Doin' time
Children's sermon
Object:
a football
Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. (v. 14)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about paying your dues. Do any of you know what it means to pay your dues? (allow answers) This is a phrase that grown-ups use a lot when they have to do things at work or in organizations that they might not like to do. When you "pay your dues," it usually means that you do hard work. You hope that by doing this hard work, in the future you will be able to do the job or activity that you really want to do.
For example, maybe you want to be a star quarterback on a football team. You can't walk onto the team as a beginning player and expect to be the quarterback. Instead, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. You start with the hard work. You start with the basics and work really hard, day after day, maybe for years, until you are good enough to be a quarterback. All of that work isn't very fun but it does help you become a stronger player, and it does help you have a better understanding of the game.
Now imagine that you have put in all of this time and effort to play football. Maybe you aren't the quarterback like you wanted -- maybe you have finally just gotten on the team. You have put in hundreds of hours of practice and hard work and you think "Finally! I made it!"
Then imagine that someone new walks onto the team. Someone who hasn't put in all of the hours that you have. Someone who walks in off the street and starts to play with the team. How would that make you feel? (allow answers) You might be pretty jealous. You might think, "Who is that person? They haven't paid their dues! Why are they playing here?"
Sometimes as Christians we feel that way. We might go to church every week for years and years. We might feel like we are real Christians. We have paid our dues. We deserve our place in the church. And then someone new comes along. Maybe this person has never been a Christian. Maybe this person has just suddenly decided that they wanted to follow Jesus. And suddenly they're playing on our team. They are a part of the group that we have worked in for years. Maybe they become a leader in the church. We might get jealous. We might think "We were here first!" We might think we deserve more respect, honor, or faith than this new person because we have been here longer.
Do you know what? That's not how it works. God loves all of his followers equally no matter how long they've been there. When we work for God, we're not paying dues. We are working toward something that we believe in. We are doing it for the good of the people in our community and the people around the world. We are not doing God's work so that we can become important. Instead of being jealous of new Christians, we should do our best to include them in the work that we do. God's kingdom is for everyone -- both old hands and new recruits. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about paying your dues. Do any of you know what it means to pay your dues? (allow answers) This is a phrase that grown-ups use a lot when they have to do things at work or in organizations that they might not like to do. When you "pay your dues," it usually means that you do hard work. You hope that by doing this hard work, in the future you will be able to do the job or activity that you really want to do.
For example, maybe you want to be a star quarterback on a football team. You can't walk onto the team as a beginning player and expect to be the quarterback. Instead, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. You start with the hard work. You start with the basics and work really hard, day after day, maybe for years, until you are good enough to be a quarterback. All of that work isn't very fun but it does help you become a stronger player, and it does help you have a better understanding of the game.
Now imagine that you have put in all of this time and effort to play football. Maybe you aren't the quarterback like you wanted -- maybe you have finally just gotten on the team. You have put in hundreds of hours of practice and hard work and you think "Finally! I made it!"
Then imagine that someone new walks onto the team. Someone who hasn't put in all of the hours that you have. Someone who walks in off the street and starts to play with the team. How would that make you feel? (allow answers) You might be pretty jealous. You might think, "Who is that person? They haven't paid their dues! Why are they playing here?"
Sometimes as Christians we feel that way. We might go to church every week for years and years. We might feel like we are real Christians. We have paid our dues. We deserve our place in the church. And then someone new comes along. Maybe this person has never been a Christian. Maybe this person has just suddenly decided that they wanted to follow Jesus. And suddenly they're playing on our team. They are a part of the group that we have worked in for years. Maybe they become a leader in the church. We might get jealous. We might think "We were here first!" We might think we deserve more respect, honor, or faith than this new person because we have been here longer.
Do you know what? That's not how it works. God loves all of his followers equally no matter how long they've been there. When we work for God, we're not paying dues. We are working toward something that we believe in. We are doing it for the good of the people in our community and the people around the world. We are not doing God's work so that we can become important. Instead of being jealous of new Christians, we should do our best to include them in the work that we do. God's kingdom is for everyone -- both old hands and new recruits. Amen.
