Giving God what belongs to God
Children's sermon
Object:
a dog bone and a fish bowl
Good morning, boys and girls. I am in a search for something that belongs to me and I can't find it. Have you ever lost something that belonged to you? (let them answer) I lost my keys and they are very important to me. I lost the key to my car, the key to my house, the key to my office, and other keys that are very important to me. They don't belong to anyone else; no one else can use them unless they work in my office, drive my car, or live at my house. Those keys belong to me.
I brought along this bone. Do you know who uses a bone like this? (let them answer) That's right; this bone belongs to my dog. The cat won't eat the bone, the turtle won't eat the bone, the fish won't eat the bone, and I won't eat the bone. Do any of you want to eat the dog's bone? (let them answer) Of course not.
How many of you like to swim? (let them answer) Well, I brought along my goldfish's swimming pool. Is there anyone here who thinks they would like to swim in this swimming pool? (let them answer) Of course not, this belongs to a fish and not to anyone else.
Jesus said the same thing is true about God. There are certain things that belong to God and we should give those things to God. Can anyone think of something that you can give to God? (let them answer) Love, we can give love to God. What else? (let them answer) That's right, we can give money to God by our offerings. The money can be used to feed the poor, to build places for worship, and to teach people in many places about God. What else can we give to God? (let them answer) Very good, we can give praise to God. We can also pray for others and ask God to share our blessings with many people. There are certain things that we should give to God just like we give a fish bowl to fish and a bone to the dog.
The next time you see someone giving a bone to a dog or you see a fish swimming in his own bowl, I want you to think about what you want to give to God and then do it. That's what Jesus taught us and it is a good teaching.
Prayer: Dear God, help us always to give you praise, obedience, love, and most of all, ourselves. In Jesus' name. Amen
I brought along this bone. Do you know who uses a bone like this? (let them answer) That's right; this bone belongs to my dog. The cat won't eat the bone, the turtle won't eat the bone, the fish won't eat the bone, and I won't eat the bone. Do any of you want to eat the dog's bone? (let them answer) Of course not.
How many of you like to swim? (let them answer) Well, I brought along my goldfish's swimming pool. Is there anyone here who thinks they would like to swim in this swimming pool? (let them answer) Of course not, this belongs to a fish and not to anyone else.
Jesus said the same thing is true about God. There are certain things that belong to God and we should give those things to God. Can anyone think of something that you can give to God? (let them answer) Love, we can give love to God. What else? (let them answer) That's right, we can give money to God by our offerings. The money can be used to feed the poor, to build places for worship, and to teach people in many places about God. What else can we give to God? (let them answer) Very good, we can give praise to God. We can also pray for others and ask God to share our blessings with many people. There are certain things that we should give to God just like we give a fish bowl to fish and a bone to the dog.
The next time you see someone giving a bone to a dog or you see a fish swimming in his own bowl, I want you to think about what you want to give to God and then do it. That's what Jesus taught us and it is a good teaching.
Prayer: Dear God, help us always to give you praise, obedience, love, and most of all, ourselves. In Jesus' name. Amen
