bruno Mars? O.K. Now can someone tell me the name of your favorite song by one of them? O.K. great! Now can you tell me the words to that song? Very good — you and most everyone here seem to know all of the words to that song! You must all be good listeners!
But wait a minute! How many times have you heard your parents or your teachers say to you, “You weren’t listening!” Maybe you didn’t listen when you were asked to do your homework or your chores. Maybe you weren’t listening when you were watching TV and were called to the dinner table. Maybe you weren’t listening when you were asked to be kinder to a brother or sister, or someone who needed you. Maybe you weren’t listening when your teacher announced your homework assignments.
You see girls and boys, we can all be great listeners when we want to. The hard part is sometimes we don’t want to listen to what is being asked of us!
As a member of our Christian family there are certain things that have been asked of you like . . .
. . . being kind to your friends and neighbors.
Have you been listening?
. . . sharing with one another.
Have you been listening?
. . . being respectful of one another.
Have you been listening?
. . . giving to those who have less than you.
Have you been listening?
. . . being obedient to your parents and teachers.
Have you been listening?
. . . listening with your heart to those who need you.
Have you been listening?
. . . to Love one another!
Have you been listening?
Boys and girls, these are just a few of the things you have been asked to do as one of “God’s ministers” here on earth. And if you’ve really been listening — I mean listening with your heart — then these are things you won’t forget. You too can become a great listener, not just when it comes to your favorite music, but also when listening to the things that are most important.
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 29, 2018
Good morning girls and boys! Today we read in the Bible that Jesus said, “You shall bear much fruit and then you can be my disciples.” What do you suppose that means, boys and girls?
In this case the fruit that Jesus is talking about is the good things that God has called on us to do. And if we all do these things, we will be true followers of Jesus.
Let’s think again about what some of these things are that we have talked about many times before. Being kind and considerate; listening with your heart; sharing with your friends; being obedient to your parents — yes, those are just a few of the things God has asked us to do — and that’s what Jesus meant when He said “You shall bear much fruit.”
Have any of you ever helped plant a tree? That’s great! Can anyone name a tree that grows fruit? That’s right — there are apple trees and pear trees, even banana trees. All of those trees grow the delicious fruit that we eat everyday.
One of the miracles that God has given us can be seen very easily when you plant a tree. First you start with a little seed. Then you plant it in good soil where it can grow. What else will it need? That’s right it will need sunshine. What else? That’s right, it will need water — and maybe some fertilizer. And before you know it, you’ll see a little shoot pointing out of the ground up towards the sun. I’m sure you know boys and girls that the little stick pointing out of the ground won’t have apples or pears or bananas on it. No — it still has a long way to go before it begins to bear fruit.
The tree will need to be watered — that’s a good work. It will need to have some of it’s branches trimmed — that’s a good work. And it will have to be cared for and protected from the harsh winds or maybe the freezing temperatures– and that’s a good work. And before you know it boys and girls, after all of those good works, you’ll have a big beautiful tree — with a large umbrella of branches, and strong sturdy roots. And once it has all of those things it will begin to bear fruit.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking boys and girls? You and I are kind of like that tree. There are lots of good works we can do to help grow and bear much fruit. You already know what those things are — and the most important one of all is to love one another. And today’s lesson teaches that by doing those good works, by bearing much fruit, you will grow to become a good loyal follower of Jesus.
