A House Unified
Children's sermon
Object:
none
First Thoughts: If we read the entire passage for this Sunday we are struck with how many lessons are offered and how difficult they are to understand. We've got everything from accusations of demon possession to analyses of Satan's power to Jesus' rejection of his family! For today's purpose, we're going to focus on verse 24, which says that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. But, I think, this isn't merely a simplifying of the text; the question of unity and division stands at the heart of this passage. In order to serve God as faithfully as possible, we must establish harmony in our own hearts and minds. We need to understand our calling and structure our lives in such a way that virtually every decision we make supports our holy work. The text shows us what happens when this isn't the case. While those who accuse Jesus of serving Satan are religious leaders, they cannot see the true power of God's healing and love because they suffer inner conflicts between faithfulness and human concerns (e.g. ambition, jealousy, fear). They have not completely chosen a path of faith but are torn between two paths, and this conflict misleads them. On the other hand we have Jesus, who is able to choose a path of faith even when it means he must reject his own family. Though the virtues of multitasking might be touted in our world, this passage tells us that in our faith walk it is much better for us to stay focused -- to commit all our resources on what we are given to do and to remove from our lives any less worthy distractions. Do you recall a time in your life when you felt unfocused and distracted? What was it like when you finally removed the unnecessary distractions and focused on what was truly needful? Carry your thoughts and prayers with you in your time with the children.
Props You Will Need: none
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 looking glum)
Leader 1: Hey (name), you seem like something's bothering you. What's wrong?
Leader 2: My team lost the soccer game yesterday.
Leader 1: I can see how you'd be disappointed, but it's not that big of a deal. I mean, everyone loses sometimes.
Leader 2: I'm not so upset that we lost. It's how we lost that bothers me.
Leader 1: What do you mean?
Leader 2: We played badly. During the game, three of our players were texting on their cell phones, two were playing with their DS, four of the guys were arguing the whole time, and the goalee fell asleep.
Leader 1: And you were...?
Leader 2: Me? Um, well, I was pretty tired so... uh... I just sat on the ground for most of the game.
Leader 1: So what you're saying is everybody was just doing their own thing, and nobody was really focusing on playing the game. You weren't really playing like a team.
Leader 2: Yeah and boy did we lose. Seven to nothing.
Leader 1: That reminds me of our lesson today. Jesus was talking to a crowd, trying to help them understand about how God works in our world. And he said that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Leader 2: What does that mean?
Leader 1: Think about it. What would happen in a house if the walls and roof and floor were all crooked and unconnected, going in a bunch of different directions?
Leader 2: It would probably fall down.
Leader 1: Right. Just like your team -- everybody was going in different directions and so you couldn't score a single goal. Jesus wanted to help people understand that, if they really wanted to share God's love in the world, they would need to put all their energy, all their focus, all their LIVES into doing just that and get rid of anything that would get in the way.
Leader 2: Like my teammates should have left their cell phones at home.
Leader 1: Yes, and you -- you could have made sure you had plenty of rest the night before, so you could be sure to be your best in the game.
Leader 2: (sheepishly) Yeah, you're right.
Leader 1: If we want to play a good game of soccer, we can practice, eat nutritious foods, and sleep well. We have to do the same thing in our lives as Christians. If we want to share God's love with people around us, we need to pray and be with others who can help us, and read stories about Jesus to understand how he was telling us to live. It helps us get stronger and live more loving lives. It's all about deciding what's really important to us, and what we want our lives to look like. When we decide what's really important, we want to do our best and give our best.
Leader 2: It IS important to do well on the soccer field. But, you know, I think it's even more important to share God's love in the world.
Leader 1: I agree!
