Jesus is the real thing!
Children's sermon
Object:
a stick of margarine, some sugar substitute, a can of decaf coffee, some non-dairy creamer
Good morning! Did you know that you make me and many other people happy when they know you are in church on Sunday? Turn around and look at all of the grown-ups. How many people are happy today because these children are in church? If you are happy, stand up! (have all of the adults stand up) See how happy you make all of these people? That is good.
I brought along some things with me this morning and I want to see how smart you are by telling me what they are and what kind of things they take the place of. (hold up the margarine) What is this? (wait for an answer) Very good, this is margarine, and it is a substitute for what? (let them answer) Good, for butter. (do the same with the other objects) You are very smart.
A long time ago people were waiting for the Messiah. They just knew that God was going to send into the world a great gift. The prophets had been promising it for years. Everyone wanted this person to arrive. There was a man named John the Baptist who represented God and people thought he was pretty awesome. He preached and baptized and caused a big stir among all of the people. Some of the people started to think that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. They wanted him to be it because they had waited for such a long time.
But John said no. He told the people that he was not the one they were looking for but instead he said he was only a kind of substitute for the real thing. He told the people that he baptized with water, which was a sign of their repentance. That meant that God knew the people were really sorry for their sins. However, John said, the real Savior was coming and when he baptized it would mean something much more. The real thing of course was Jesus, and Jesus was coming soon. As a matter of fact, John was a cousin of Jesus. So when Jesus brought his baptism, it not only meant that God knew that people were sorry for their sins but that they were also forgiven. The baptism of Jesus meant that the real Spirit of God now lived inside of the people who were baptized.
Just like our margarine, our substitutes for sugar, coffee, and cream are good substitutes, and so John was a substitute for Jesus. He made them know that God was coming and made them alert to God's promise. The next time you see one of these substitutes you can think about John the Baptist and how he told them Jesus was soon coming.
I brought along some things with me this morning and I want to see how smart you are by telling me what they are and what kind of things they take the place of. (hold up the margarine) What is this? (wait for an answer) Very good, this is margarine, and it is a substitute for what? (let them answer) Good, for butter. (do the same with the other objects) You are very smart.
A long time ago people were waiting for the Messiah. They just knew that God was going to send into the world a great gift. The prophets had been promising it for years. Everyone wanted this person to arrive. There was a man named John the Baptist who represented God and people thought he was pretty awesome. He preached and baptized and caused a big stir among all of the people. Some of the people started to think that he was the Messiah, the Son of God. They wanted him to be it because they had waited for such a long time.
But John said no. He told the people that he was not the one they were looking for but instead he said he was only a kind of substitute for the real thing. He told the people that he baptized with water, which was a sign of their repentance. That meant that God knew the people were really sorry for their sins. However, John said, the real Savior was coming and when he baptized it would mean something much more. The real thing of course was Jesus, and Jesus was coming soon. As a matter of fact, John was a cousin of Jesus. So when Jesus brought his baptism, it not only meant that God knew that people were sorry for their sins but that they were also forgiven. The baptism of Jesus meant that the real Spirit of God now lived inside of the people who were baptized.
Just like our margarine, our substitutes for sugar, coffee, and cream are good substitutes, and so John was a substitute for Jesus. He made them know that God was coming and made them alert to God's promise. The next time you see one of these substitutes you can think about John the Baptist and how he told them Jesus was soon coming.
