Influencers!
Children's sermon
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. (v. 1)
Object: A box or container for fast-food chicken. You could use a container for something other than chicken if you need to.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I learned something interesting this week. Are you ready for me to tell you about it? (Let them respond.) Great! I was looking on the internet the other day and found a man in England who creates a new video every week and puts it on YouTube. Every week, almost a million people watch his video to see what he says. A million people every week! That’s a lot of people, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Can anyone guess what his videos are about? (Let them respond.) Probably something pretty important, huh? (Let them respond.) Well, his videos every week are about chicken. (Show the box.) Every week, he goes to a new restaurant that serves chicken and he shoots a video telling everyone if he liked that chicken. If he likes the chicken, a lot of his viewers go to that restaurant and buy that chicken, just because the man in the video said it was good chicken.
Does anyone know what we call someone like the man who creates the videos about chicken? (Let them respond.) Maybe crazy? Well, they call him an influencer, because his videos influence other people and convince them where to go and buy chicken. I’ll bet some of you know some other influencers, too, don’t you? (Let them respond.) They don’t all talk about chicken, but some talk about music, some talk about games, and some just do crazy things. But people watch them and listen to them to decide what they are going to do.
But influencers aren’t new. In fact, did you know that Jesus was an influencer? He didn’t put videos on YouTube, but people watched him every day to hear what he said and see what he did. Some people watched him so they could learn how to be more like him. But others watched him to try and catch him doing something wrong so they could make him stop doing what he was doing.
One day, Jesus was invited to eat at a Pharisee’s house. The Pharisees were a group of people who did not like Jesus and argued with him all the time, so when Jesus got to the Pharisee’s house, everyone was watching him really closely to see what was going to happen. Jesus told everyone they were supposed to love each other, no matter who they were, but they all wondered what was going to happen when Jesus and the Pharisee were actually in the same room together. People were watching Jesus closely to see if he really believed what he said he believed, and treated the Pharisee like a friend, or, if he and the Pharisee ended up in a big argument. Jesus was an influencer, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) He didn’t talk about chicken, but the people watched him to see what he did so they knew how they should treat any Pharisees they might meet.
The Pharisee had invited other people to eat with them, and some of them were other important Pharisees from the town. When they all went into the dining room, the Pharisees all hurried into the room to try and get the seats at the head of the table, because that’s where the most important people always sat. Everyone watched to see what Jesus was going to do. Instead of going to the head of the table, Jesus went to the other end of the table where the most unimportant guests sat. And Jesus said, “Don’t try to show off and make yourself look better than everyone else. If you want to really be important, be humble and remember that everyone is important to God.”
When they sat down, Jesus noticed that all of the other guests were important Pharisees and friends of the man who invited them and would probably invite the man to come to their house next week. Jesus said, “And remember that God doesn’t want us to just care about people we like or people who can do things to help us. God wants us to care for everyone, even the people who can’t do anything at all to pay us back for caring about them.”
Jesus knew people were watching him and that he was influencing them, so he was careful to make sure he did what he knew God wanted him to do.
Did you know that you are an influencer? (Let them respond.) You might not create videos about chicken, or go to dinner with a Pharisee, but we say that we believe in God and want to take care of people the way God asks us to. Some people are watching us to see if we really mean it and to learn how to follow Jesus, too.
We might not have a million people watching us, but there are people watching us every day to see if we are humble or if we try to make ourselves look more important than other people. They watch us to see if we really care about everyone, or if we treat some people better than others and only hang out with people we like or who can do something for us.
We are influencers. We remember that Jesus said the most important thing for us to do is to take care of each other, and people are watching us to learn how to do that. People watch us, and that helps them decide what they are going to do.
Let’s all pray together and ask God to help us remember that Jesus wants us to love each other and take care of each other so we are a great influencer for God.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
Object: A box or container for fast-food chicken. You could use a container for something other than chicken if you need to.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I learned something interesting this week. Are you ready for me to tell you about it? (Let them respond.) Great! I was looking on the internet the other day and found a man in England who creates a new video every week and puts it on YouTube. Every week, almost a million people watch his video to see what he says. A million people every week! That’s a lot of people, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Can anyone guess what his videos are about? (Let them respond.) Probably something pretty important, huh? (Let them respond.) Well, his videos every week are about chicken. (Show the box.) Every week, he goes to a new restaurant that serves chicken and he shoots a video telling everyone if he liked that chicken. If he likes the chicken, a lot of his viewers go to that restaurant and buy that chicken, just because the man in the video said it was good chicken.
Does anyone know what we call someone like the man who creates the videos about chicken? (Let them respond.) Maybe crazy? Well, they call him an influencer, because his videos influence other people and convince them where to go and buy chicken. I’ll bet some of you know some other influencers, too, don’t you? (Let them respond.) They don’t all talk about chicken, but some talk about music, some talk about games, and some just do crazy things. But people watch them and listen to them to decide what they are going to do.
But influencers aren’t new. In fact, did you know that Jesus was an influencer? He didn’t put videos on YouTube, but people watched him every day to hear what he said and see what he did. Some people watched him so they could learn how to be more like him. But others watched him to try and catch him doing something wrong so they could make him stop doing what he was doing.
One day, Jesus was invited to eat at a Pharisee’s house. The Pharisees were a group of people who did not like Jesus and argued with him all the time, so when Jesus got to the Pharisee’s house, everyone was watching him really closely to see what was going to happen. Jesus told everyone they were supposed to love each other, no matter who they were, but they all wondered what was going to happen when Jesus and the Pharisee were actually in the same room together. People were watching Jesus closely to see if he really believed what he said he believed, and treated the Pharisee like a friend, or, if he and the Pharisee ended up in a big argument. Jesus was an influencer, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) He didn’t talk about chicken, but the people watched him to see what he did so they knew how they should treat any Pharisees they might meet.
The Pharisee had invited other people to eat with them, and some of them were other important Pharisees from the town. When they all went into the dining room, the Pharisees all hurried into the room to try and get the seats at the head of the table, because that’s where the most important people always sat. Everyone watched to see what Jesus was going to do. Instead of going to the head of the table, Jesus went to the other end of the table where the most unimportant guests sat. And Jesus said, “Don’t try to show off and make yourself look better than everyone else. If you want to really be important, be humble and remember that everyone is important to God.”
When they sat down, Jesus noticed that all of the other guests were important Pharisees and friends of the man who invited them and would probably invite the man to come to their house next week. Jesus said, “And remember that God doesn’t want us to just care about people we like or people who can do things to help us. God wants us to care for everyone, even the people who can’t do anything at all to pay us back for caring about them.”
Jesus knew people were watching him and that he was influencing them, so he was careful to make sure he did what he knew God wanted him to do.
Did you know that you are an influencer? (Let them respond.) You might not create videos about chicken, or go to dinner with a Pharisee, but we say that we believe in God and want to take care of people the way God asks us to. Some people are watching us to see if we really mean it and to learn how to follow Jesus, too.
We might not have a million people watching us, but there are people watching us every day to see if we are humble or if we try to make ourselves look more important than other people. They watch us to see if we really care about everyone, or if we treat some people better than others and only hang out with people we like or who can do something for us.
We are influencers. We remember that Jesus said the most important thing for us to do is to take care of each other, and people are watching us to learn how to do that. People watch us, and that helps them decide what they are going to do.
Let’s all pray together and ask God to help us remember that Jesus wants us to love each other and take care of each other so we are a great influencer for God.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