Teaching On Your Own: Man, oh man, did I have a bad soccer game last night. My team lost but that wasn't so bad. What was REALLY bad was how we lost. We played badly. During the game, three of our players were texting on their cell phones, two were playing with their DS, four of the guys were arguing the whole time, and the goalee fell asleep. The other team scored seven points and we didn't score at all. Pretty bad, huh? So why do you think we lost so badly? You know what I think? I think everybody was just doing their own thing and nobody was really focusing on playing the game. We weren't really playing like a team. That reminds me of our lesson today. Jesus was talking to a crowd, trying to help them understand how God works in our world. And he said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Does anybody know what that means? What would happen in a house if the walls and roof and floor were all crooked and unconnected, going in a bunch of different directions? It would probably fall down, right? Just like my team. Everybody was going in different directions, and we couldn't score even one goal. Jesus wanted to help people understand that if they really wanted to share God's love in the world, they would have to put all their energy, all their focus, all their LIVES into doing just that and get rid of anything that would get in the way. Like, if you're playing a soccer game, you should leave your cell phone at home. We get rid of things that distract us and try to do things that help us concentrate. If we want to play a good game of soccer, we can practice, eat nutritious foods, and sleep well. We need to do the same thing in our lives as Christians. If we want to share God's love with people around us, we need to pray and be with others who can help us and read stories about Jesus to understand how he was telling us to live. It helps us get stronger and live more loving lives. It's all about deciding what's really important to us, and what we want our lives to look like. When we decide what's really important, we want to do our best and give our best. And, as much as I want to play soccer well, I think it's even more important to share God's love in the world.
Closing Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for coaching us in our lives and for helping us to make good decisions that help us get stronger and for showing us the things we no longer need. We pray that each day we are able to become a little more focused on you, so that we can carry your love to everyone we meet. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a classroom or home setting, talk a little bit about what sorts of things we think God wants us to do (share, be kind, forgive people who are mean to us, pray for others). What are some things we can do to make these practices stronger? (Ideas: ask for a more mature Christian to pray for you, read scripture, meditate quietly each day, and so on) What are some things that can distract us from these practices? (Ideas: stay too busy to pray, hold mean thoughts in our hearts, distracting ourselves through television or games, not eating or resting in a way that supports our physical needs.) Provide the children with building blocks and invite them to build a strong tower. Talk about how the blocks represent those things that make us stronger Christians. Then ask the children to remove blocks one at a time, representing those things in our lives that weaken us. See how far they can get before the tower collapses. As a craft idea, give each child three or four blocks of their own. Invite them to write on those blocks their ideas for strengthening their lives as Christians. Invite them to build a strong structure with these blocks and then glue the blocks together. Finish by mounting the structure on a piece of cardboard, writing on the base "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Close with prayer.
Props You Will Need: none
Teaching As A Team:
(Leader 2 looking glum)
Leader 1: Hey (name), you seem like something's bothering you. What's wrong?
Leader 2: My team lost the soccer game yesterday.
Leader 1: I can see how you'd be disappointed, but it's not that big of a deal. I mean, everyone loses sometimes.
Leader 2: I'm not so upset that we lost. It's how we lost that bothers me.
Leader 1: What do you mean?
Leader 2: We played badly. During the game, three of our players were texting on their cell phones, two were playing with their DS, four of the guys were arguing the whole time, and the goalee fell asleep.
Leader 1: And you were...?
Leader 2: Me? Um, well, I was pretty tired so... uh... I just sat on the ground for most of the game.
Leader 1: So what you're saying is everybody was just doing their own thing, and nobody was really focusing on playing the game. You weren't really playing like a team.
Leader 2: Yeah and boy did we lose. Seven to nothing.
Leader 1: That reminds me of our lesson today. Jesus was talking to a crowd, trying to help them understand about how God works in our world. And he said that a house divided against itself cannot stand.
Leader 2: What does that mean?
Leader 1: Think about it. What would happen in a house if the walls and roof and floor were all crooked and unconnected, going in a bunch of different directions?
Leader 2: It would probably fall down.
