Kind of Confusing!
Children's sermon
Object: A large wooden club and a winter jacket.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! To get started, I have a question for you. How many of you like puzzles? (Let them respond.) Well, our story today is about the day Jesus told people something that was a big puzzle for them, and got them all really confused. And when we hear the story, I’ll bet it is still confusing for most of us, too. Let me tell it to you and see.
One day Jesus was talking with a bunch of the people who were following him. Listen to what he said to them. He said: “All of you who eat my flesh and drink my blood will be my friends, and we will be together forever.” When they heard it, they all said, “That is a really hard thing to hear Jesus say. That will be really hard to do. I don’t know if I want to do that or not.”
They were really confused about what Jesus said. It is kind of confusing, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus told them that if they wanted to be his friend, they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The people were really confused. They said, “Did Jesus really mean that? Did he really say he wants us to do those things?” Some of the people were so confused they left and stopped following Jesus. They said it was too hard to do what he wanted them to do, so they left.
And we still say it today too, don’t we? Each time we take communion we say that we are eating Jesus’ body, and drinking his blood, don’t we? Sometimes that still sounds pretty confusing, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But let me see if we can make it a little easier to understand what happened when Jesus talked to those people. Let me ask you another question. Have you ever heard someone say something like, “She is a great volleyball player. She is going to eat that other team up!” But when they played, she didn’t really eat the other team, did she? (Let them respond.) Or maybe someone was playing a video game really well and someone said, “He’s really eating that game up, isn’t he?” He didn’t really eat the game, did he? (Let them respond.) The people back then understood that Jesus was telling them that if they wanted to follow him, they had to be just like him and do what he would do, just like he was inside them. So that wasn’t what was so confusing to them. That wasn’t why people stopped following Jesus…that wasn’t why they were so confused.
Those people believed that God was going to send them someone who would help them get even with the people they didn’t like. They believed God’s Son would come with a big club and help them get even with those people. (Show the club.) They believed God was going to help them be the most powerful people, and if anyone didn’t agree with them, they believed God would help them get rid of those people. They were following Jesus because that’s what they thought he was going to do for them.
But, now, Jesus told them that if they were going to follow him, he wanted them to help take care of people, not get even with them. (Show the club.) Instead of coming with a big club, Jesus told them that anytime they saw someone who did not have a coat, they should give them one of their coats. (Show the jacket.) Instead of God making them the most powerful people like they were important kings, He wanted them to act like a friend and help take care of other people, no matter who they were.
That’s what confused the people so much. And some of them walked away and left Jesus because they wanted God to just take care of them and punish other people. (Show the club.) They did not want to follow Jesus and take care of other people. (Show the jacket.)
We still get confused about that sometimes, don’t we? (Let them respond.) But it’s really an easy puzzle, and not confusing at all. Jesus said that God wants us to take care of each other and not be bullies and believe we are more important than anyone else.
I hope our story will help us remember that God created us to take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And 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.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! To get started, I have a question for you. How many of you like puzzles? (Let them respond.) Well, our story today is about the day Jesus told people something that was a big puzzle for them, and got them all really confused. And when we hear the story, I’ll bet it is still confusing for most of us, too. Let me tell it to you and see.
One day Jesus was talking with a bunch of the people who were following him. Listen to what he said to them. He said: “All of you who eat my flesh and drink my blood will be my friends, and we will be together forever.” When they heard it, they all said, “That is a really hard thing to hear Jesus say. That will be really hard to do. I don’t know if I want to do that or not.”
They were really confused about what Jesus said. It is kind of confusing, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus told them that if they wanted to be his friend, they needed to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The people were really confused. They said, “Did Jesus really mean that? Did he really say he wants us to do those things?” Some of the people were so confused they left and stopped following Jesus. They said it was too hard to do what he wanted them to do, so they left.
And we still say it today too, don’t we? Each time we take communion we say that we are eating Jesus’ body, and drinking his blood, don’t we? Sometimes that still sounds pretty confusing, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But let me see if we can make it a little easier to understand what happened when Jesus talked to those people. Let me ask you another question. Have you ever heard someone say something like, “She is a great volleyball player. She is going to eat that other team up!” But when they played, she didn’t really eat the other team, did she? (Let them respond.) Or maybe someone was playing a video game really well and someone said, “He’s really eating that game up, isn’t he?” He didn’t really eat the game, did he? (Let them respond.) The people back then understood that Jesus was telling them that if they wanted to follow him, they had to be just like him and do what he would do, just like he was inside them. So that wasn’t what was so confusing to them. That wasn’t why people stopped following Jesus…that wasn’t why they were so confused.
Those people believed that God was going to send them someone who would help them get even with the people they didn’t like. They believed God’s Son would come with a big club and help them get even with those people. (Show the club.) They believed God was going to help them be the most powerful people, and if anyone didn’t agree with them, they believed God would help them get rid of those people. They were following Jesus because that’s what they thought he was going to do for them.
But, now, Jesus told them that if they were going to follow him, he wanted them to help take care of people, not get even with them. (Show the club.) Instead of coming with a big club, Jesus told them that anytime they saw someone who did not have a coat, they should give them one of their coats. (Show the jacket.) Instead of God making them the most powerful people like they were important kings, He wanted them to act like a friend and help take care of other people, no matter who they were.
That’s what confused the people so much. And some of them walked away and left Jesus because they wanted God to just take care of them and punish other people. (Show the club.) They did not want to follow Jesus and take care of other people. (Show the jacket.)
We still get confused about that sometimes, don’t we? (Let them respond.) But it’s really an easy puzzle, and not confusing at all. Jesus said that God wants us to take care of each other and not be bullies and believe we are more important than anyone else.
I hope our story will help us remember that God created us to take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And 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.
