Law and order
Children's sermon
Object:
a police badge
The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (v. 17)
Good morning, boys and girls. How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about justice. How many of you have ever played cops and robbers? (allow answers) Do any of your parents watch TV shows like Law and Order or CSI? (allow answers) How many of you have had a police officer come into your classroom at school to talk about safety or following the law? (allow answers) What does the police officer wear on his uniform to show that he is who he says he is? (allow answers)
The law is a very important thing in our country. The law tells us what we can do and what we can't do. If we break the law, we have to go to court and tell a judge why we did what we did. The judge decides whether we should be punished and how much we should be punished. The law of the United States is very long and very complicated, and people spend years and years studying the law so that they know what the law says is right and what the law says is wrong.
Although the law in Bible times was different from the law that we have in the United States of America, people still studied it very carefully. In Bible times, there were lots of laws for God's people to follow. Not only did they follow the Ten Commandments, which we still follow today, but they also followed hundreds of other laws that were written down in the Old Testament. Some of these laws were about what they should eat, some of these laws were about what they should wear, and some of these laws were about how they should treat other people. The list of laws for God's people seemed to go on forever!
Sometimes God's people got too caught up in the laws. They worked so hard to follow the laws that they forgot what it meant to praise God. They were too busy worrying about themselves and the laws to worry about sharing God's love with other people. But God had a solution to that. Do you know what his solution was? (allow answers) His solution was to send his Son, Jesus. Jesus brought forgiveness to all people -- he brought mercy. Instead of worrying about following every law perfectly, Jesus taught us to worry about showing love to other people. And do you know what? When we show love to others, we often end up doing the right thing according to the law. In the end, laws are the way that our country makes sure everyone is treated fairly. When we treat others with fairness, mercy, and love, we are doing exactly what the laws are trying to do. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about justice. How many of you have ever played cops and robbers? (allow answers) Do any of your parents watch TV shows like Law and Order or CSI? (allow answers) How many of you have had a police officer come into your classroom at school to talk about safety or following the law? (allow answers) What does the police officer wear on his uniform to show that he is who he says he is? (allow answers)
The law is a very important thing in our country. The law tells us what we can do and what we can't do. If we break the law, we have to go to court and tell a judge why we did what we did. The judge decides whether we should be punished and how much we should be punished. The law of the United States is very long and very complicated, and people spend years and years studying the law so that they know what the law says is right and what the law says is wrong.
Although the law in Bible times was different from the law that we have in the United States of America, people still studied it very carefully. In Bible times, there were lots of laws for God's people to follow. Not only did they follow the Ten Commandments, which we still follow today, but they also followed hundreds of other laws that were written down in the Old Testament. Some of these laws were about what they should eat, some of these laws were about what they should wear, and some of these laws were about how they should treat other people. The list of laws for God's people seemed to go on forever!
Sometimes God's people got too caught up in the laws. They worked so hard to follow the laws that they forgot what it meant to praise God. They were too busy worrying about themselves and the laws to worry about sharing God's love with other people. But God had a solution to that. Do you know what his solution was? (allow answers) His solution was to send his Son, Jesus. Jesus brought forgiveness to all people -- he brought mercy. Instead of worrying about following every law perfectly, Jesus taught us to worry about showing love to other people. And do you know what? When we show love to others, we often end up doing the right thing according to the law. In the end, laws are the way that our country makes sure everyone is treated fairly. When we treat others with fairness, mercy, and love, we are doing exactly what the laws are trying to do. Amen.