Leader 1: Right. Just like your team -- everybody was going in different directions and so you couldn't score a single goal. Jesus wanted to help people understand that, if they really wanted to share God's love in the world, they would need to put all their energy, all their focus, all their LIVES into doing just that and get rid of anything that would get in the way.
Leader 2: Like my teammates should have left their cell phones at home.
Leader 1: Yes, and you -- you could have made sure you had plenty of rest the night before, so you could be sure to be your best in the game.
Leader 2: (sheepishly) Yeah, you're right.
Leader 1: If we want to play a good game of soccer, we can practice, eat nutritious foods, and sleep well. We have to do the same thing in our lives as Christians. If we want to share God's love with people around us, we need to pray and be with others who can help us, and read stories about Jesus to understand how he was telling us to live. It helps us get stronger and live more loving lives. It's all about deciding what's really important to us, and what we want our lives to look like. When we decide what's really important, we want to do our best and give our best.
Leader 2: It IS important to do well on the soccer field. But, you know, I think it's even more important to share God's love in the world.
Leader 1: I agree!
Teaching On Your Own: Man, oh man, did I have a bad soccer game last night. My team lost but that wasn't so bad. What was REALLY bad was how we lost. We played badly. During the game, three of our players were texting on their cell phones, two were playing with their DS, four of the guys were arguing the whole time, and the goalee fell asleep. The other team scored seven points and we didn't score at all. Pretty bad, huh? So why do you think we lost so badly? You know what I think? I think everybody was just doing their own thing and nobody was really focusing on playing the game. We weren't really playing like a team. That reminds me of our lesson today. Jesus was talking to a crowd, trying to help them understand how God works in our world. And he said that a house divided against itself cannot stand. Does anybody know what that means? What would happen in a house if the walls and roof and floor were all crooked and unconnected, going in a bunch of different directions? It would probably fall down, right? Just like my team. Everybody was going in different directions, and we couldn't score even one goal. Jesus wanted to help people understand that if they really wanted to share God's love in the world, they would have to put all their energy, all their focus, all their LIVES into doing just that and get rid of anything that would get in the way. Like, if you're playing a soccer game, you should leave your cell phone at home. We get rid of things that distract us and try to do things that help us concentrate. If we want to play a good game of soccer, we can practice, eat nutritious foods, and sleep well. We need to do the same thing in our lives as Christians. If we want to share God's love with people around us, we need to pray and be with others who can help us and read stories about Jesus to understand how he was telling us to live. It helps us get stronger and live more loving lives. It's all about deciding what's really important to us, and what we want our lives to look like. When we decide what's really important, we want to do our best and give our best. And, as much as I want to play soccer well, I think it's even more important to share God's love in the world.
Closing Prayer: Loving God, we thank you for coaching us in our lives and for helping us to make good decisions that help us get stronger and for showing us the things we no longer need. We pray that each day we are able to become a little more focused on you, so that we can carry your love to everyone we meet. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
Follow-Up Lesson: To reinforce this message in a classroom or home setting, talk a little bit about what sorts of things we think God wants us to do (share, be kind, forgive people who are mean to us, pray for others). What are some things we can do to make these practices stronger? (Ideas: ask for a more mature Christian to pray for you, read scripture, meditate quietly each day, and so on) What are some things that can distract us from these practices? (Ideas: stay too busy to pray, hold mean thoughts in our hearts, distracting ourselves through television or games, not eating or resting in a way that supports our physical needs.) Provide the children with building blocks and invite them to build a strong tower. Talk about how the blocks represent those things that make us stronger Christians. Then ask the children to remove blocks one at a time, representing those things in our lives that weaken us. See how far they can get before the tower collapses. As a craft idea, give each child three or four blocks of their own. Invite them to write on those blocks their ideas for strengthening their lives as Christians. Invite them to build a strong structure with these blocks and then glue the blocks together. Finish by mounting the structure on a piece of cardboard, writing on the base "A house divided against itself cannot stand." Close with prayer.
