Light in the darkness
Children's sermon
Object:
a flashlight
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all… (v. 11)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you today? (allow answers) Who can tell me what today is? (allow answers) That's right -- it's finally here! Today is Christmas [Eve]! We have spent the whole season of Advent preparing for right now. The long preparation is finally over. Christmas is here!
Although our Christmas season is filled with lights -- Christmas tree lights, glowing streetlamps, Advent candles, even Rudolph's beacon red nose -- the true light of Christmas doesn't come until Christmas day itself, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who is the light of the world -- "a light no darkness can overcome," according to the gospel! Imagine that, instead of all the lights that we see during the Christmas season, we were trapped in darkness for the past four weeks -- for the past year. Have any of you ever been to visit a cave? (allow answers) When you visit caves, sometimes the tour guide will turn off all the lights in the cavern. It is darker than you can imagine! Whether your eyes are open or closed, everything looks the same: absolutely black. Imagine if we were trapped in a cave for all of the advent season with no light. How would you feel in the dark? (allow answers) I think it would be awfully scary! Imagine counting down the days until Christmas while you're stuck in the dark. Some days, you would lose hope. You would think, "There's no way I will ever get out of this darkness!" How horrible!
Then imagine that it's Christmas Day, down there in the dark, dark cave. Suddenly, you see a tiny shadow. A little flicker of a light. You sit up and blink a few times, wanting so bad for this to be real! The light grows bigger. It's as if it is a rescue light, showing you the way out of the darkness. For the first time, you can see all the other people around you in the cave. You hug each other and take each others' hands -- you are so happy to see one another again! Together, you make your way toward the light.
This is how we should feel at Christmas time. When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are celebrating light coming into a world full of darkness. We are celebrating the way out that he has shown us.
Do you know why we call Jesus "the light of the world"? (allow answers) Jesus is the light of the world because he teaches us how to live our lives like God wants. And it's thanks to Jesus that we will someday be with God in heaven. Jesus is our way out of the dark cave in which we waited, and he is also our way to paradise with God when our time on earth is over. We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas season and we are especially thankful for the light that shows us the way to God our Father. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you today? (allow answers) Who can tell me what today is? (allow answers) That's right -- it's finally here! Today is Christmas [Eve]! We have spent the whole season of Advent preparing for right now. The long preparation is finally over. Christmas is here!
Although our Christmas season is filled with lights -- Christmas tree lights, glowing streetlamps, Advent candles, even Rudolph's beacon red nose -- the true light of Christmas doesn't come until Christmas day itself, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, who is the light of the world -- "a light no darkness can overcome," according to the gospel! Imagine that, instead of all the lights that we see during the Christmas season, we were trapped in darkness for the past four weeks -- for the past year. Have any of you ever been to visit a cave? (allow answers) When you visit caves, sometimes the tour guide will turn off all the lights in the cavern. It is darker than you can imagine! Whether your eyes are open or closed, everything looks the same: absolutely black. Imagine if we were trapped in a cave for all of the advent season with no light. How would you feel in the dark? (allow answers) I think it would be awfully scary! Imagine counting down the days until Christmas while you're stuck in the dark. Some days, you would lose hope. You would think, "There's no way I will ever get out of this darkness!" How horrible!
Then imagine that it's Christmas Day, down there in the dark, dark cave. Suddenly, you see a tiny shadow. A little flicker of a light. You sit up and blink a few times, wanting so bad for this to be real! The light grows bigger. It's as if it is a rescue light, showing you the way out of the darkness. For the first time, you can see all the other people around you in the cave. You hug each other and take each others' hands -- you are so happy to see one another again! Together, you make your way toward the light.
This is how we should feel at Christmas time. When we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we are celebrating light coming into a world full of darkness. We are celebrating the way out that he has shown us.
Do you know why we call Jesus "the light of the world"? (allow answers) Jesus is the light of the world because he teaches us how to live our lives like God wants. And it's thanks to Jesus that we will someday be with God in heaven. Jesus is our way out of the dark cave in which we waited, and he is also our way to paradise with God when our time on earth is over. We have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas season and we are especially thankful for the light that shows us the way to God our Father. Amen.
