Familiarity breeds contempt
Children's sermon
Object:
a newspaper article about a famous person
Good morning! Here is a newspaper clipping about
______________. Have any of you ever met this person? (Let them
answer.) No, I didn't think you had and I haven't either. If we
did meet him/her, it would be exciting, wouldn't it? (Let them
answer.) Yes, it would be something to talk about. We would
probably try to get an autograph or some kind of memento to
remember the occasion. And we would tell everybody about it.
Years from now, when you are much older, you would still remember
this event and tell your children and grandchildren about it.
But, what if you had grown up with this person? What if you
went to school together, played games together as you were
growing up, and knew the person really well before he/she got
famous. Would that change the way you feel about meeting him/her?
(Let them answer.) Yes, of course it would. If we had known the
person all his/her life, it would be no big deal to meet him/her.
The Bible tells us Jesus was faced with this once when he
visited his own hometown. He had been doing miracles and getting
quite famous in other parts of the country, but when he visited
his own hometown where people knew him, they didn't think he was
anyone special. When he tried to tell them that he was the
Messiah sent by God, what do you think they did? (Let them
answer.) They tried to kill him!
You and I need to be sure that we don't get like that. We
don't want to get so used to Jesus that we don't remember who he
is and how important he is. He is the Son of God. He is God!
Let's ask God to help us always remember how special Jesus really
is.
Dear Father: We thank You for sending Jesus into the world to pay
for all our sins. Help us always to remember who he is and what
wonderful things he has done for all of us. Amen.
______________. Have any of you ever met this person? (Let them
answer.) No, I didn't think you had and I haven't either. If we
did meet him/her, it would be exciting, wouldn't it? (Let them
answer.) Yes, it would be something to talk about. We would
probably try to get an autograph or some kind of memento to
remember the occasion. And we would tell everybody about it.
Years from now, when you are much older, you would still remember
this event and tell your children and grandchildren about it.
But, what if you had grown up with this person? What if you
went to school together, played games together as you were
growing up, and knew the person really well before he/she got
famous. Would that change the way you feel about meeting him/her?
(Let them answer.) Yes, of course it would. If we had known the
person all his/her life, it would be no big deal to meet him/her.
The Bible tells us Jesus was faced with this once when he
visited his own hometown. He had been doing miracles and getting
quite famous in other parts of the country, but when he visited
his own hometown where people knew him, they didn't think he was
anyone special. When he tried to tell them that he was the
Messiah sent by God, what do you think they did? (Let them
answer.) They tried to kill him!
You and I need to be sure that we don't get like that. We
don't want to get so used to Jesus that we don't remember who he
is and how important he is. He is the Son of God. He is God!
Let's ask God to help us always remember how special Jesus really
is.
Dear Father: We thank You for sending Jesus into the world to pay
for all our sins. Help us always to remember who he is and what
wonderful things he has done for all of us. Amen.
