The Grudge Monster!
Children's sermon
Object: This is a role play activity for the children.
Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) This is a really important story, so I have asked our friend TOM to help us tell our story. Let’s have a round of applause for TOM. (Have everyone give TOM some applause.)
To begin our story, I have a question for you. Has anyone ever heard the word grudge before? (Let them respond.) Can anyone tell me what a grudge is? (Let them respond.) TOM is going to help us understand what a grudge is, and why I call it the “Grudge Monster”. (Have TOM stand in front of the group and then you should select your first child volunteer and have them stand by TOM.)
Let’s pretend that one day, TOM sees someone who says something that TOM does not like. So, TOM gets angry and decides to hold a grudge. That means that TOM decides that he is going to remember what that person did and is going to get even with them someday. It is almost like TOM picks that person up and carries them around with them until he finds a way to get even with them. (Have TOM pick up the child under one arm.) So, now we say that TOM is carrying a grudge for that person, isn’t he? (Let them respond.)
(Select the second child and have them stand.) Then, one day, another person does something that TOM does not like. TOM gets upset again and what do you think he does? (Let them respond.) He decides that, someday, he is going to get even with them too. (Have TOM pick up the second child under his other arm.) Now TOM is holding two grudges, isn’t he? (Let them respond.)
(Select the third child and have them stand.) Then, one day, TOM sees someone from a place he does not like. TOM gets upset about that, too, and what do you think he does? (Let them respond.) He decides that he is going to find a way to do something to get even with that person someday, too. (Have TOM bend over and let the third child wrap their arms around his neck and then stand up again.)
Now, let’s all look at TOM. Do you think it would be hard for TOM to carry those three people around with him all day? (Let them respond.) And what would happen if TOM decided he wanted to hold more grudges? (Let them respond.) It would be kind of hard to move around if he was holding that many people, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) And if TOM saw someone who needed help, it would be really hard for him to help them, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) It is really hard to help other people if we are busy carrying a bunch of grudges, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
That’s why Jesus told his friends they should never hold a grudge. (Have TOM put the children down and have them all sit back down.) Jesus told his friends that if someone said or did something that bothered them, or if they saw someone that bothered them, they shouldn’t hold that person as a grudge and shouldn’t even try to remember what that person did so they could get even with them someday. Jesus said they should just brush it all off like it was dust on their shoes. (Pretend to brush the dust off of your shoes.) He said they should just forget about what happened, and let God take care of it.
Jesus said that we don’t need to hold grudges or try to get even with anyone. Instead of doing that, what did Jesus say we should do? (Let them respond.) We should just brush it off like it was dust on our shoes and let God take care of them. (Have everyone pretend to brush dust off of their shoes.) Instead of holding grudges, Jesus said we should just spend our time doing things to care for each other and help people who might need our help.
So, what do you think it means if you see someone who is holding a lot of grudges and wants to get even with people for something they said or did? (Let them respond.) They must not be doing what God wants us to do, are they? (Let them respond.) Instead of holding grudges, what did Jesus say that God wants us to do? (Just have everyone pretend to brush dust off of their shoes.)
I hope our story will help us remember what Jesus said that God wants us to do. And who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Let’s give all of our actors a round of applause for their great help! (Have TOM and the children stand, and ask everyone, including the congregation, to give them a big round of applause.)
Now, 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.
Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) This is a really important story, so I have asked our friend TOM to help us tell our story. Let’s have a round of applause for TOM. (Have everyone give TOM some applause.)
To begin our story, I have a question for you. Has anyone ever heard the word grudge before? (Let them respond.) Can anyone tell me what a grudge is? (Let them respond.) TOM is going to help us understand what a grudge is, and why I call it the “Grudge Monster”. (Have TOM stand in front of the group and then you should select your first child volunteer and have them stand by TOM.)
Let’s pretend that one day, TOM sees someone who says something that TOM does not like. So, TOM gets angry and decides to hold a grudge. That means that TOM decides that he is going to remember what that person did and is going to get even with them someday. It is almost like TOM picks that person up and carries them around with them until he finds a way to get even with them. (Have TOM pick up the child under one arm.) So, now we say that TOM is carrying a grudge for that person, isn’t he? (Let them respond.)
(Select the second child and have them stand.) Then, one day, another person does something that TOM does not like. TOM gets upset again and what do you think he does? (Let them respond.) He decides that, someday, he is going to get even with them too. (Have TOM pick up the second child under his other arm.) Now TOM is holding two grudges, isn’t he? (Let them respond.)
(Select the third child and have them stand.) Then, one day, TOM sees someone from a place he does not like. TOM gets upset about that, too, and what do you think he does? (Let them respond.) He decides that he is going to find a way to do something to get even with that person someday, too. (Have TOM bend over and let the third child wrap their arms around his neck and then stand up again.)
Now, let’s all look at TOM. Do you think it would be hard for TOM to carry those three people around with him all day? (Let them respond.) And what would happen if TOM decided he wanted to hold more grudges? (Let them respond.) It would be kind of hard to move around if he was holding that many people, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) And if TOM saw someone who needed help, it would be really hard for him to help them, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) It is really hard to help other people if we are busy carrying a bunch of grudges, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
That’s why Jesus told his friends they should never hold a grudge. (Have TOM put the children down and have them all sit back down.) Jesus told his friends that if someone said or did something that bothered them, or if they saw someone that bothered them, they shouldn’t hold that person as a grudge and shouldn’t even try to remember what that person did so they could get even with them someday. Jesus said they should just brush it all off like it was dust on their shoes. (Pretend to brush the dust off of your shoes.) He said they should just forget about what happened, and let God take care of it.
Jesus said that we don’t need to hold grudges or try to get even with anyone. Instead of doing that, what did Jesus say we should do? (Let them respond.) We should just brush it off like it was dust on our shoes and let God take care of them. (Have everyone pretend to brush dust off of their shoes.) Instead of holding grudges, Jesus said we should just spend our time doing things to care for each other and help people who might need our help.
So, what do you think it means if you see someone who is holding a lot of grudges and wants to get even with people for something they said or did? (Let them respond.) They must not be doing what God wants us to do, are they? (Let them respond.) Instead of holding grudges, what did Jesus say that God wants us to do? (Just have everyone pretend to brush dust off of their shoes.)
I hope our story will help us remember what Jesus said that God wants us to do. And who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Let’s give all of our actors a round of applause for their great help! (Have TOM and the children stand, and ask everyone, including the congregation, to give them a big round of applause.)
Now, 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.
