God's promise
Children's sermon
Object:
a flower
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (v. 31)
Good morning, boys and girls! It's almost December! Do you know what happens in December? (allow answers) That's right, Christmas! We are now in the season that we call Advent. During Advent, we prepare for a very special birthday in the church. Whose birthday? (allow answers) Yes -- Jesus! Now, how many of you have ever given your mother flowers for her birthday? (allow answers) If you haven't given your mother flowers, has your dad? (allow answers) We use flowers to decorate and to show that we appreciate people. Look at the altar: We have flowers there to make God's altar beautiful and to offer a gift to the Lord. How many of you have picked flowers from your yard before and put them in a vase? (allow answers) Many people grow flowers in their yards to make their yards look beautiful in the spring and summer. Greenhouses grow and sell flowers all year around. In the town of Van Wert, Ohio, there is an entire festival for one kind of flower, the peony. The country of Holland is famous for growing another kind of flower, the tulip. How many of you have been to a wedding and seen the bride toss her bouquet? (allow answers) Flowers are everywhere!
Flowers are beautiful, but there's a down side. If you put flowers in a vase, what happens? (allow answers) That's right, they die. Flowers are beautiful, but they can't last forever. Somebody will take home the flowers from the altar today, but in a few days they will wilt and have to be thrown out. The flowers you grow in your yard die when their blooming season is over. The bride's bouquet at a wedding will fade and die. All those beautiful flowers will be reduced to nothing more than trash or compost.
In fact, almost everything we know dies. Pets die, plants die, even people die. But there is one thing that lasts forever. Do you know what it is? (allow answers) God lasts forever! Our scripture today says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Flowers, people, pets, the whole earth will die someday. Even the stars in the heavens -- the sky -- will stop shining, someday in the far distant future. God tells us that it's all okay, because there is one thing that will not pass away. That is God and God's word. God's promise to love us is eternal. It will never end! That's why we love to celebrate Christmas in the church. Do you know John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal life." This verse says that God sent Jesus to lead us to heaven -- and that promise will last much longer than this flower will last, and even longer than you or I will last! That promise lasts forever. That's the promise we will celebrate when Christmas comes again. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! It's almost December! Do you know what happens in December? (allow answers) That's right, Christmas! We are now in the season that we call Advent. During Advent, we prepare for a very special birthday in the church. Whose birthday? (allow answers) Yes -- Jesus! Now, how many of you have ever given your mother flowers for her birthday? (allow answers) If you haven't given your mother flowers, has your dad? (allow answers) We use flowers to decorate and to show that we appreciate people. Look at the altar: We have flowers there to make God's altar beautiful and to offer a gift to the Lord. How many of you have picked flowers from your yard before and put them in a vase? (allow answers) Many people grow flowers in their yards to make their yards look beautiful in the spring and summer. Greenhouses grow and sell flowers all year around. In the town of Van Wert, Ohio, there is an entire festival for one kind of flower, the peony. The country of Holland is famous for growing another kind of flower, the tulip. How many of you have been to a wedding and seen the bride toss her bouquet? (allow answers) Flowers are everywhere!
Flowers are beautiful, but there's a down side. If you put flowers in a vase, what happens? (allow answers) That's right, they die. Flowers are beautiful, but they can't last forever. Somebody will take home the flowers from the altar today, but in a few days they will wilt and have to be thrown out. The flowers you grow in your yard die when their blooming season is over. The bride's bouquet at a wedding will fade and die. All those beautiful flowers will be reduced to nothing more than trash or compost.
In fact, almost everything we know dies. Pets die, plants die, even people die. But there is one thing that lasts forever. Do you know what it is? (allow answers) God lasts forever! Our scripture today says, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Flowers, people, pets, the whole earth will die someday. Even the stars in the heavens -- the sky -- will stop shining, someday in the far distant future. God tells us that it's all okay, because there is one thing that will not pass away. That is God and God's word. God's promise to love us is eternal. It will never end! That's why we love to celebrate Christmas in the church. Do you know John 3:16? "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but have eternal life." This verse says that God sent Jesus to lead us to heaven -- and that promise will last much longer than this flower will last, and even longer than you or I will last! That promise lasts forever. That's the promise we will celebrate when Christmas comes again. Amen.
