He was a what?
Children's sermon
Object:
a football
"He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan." (v. 16)
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we're going to talk about a sport that most of you have heard of. It's a popular sport in America. It uses a ball like this one. Who can tell me what this sport is? (allow answers) Football, of course! Whether it's a high school team, a professional team, or a college team, Americans love their football games. What is your favorite football team? (allow answers)
If you are a person who lives in the state of Ohio or the state of Michigan, you know that football rivalries can get serious. Who can tell me what a rivalry is? (allow answers) A rivalry is when two teams are very competitive against each other. When rival teams play each other, usually it is the biggest game of their season! Usually rival teams are evenly matched in skill and win/loss record, so no one is ever sure who will win the big game.
Ohio and Michigan have college football teams who are rivals. Ohio's team is the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Michigan's team is the University of Michigan Wolverines. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry has been going on for years. On the day of the Ohio State-Michigan game, people in Ohio dress in red and grey and wear necklaces of buckeyes; Wolverine fans wear blue and gold. Sometimes riots break out at the football game because the competition between fans is so intense! People from Ohio want nothing to do with people from Michigan during this game -- and people from Michigan want nothing to do with fans of Ohio! The fans of each team are prejudiced against the fans of the other team. Who can tell me what prejudiced means? (allow answers) When someone is prejudiced, it means they judge people without getting to know them. Maybe an Ohio State fan would see someone wearing Michigan's blue and gold and automatically decide that they didn't want to talk to that person. The colors a person is wearing are not a good basis for deciding whether to talk to someone!
Our Bible verse touches on prejudice. Our lesson talks about Jesus healing ten sick men, but only one of them comes back to thank him. The verse says, "He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan." The writer of the gospel does not focus on the fact that he was only one of ten -- he focuses on the fact that he was a Samaritan. Samaritans in Jesus' time were like Ohio State fans in the state of Michigan -- people were very prejudiced against them. But this lesson shows us that God's love is for everyone, even people who are from a background that we don't like. We need to be like Jesus and accept others no matter where they are from -- as the song says, red and yellow, black and white -- and even blue and gold and red and grey. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we're going to talk about a sport that most of you have heard of. It's a popular sport in America. It uses a ball like this one. Who can tell me what this sport is? (allow answers) Football, of course! Whether it's a high school team, a professional team, or a college team, Americans love their football games. What is your favorite football team? (allow answers)
If you are a person who lives in the state of Ohio or the state of Michigan, you know that football rivalries can get serious. Who can tell me what a rivalry is? (allow answers) A rivalry is when two teams are very competitive against each other. When rival teams play each other, usually it is the biggest game of their season! Usually rival teams are evenly matched in skill and win/loss record, so no one is ever sure who will win the big game.
Ohio and Michigan have college football teams who are rivals. Ohio's team is the Ohio State University Buckeyes. Michigan's team is the University of Michigan Wolverines. The Ohio State-Michigan rivalry has been going on for years. On the day of the Ohio State-Michigan game, people in Ohio dress in red and grey and wear necklaces of buckeyes; Wolverine fans wear blue and gold. Sometimes riots break out at the football game because the competition between fans is so intense! People from Ohio want nothing to do with people from Michigan during this game -- and people from Michigan want nothing to do with fans of Ohio! The fans of each team are prejudiced against the fans of the other team. Who can tell me what prejudiced means? (allow answers) When someone is prejudiced, it means they judge people without getting to know them. Maybe an Ohio State fan would see someone wearing Michigan's blue and gold and automatically decide that they didn't want to talk to that person. The colors a person is wearing are not a good basis for deciding whether to talk to someone!
Our Bible verse touches on prejudice. Our lesson talks about Jesus healing ten sick men, but only one of them comes back to thank him. The verse says, "He prostrated himself at Jesus' feet and thanked him. And he was a Samaritan." The writer of the gospel does not focus on the fact that he was only one of ten -- he focuses on the fact that he was a Samaritan. Samaritans in Jesus' time were like Ohio State fans in the state of Michigan -- people were very prejudiced against them. But this lesson shows us that God's love is for everyone, even people who are from a background that we don't like. We need to be like Jesus and accept others no matter where they are from -- as the song says, red and yellow, black and white -- and even blue and gold and red and grey. Amen.
