Hometown pride
Children's sermon
Object:
signs with names of towns around your area and one sign with the word "Nazareth"
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you know the name of the town where you were born? (let them answer) Now here's a different question: What's the name of your hometown? (let them answer) We may have been born in different places, but our hometown is where we live today. People call the place where they grow up their hometown. Your mom and dad may have grown up in different towns so they would have different hometowns. If you grow up here you will call this your hometown.
I brought along the names of some towns near us. (hold up the names of the different towns) Were any of you born in one of these towns? (let them answer) Have you ever visited one of these towns? (let them answer) These towns are the hometowns of the people who live in them.
Jesus had a hometown, too. It wasn't the town where he was born. Do you remember the name of the town where Jesus was born? (let them answer) That's right, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But Jesus did not stay there very long. King Herod was a very jealous man and thought that Jesus wanted to take his job. Joseph and Mary wanted to get away from King Herod. They took Jesus first to Egypt and then back to Israel. Do any of you know the name of the town that Jesus grew up in? (let them answer) It's Nazareth.
According to the Bible, a long time before Jesus was born the prophets told the world that he would be a Nazarene. That means that Jesus would grow up in Nazareth. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus really did live in that small town. Joseph worked as a carpenter and Mary took care of the house and taught Jesus the scriptures. Jesus had friends that he grew up with, but he was always interested in knowing more about the scriptures. He went to the Jewish church in Nazareth, which was called a synagogue, and once in a while Joseph and Mary took him to the great temple in Jerusalem. But if anyone asked him what his hometown was Jesus would say, "Nazareth." They didn't have a school football team or a church basketball league in Nazareth, but everyone loved their town and the people that lived in it. Many people remembered Jesus growing up in his hometown and even after he started his ministry he would come home to visit with his mother and some other friends.
So the next time you talk about your hometown or tell people where you grew up, you can tell them about Jesus and his hometown of Nazareth.
I brought along the names of some towns near us. (hold up the names of the different towns) Were any of you born in one of these towns? (let them answer) Have you ever visited one of these towns? (let them answer) These towns are the hometowns of the people who live in them.
Jesus had a hometown, too. It wasn't the town where he was born. Do you remember the name of the town where Jesus was born? (let them answer) That's right, Jesus was born in Bethlehem. But Jesus did not stay there very long. King Herod was a very jealous man and thought that Jesus wanted to take his job. Joseph and Mary wanted to get away from King Herod. They took Jesus first to Egypt and then back to Israel. Do any of you know the name of the town that Jesus grew up in? (let them answer) It's Nazareth.
According to the Bible, a long time before Jesus was born the prophets told the world that he would be a Nazarene. That means that Jesus would grow up in Nazareth. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus really did live in that small town. Joseph worked as a carpenter and Mary took care of the house and taught Jesus the scriptures. Jesus had friends that he grew up with, but he was always interested in knowing more about the scriptures. He went to the Jewish church in Nazareth, which was called a synagogue, and once in a while Joseph and Mary took him to the great temple in Jerusalem. But if anyone asked him what his hometown was Jesus would say, "Nazareth." They didn't have a school football team or a church basketball league in Nazareth, but everyone loved their town and the people that lived in it. Many people remembered Jesus growing up in his hometown and even after he started his ministry he would come home to visit with his mother and some other friends.
So the next time you talk about your hometown or tell people where you grew up, you can tell them about Jesus and his hometown of Nazareth.
