All the time
Children's sermon
Object:
an hourglass (can be an egg timer or a timer from a board game)
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then,
whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. (v. 8)
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know what this is? (hold up hourglass; allow answers) That's right, it's an hourglass. What else would you call an hourglass? Sometimes people call it a timer, because it keeps track of a certain amount of time. When do you or people in your family use timers? (allow answers) Do your timers look like this? What is different? (allow answers) That's right -- it has sand inside! Many people use this kind of timer when they're playing games, so that everyone gets an equal turn. Can you think of any games that use this kind of timer? Which ones? (allow answers) It's easy to use because you can look at how much sand is left in the top and see how much time you have left. Usually, all we care about is the sand on top; when it's all run out, that means our turn is over. We watch very closely as two or three grains of sand squeeze through the middle part of the hourglass before saying, "Time's up!" Then what do you do? That's right, we flip the hourglass over to start the next person's turn. We're so busy worrying about how much sand is on the top, we don't care about the sand that's on the bottom.
This hourglass reminds me of a verse from today's reading. Saint Paul wrote, "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." God cares about us when we're alive and when we die. Let's compare this hourglass to us: When the sand is at the top, it's kind of like being alive. Everybody cares about what happens to the sand that's alive, that can still make a difference in the game. But the sand that's on the bottom is dead; it's not going to go anywhere, and it won't help the person playing the game. But do you know what God does? God picks up the whole hourglass, the sand on top and the sand on the bottom, and says, "I care about you." He cares about the sand on top -- that's us, the people who are alive -- just as much as the sand on the bottom -- people who have died. Someday, when we are the people on the bottom, God will still be saying, "Hey, I care about you."
The next time you play a game with a timer, remember that God cares about all that sand -- both on the top and on the bottom -- and he will always care about you, both now when you're living and someday in the future when you die and go to be with Jesus. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know what this is? (hold up hourglass; allow answers) That's right, it's an hourglass. What else would you call an hourglass? Sometimes people call it a timer, because it keeps track of a certain amount of time. When do you or people in your family use timers? (allow answers) Do your timers look like this? What is different? (allow answers) That's right -- it has sand inside! Many people use this kind of timer when they're playing games, so that everyone gets an equal turn. Can you think of any games that use this kind of timer? Which ones? (allow answers) It's easy to use because you can look at how much sand is left in the top and see how much time you have left. Usually, all we care about is the sand on top; when it's all run out, that means our turn is over. We watch very closely as two or three grains of sand squeeze through the middle part of the hourglass before saying, "Time's up!" Then what do you do? That's right, we flip the hourglass over to start the next person's turn. We're so busy worrying about how much sand is on the top, we don't care about the sand that's on the bottom.
This hourglass reminds me of a verse from today's reading. Saint Paul wrote, "If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's." God cares about us when we're alive and when we die. Let's compare this hourglass to us: When the sand is at the top, it's kind of like being alive. Everybody cares about what happens to the sand that's alive, that can still make a difference in the game. But the sand that's on the bottom is dead; it's not going to go anywhere, and it won't help the person playing the game. But do you know what God does? God picks up the whole hourglass, the sand on top and the sand on the bottom, and says, "I care about you." He cares about the sand on top -- that's us, the people who are alive -- just as much as the sand on the bottom -- people who have died. Someday, when we are the people on the bottom, God will still be saying, "Hey, I care about you."
The next time you play a game with a timer, remember that God cares about all that sand -- both on the top and on the bottom -- and he will always care about you, both now when you're living and someday in the future when you die and go to be with Jesus. Amen.
