Being Jesus!
Children's sermon
Object:
A can of soup, an envelope, and a stick.
While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. (vv.36-43)
Hi, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have another story for you today about something else that happened back on that first Easter. You probably remember what happened early that morning, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Yes, that’s when some of Jesus’ friends went to his grave and found out that Jesus wasn’t dead but was alive again. And later when they all got together to talk about what they had seen, Jesus came and visited them to show he was still with them. Pretty cool, right? (Let them respond.) Well, that afternoon, another group of Jesus’ friends was walking down the road when somebody walked up and said “Hi!” to them. It was Jesus again.
That night, all of the people that Jesus had visited got together for dinner to try and figure out what they were going to do. They had followed Jesus for three years, and now that he was gone, they were afraid of what was going to happen. Most of them said they didn’t really believe they had seen Jesus, but just some kind of ghost or something. So they were worried.
So, guess what happened next? (Let them respond.) Yes, Jesus walked in and said, “Peace be with you!” And he told them to touch him, and when they did, he said, “You can’t touch a ghost can you?” Then he picked up a piece of fish from one of their plates and he ate it just to prove that he was really alive. Pretty neat, huh? (Let them respond.) The people were worried and afraid because they thought Jesus was gone and they were alone. But Jesus showed them they weren’t alone after all. He was still there.
Sometimes when we are worried or afraid, it would be nice to have Jesus come and have lunch with us, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes it would just be really nice to know for sure that he was really here. Like the time with Bill and Alice. That isn’t their real names, but that’s what we’ll call them for now.
Bill and Alice were worried. Bill had just had an operation and wasn’t able to get up and walk around like he usually did. And then Alice caught some kind of bug and got really sick and wasn’t able to do much of anything either. They didn’t know how they were going to fix their meals or get their mail from the mailbox by the road, and Bill just sat and looked out the window at his yard. He was always proud of how clean and neat he kept his yard, and now it was getting pretty messy. Bill and Alice had been married for a really long time and had always taken care of each other, but now they weren’t sure what they were going to do. They were worried, and even feeling a little scared, and they felt all alone.
And do you know what happened next? (Let them respond.)
There was a knock on the front door and Linda from their church came in with a big bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup (show the can of soup) and a loaf of fresh-baked bread. A little bit later, Bill looked out the window and saw some of the kids from their church walking around picking up the sticks in the yard, (show the stick) and some others were mowing the grass. And a little bit later someone else from their church knocked on the door and gave Bill and Alice the mail that was in their mailbox. (Show the envelope.) And you know what? People from Bill and Alice’s church came back to see them every day. Sometimes they brought food, and sometimes they came to do the dishes or vacuum the floor, and sometimes they came to trim the bushes, and sometimes they just came to sit and talk for a while. And, a couple of times, Ida Mae brought Bill and Alice a big plateful of her famous oatmeal, cranberry, apricot, and chocolate chip cookies.
And that is how Bill and Alice knew they were not alone after all. They didn’t need to worry, because Jesus was still there. Their friends from their church showed Jesus to them every time they came to visit.
And that is something we can do, too. We can show everyone that Jesus is still here. When we see someone who is worrying or is afraid or feeling lonely, if we show them that we care for them and love them, we are being like Jesus for them. We are being Jesus!
Pretty cool, huh? (Let them respond.)
I hope you’ll remember how much God loves you, and how much God wants us to show everyone around us how much we love them, too.
Let’s have our prayer and ask God to help us remember.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. Please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. (vv.36-43)
Hi, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have another story for you today about something else that happened back on that first Easter. You probably remember what happened early that morning, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Yes, that’s when some of Jesus’ friends went to his grave and found out that Jesus wasn’t dead but was alive again. And later when they all got together to talk about what they had seen, Jesus came and visited them to show he was still with them. Pretty cool, right? (Let them respond.) Well, that afternoon, another group of Jesus’ friends was walking down the road when somebody walked up and said “Hi!” to them. It was Jesus again.
That night, all of the people that Jesus had visited got together for dinner to try and figure out what they were going to do. They had followed Jesus for three years, and now that he was gone, they were afraid of what was going to happen. Most of them said they didn’t really believe they had seen Jesus, but just some kind of ghost or something. So they were worried.
So, guess what happened next? (Let them respond.) Yes, Jesus walked in and said, “Peace be with you!” And he told them to touch him, and when they did, he said, “You can’t touch a ghost can you?” Then he picked up a piece of fish from one of their plates and he ate it just to prove that he was really alive. Pretty neat, huh? (Let them respond.) The people were worried and afraid because they thought Jesus was gone and they were alone. But Jesus showed them they weren’t alone after all. He was still there.
Sometimes when we are worried or afraid, it would be nice to have Jesus come and have lunch with us, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes it would just be really nice to know for sure that he was really here. Like the time with Bill and Alice. That isn’t their real names, but that’s what we’ll call them for now.
Bill and Alice were worried. Bill had just had an operation and wasn’t able to get up and walk around like he usually did. And then Alice caught some kind of bug and got really sick and wasn’t able to do much of anything either. They didn’t know how they were going to fix their meals or get their mail from the mailbox by the road, and Bill just sat and looked out the window at his yard. He was always proud of how clean and neat he kept his yard, and now it was getting pretty messy. Bill and Alice had been married for a really long time and had always taken care of each other, but now they weren’t sure what they were going to do. They were worried, and even feeling a little scared, and they felt all alone.
And do you know what happened next? (Let them respond.)
There was a knock on the front door and Linda from their church came in with a big bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup (show the can of soup) and a loaf of fresh-baked bread. A little bit later, Bill looked out the window and saw some of the kids from their church walking around picking up the sticks in the yard, (show the stick) and some others were mowing the grass. And a little bit later someone else from their church knocked on the door and gave Bill and Alice the mail that was in their mailbox. (Show the envelope.) And you know what? People from Bill and Alice’s church came back to see them every day. Sometimes they brought food, and sometimes they came to do the dishes or vacuum the floor, and sometimes they came to trim the bushes, and sometimes they just came to sit and talk for a while. And, a couple of times, Ida Mae brought Bill and Alice a big plateful of her famous oatmeal, cranberry, apricot, and chocolate chip cookies.
And that is how Bill and Alice knew they were not alone after all. They didn’t need to worry, because Jesus was still there. Their friends from their church showed Jesus to them every time they came to visit.
And that is something we can do, too. We can show everyone that Jesus is still here. When we see someone who is worrying or is afraid or feeling lonely, if we show them that we care for them and love them, we are being like Jesus for them. We are being Jesus!
Pretty cool, huh? (Let them respond.)
I hope you’ll remember how much God loves you, and how much God wants us to show everyone around us how much we love them, too.
Let’s have our prayer and ask God to help us remember.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. Please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
