Childrens Sermon Service

Object: A bird of some type. It can be a stuffed animal or even a picture, but for the most fun, it could be a live canary or other bird to show. Begin with the bird covered or otherwise out of sight.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But, before we hear our story, I have a game for us to play. I am going to ask you three questions and each time you answer one correctly, everyone here is going to give you a big round of applause. (Talk to the congregation.) So, each time the group answers a question, let’s all give them a big round of applause, okay?

Here we go with question number one. When we tell stories about Jesus’ birth, we usually talk about another person whose first name was John. What is the full name we use when we talk about John? (Let them respond.) We call him John the Baptizer, or John the Baptist, don’t we? Excellent! (Talk to the congregation.) Let’s give them a big cheer!

Here is question number two. Why do we call John the Baptist, the Baptizer? (Let them respond.) Because he baptized people. Yes! (Talk to the congregation.) Let’s give them another big cheer!

And now for the last question. One day, John baptized someone very important. Who did John baptize? (Let them respond.) He baptized Jesus! Outstanding!You did great! Why don’t you stand up and take a big bow? (Talk to the congregation.) Let’s give them one more really big cheer!

John the Baptist traveled around telling people that God was about to send someone to them that was very special, and they needed to get ready for him. When people came to him, John dipped water from the river and poured it over their heads. It was a way to show that the people wanted God to wash them clean so they could be ready to do what God wanted them to do. In the Greek language, the word for “dipping in water” was “baptize”, so that’s why they called him John the Baptizer.

One day, Jesus came to John and said he wanted to be baptized too, so John took him out in the river and poured water over Jesus’ head just like he did with the other people. But this time something strange happened. When Jesus came out of the water, something happened in the sky and a bird flew down and landed on Jesus. (Show the bird.) Then a voice came from the sky that said, “You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” I’ll bet that surprised everyone, don’t you? (Let them respond.) I wonder what the people did when that happened? (Let them respond.) They probably all stood there looking at the sky and the bird and said, “Wow!”, don’t you think? (Let them respond.) They were all excited because they knew God was right there with them when they saw the bird and heard the voice.That was pretty cool, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.)

How do you think you would feel if you knew God was right here with us this morning, just like he was that day at the river? (Let them respond.) That would be pretty cool, too, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) We know that God loves us and cares about us, but have you ever wished that you could just see God, or hear God, for yourself? (Let them respond.) We believe in God, but sometimes when we are really sad, or afraid, we wish that God would just come and tell us that everything is going to be okay, don’t we? (Let them respond.)

Well, guess what? Did you know that God does come to be with us? And if we watch, we can see and hear God just like the people did that day at the river. So, how can we know when God is with us? (Let them respond as you show the bird.) Well, we don’t need a bird to see God. And we don’t need to hear a magical voice from the sky.

Have you ever been sick, and someone came and helped you feel better? (Let them respond.) Or have you ever been afraid or sad and someone came and helped you feel better? (Let them respond.) Or have you ever been lonely or worried, and someone came and helped you feel better? (Let them respond.) They came to be with you because they cared about you, just like God cares about us. In fact, when they came to care for you, they were doing what God wanted them to do for us. They didn’t look like a bird. And they didn’t have a big voice that came from the sky, but, when they came to us, God was right there with them. So, when we looked at them, we were looking at God.

And when we care for someone the way God wants us to care for each other, God is right there with us, too. I hope our story today will remind us that God wants us to take care of each other, and when we do care for someone, we are showing them what God looks like.

Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And 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.