Caring for your neighbor
Children's sermon
Object:
a bar of soap
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to tell you about a
brother and sister about your age. This story has a mysterious
ending. I want to see if you can solve it for me. The brother and
sister went to a church very much like ours. In fact, they had a
time for children just like we do each Sunday. On this Sunday
their Bible story was about loving God with all your heart and
loving your neighbor as you love yourself. They listened to the
story. They knew how to love God. But they weren't certain how to
love their neighbor. Their neighbors were older people.
The man and woman who lived next to their house were very old. They seldom saw the man or woman. The woman had a difficult time walking. She didn't go out often. The man had recently fallen and broken his wrist. So his hand was in a cast.
The brother and sister were outdoors very early one Saturday morning. They had one very large tree in their front yard and they were helping their parents rake leaves. Most of their leaves had blown into the yard of the old man and woman. Since it was near Halloween, the brother and sister noticed that the night before someone had taken soap and "soaped" the car windows of their older neighbors.
Remember how I said that the brother and sister were trying to figure out how to "love their neighbor" like they love themselves? Well, by the time the old man and woman woke up, the leaves were mysteriously raked from their yard. The soap on their car windows was mysteriously cleaned off. How do you suppose all that took place? (Let them answer.) Do you think that the brother and sister did all that? (Let them answer.) Why would they take the time to rake someone else's leaves and clean soap off someone else's car windows? (Let them answer.) The answer is no mystery, is it? The answer is that the brother and sister loved God with all their heart, and they loved their neighbor as they loved themselves.
The man and woman who lived next to their house were very old. They seldom saw the man or woman. The woman had a difficult time walking. She didn't go out often. The man had recently fallen and broken his wrist. So his hand was in a cast.
The brother and sister were outdoors very early one Saturday morning. They had one very large tree in their front yard and they were helping their parents rake leaves. Most of their leaves had blown into the yard of the old man and woman. Since it was near Halloween, the brother and sister noticed that the night before someone had taken soap and "soaped" the car windows of their older neighbors.
Remember how I said that the brother and sister were trying to figure out how to "love their neighbor" like they love themselves? Well, by the time the old man and woman woke up, the leaves were mysteriously raked from their yard. The soap on their car windows was mysteriously cleaned off. How do you suppose all that took place? (Let them answer.) Do you think that the brother and sister did all that? (Let them answer.) Why would they take the time to rake someone else's leaves and clean soap off someone else's car windows? (Let them answer.) The answer is no mystery, is it? The answer is that the brother and sister loved God with all their heart, and they loved their neighbor as they loved themselves.
