Children’s Sunday Sermon
November 2, 2014
Good morning girls and boys. Today I would like us to talk about brotherhood. What exactly is brotherhood? Yes it is true that brothers and sisters in a family share a brotherhood. That’s really the exact meaning of the word — just being brothers. But we are not just brothers to our family members, are we, boys and girls? No, God wants us to share a brotherhood with all of His children here on earth. God wants us to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be brotherly not just to our family, but to all of our friends and neighbors, and to those who need us.
Boys and girls have you heard some of the names that big cities in our country have been given? Can anyone think of any? How about “The Big Apple,” New York City. “A Capital City” is what Washington D.C. is nicknamed. Does anyone know where the “Windy City” is? That’s right. The “Windy City” is Chicago, Illinois. Here’s a good one. The city of Philadelphia has been called the “City of Brotherly Love.” Boys and girls wouldn’t it be great if that were true not only for Philadelphia but every city in the world? Wouldn’t it be great if it wasn’t just a slogan for a city but an instruction for all of it’s citizens.
Well it is an instruction for all citizens of the world. It is not a slogan but an instruction from Jesus to do the work that is expected of each of us. Boys and girls, all of God’s children are brothers and sisters. I’ll bet you didn’t know you had such a big family, did you?
Children’s Sunday Sermon
November 9, 2014
Good morning girls and boys. How many of you have an alarm clock next to your bed at home? That’s what I thought. It seems most of us can’t get out of bed in the morning without someone or something waking us up! But now that we are all here and on time I want to remind you of one very important thing. Getting out of bed is only part of it. Now you have to stay awake! But I’m sure none of you boys and girls would fall asleep during your Bible Lessons — would you?
Today we read in our Bibles that Jesus told His followers to “stay awake.” Do you think Jesus was asking His followers not to fall asleep? You know from our past lessons that sometimes we have to put on our thinking caps before we really understand what Jesus is saying. You see boys and girls, Jesus is asking us not to fall asleep on the job. Jesus is telling us that there is important work to be done and now is the time to do it. Jesus is telling us that we should be alert— just like you are after a good night’s sleep and you are ready to learn your school lessons. Yes, the Bible tells us that we need to stay awake. In other words we should always be alert and ready to practice our faith. We must always be alert and ready to do the good works that are expected of us as loyal followers of Jesus. And you know that those good works include helping others, being kind to others, sharing with others and all of the other good things we have learned that we must do as loyal followers of Jesus.
Children’s Sunday Sermon
November 16, 2014
Good morning girls and boys. Have you ever heard of car sickness or air sickness? That’s right. That’s what some people get when they ride in a car or in an airplane and their stomach gets upset. Here’s a new one: have you ever heard of “money sickness.” What do you suppose money sickness is, boys and girls? Is it the upset stomach you might get from swallowing a penny? No, of course not! We could describe money sickness as an illness that affects people who put too much importance on money and possessions.
Boys and girls it’s okay to have nice things. But Jesus wants us to understand that we should never put money and possessions ahead of our relationship with God. He wants us to understand that we should never put money and things at the center of our lives. He wants us to understand they are not the most important part of our lives. Because if we do, we could come down with a bad case of money sickness.
Jesus talks a lot about money in our Bibles, boys and girls, because He knew that so many people were money sick. He didn’t say that money all by itself was bad. Of course it isn’t. We all need money to buy the things that we need in order to live. But what Jesus did say was if we love money too much that’s bad. Suppose you treasured money and things more than anything else, would that be a good way to live? No, of course not. And Jesus has said that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” He is telling us is that if we put money ahead of everything else then that is not a good way to live.
Now suppose you treasured something else. Suppose you put your love of God and your belief in our Bible ahead of everything else? Suppose you’ve been really practicing all of your lessons because you treasure them above all else? Would that be a good way to live? Of course it would! It would be the best way to live. To treasure God is to tell Him that He lives in our hearts!
Children’s Sunday Sermon
November 23, 2014
Good morning girls and boys. Today we read in our Bibles that Jesus said, “what you did to one of the weakest of my brothers you did to Me.” How can something we do to someone else be the same as doing it to Jesus? Well Jesus is telling us that we should see God in all of the members of our human family. Every single person on this earth is a unique creation of God. And that includes everyone. That includes people who are poor and don’t have enough to eat. That includes people who are sick and who need someone to help them. That includes people who are lonely and need someone to care.
Boys and girls, as members of our Christian family you have a job to do. And that job is being the kind of reflection of God that you have been asked to be. Have you reflected God’s goodness today in the way you have treated your brothers and sisters? If the answer is YES, you will be a shining example of the goodness of God. If the answer is yes, then soon others will see the image of God in you. Now let’s go out this week boys and girls and reflect the goodness of God and the kindness of God in all you say and do especially, to those who need it most.
Children’s Sunday Sermon
November 30, 2014
Good morning boys and girls. Christmas is less than a month away and I’m sure some of you have already started to prepare. A few of you may have begun your Christmas shopping. Others may be working on a special Christmas play to be performed later next month. Or maybe you’ve already begun to help your mom or dad with decorating your house.
Those are all very nice things that you can do as we prepare to celebrate the birth of the Baby Jesus on Christmas day. To really be prepared, we can’t get started with all of these projects on Christmas Eve, can we boys and girls? No, this is a work that requires us to plan in advance and to get ready for the coming of Christmas!
We have already learned in our Bible Lessons that Jesus has promised that we will live forever. Boys and girls, because we are human, the idea that we will live forever is hard for us to imagine in our lives here on earth. But the promise that Jesus has given us, of eternal life, of living forever starts exactly here — on earth. And that’s where we must make sure that we are always prepared.
For all of us who are loyal followers of Jesus we have already begun our preparation for eternal life here on earth. And being prepared means doing the good work that is expected of us here on earth as we grow closer to God. And Jesus tells us that eternal life means being close to God.
