A different kind of king
Children's sermon
Object:
a thorn branch in a circle (a crown of thorns)
Good evening, boys and girls. Have you ever met a king? (Let
them answer.) Maybe you haven't. If you ever did, what kind of
crown would you expect him to wear? (Let them answer.) Would he
wear a crown like this? (Show the crown of thorns.) Today is a
day that Christians call Good Friday. Some people may ask,
"What's good about it? It is the day that Jesus died on the
cross." We call it Good Friday because even though Jesus died on
the cross, he came back to life on Easter morning.
Did you know that this is the kind of crown that Jesus wore on Good Friday? (Show the crown.) Why do you suppose he wore a crown like this? (Let them answer.) He wore it because soldiers made it and placed it on his head. They were making fun of Jesus. Even though this isn't the crown you'd expect a king to wear, Jesus was a very different kind of king. In a way, this crown tells us about the real kind of king that Jesus was. He was a king that came as a servant. He came to the world to help us learn to love one another. As easy as that sounds it is a very hard thing to do. It was so hard that Jesus' enemies killed him because of it. His crown of thorns tells us that he is carrying our hurts and our pains. There is another interesting thing about this crown. This crown is all thorns now. It is prickly to touch and not very life-like. But, just like Jesus coming back to life, the bush this is from will also soon come to life. It will bloom and bear beautiful flowers. These will be flowers that we all will admire and smell for their fragrance later in the spring. We'll cut the flowers and put them in vases. Some of them may even be brought to church on Sunday morning. They may be placed in a flower arrangement near the pulpit. This crown tells us that good news is coming soon. This branch will come to life and bear flowers. Jesus will also come to life and we will learn to love one another.
Did you know that this is the kind of crown that Jesus wore on Good Friday? (Show the crown.) Why do you suppose he wore a crown like this? (Let them answer.) He wore it because soldiers made it and placed it on his head. They were making fun of Jesus. Even though this isn't the crown you'd expect a king to wear, Jesus was a very different kind of king. In a way, this crown tells us about the real kind of king that Jesus was. He was a king that came as a servant. He came to the world to help us learn to love one another. As easy as that sounds it is a very hard thing to do. It was so hard that Jesus' enemies killed him because of it. His crown of thorns tells us that he is carrying our hurts and our pains. There is another interesting thing about this crown. This crown is all thorns now. It is prickly to touch and not very life-like. But, just like Jesus coming back to life, the bush this is from will also soon come to life. It will bloom and bear beautiful flowers. These will be flowers that we all will admire and smell for their fragrance later in the spring. We'll cut the flowers and put them in vases. Some of them may even be brought to church on Sunday morning. They may be placed in a flower arrangement near the pulpit. This crown tells us that good news is coming soon. This branch will come to life and bear flowers. Jesus will also come to life and we will learn to love one another.
