Epiphany
Children's sermon
Object:
a jar of dark mustard and a jar of yellow mustard
In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it
has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the
Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the
promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. (vv. 5-6)
Good morning, boy and girls. Today is a special day in the church year. It always comes on the same day of the year just like Christmas. Today is Epiphany. It always falls on January 6. How many of you can say, "Epiphany"? (let them say it a few times to get it right) That's a big word, but it means that this is the season that we think about how Jesus made God real to us by coming and living with people just like you and me. That is Epiphany. Before the coming of Jesus, we knew God as a Spirit who created and cared for the world, and through Jesus we learn that God loves us as his own children.
It wasn't always easy to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. For a long time, people thought that the only way you could be a follower of Jesus was to become a Jew like Jesus. Even though Jesus said that his Father sent him to all humans, there were many people who thought that only Jews could be Christians.
Let me show you what I mean. When I was growing up, the only kind of mustard that I knew about was yellow mustard. (show them the yellow mustard) I put mustard on my hamburgers and mustard on my hotdogs and it was always yellow.
One day, someone told me to try something different to put on my hamburgers and hot dogs. (show them the dark mustard) I tried and it and I liked it. I asked them what it was and they told me that it was mustard. It didn't look like mustard because it wasn't yellow. It tasted like mustard, but it was a little different.
For a while after Jesus was resurrected, the apostles and followers of Jesus said you had to be a Jew if you were going to be a follower of Jesus. There were all kinds of rules of what you had to do and how you had to do it.
The apostle Paul did not believe that there should be those kinds of rules. After Jesus' resurrection, he taught and preached that everyone who believed in Jesus was a follower, or a disciple, of Jesus. They talked about it a lot, but in time Paul's teachings became the teachings of the church. That is why people like you and me are followers of Jesus. We are not Jews, but we are Christians.
The next time you see two kinds of mustard, I want you to think about how two kinds of people -- we call them Jews and Gentiles -- can both be followers of Jesus even if they are different. Thank you, God, for finding the way to make Gentiles followers and disciples of Jesus and his love. Amen.
Good morning, boy and girls. Today is a special day in the church year. It always comes on the same day of the year just like Christmas. Today is Epiphany. It always falls on January 6. How many of you can say, "Epiphany"? (let them say it a few times to get it right) That's a big word, but it means that this is the season that we think about how Jesus made God real to us by coming and living with people just like you and me. That is Epiphany. Before the coming of Jesus, we knew God as a Spirit who created and cared for the world, and through Jesus we learn that God loves us as his own children.
It wasn't always easy to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. For a long time, people thought that the only way you could be a follower of Jesus was to become a Jew like Jesus. Even though Jesus said that his Father sent him to all humans, there were many people who thought that only Jews could be Christians.
Let me show you what I mean. When I was growing up, the only kind of mustard that I knew about was yellow mustard. (show them the yellow mustard) I put mustard on my hamburgers and mustard on my hotdogs and it was always yellow.
One day, someone told me to try something different to put on my hamburgers and hot dogs. (show them the dark mustard) I tried and it and I liked it. I asked them what it was and they told me that it was mustard. It didn't look like mustard because it wasn't yellow. It tasted like mustard, but it was a little different.
For a while after Jesus was resurrected, the apostles and followers of Jesus said you had to be a Jew if you were going to be a follower of Jesus. There were all kinds of rules of what you had to do and how you had to do it.
The apostle Paul did not believe that there should be those kinds of rules. After Jesus' resurrection, he taught and preached that everyone who believed in Jesus was a follower, or a disciple, of Jesus. They talked about it a lot, but in time Paul's teachings became the teachings of the church. That is why people like you and me are followers of Jesus. We are not Jews, but we are Christians.
The next time you see two kinds of mustard, I want you to think about how two kinds of people -- we call them Jews and Gentiles -- can both be followers of Jesus even if they are different. Thank you, God, for finding the way to make Gentiles followers and disciples of Jesus and his love. Amen.
