Beloved
Children's sermon
Object:
a photo of parents and child
And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." (v. 17)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about parents. How do you show your parents that you love them? (allow answers) There are lots of ways we show our love for our parents! Maybe you give them a hug good-night every night. Maybe you draw them pictures or make crafts for them. It is important for us to show our parents that we love them. How many of you know about the Ten Commandments? (allow answers) The Ten Commandments are a set of ten rules that God gave to Moses in the Old Testament. Following the Ten Commandments lets us live godly, happy lives. One of these ten rules for living talks about parents -- wow! It says, "Honor thy mother and father." Do you know what that means? (allow answers) That means to show your parents respect and love in your actions every day.
But our relationship with our parents is not just one way. It is also important for parents to show their children that they love them. How do your parents show you that they love you? (allow answers) Parents show their children that they love them by providing their children with clothing, food, and a place to sleep. They show love for their children by playing games with them and by spending time with them. There are lots of ways our parents show us that they love us!
The relationship between parents and their children is very important in the Bible. In fact, it is one of the most important parts of our scripture! The most important parent-child relationship in the Bible is the relationship between God and his only Son, Jesus. Although Jesus' earthly parents were Mary and Joseph, his heavenly father was God. Jesus lived his whole life to honor God! He followed God's commandments and did God's work every single day of his life.
In our gospel reading today, we see God's side of their relationship, too. God did not just stand back and watch Jesus; he was proud of his Son, and he made his love for Jesus known. In the gospel today, Jesus is getting baptized. When this is happening, God speaks to all the people gathered to see Jesus baptized. God comes down in the form of a dove and says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Although those words sound kind of old-fashioned to us, God is really saying something much simpler. He is saying, "Jesus is my Son and I am very proud of him." How many of your parents have ever said, "I'm proud of you!"? (allow answers) That is what God was saying when Jesus was baptized. He wanted everyone to know that he was proud of his boy.
In the end, the relationship between Jesus and God is not all that different from the relationship between us and our parents. It is our job, like Jesus, to honor our parents in our daily life; and it is our parents' job to show their love for us. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about parents. How do you show your parents that you love them? (allow answers) There are lots of ways we show our love for our parents! Maybe you give them a hug good-night every night. Maybe you draw them pictures or make crafts for them. It is important for us to show our parents that we love them. How many of you know about the Ten Commandments? (allow answers) The Ten Commandments are a set of ten rules that God gave to Moses in the Old Testament. Following the Ten Commandments lets us live godly, happy lives. One of these ten rules for living talks about parents -- wow! It says, "Honor thy mother and father." Do you know what that means? (allow answers) That means to show your parents respect and love in your actions every day.
But our relationship with our parents is not just one way. It is also important for parents to show their children that they love them. How do your parents show you that they love you? (allow answers) Parents show their children that they love them by providing their children with clothing, food, and a place to sleep. They show love for their children by playing games with them and by spending time with them. There are lots of ways our parents show us that they love us!
The relationship between parents and their children is very important in the Bible. In fact, it is one of the most important parts of our scripture! The most important parent-child relationship in the Bible is the relationship between God and his only Son, Jesus. Although Jesus' earthly parents were Mary and Joseph, his heavenly father was God. Jesus lived his whole life to honor God! He followed God's commandments and did God's work every single day of his life.
In our gospel reading today, we see God's side of their relationship, too. God did not just stand back and watch Jesus; he was proud of his Son, and he made his love for Jesus known. In the gospel today, Jesus is getting baptized. When this is happening, God speaks to all the people gathered to see Jesus baptized. God comes down in the form of a dove and says, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." Although those words sound kind of old-fashioned to us, God is really saying something much simpler. He is saying, "Jesus is my Son and I am very proud of him." How many of your parents have ever said, "I'm proud of you!"? (allow answers) That is what God was saying when Jesus was baptized. He wanted everyone to know that he was proud of his boy.
In the end, the relationship between Jesus and God is not all that different from the relationship between us and our parents. It is our job, like Jesus, to honor our parents in our daily life; and it is our parents' job to show their love for us. Amen.
