John the Baptist
Children's sermon
Object:
a picture of John the Baptist
Good morning! Does anybody know who this is? (Show the
picture and let them answer.) This is the man we call John the
Baptist. Of course, this is only a painting of what somebody
thinks he may have looked like. There were no cameras in those
days to take his picture. Do any of you know anything about John?
(Let them answer to see if they have heard of him.)
The Bible tells us his parents were Zacharias and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus, so we know
that John was related to Jesus, perhaps his cousin. We know John
was born about six months before Jesus, but we don't know
anything about how he grew up. Both of his parents were old, so
he may have been an orphan early in his life. We do know that
after he was grown he lived in the desert. While he was there, he
dressed in clothes made out of camel hair and he ate locusts and
honey. How would you like to have a lunch today of locusts and
honey? (Let them answer.)
The most important thing we know about John is that God
called him to be a very special prophet. God told him to go to
Israel and call on the people to repent and be baptized because
the Messiah was coming. Messiah is another word for Christ.
John's job was to tell the people about Jesus and to baptize
them. We call him the Baptist because he baptized many people. He
even baptized Jesus himself.
John did what God told him to do, but do you know what
happened to him? Did he live to be an old man or did he die
young? (Let them answer.) He died young. He was only about 31
years old when a mean king named Herod had his head cut off. When
someone is killed for doing what God told them to do, we call
them martyrs. A lot of God's prophets were killed doing the work
of God and became martyrs. John did his job before he was
killed. He prepared the way for Jesus.
Let's remember him in a prayer.
Dear God: We thank You for giving prophets like John the Baptist
to our church. Amen.
picture and let them answer.) This is the man we call John the
Baptist. Of course, this is only a painting of what somebody
thinks he may have looked like. There were no cameras in those
days to take his picture. Do any of you know anything about John?
(Let them answer to see if they have heard of him.)
The Bible tells us his parents were Zacharias and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus, so we know
that John was related to Jesus, perhaps his cousin. We know John
was born about six months before Jesus, but we don't know
anything about how he grew up. Both of his parents were old, so
he may have been an orphan early in his life. We do know that
after he was grown he lived in the desert. While he was there, he
dressed in clothes made out of camel hair and he ate locusts and
honey. How would you like to have a lunch today of locusts and
honey? (Let them answer.)
The most important thing we know about John is that God
called him to be a very special prophet. God told him to go to
Israel and call on the people to repent and be baptized because
the Messiah was coming. Messiah is another word for Christ.
John's job was to tell the people about Jesus and to baptize
them. We call him the Baptist because he baptized many people. He
even baptized Jesus himself.
John did what God told him to do, but do you know what
happened to him? Did he live to be an old man or did he die
young? (Let them answer.) He died young. He was only about 31
years old when a mean king named Herod had his head cut off. When
someone is killed for doing what God told them to do, we call
them martyrs. A lot of God's prophets were killed doing the work
of God and became martyrs. John did his job before he was
killed. He prepared the way for Jesus.
Let's remember him in a prayer.
Dear God: We thank You for giving prophets like John the Baptist
to our church. Amen.
