Childrens Sermon Service

Object: A sheep and a goat. You could use a toy, a stuffie, or a photo. For small groups, I have printed T-shirts with "SHEEP" on them to give to the children at the end of the message. Or, if your circumstances allow and you feel brave, why not bring a real sheep or goat?

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! One day, Jesus was talking to people about what God wanted them to do.  Jesus said that someday, God was going to divide people into two groups, just like a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats. People who were doing the things God wanted them to do would be like the sheep. (Show the sheep.) And the people who were not doing what God wanted them to do would be like the goats. (Show the goat.) Then, God would take care of the sheep and would tell the goats to go away. Now I have a question for you. Why do you think Jesus talked about sheep and goats? (Let them respond.) Why didn’t he say God would divide them like chickens and geese, or dogs and cats? (Let them respond.) Let’s see if we can figure it out if we know more about sheep and goats.

There are some real differences between goats and sheep. (Show the goat.) Goats can be more impatient and sometimes even fight. They like being alone and don’t want to spend time with others in a flock. Goats take more risks and go places that can be dangerous and get themselves into trouble. And instead of listening to their goatherder’s voice, they usually go wherever they want to go and the goatherder has to follow them to catch them.

(Show the sheep.) Sheep are usually patient and calm. They like to be in a flock with other sheep and don’t fight much. They are careful where they go and don’t take a lot of risks. They listen to their shepherd’s voice and follow him where he wants them to go.

(Show the goat.) So, what do you think Jesus meant when he said that some people are like goats? (Let them respond.) They are more impatient and like to brag. Instead of caring about other people, they care more about themselves and like to argue with others or be a bully. They are stubborn and take risks they shouldn’t take. And they do whatever they want to do and don’t listen to what God tells them or asks them to do.

(Show the sheep.) Jesus told us what he meant when he said other people are like sheep. He said they do things like feeding people who are hungry, giving drinks to people who are thirsty, helping take care of strangers, giving clothes to people who don’t have clothes, visiting and helping take care of people who are sick, and helping people who are in prison or are being mistreated by others.

Now, let me ask you a question. Is it better to be like a sheep or a goat? (Show the sheep and the goat and let them respond, then put down the goat.) Jesus said that God wants us to be like the sheep and do what we can to help take care of all of God’s children who need help.

Who can tell me what is special about today? (Let them respond.) It is the first day of the new year, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) I hope our story today will help us remember to spend this new year being more like a sheep and caring about other people the 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.