A Light On the Hill!
Children's sermon
Object: A flashlight or other light, and something to put it under. A basket or bucket, or even a piece of cloth could work.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready to hear today’s story? (Let them respond.) Let’s get started!
One day, Jesus was by the Sea of Galilee and a big crowd of people came to hear what he was going to say. While they were there, Jesus heard some of those people talking about how afraid they were to do some of the things Jesus wanted them to do. They were afraid because of what the bullies might do to them. They had bullies like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Romans. Those groups all had rules they wanted everyone to follow, and if you didn’t follow their rules they could be pretty nasty sometimes. They had rules that said, you shouldn’t help other people if they were sick, and that you shouldn’t sit with some people or even talk with those people because they were not good people. The bullies said that those people were unclean and even called them the “Untouchables”. And if you ever broke the rules and didn’t do what the bullies wanted you to do, they threatened you, picked on you, made fun of you, and sometimes did even worse things. So, some people who came to hear Jesus wanted to do the things he asked them to do, but they were afraid and just wanted to keep it a secret and not let anyone know that they believed in what Jesus was saying.
Jesus understood what they were feeling. He stopped and pointed at the big hill that was behind them and he pointed to the top of the hill. He asked them if they could see the city that was up on top of the hill. They all knew the city he was talking about. In fact, some of the people were from that city and had walked from there this morning.
It was not a great big city, but it was in an important place because just on the other side of it was a big highway called The Kings’ Highway. That was a road that was built a long time ago by the Egyptians. It was one of the main roads from Egypt all the way to Asia. People traveled that road from all around the world, all kinds of people, and they all liked to stop in the little city for food and other things, just like we do when we go on a trip.
But it was different at night when it got dark. If there were robbers or other enemies that were traveling on the road, they traveled at night so no one would see them. So, at night, the highway was a dangerous place. Because of that, the people in the city had a rule that no one in town could have lights shining at night. (Turn on your light.) The rules said that if you had a light on you had to hide it under a basket (Hide your light under your cover.) so it wasn’t bright enough for anyone to see it from the road. They said the entire town had to stay nice and dark so the dangerous bullies going by might not see the city by the highway and would just walk on past. Everyone Jesus was talking to knew about the city and how they hide their lights.
Then Jesus looked around at the people who were with him by the sea and told them that a city on a hill cannot be hidden and that everyone should shine their light for others to see. They all knew that Jesus wasn’t really talking about the city anymore, but was talking about them. They knew that Jesus was asking them to trust God and not hide what they were doing because they were afraid of the bully Pharisees, Sadducees, and Romans. He was asking them to take care of the people the bullies were picking on, and not hide what they believed. He said that if they showed others how they were following God, it would be like they were shining a bright light that others could see, (Get your light and shine it around.), and then maybe some of those other people would start doing the same thing too.
Sometimes hard to do what Jesus wants us to do, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we just want to hide our light from bullies, so they don’t pick on us or make fun of us, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And let me tell you a little secret. Did you know that we adults have bullies too? (Let them respond.) We sure do. And sometimes we are afraid to do the right thing and just want to hide our lights too. (Hide your light.) So, we all need to try and remember what Jesus said, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Jesus wants us to shine the light that God is giving us, (Uncover your light and shine it around.) and not let bullies make us hide what we are doing for God. Jesus wants us to not be afraid and to let our light shine so we can show everyone how God wants us all 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 to hear today’s story? (Let them respond.) Let’s get started!
One day, Jesus was by the Sea of Galilee and a big crowd of people came to hear what he was going to say. While they were there, Jesus heard some of those people talking about how afraid they were to do some of the things Jesus wanted them to do. They were afraid because of what the bullies might do to them. They had bullies like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Romans. Those groups all had rules they wanted everyone to follow, and if you didn’t follow their rules they could be pretty nasty sometimes. They had rules that said, you shouldn’t help other people if they were sick, and that you shouldn’t sit with some people or even talk with those people because they were not good people. The bullies said that those people were unclean and even called them the “Untouchables”. And if you ever broke the rules and didn’t do what the bullies wanted you to do, they threatened you, picked on you, made fun of you, and sometimes did even worse things. So, some people who came to hear Jesus wanted to do the things he asked them to do, but they were afraid and just wanted to keep it a secret and not let anyone know that they believed in what Jesus was saying.
Jesus understood what they were feeling. He stopped and pointed at the big hill that was behind them and he pointed to the top of the hill. He asked them if they could see the city that was up on top of the hill. They all knew the city he was talking about. In fact, some of the people were from that city and had walked from there this morning.
It was not a great big city, but it was in an important place because just on the other side of it was a big highway called The Kings’ Highway. That was a road that was built a long time ago by the Egyptians. It was one of the main roads from Egypt all the way to Asia. People traveled that road from all around the world, all kinds of people, and they all liked to stop in the little city for food and other things, just like we do when we go on a trip.
But it was different at night when it got dark. If there were robbers or other enemies that were traveling on the road, they traveled at night so no one would see them. So, at night, the highway was a dangerous place. Because of that, the people in the city had a rule that no one in town could have lights shining at night. (Turn on your light.) The rules said that if you had a light on you had to hide it under a basket (Hide your light under your cover.) so it wasn’t bright enough for anyone to see it from the road. They said the entire town had to stay nice and dark so the dangerous bullies going by might not see the city by the highway and would just walk on past. Everyone Jesus was talking to knew about the city and how they hide their lights.
Then Jesus looked around at the people who were with him by the sea and told them that a city on a hill cannot be hidden and that everyone should shine their light for others to see. They all knew that Jesus wasn’t really talking about the city anymore, but was talking about them. They knew that Jesus was asking them to trust God and not hide what they were doing because they were afraid of the bully Pharisees, Sadducees, and Romans. He was asking them to take care of the people the bullies were picking on, and not hide what they believed. He said that if they showed others how they were following God, it would be like they were shining a bright light that others could see, (Get your light and shine it around.), and then maybe some of those other people would start doing the same thing too.
Sometimes hard to do what Jesus wants us to do, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we just want to hide our light from bullies, so they don’t pick on us or make fun of us, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And let me tell you a little secret. Did you know that we adults have bullies too? (Let them respond.) We sure do. And sometimes we are afraid to do the right thing and just want to hide our lights too. (Hide your light.) So, we all need to try and remember what Jesus said, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Jesus wants us to shine the light that God is giving us, (Uncover your light and shine it around.) and not let bullies make us hide what we are doing for God. Jesus wants us to not be afraid and to let our light shine so we can show everyone how God wants us all 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.
