Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 5, 2020
Good morning girls and boys. Today I want to talk about the words, loyalty and betrayal. Can someone tell me what loyalty is? That’s right. If we are loyal to our family or to our friends, it means that we stick by them — that we don’t say bad things about them behind their back. That we always try to help and support them — that we value them in our lives. Now how about the word betrayal? Right. It’s kind of the opposite of being loyal. When we betray someone we break the trust that we have with that person. It means that we let that person down. Boys and girls these are important words for us to consider in our Bible Lesson today. We have learned that Jesus Himself was betrayed by someone who was supposed to be one of His loyal followers. He was betrayed by one of the twelve Apostles — the first followers of Jesus who were chosen to help Him spread the Good News. He was betrayed by a man named Judas (Iscariot).
We read in our Bibles that Jesus said to His Apostles who were sitting with Him at dinner, the night before His death, “I tell you solemnly, one of you is about to betray Me.” (Matthew 26:21). He knew that Judas would turn him over to those who wished to kill Him. He knew that one of His followers, who said he was loyal to Jesus, really was not.
Boys and girls, just like the other eleven loyal Apostles, you and I are expected to be loyal. That means we are expected to do the things that have been assigned to us in our 24 hour a day, seven day a week job as members of our Christian family. And in a way, when we stop doing the goods works that we know we should, we are betraying the message of Jesus — we are letting Him down. But remember, God is always right there by our side, ready to pick us back up just as soon as we decide that we are willing to once again be loyal followers.
Boys and girls, you all the know the game “Follow the Leader.” In the game, you are expected to do what the leader does, and if you don’t, you’re out! But if you follow the Greatest Leader who ever was you are never out! Instead, you are always in the game of life on God’s side!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 12, 2020
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 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 19, 2020
Good morning girls and boys. Many of the songs we all know were written by two people. One we call the “Lyricist.” That’s the person who writes the words. The other is called the “Composer.” That’s the person who writes the music.
The Bible tells us that being a faithful follower of Jesus is like that. We need to hear the words from Jesus about how to live the way God wants us to live. We hear Jesus’ words about obeying the Commandments and about caring and sharing, and being willing to forgive, and about loving one another. So we have the words, but what about the music? Where does the music come from? Guess what, boys and girls? It comes from us!
“Life is a Song” is the title of a tune written many years ago. And that is true. Life really is like a song that has words and music, both. Jesus gives us the words and we supply the music when we not only listen to Jesus’ words, but we do what they tell us to do.
We can memorize every word in the Bible that Jesus speaks, but that isn’t enough. The song isn’t complete, which means our lives are not complete until we bring those words to life in the way we show our families and friends and neighbors what those words really mean.
When we show them kindness and respect, when we show them that we care for them, when we show them that we’re willing to share the good things in life with them, the music comes through loud and clear. And it is the best-sounding music in the world!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
April 26, 2020
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 tells us that Jesus appeared before two men who were walking on a road, but at first, they didn’t recognize him. So they asked Jesus to stay with them that night and to have a meal. And when Jesus was with them at the dinner table, “he took the bread and said the blessing.” And suddenly the two men could now see that it was Jesus who was with them. And then He “vanished out of their site.” He disappeared.
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 God’s 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!
