God Is Our Loving Father
Children's sermon
Null
Object:
a Bible
The Point: Jesus wants us to know about God our Father
The Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. Thank you for joining me as we share God’s word together.
Today, I brought my Bible with me. (show the Bible) It is just like the Bible you or your parents may have. Bibles come in different sizes and with different covers. But they all tell us about God’s plan for his creation, for you and me. Jesus, God’s only Son, came to save us from our sins. The Bible tells us that (read from your Bible John 3:16). This is a very familiar verse. A lot of people have it memorized. The verse not only tells us what Jesus came to do (to save us from our sins, our disobedience to God), but it also reveals something about God. What did it reveal? (give the children an opportunity to answer) God loves us. That is right.
In our Bible reading from Luke, Jesus tells a story about a young son who takes his inheritance, leaves his family, goes far away, and wastes it all. The word “prodigal” means wasteful or spendthrift. That is why this story is often called the story of the prodigal son. When the younger son realized his mistakes, he went back to his father. He thought he could serve as a hired hand for his father. But his father welcomed him home and restored him to the family. While the younger son was wasteful with the money from his father, the older son was wasteful (prodigal) in his relationship with his father. The older son complained about his brother. He thought he should get more from his father and wouldn’t join in the celebration of the brother’s return. So maybe the story should be called the prodigal sons because both sons were wasteful.
Remember I said that the Bible reveals God to us? I think Jesus wants us to understand that God is like this father. When the son takes his inheritance and wastes it away, the father never stops looking for his son’s return. And when the son does return, he is restored to the family. When the older son complains and refuses to join the celebration, the father goes to invite him to it. The father tells him, “All I have is yours.” The father is “forgiving,” “accepting,” and above all “loving.”
This story should be called the “Loving Father.” God is our loving father who welcomes us home and invites us to the celebration.
Prayer: Let us unite our hands and hearts together as we pray. Jesus, you know your Father in heaven, and you want us to know him too. As we read our Bibles, help us to know our Father in heaven as you know him. Bring all your children into the family of God’s love. Jesus, in your holy name we pray. Amen.
The Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. Thank you for joining me as we share God’s word together.
Today, I brought my Bible with me. (show the Bible) It is just like the Bible you or your parents may have. Bibles come in different sizes and with different covers. But they all tell us about God’s plan for his creation, for you and me. Jesus, God’s only Son, came to save us from our sins. The Bible tells us that (read from your Bible John 3:16). This is a very familiar verse. A lot of people have it memorized. The verse not only tells us what Jesus came to do (to save us from our sins, our disobedience to God), but it also reveals something about God. What did it reveal? (give the children an opportunity to answer) God loves us. That is right.
In our Bible reading from Luke, Jesus tells a story about a young son who takes his inheritance, leaves his family, goes far away, and wastes it all. The word “prodigal” means wasteful or spendthrift. That is why this story is often called the story of the prodigal son. When the younger son realized his mistakes, he went back to his father. He thought he could serve as a hired hand for his father. But his father welcomed him home and restored him to the family. While the younger son was wasteful with the money from his father, the older son was wasteful (prodigal) in his relationship with his father. The older son complained about his brother. He thought he should get more from his father and wouldn’t join in the celebration of the brother’s return. So maybe the story should be called the prodigal sons because both sons were wasteful.
Remember I said that the Bible reveals God to us? I think Jesus wants us to understand that God is like this father. When the son takes his inheritance and wastes it away, the father never stops looking for his son’s return. And when the son does return, he is restored to the family. When the older son complains and refuses to join the celebration, the father goes to invite him to it. The father tells him, “All I have is yours.” The father is “forgiving,” “accepting,” and above all “loving.”
This story should be called the “Loving Father.” God is our loving father who welcomes us home and invites us to the celebration.
Prayer: Let us unite our hands and hearts together as we pray. Jesus, you know your Father in heaven, and you want us to know him too. As we read our Bibles, help us to know our Father in heaven as you know him. Bring all your children into the family of God’s love. Jesus, in your holy name we pray. Amen.
