Go make disciples
Children's sermon
Object:
a map of the world and a magic marker
Good morning! This is a map of the world. (have two adults volunteer hold up the map) Can anyone show me where we are on it? (select a child volunteer to point out where your town is; draw a big "X" to mark your location) Great. We're where the "X" is. Now I am going to draw another "X" by Galilee. That's the place mentioned in today's lesson. (mark the area of Galilee) Can everyone see the two marks? Galilee is a long way from where we are!
In today's reading 11 disciples are told to go to a mountain in Galilee. While they are there, Jesus gives them some instructions. He says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." He tells them to go into the entire world and spread the message of God's love. Jesus was going to leave them and return to heaven, so he tells the disciples to continue his work. If the rest of the world was going to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, those 11 disciples, and a few helpers, were going to have to be the ones to do it. Jesus needed them to spread the word and tell the stories of all they had seen and heard while Jesus was with them.
Look at the map again. The world is pretty big! See Galilee? Somehow 11 disciples and their friends took the story of Jesus and began to spread it around. They wrote things down, told people and journeyed to far-away places. That was almost 2,000 years ago! The Good News has continued to spread ever since. Eventually, the news found its way to our town. We keep telling the stories ourselves. The news that started with 11 people so far away eventually filled the entire world. Amazing!
Prayer: God, thank you for bringing the message to us. Help us do our part to share it with others. Amen.
In today's reading 11 disciples are told to go to a mountain in Galilee. While they are there, Jesus gives them some instructions. He says, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." He tells them to go into the entire world and spread the message of God's love. Jesus was going to leave them and return to heaven, so he tells the disciples to continue his work. If the rest of the world was going to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ, those 11 disciples, and a few helpers, were going to have to be the ones to do it. Jesus needed them to spread the word and tell the stories of all they had seen and heard while Jesus was with them.
Look at the map again. The world is pretty big! See Galilee? Somehow 11 disciples and their friends took the story of Jesus and began to spread it around. They wrote things down, told people and journeyed to far-away places. That was almost 2,000 years ago! The Good News has continued to spread ever since. Eventually, the news found its way to our town. We keep telling the stories ourselves. The news that started with 11 people so far away eventually filled the entire world. Amazing!
Prayer: God, thank you for bringing the message to us. Help us do our part to share it with others. Amen.
