Do Not Be Afraid!
Children's sermon
Object: A penny for each child.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Great! This is another story about the day Jesus called all of his disciples together and told them it was time for them to start going out and taking care of people like he had been doing. He told them to divide into groups and start visiting the towns around them. He said they should tell everyone about God and help all of the people they meet that need help.
When Jesus told them that, his friends got really quiet and stood there looking at each other. Then someone said, “But what about the Samaritans? They don’t like us. If they see us, they might try to hurt us.
And someone else said, “And what about the Gentiles? They don’t like us either and they will probably try to hurt us too.
And another one said, “And what about the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the temple leaders? They hate us even more than the Samaritans and Gentiles put together. We know they will try to hurt us.
And someone said, “And what about the Romans?” And someone else said, “What about the Greeks?” And they all started shouting about people they thought were enemies who would try to hurt them. They were afraid. They believed they had a lot of enemies that wanted to hurt them. They started talking about how they could protect themselves. They asked Jesus things like, “How can we protect ourselves from them? How should we fight them? Should we take some weapons with us? Or should we go and attack them before they attack us?”
Jesus looked at them and then pointed to a little bird sitting up in a tree. He said, “Do you see that little bird? If you went to the market and bought a bird like that, how much would it cost you?” Someone said, “You can get two sparrows for a penny.” Jesus smiled and said, “I tell you that God cares about every little bird and knows when any of those birds are in trouble. And you are worth a lot more than a couple of birds, so don’t be afraid. God will take care of you.”
But some of them were still worried and started mumbling.
Jesus smiled and said, “Let me ask you a question. How many hairs do you have on your head?” They stopped mumbling and looked at him. They weren’t sure how to answer him. They thought it was kind of a crazy question.
It does sound kind of crazy, doesn’t it? How can anybody know how many hairs they have on their head? Do you know how many hairs you have? (Let them respond.) It would be really hard to count them, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
Then Jesus said, “I tell you that God cares about you so much that He knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head! God cares about you and will take care of you, so you just take care of people the way God wants you to, and don’t worry about anything else.”
Sometimes we get afraid just like Jesus’ friends did, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we hear people talking about other people and saying they are our enemies, and that we need to get ready to fight them to protect ourselves. Sometimes it’s scary, just like in our story, isn’t it?” (Let them respond.) Well, I have something I want to give you. (Give each child a penny.) When Jesus’ friends were so afraid, what did he say to them? (Let them respond.) He said, “You are worth more to God than many sparrows.” So, the next time you feel afraid, I hope you will look at your penny and remember how God took care of the little birds that just cost a penny, and how much more God loves you and will take took care of you so we can take care of each other they way God wants us to.
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.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Great! This is another story about the day Jesus called all of his disciples together and told them it was time for them to start going out and taking care of people like he had been doing. He told them to divide into groups and start visiting the towns around them. He said they should tell everyone about God and help all of the people they meet that need help.
When Jesus told them that, his friends got really quiet and stood there looking at each other. Then someone said, “But what about the Samaritans? They don’t like us. If they see us, they might try to hurt us.
And someone else said, “And what about the Gentiles? They don’t like us either and they will probably try to hurt us too.
And another one said, “And what about the Pharisees, and the Sadducees, and the temple leaders? They hate us even more than the Samaritans and Gentiles put together. We know they will try to hurt us.
And someone said, “And what about the Romans?” And someone else said, “What about the Greeks?” And they all started shouting about people they thought were enemies who would try to hurt them. They were afraid. They believed they had a lot of enemies that wanted to hurt them. They started talking about how they could protect themselves. They asked Jesus things like, “How can we protect ourselves from them? How should we fight them? Should we take some weapons with us? Or should we go and attack them before they attack us?”
Jesus looked at them and then pointed to a little bird sitting up in a tree. He said, “Do you see that little bird? If you went to the market and bought a bird like that, how much would it cost you?” Someone said, “You can get two sparrows for a penny.” Jesus smiled and said, “I tell you that God cares about every little bird and knows when any of those birds are in trouble. And you are worth a lot more than a couple of birds, so don’t be afraid. God will take care of you.”
But some of them were still worried and started mumbling.
Jesus smiled and said, “Let me ask you a question. How many hairs do you have on your head?” They stopped mumbling and looked at him. They weren’t sure how to answer him. They thought it was kind of a crazy question.
It does sound kind of crazy, doesn’t it? How can anybody know how many hairs they have on their head? Do you know how many hairs you have? (Let them respond.) It would be really hard to count them, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
Then Jesus said, “I tell you that God cares about you so much that He knows exactly how many hairs you have on your head! God cares about you and will take care of you, so you just take care of people the way God wants you to, and don’t worry about anything else.”
Sometimes we get afraid just like Jesus’ friends did, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we hear people talking about other people and saying they are our enemies, and that we need to get ready to fight them to protect ourselves. Sometimes it’s scary, just like in our story, isn’t it?” (Let them respond.) Well, I have something I want to give you. (Give each child a penny.) When Jesus’ friends were so afraid, what did he say to them? (Let them respond.) He said, “You are worth more to God than many sparrows.” So, the next time you feel afraid, I hope you will look at your penny and remember how God took care of the little birds that just cost a penny, and how much more God loves you and will take took care of you so we can take care of each other they way God wants us to.
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.
