Jesus, the patient teacher
Children's sermon
Object:
none
Have you ever been really frustrated with someone? It's hard to be patient when we're frustrated. It's easy to lose our temper and get angry. Sometimes we say things we don't mean when we get angry. Have you ever heard the phrase "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all"? That's what that means. When you get frustrated and angry, it's best not to say anything until you're sure you can say something nice.
We talked last week about how Jesus was a great teacher. He took the time to talk to people and tell them about God's love. Some people didn't like Jesus, though. They didn't like that he was teaching new ideas. He loved people who were different. He forgave people's sins.
Some of the leaders of his day were threatened because he taught things they didn't like. Among other things, Jesus taught about the resurrection of the dead -- that people could be raised up to heaven after they died. The group that disagreed with him the most about this was the Sadducees.
The Sadducees were angry that Jesus was teaching something they thought was wrong. In fact, they wanted to discredit him for teaching such different ideas. So, they tried to trick him. They wanted to catch him saying things that were against the law. They were always trying to get under Jesus' skin and make him mad.
I probably would have gotten frustrated and angry about that. Not Jesus, though. He took the time to explain to the Sadducees why they were mistaken, even though they weren't very nice to him. It may be that he decided that the best way to change the Sadducees' hearts was to help them understand the things he said.
We do know that Jesus patiently kept teaching and tried to help people understand God better. He was always a teacher, everywhere he went. He was a great teacher, and he was definitely a patient teacher.
Prayer: Dear God, please teach us to be patient like Jesus. Amen.
We talked last week about how Jesus was a great teacher. He took the time to talk to people and tell them about God's love. Some people didn't like Jesus, though. They didn't like that he was teaching new ideas. He loved people who were different. He forgave people's sins.
Some of the leaders of his day were threatened because he taught things they didn't like. Among other things, Jesus taught about the resurrection of the dead -- that people could be raised up to heaven after they died. The group that disagreed with him the most about this was the Sadducees.
The Sadducees were angry that Jesus was teaching something they thought was wrong. In fact, they wanted to discredit him for teaching such different ideas. So, they tried to trick him. They wanted to catch him saying things that were against the law. They were always trying to get under Jesus' skin and make him mad.
I probably would have gotten frustrated and angry about that. Not Jesus, though. He took the time to explain to the Sadducees why they were mistaken, even though they weren't very nice to him. It may be that he decided that the best way to change the Sadducees' hearts was to help them understand the things he said.
We do know that Jesus patiently kept teaching and tried to help people understand God better. He was always a teacher, everywhere he went. He was a great teacher, and he was definitely a patient teacher.
Prayer: Dear God, please teach us to be patient like Jesus. Amen.
