Children’s Sunday Sermon
June 5, 2022
Good morning girls and boys. Have you ever felt like staying home from school, even though you weren’t sick? Maybe you didn’t feel like coming here for your lesson today — but you did, and I am thankful for that! We all have days like that, youngsters, and adults both. Sometimes adults don’t feel like going to work or to Church or to exercise their bodies. But we usually go anyway, and then we are glad that we did.
Well boys and girls, sometimes people feel the same way about their responsibilities as loyal followers of Jesus. Sometimes they don’t want to go to Church. Sometimes they don’t want to help someone who is need. Sometimes they don’t want to visit the sick, or the lonely. Sometimes they don’t feel like really listening to others who want us to do more than just hear them! But you know what? We have learned that Jesus has promised if we do all these things, even when we don’t feel like it, we will have a cheerful heart!
Have you ever heard the expression, “No pain, no gain?” Can someone tell me what that means? That’s right. If we decide we want to be physically fit and go to the gym to build our muscles, we must work hard. We must lift weights and maybe run on the treadmill. When we work hard our muscles will ache from all the activity. And as soon as we feel the pain of those aching muscles, we know that they are growing stronger — and that’s the gain that comes after the pain. Or maybe we must work very hard on a lesson at school — and we try so hard it almost gives us a headache. But then the next time we try it gets easier — and that’s the gain that comes after the pain.
It’s just the same way when we exercise our faith. Sometimes we don’t want to do some of the things that we know Jesus wants us to do. And then we work hard and do it. And sometimes that can be a little painful — like helping when we are tired or listening when we are grumpy. But as soon as we feel ourselves reaching and stretching and working hard to be good Christians, we feel the gain. And our faith begins to grow stronger. And the next time we try it gets easier — and that’s the gain that comes after the pain.
This week boys and girls I want you all to have fun exercising your muscles as you play games in the schoolyard with your friends. But don’t forget also to exercise your faith. Remember — no pain no gain!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
June 12, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. I’d like you all to think for a moment about your favorite things — like a bicycle or scooter; roller blades or skateboard; iPhones or video games; a computer or TV. Did I leave anything out? Okay, those are all great things. Now imagine giving all of that up? Could you give it all to a stranger — a little boy or girl that you didn’t even know? Well guess what? Last Christmas there was boy who did just that! Instead of asking for things he gave away all his favorite toys to children who were in need. What does that tell us about that boy?
That’s right. The boy in our story hasn’t just been hearing his Bible Lessons — he’s really, really, really been listening! And after he gave away his things that boy said it was the best Christmas present, he ever had. He had a cheerful heart just seeing how happy the children were who received his gifts. That’s awesome!
There really are people like that — children and adults, who really, really, really work hard to follow the examples of Jesus and to be “true to His word.” People who really, really, really work hard to exercise their faith. But as you can imagine, it’s not easy to give up all your things, and I’m not asking you to. But we can learn a lot from the boy who did. The next time you are called on to stretch your faith and reach out to help someone, just remember that boy who gave everything he had. And then it won’t seem so hard to do your little part. And when you remember that boy and exercise your heart, you will begin to grow stronger as a loyal follower of Jesus. And that’s awesome!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
June 19, 2022
Good morning girls and boys. How many here have thought about what you would like to be when you grow up? Let’s hear some ideas. Excellent! How about a carpenter? Building things is a wonderful profession and Jesus learned carpentry from his foster Father, Joseph. Have you thought about being a teacher? Teaching young people is one of the most important jobs of all, and Jesus was a superb teacher. How about a storyteller? Public speakers and teachers are storytellers and Jesus may have been the greatest storyteller of all time! How about a Doctor? Taking care of people and helping them get well is an awesome job. And in many ways Jesus was a doctor because He had incredible healing powers — powers far greater than any Doctor living today. We learned about a man named Lazarus who Jesus brought back from death. He restored eyesight to a blind man. He cured people of terrible disease. Yes, Jesus was a Great Healer.
But just as awesome is Jesus’ power to heal our hearts. You know that He is always right there for people who are lonely, or sad, or worried, or who need peace of mind. He’s right there by their side. He’s right there to heal anyone who needs Him.
And like Jesus we have some of the same responsibilities as loyal followers. We also need to be healers to anyone who needs us — anyone who needs us to listen, to care, to share with, to help, to be a friend to, to love. Those are all powers of healing that we can use as loyal followers of Jesus. As members of the Christian family, we are expected to do God’s good works here on earth.
Boys and girls, I’m sure some of you will be Doctors someday. But I also know that all of you can be healers for all of God’s children. And that’s good medicine!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
June 26, 2022
Good morning boys and girls. Just like we do every Sunday today we will talk and think about God. Today we will talk and think about the Lessons that Jesus has taught in the best recipe book ever — our Bibles. But let me ask you boys and girls: “Is today the only day of the week that we need to be thinking about these things?” Of course, it isn’t boys and girls.
Not just on Sunday, but every day we should be thinking about our Bible Lessons. And not just every day, but every hour we should be doing our “homework” — we should always be practicing the Lessons that Jesus has taught us. You see boys and girls these are not Lessons to be learned and then to be forgotten. No! These are Lessons that we must be practicing every day and every hour of our lives! And that goes for children and adults too!
Suppose you had a spelling or math test this week. What would you do? That’s right, you would study your lessons at school, and you would do your homework assignments later that day. You would practice your spelling words or your arithmetic until you got it right. And then, hopefully, you would do well the next day when you took your exam. But it wouldn’t end there, boys, and girls, would it? No of course not. The words that you learned to spell will be used during your entire life — many of them every day. And you would need to be able to add and subtract and multiply and divide numbers every single day. At school or at work or at the grocery store or the gas station these are all things that you would need to know to live well. And the same is true with your Bible Lessons. You come here each Sunday and study, and then during the week you must practice, practice, practice the things that you have learned. But for all of us, the big test won’t come next week boys and girls. The big test won’t come until each of us takes his or her place in the Kingdom of heaven just as God has promised. And then God will tell us if we passed our test. God will decide if we not only learned His Lessons, but also lived His Lessons here on earth. So now you see boys and girls we have a lot of work to do. Let’s all get busy this week and practice, practice, practice!
