Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 5, 2012
Good morning girls and boys. Question: “What kind of car does Mickey Mouse’s wife drive?” Answer: “A Minnie van, of course!” If you’ve ever been in a mini van you know that it is a very nice car with room for the whole family. Room for Mickey, Mini, maybe even the Seven Dwarfs!
Boys and girls I’m sure all of you like doing things with your family, don’t you? If you have a brother or sister at home, I’m sure you enjoy spending time together. Well maybe not all of the time, but most of the time — right boys and girls?
Some of you come from big families with lots of brothers and sisters, cousins aunts and uncles. And some of you come from smaller families. But whatever size your immediate family is we all come from a bigger family boys and girls. We are all God’s children. And as God’s children we are all brothers and sisters.
Have you ever watched the construction of a big highway? Isn’t it amazing boys and girls, that all of the weight of the the cars and trucks that travel on it is supported by the road? Did you know that inside of the concrete poured to form the roadway are many thousands of pieces of metal that help hold the whole thing together? And all of the metal and concrete wrapped up together make a very strong roadway. If you think about all of the thousands of cars and trucks that drive over the road you might say to yourself “Wow! that’s not strong enough.” But thousands of those pieces of metal bundled together inside of the concrete sure make it strong! Strong enough to hold millions of pounds of weight. Strong enough to hold hundreds of mini vans at the same time. Isn’t that amazing?
Guess what, boys and girls? Each one of us is like one of those pieces of metal used to build the road. Bundled together we’re strong enough to carry out God’s work:
Bundled together in God’s love, you and your brothers and sisters, and your parents form a strong Christian family.
Bundled together in God’s Love, your family and other families form a strong Christian Church.
Bundled together in God’s Love, your Church and other Churches form a strong Christian faith community.
The next time you are riding in your car (or maybe even a mini van) I want you to think about how strong we can be if we all bundle together in God’s Love!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 12, 2012
Good morning girls and boys. We all like to take walks, don’t we? Especially if the walk takes us to someplace nice. Some of you may have walked along the beach, or next to a beautiful lake. And I guess all of us like walking in the park.
Once there were four men who went on a walk together through the woods. Because there were so many big trees all around them, they couldn’t see very far ahead. That’s why they were surprised when they saw a high wall in front of them. They all had the same idea: “Let’s see what is on the other side.” So they found some heavy branches that had fallen from the trees and they built a ladder.
The first man to climb to the top of the ladder looked over the wall and he saw the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen. And there were all kinds of beautiful trees with all sorts of fruits growing on them. Seeing all that beauty, the first man just couldn’t wait so he jumped right in. The second man climbed the ladder and did the same. So did the third man.
When the fourth man got to the top of the ladder, he wanted to jump right in also. But then he thought of his family and friends. And instead of jumping right in he went down the ladder to tell them about the beautiful land on the other side of the wall. He wanted to share that good news with them.
The Lord Jesus brings us Good News about how much God loves us. And when He does, He tells us not to keep it to ourselves (like a secret), but to share God’s love with our families and friends and neighbors.
Do you suppose they will love you for doing that? Of course they will! Everyone loves Good News!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 19, 2012
Good morning girls and boys. I have a little story for you. There was a boy named Johnny who was having trouble learning in school because he couldn’t hear the teacher. Soon his doctor put a hearing aid in each ear to help him. This fixed the problem he had listening to his teacher but now his classmates began to make fun of his “fake ears.” One day, when another boy was teasing him, Johnny decided he finally had enough, and in anger, he punched the other boy. The teacher saw this and asked Johnny to apologize and to FORGIVE the other boy for his teasing. Johnny really didn’t want to forgive the boy but he said to the teacher, “All right, I’ll tell him I forgive him but first I’m going to turn off my hearing aids so I can’t hear myself forgiving him.”
Johnny said the words of forgiveness, but he didn’t really mean them. What Johnny didn’t understand was that when we forgive someone who has hurt us we also help ourselves by putting all of those bad feelings out of our head, and out of our heart. Jesus teaches us this by his example. Even for those who hated Jesus the most, those who nailed Him on the Cross, he said, “Father, forgive them.”
If Jesus could forgive them do you think you can forgive someone who hurt you in some way? Do you really want to carry those bad feelings around with you like a heavy backpack, or do you want to forgive that person, and let all of those bad feelings go? Try it! You’ll like it!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
February 26, 2012
Good morning boys and girls. On this Sunday we begin the religious season that members of our Christian family call “Lent.” This special season actually began four days ago on “Ash Wednesday,” and will last for forty days, ending on Easter Sunday. But what does the word Lent mean to us?
The season of Lent is a time of “repentance.” We’ve talked about this word before. To repent is to admit things we have done wrong, ask for God’s forgiveness, and then decide to change so we won’t do those wrong things again. This sounds easy doesn’t it? We all know when we do something wrong, don’t we? We all know how to say we are sorry. The really hard part for all of us is to change — that means to change the wrong behavior.
You may have heard some adults say, “I gave up coffee for Lent,” or “I gave up sweets for Lent.” Giving up something you really like — making a sacrifice — can help to be a reminder during Lent. Every time someone thinks of that thing that they miss, they remember the meaning of this season — that Lent can be difficult because it is a time to be sorry for the wrongs we have done and to try to change and do right!
Girls and boys, here’s a funny way for you to remember this message. If you LENT your friend 50¢ for lunch yesterday, and tomorrow he brings you a dollar, you would owe him some CHANGE!
Lent is a time for Change! Because to “Repent” means that first we must be sorry for doing wrong, and then we must change, so we will do better in the future.
Now you know what is expected of you and of all members of our Christian family during the season of Lent — and you have from now until Easter, not to just think about it, but to actually change for the better.
