Growing
Children's sermon
Object:
a trowel
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (v. 6)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) How many of you know someone who is a gardener? (allow answers) Do any of you have parents or family members who have a garden? (allow answers) Many people like to garden. They like the feel of soil between their fingers. They like to plant tiny seeds or baby plants. They like the routine of waking up each morning and spraying their garden with the watering hose. Although it sometimes gets boring, they even kind of like to kneel between their plants and pull out all the weeds that shouldn't be there. Gardeners put a lot of effort into their gardens!
Yet, despite all that work, gardeners cannot control the outcomes of their gardens. Oh, they can feed their plants all the right plant food. They can measure the acidity of the soil and mix in just the right amount of sand, they can bring ladybugs in to get rid of the pests that try to eat their tomatoes and peppers, and they can spray insecticide and put up chicken wire to keep out animals. But in the end, the amount of fruit and vegetables a garden produces is out of the control of the gardener. No matter how much work a gardener puts into his or her garden, they cannot actually make the plants grow.
Think about that. A gardener puts in all this work -- the careful measurements of plant food and chemicals to balance the soil or to get rid of bugs, getting up early every morning to make sure the plants get just enough water and hours on hands and knees pulling weeds. But in the end, they can't control their plants. They have to trust something greater than themselves that disease won't set in their plants; they have to trust in something greater than themselves that the sun, rain, and weather will provide a good growing season; they have to trust in something greater than themselves that locust or other swarms will not decide to gobble up their garden. What do you think that greater thing is? (allow answers) It's God! Gardeners can do all the work of watering, measuring, weeding, and feeding, but in the end it is God who makes the garden grow. It is God alone who can control the sun and rain, swarms and plant disease.
We are a lot like plants. Our parents can love us and nourish us. Our communities can educate us, give us a place to belong, teach us skills and help us learn wisdom. But in the end, it is not up to our parents and our communities; it is up to God to help us do the actual growing. It is an exercise in faith. Humans can only do so much. At some point, whether we are growing gardens or new followers of Christ, we have to step back and allow God to take it from there. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) How many of you know someone who is a gardener? (allow answers) Do any of you have parents or family members who have a garden? (allow answers) Many people like to garden. They like the feel of soil between their fingers. They like to plant tiny seeds or baby plants. They like the routine of waking up each morning and spraying their garden with the watering hose. Although it sometimes gets boring, they even kind of like to kneel between their plants and pull out all the weeds that shouldn't be there. Gardeners put a lot of effort into their gardens!
Yet, despite all that work, gardeners cannot control the outcomes of their gardens. Oh, they can feed their plants all the right plant food. They can measure the acidity of the soil and mix in just the right amount of sand, they can bring ladybugs in to get rid of the pests that try to eat their tomatoes and peppers, and they can spray insecticide and put up chicken wire to keep out animals. But in the end, the amount of fruit and vegetables a garden produces is out of the control of the gardener. No matter how much work a gardener puts into his or her garden, they cannot actually make the plants grow.
Think about that. A gardener puts in all this work -- the careful measurements of plant food and chemicals to balance the soil or to get rid of bugs, getting up early every morning to make sure the plants get just enough water and hours on hands and knees pulling weeds. But in the end, they can't control their plants. They have to trust something greater than themselves that disease won't set in their plants; they have to trust in something greater than themselves that the sun, rain, and weather will provide a good growing season; they have to trust in something greater than themselves that locust or other swarms will not decide to gobble up their garden. What do you think that greater thing is? (allow answers) It's God! Gardeners can do all the work of watering, measuring, weeding, and feeding, but in the end it is God who makes the garden grow. It is God alone who can control the sun and rain, swarms and plant disease.
We are a lot like plants. Our parents can love us and nourish us. Our communities can educate us, give us a place to belong, teach us skills and help us learn wisdom. But in the end, it is not up to our parents and our communities; it is up to God to help us do the actual growing. It is an exercise in faith. Humans can only do so much. At some point, whether we are growing gardens or new followers of Christ, we have to step back and allow God to take it from there. Amen.
