Crying game
Children's sermon
Object:
a handkerchief
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. (v. 4a)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) How many of you have ever cried? (allow answers) That might seem like a silly question to ask on New Year's Day -- usually people don't talk about crying at the new year! During New Year's celebrations, people look forward to happy things that they hope will happen in the next year. But for our sermon today we're going to talk about sadness.
What do you do when you are sad? (allow answers) When people are sad, often they cry. Tears are our way of showing sadness. What are some things that might make a person cry? (allow answers) There are many things that can make us sad or hurt us. When you cry, what do you use to dry your tears? (allow answers)
Now imagine your perfect world. In a perfect world, would there be sadness? (allow answers) Would there be tears? (allow answers) When we imagine a perfect world, we usually imagine one without sadness or tears. New Year's is a time when we like to think about the future -- and we like to imagine a perfect future. When we ring in the new year, we are celebrating the good things we hope will happen in the coming year. We like to think that the next year will be free from pain, sadness, or tears.
Our reading today also talks about a perfect future. However, the perfect future in this reading is a little bit different from what we'd expect. For one thing, there are tears in this future! Our verse for today says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The reading tells us that it is impossible to have a future that is absolutely tear-free. But that doesn't mean we should feel hopeless. Although there are tears, there is also someone to wipe those tears away. Our reading promises that God will be right beside us, comforting us in our times of pain or sorrow. Isn't that good news? At first, it doesn't sound so great -- after all, for whatever reason, it says that there will be tears in this new world! However, it also promises us the best thing we can hope for. God will be there! Not only will God be there, but he will be right next to us. He will hold us when we are sad and rejoice with us when we are happy.
In fact, this isn't a promise for some faraway future. This is a promise that we can see come true every day of our lives. Because God is beside us. He is there to help us when we are sad and to wipe away all of our tears. No matter how bad or good things are, God will be there to listen to our prayers, keep us company when we are lonely, and guide us to do his work in the world. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) How many of you have ever cried? (allow answers) That might seem like a silly question to ask on New Year's Day -- usually people don't talk about crying at the new year! During New Year's celebrations, people look forward to happy things that they hope will happen in the next year. But for our sermon today we're going to talk about sadness.
What do you do when you are sad? (allow answers) When people are sad, often they cry. Tears are our way of showing sadness. What are some things that might make a person cry? (allow answers) There are many things that can make us sad or hurt us. When you cry, what do you use to dry your tears? (allow answers)
Now imagine your perfect world. In a perfect world, would there be sadness? (allow answers) Would there be tears? (allow answers) When we imagine a perfect world, we usually imagine one without sadness or tears. New Year's is a time when we like to think about the future -- and we like to imagine a perfect future. When we ring in the new year, we are celebrating the good things we hope will happen in the coming year. We like to think that the next year will be free from pain, sadness, or tears.
Our reading today also talks about a perfect future. However, the perfect future in this reading is a little bit different from what we'd expect. For one thing, there are tears in this future! Our verse for today says, "God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." The reading tells us that it is impossible to have a future that is absolutely tear-free. But that doesn't mean we should feel hopeless. Although there are tears, there is also someone to wipe those tears away. Our reading promises that God will be right beside us, comforting us in our times of pain or sorrow. Isn't that good news? At first, it doesn't sound so great -- after all, for whatever reason, it says that there will be tears in this new world! However, it also promises us the best thing we can hope for. God will be there! Not only will God be there, but he will be right next to us. He will hold us when we are sad and rejoice with us when we are happy.
In fact, this isn't a promise for some faraway future. This is a promise that we can see come true every day of our lives. Because God is beside us. He is there to help us when we are sad and to wipe away all of our tears. No matter how bad or good things are, God will be there to listen to our prayers, keep us company when we are lonely, and guide us to do his work in the world. Amen.
