Fortune and fame
Children's sermon
Object:
an autograph
"For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." (v. 11)
Good morning, boys and girls! Today, I brought something special with me. How many of you know what an autograph is? (allow answers) It is the signature of someone famous. Sometimes people get autographs of their favorite athlete or celebrity. If you go to Disney World, you might get an autograph from Mickey Mouse. Have any of you every gotten an autograph? (allow answers) Whose? (allow answers) How did it make you feel to get that autograph? (allow answers)
People who give autographs are special -- they can be athletes or movie stars. When they give autographs, sometimes it makes them feel self-important. Do you know what self-important means? (allow answers) It means you think you are better than others. Maybe you think you deserve to be first in line instead of waiting your turn. Maybe you think you deserve to get free dinners at a restaurant. Can you think of what can happen when you feel self-important? (allow answers)
Sometimes we feel self-important even when we aren't famous. Maybe a teacher tells us we are the best in the class. Maybe mom or dad tells us we behave better than our siblings. Sometimes when people praise us, we start to feel like we are better than others.
Our reading talks about feeling self-important. It uses different words, though. It says, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." When we feel self-important, we are exalting ourselves -- we are saying we feel like we are better than other people.
The opposite of being self-important is being humble. What does "humble" mean? (allow answers) Humble is when we remember we are not better than others. We patiently wait our turn in line. We help others before we help ourselves. We are kind and considerate to others.
Being famous does not mean that you have to feel self-important. You can sign autographs and still have humility. Sometimes it is hard to be humble when people consider you to be important, but it isn't impossible. It takes a bit of effort. If you are the smartest or the best behaved, it doesn't mean you are worth more than anyone else. A person doesn't have to be the best at something in order to be worthwhile. Everyone is a child of God -- and God thinks all of his children are something special, whether they are fast, slow, smart, silly! Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Today, I brought something special with me. How many of you know what an autograph is? (allow answers) It is the signature of someone famous. Sometimes people get autographs of their favorite athlete or celebrity. If you go to Disney World, you might get an autograph from Mickey Mouse. Have any of you every gotten an autograph? (allow answers) Whose? (allow answers) How did it make you feel to get that autograph? (allow answers)
People who give autographs are special -- they can be athletes or movie stars. When they give autographs, sometimes it makes them feel self-important. Do you know what self-important means? (allow answers) It means you think you are better than others. Maybe you think you deserve to be first in line instead of waiting your turn. Maybe you think you deserve to get free dinners at a restaurant. Can you think of what can happen when you feel self-important? (allow answers)
Sometimes we feel self-important even when we aren't famous. Maybe a teacher tells us we are the best in the class. Maybe mom or dad tells us we behave better than our siblings. Sometimes when people praise us, we start to feel like we are better than others.
Our reading talks about feeling self-important. It uses different words, though. It says, "All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." When we feel self-important, we are exalting ourselves -- we are saying we feel like we are better than other people.
The opposite of being self-important is being humble. What does "humble" mean? (allow answers) Humble is when we remember we are not better than others. We patiently wait our turn in line. We help others before we help ourselves. We are kind and considerate to others.
Being famous does not mean that you have to feel self-important. You can sign autographs and still have humility. Sometimes it is hard to be humble when people consider you to be important, but it isn't impossible. It takes a bit of effort. If you are the smartest or the best behaved, it doesn't mean you are worth more than anyone else. A person doesn't have to be the best at something in order to be worthwhile. Everyone is a child of God -- and God thinks all of his children are something special, whether they are fast, slow, smart, silly! Amen.
