Broken and mended
Children's sermon
Object:
a broken toy
For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all. (v. 32)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about forgiveness. Who can tell me what forgiveness is? (allow answers) When we forgive someone, we decide not to be angry at them for something they have done.
What are some things that you might be angry at someone about? (allow answers) You might be angry if someone broke your toys. (show broken toy) You might be angry if someone pushed you or cut in front of you in line or took the last cookie.
Our second reading today talks about forgiveness. It talks about how sometimes we sin -- when we do bad things like pushing and taking something from someone else. The reading talks about whether God is going to forgive people who sin. What do you think the answer is to that? (allow answers) We believe that God forgives everyone for their sins. Do you know why we believe this? (allow answers) We believe that God sent Jesus, his Son, to die for us on the cross. Jesus died as an offering to God in place of our sins. Jesus traded his life for a chance for us to go to heaven! Thanks to Jesus, God forgives all sins -- both our sins and the sins of others.
Our verse for the day says, "God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all." What do you think that means? (allow answers) It's a complicated verse! Let's look at it in pieces. The first part says, "God has imprisoned all in disobedience." Do you know what "imprisoned" means? (allow answer) "Imprisoned" is a word that we usually use to describe people who are in jail. They are "in prison." People are imprisoned when they do bad things. When we sin or do something wrong, it is kind of like we are in prison. Unfortunately, nobody can avoid all sinning -- sometime in our lives, we will all sin in some way. We will all be in our own "prison." But the second half of the verse is more hopeful -- the verse says that God imprisons us all in sin "so that he may be merciful to all." God treats us all equally. Everyone sins -- and God, in turn, forgives all of us.
This verse reminds us that none of us are better than anyone else. We might like to think that we are better than others -- that we act better, that we are smarter, that we are braver, that we are nicer. But in the end, we are equal to those around us. Just like the other people we know, we will all be imprisoned by sin -- and we all will rely on God to forgive those sins. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about forgiveness. Who can tell me what forgiveness is? (allow answers) When we forgive someone, we decide not to be angry at them for something they have done.
What are some things that you might be angry at someone about? (allow answers) You might be angry if someone broke your toys. (show broken toy) You might be angry if someone pushed you or cut in front of you in line or took the last cookie.
Our second reading today talks about forgiveness. It talks about how sometimes we sin -- when we do bad things like pushing and taking something from someone else. The reading talks about whether God is going to forgive people who sin. What do you think the answer is to that? (allow answers) We believe that God forgives everyone for their sins. Do you know why we believe this? (allow answers) We believe that God sent Jesus, his Son, to die for us on the cross. Jesus died as an offering to God in place of our sins. Jesus traded his life for a chance for us to go to heaven! Thanks to Jesus, God forgives all sins -- both our sins and the sins of others.
Our verse for the day says, "God has imprisoned all in disobedience so that he may be merciful to all." What do you think that means? (allow answers) It's a complicated verse! Let's look at it in pieces. The first part says, "God has imprisoned all in disobedience." Do you know what "imprisoned" means? (allow answer) "Imprisoned" is a word that we usually use to describe people who are in jail. They are "in prison." People are imprisoned when they do bad things. When we sin or do something wrong, it is kind of like we are in prison. Unfortunately, nobody can avoid all sinning -- sometime in our lives, we will all sin in some way. We will all be in our own "prison." But the second half of the verse is more hopeful -- the verse says that God imprisons us all in sin "so that he may be merciful to all." God treats us all equally. Everyone sins -- and God, in turn, forgives all of us.
This verse reminds us that none of us are better than anyone else. We might like to think that we are better than others -- that we act better, that we are smarter, that we are braver, that we are nicer. But in the end, we are equal to those around us. Just like the other people we know, we will all be imprisoned by sin -- and we all will rely on God to forgive those sins. Amen.
