Give it a chance
Children's sermon
Object:
an apple
Good morning, boys and girls. I brought an apple so we could talk about apples this morning. How many of you had some apple juice this morning? (wait for a show of hands) Apple juice comes from apples. Where do apples come from? (let them answer) Apples come from trees. If I plant an apple seed, will it grow right away? (let them answer) No, it takes a long time for an apple tree to grow. As it is growing, it needs a lot of special care. How do we care for an apple tree? (let them answer) It has to have the right kind of soil to grow it. It has to have the right amount of rain or we have to water it enough. We have to keep bugs away from the tree as it is growing. It has to have enough sunshine. We might need to put fertilizer around the tree. What happens if we don't take care of the apple tree? (let them answer) It won't grow strong and produce nice, juicy apples. It either will be a very sick tree, or it will produce scrawny, wormy apples. That wouldn't make a very good pie!
Our lesson today is about another kind of fruit tree --a fig tree. Jesus told a story about a fig tree. There was a farmer. Every year the farmer came to look for figs on the tree. But there weren't any. So the farmer told the gardener to cut the tree down. But the gardener asked the farmer to give it another chance for another year. During that year the gardener would take good care of the tree. The gardener would give it fertilizer and lots of care. So the farmer gave the tree another chance.
People need lots of care, too. We need fresh air, water, food, exercise, and love to grow up to be caring, loving people. God gives us parents and other people to see that we have all the things we need to grow up. Parents and children both make mistakes, so God keeps giving us another chance just like the fig tree.
Our lesson today is about another kind of fruit tree --a fig tree. Jesus told a story about a fig tree. There was a farmer. Every year the farmer came to look for figs on the tree. But there weren't any. So the farmer told the gardener to cut the tree down. But the gardener asked the farmer to give it another chance for another year. During that year the gardener would take good care of the tree. The gardener would give it fertilizer and lots of care. So the farmer gave the tree another chance.
People need lots of care, too. We need fresh air, water, food, exercise, and love to grow up to be caring, loving people. God gives us parents and other people to see that we have all the things we need to grow up. Parents and children both make mistakes, so God keeps giving us another chance just like the fig tree.
