Greatness!
Children's sermon
Object: A football, a hand-held microphone, a camera, a stack of play money bills. These are the objects I used, but you can use any objects that might symbolize “success”.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!
One day, two of Jesus’ friends, James and John, went to Jesus and said, “Jesus, we want you to do us a favor. We want you to call us your favorite disciples and let us walk up here next to you in front of the rest of the disciples.” When Jesus’ other friends heard what James and John had said, how do you think they felt? (Let them respond.) Well, they got really angry. They said that James and John were just wanting to show off and were trying to act like they were greater than the rest of Jesus’ friends. They all started arguing about which one of them was going to be the greatest until Jesus stopped them and said, “Okay. If you want to be the greatest, I will tell you how to do it.” And then Jesus told them just what they had to do to be great.
Sometimes we all think about wanting to be great, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Yeah, I think we all do that. Maybe we see someone who is famous, or we see someone who people think is really great and we wish we were famous like them, too, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Let’s think about someone that people think is great and see if we can figure out what makes them so great.
Some people are called great because of something like this, aren’t they? (Hold up the football and let them respond.) Maybe they play football or basketball or some other sport and they are really good at it and everyone thinks they are super great! Or do you know someone famous who uses something like this? (Show the microphone and let them respond.) Maybe they are a singer and a lot of people come to see them sing in great big concerts. Or do you know someone who is always posting pictures of themselves and has a great big crowd of people following them online? (Show the camera and let them respond.) People call them influencers, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Or do you know someone who people think is really great because they have lots of money and can buy lots of fancy things? (Show the money and let them respond.) Or do you know someone who thinks they are great because they have one of these? (Show your pointing finger.) They use this to point it at other people and make fun of them, or pick on them, bullying them and acting like they are greater than everyone else. Well, do you know what? When Jesus told his friends how to be great, he didn’t tell them about footballs, microphones, cameras, money, or even how to be a bully.
If we really want to be the greatest, do you know what Jesus said we should do? He said that if we want to be great, we need to be a servant. If we really want to be the greatest, we need to take care of other people and treat them like we believe they are important and great. He said that if we want to be the greatest, we should take care of others. There is nothing wrong with football or singing or anything like that, but let me tell you the story about two people who I think were really great.
A man and a woman lived in a little house in a small town. They drove an old car, wore plain clothes, and spent most of their time around their home just doing quiet things like mowing their yard and growing flowers. People weren’t trying to take their picture or follow them around. In fact, most people didn’t even know their names. So, why do I say they were really great?
Every afternoon, they would go for a walk around town, and they would always stop and talk to those people that no one else would ever stop and talk to. Every Christmas, they put money in envelopes and had someone take it to people who didn’t have enough money for their family’s Christmas and never told anyone where that money came from. They loved to bake, and when they heard about someone who was sick or just lonely, they sent them boxes of cookies or cakes, and they never let anyone know who sent them. Sometimes they heard of a family who was having a hard time paying their bills and they would send them money to pay the bills and not let them know who sent it. Every Thursday, they went to the hospital and nursing home and just walked around saying hello to everyone and taking flowers and stuffed animals to give to patients who were feeling lonely.
Everyone in town talked about the great people in town who were doing so many great things to help people who needed help. But no one ever knew who those great people were. The man and woman didn’t get any awards. (Show the football.) And no one followed them around to take their pictures. (Show the camera.) They didn’t try to make other people think they were better than them. (Show the pointing finger.) All they did was just mow their yard, take care of their flowers, and do what they could do to help others.
Jesus never promised to make his friends famous and he never promised to make them rich and powerful. He promised them that if they lived like the old couple and took care of other people, God would help them become the greatest they could become. And that is what Jesus promises us, too!
I hope our story will help us remember that God created us to take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great!
One day, two of Jesus’ friends, James and John, went to Jesus and said, “Jesus, we want you to do us a favor. We want you to call us your favorite disciples and let us walk up here next to you in front of the rest of the disciples.” When Jesus’ other friends heard what James and John had said, how do you think they felt? (Let them respond.) Well, they got really angry. They said that James and John were just wanting to show off and were trying to act like they were greater than the rest of Jesus’ friends. They all started arguing about which one of them was going to be the greatest until Jesus stopped them and said, “Okay. If you want to be the greatest, I will tell you how to do it.” And then Jesus told them just what they had to do to be great.
Sometimes we all think about wanting to be great, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Yeah, I think we all do that. Maybe we see someone who is famous, or we see someone who people think is really great and we wish we were famous like them, too, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Let’s think about someone that people think is great and see if we can figure out what makes them so great.
Some people are called great because of something like this, aren’t they? (Hold up the football and let them respond.) Maybe they play football or basketball or some other sport and they are really good at it and everyone thinks they are super great! Or do you know someone famous who uses something like this? (Show the microphone and let them respond.) Maybe they are a singer and a lot of people come to see them sing in great big concerts. Or do you know someone who is always posting pictures of themselves and has a great big crowd of people following them online? (Show the camera and let them respond.) People call them influencers, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Or do you know someone who people think is really great because they have lots of money and can buy lots of fancy things? (Show the money and let them respond.) Or do you know someone who thinks they are great because they have one of these? (Show your pointing finger.) They use this to point it at other people and make fun of them, or pick on them, bullying them and acting like they are greater than everyone else. Well, do you know what? When Jesus told his friends how to be great, he didn’t tell them about footballs, microphones, cameras, money, or even how to be a bully.
If we really want to be the greatest, do you know what Jesus said we should do? He said that if we want to be great, we need to be a servant. If we really want to be the greatest, we need to take care of other people and treat them like we believe they are important and great. He said that if we want to be the greatest, we should take care of others. There is nothing wrong with football or singing or anything like that, but let me tell you the story about two people who I think were really great.
A man and a woman lived in a little house in a small town. They drove an old car, wore plain clothes, and spent most of their time around their home just doing quiet things like mowing their yard and growing flowers. People weren’t trying to take their picture or follow them around. In fact, most people didn’t even know their names. So, why do I say they were really great?
Every afternoon, they would go for a walk around town, and they would always stop and talk to those people that no one else would ever stop and talk to. Every Christmas, they put money in envelopes and had someone take it to people who didn’t have enough money for their family’s Christmas and never told anyone where that money came from. They loved to bake, and when they heard about someone who was sick or just lonely, they sent them boxes of cookies or cakes, and they never let anyone know who sent them. Sometimes they heard of a family who was having a hard time paying their bills and they would send them money to pay the bills and not let them know who sent it. Every Thursday, they went to the hospital and nursing home and just walked around saying hello to everyone and taking flowers and stuffed animals to give to patients who were feeling lonely.
Everyone in town talked about the great people in town who were doing so many great things to help people who needed help. But no one ever knew who those great people were. The man and woman didn’t get any awards. (Show the football.) And no one followed them around to take their pictures. (Show the camera.) They didn’t try to make other people think they were better than them. (Show the pointing finger.) All they did was just mow their yard, take care of their flowers, and do what they could do to help others.
Jesus never promised to make his friends famous and he never promised to make them rich and powerful. He promised them that if they lived like the old couple and took care of other people, God would help them become the greatest they could become. And that is what Jesus promises us, too!
I hope our story will help us remember that God created us to take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
