A baptism discovery
Children's sermon
Object:
a board game
Good morning, boys and girls. I brought a game (name the game)
with me his morning. Do any of you know how to play it? (Let them
answer.) Can you imagine playing a game like this and discovering
later that you weren't using the correct rules? That wouldn't be
much fun, would it? (Let them answer.)
I want to tell you about a group of friends about your age. One of them received a game like this for Christmas. The friends didn't know there were rules to the game. So, they started playing in a way they thought was the way to play. Later one of their older sisters saw them. She asked, "Didn't you receive the rules with this game?" They answered, "No. We didn't even know that there were rules to this game!" You can imagine their surprise! The older sister took the time to explain the rules of the game. When they discovered all that they were missing, the game was fun.
The story of the children playing the game reminds me of this morning's Bible story. Paul visited some people who were like the children playing the game without knowing what they were missing. These people thought they believed in Jesus, but something important was missing. Paul asked an important question, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered, "What is the Holy Spirit? We never heard of it!" When Paul heard this, he baptized them. He laid his hands on them and God's Spirit came to them. (If your congregation is having a baptism this morning, explain to the children what is taking place.) When God's Spirit came to them, they became members of God's family. God's Spirit comes to us in many ways. One of those ways is through baptism. When you are baptized, you become part of God's family. When you are baptized, God's Spirit lives in you. It is like playing a game and knowing that you are not missing something.
I want to tell you about a group of friends about your age. One of them received a game like this for Christmas. The friends didn't know there were rules to the game. So, they started playing in a way they thought was the way to play. Later one of their older sisters saw them. She asked, "Didn't you receive the rules with this game?" They answered, "No. We didn't even know that there were rules to this game!" You can imagine their surprise! The older sister took the time to explain the rules of the game. When they discovered all that they were missing, the game was fun.
The story of the children playing the game reminds me of this morning's Bible story. Paul visited some people who were like the children playing the game without knowing what they were missing. These people thought they believed in Jesus, but something important was missing. Paul asked an important question, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?" They answered, "What is the Holy Spirit? We never heard of it!" When Paul heard this, he baptized them. He laid his hands on them and God's Spirit came to them. (If your congregation is having a baptism this morning, explain to the children what is taking place.) When God's Spirit came to them, they became members of God's family. God's Spirit comes to us in many ways. One of those ways is through baptism. When you are baptized, you become part of God's family. When you are baptized, God's Spirit lives in you. It is like playing a game and knowing that you are not missing something.
