I want ...
Children's sermon
Object:
a restaurant menu (or one that you made up)
When you go into a restaurant, the waiter or waitress will give you something called a "menu." What is a menu? (Let them answer.) A menu tells you what kinds of food that restaurant serves.
So, you go into a restaurant and sit at a table and have a menu in your hands. What if you just sit there? What would happen if the waitress or waiter came to your table and asked you what you wanted to order and you would not answer? (Let them answer.) That would be a strange situation, wouldn't it?
When you are handed a menu or pick it up off the table, you have some idea what the restaurant serves, but it is up to you to decide exactly what you want to get at the restaurant. When you have decided, you must tell the waitress or waiter what you want. Only then can they tell the cook exactly what to fix for you.
We would never go into a restaurant and not tell what we want to order. That would be silly. But many people never tell God what they want. God wants us to tell him what we want. God wants us to let him know what is on our minds and what we are feeling. How do we do that? (Let them answer.) We talk to God. Talking with God is called "prayer." God wants us to pray. It is important.
In prayer we let God know what we want. Does that mean we always get what we want? (Let them answer.) Of course not. Just as asking our parents for things does not mean we get everything we ask for. But God does love us and wants us to ask and wants to give us everything we need.
Let's pray to God right now:
Dearest Lord God: Thank you for listening when we talk with you. Thank you for loving us so much that you are interested in our wants and needs. Amen.
So, you go into a restaurant and sit at a table and have a menu in your hands. What if you just sit there? What would happen if the waitress or waiter came to your table and asked you what you wanted to order and you would not answer? (Let them answer.) That would be a strange situation, wouldn't it?
When you are handed a menu or pick it up off the table, you have some idea what the restaurant serves, but it is up to you to decide exactly what you want to get at the restaurant. When you have decided, you must tell the waitress or waiter what you want. Only then can they tell the cook exactly what to fix for you.
We would never go into a restaurant and not tell what we want to order. That would be silly. But many people never tell God what they want. God wants us to tell him what we want. God wants us to let him know what is on our minds and what we are feeling. How do we do that? (Let them answer.) We talk to God. Talking with God is called "prayer." God wants us to pray. It is important.
In prayer we let God know what we want. Does that mean we always get what we want? (Let them answer.) Of course not. Just as asking our parents for things does not mean we get everything we ask for. But God does love us and wants us to ask and wants to give us everything we need.
Let's pray to God right now:
Dearest Lord God: Thank you for listening when we talk with you. Thank you for loving us so much that you are interested in our wants and needs. Amen.
