Growing
Children's sermon
Object:
a diaper, bottle, or some other object familiar to a
young child
Good morning! As we grow, we change. When you were very
young, you undoubtedly wore diapers. You may have used a bottle.
You had different kinds of shoes -- baby shoes -- because you
couldn't walk and didn't need the kind of shoes you are wearing
today. You probably had to sit in a high chair instead of a
regular chair. How many of you used to do these things? (Let
them answer.) I thought so. Now -- how many of you still wear
diapers, use a bottle, wear baby shoes, and sit in a high chair?
(Let them answer.)
I thought so. Those things you did when you
were very young, but now you do not do them.
You will continue to change. The way you think right now is
not the way you will think in ten years. The things you do today
are not the kinds of things you will do as you grow older. The
style of clothes you wear today will change. The kind of music
you enjoy will change. In other words, many things will change
for you as you grow in years. That's neither good nor bad --
that's just the way it is!
The same is true as we learn how to love. God loves you and
me. That can be hard for us to understand. But as we grow in
our love, it will change just like everything else changes for
you and me. If our understanding and experience of love didn't
change, that would not be good. As we learn more about God's
love through Jesus, our love for God, ourselves, and others will
grow. It is exciting to grow. That is what makes Sunday school
so exciting. In Sunday school, children grow and learn and
change.
The same thing happens to us adults. We also keep growing
and changing. We learn to trust in God more and grow in our
faith; we learn to place our future in God's hands and learn more
hope; we experience God's love and the love of others and grow
in our ability to love. Everything changes as we grow. And
that's the way God intended it to be.
Dear God: Thank you for helping us change and grow. Teach us
more about love. Amen.
young, you undoubtedly wore diapers. You may have used a bottle.
You had different kinds of shoes -- baby shoes -- because you
couldn't walk and didn't need the kind of shoes you are wearing
today. You probably had to sit in a high chair instead of a
regular chair. How many of you used to do these things? (Let
them answer.) I thought so. Now -- how many of you still wear
diapers, use a bottle, wear baby shoes, and sit in a high chair?
(Let them answer.)
I thought so. Those things you did when you
were very young, but now you do not do them.
You will continue to change. The way you think right now is
not the way you will think in ten years. The things you do today
are not the kinds of things you will do as you grow older. The
style of clothes you wear today will change. The kind of music
you enjoy will change. In other words, many things will change
for you as you grow in years. That's neither good nor bad --
that's just the way it is!
The same is true as we learn how to love. God loves you and
me. That can be hard for us to understand. But as we grow in
our love, it will change just like everything else changes for
you and me. If our understanding and experience of love didn't
change, that would not be good. As we learn more about God's
love through Jesus, our love for God, ourselves, and others will
grow. It is exciting to grow. That is what makes Sunday school
so exciting. In Sunday school, children grow and learn and
change.
The same thing happens to us adults. We also keep growing
and changing. We learn to trust in God more and grow in our
faith; we learn to place our future in God's hands and learn more
hope; we experience God's love and the love of others and grow
in our ability to love. Everything changes as we grow. And
that's the way God intended it to be.
Dear God: Thank you for helping us change and grow. Teach us
more about love. Amen.
