Listening
Children's sermon
Object: A diploma.
Note: This is optional. To reinforce what Nicodemus did, I have used hand motions to help the children understand how different his actions were. When you speak the words of the Sanhedrin, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms down, like you have made the decision and the conversation is over. When you speak the words of Nicodemus, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms up, like you are open to listening and caring. At the end, I ask the children to make the motions with me.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Can anyone tell me what I have here? (Show diploma.) This is a diploma. It is a piece of paper that says we have completed some kind of school learning, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) We get them to show that we have finished the things we were supposed to do to learn things we were supposed to learn. Does anyone already have a diploma from something you completed? (Let them respond.) Some people like to hang their diplomas on the wall where everyone can see them. Some people do that just because it makes them happy to see what they have done. But today’s story reminds us that some people show their diplomas for another reason.
Our story today says there was an important man in town whose name was Nicodemus. Nicodemus was an old man, and he had a lot of money. But that isn’t why he was so important. What made Nicodemus important was that he was a member of a group called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a group of seventy-one men who made all of the big decisions about the laws for everyone in the country. When they made the big decisions, they said, “We have decided what is right.” (Show the palms down motion.) “We know best, so just do what we say.”
They had to figure out a lot of complicated rules, so if you were on the Sanhedrin, you were probably more educated than everyone else around. (Show the diploma.) So, I’ll bet old Nicodemus must have had a LOT of diplomas hanging on his wall, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Our story says that one night after it was dark, Nicodemus went out of his house and sneaked through the alleys to go to the house where Jesus was staying. He was sneaking around in the dark because he didn’t want anyone to know he was going to see Jesus. The Sanhedrin didn’t like Jesus at all because Jesus didn’t follow the Sanhedrin’s rules. He touched people the Sanhedrin said you should not touch. He ate with people the Sanhedrin said you should not eat with. He healed people on the day the Sanhedrin said you should not do any kind of work at all, even if it helped someone. The Sanhedrin was one of the groups who wanted to make Jesus go away.
So, does anyone have an idea why old Nicodemus was sneaking through the dark to go find Jesus? (Let them respond.) Maybe he was going to tell Jesus, (with the palms down motion) “Look, we know best, so just do what we say.” (Let them respond.) Or do you think Nicodemus was going to show Jesus some of his diplomas to show him how much smarter he was than Jesus? (Let them respond.)
Nope. That’s not why he went. When he finally met Jesus, Nicodemus said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” He didn’t say, “We know best, so just do what we say.” But he said, (with the palms up motion) “You know best, show me what I should do.” He flipped everything over. Instead of saying, (with the palms down motion) “You need to learn from me,” he said, (with the palms up motion) “How can I learn from you.”
Sometimes we think we are pretty smart and know more than some other people know, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And, sometimes we are tempted to say to people, “I know best, so just do what I say,” aren’t we? We think we know more because they might look different than we do, or talk differently than we do, or maybe because we have more diplomas than they do. We believe we are better than them.
But God asks us to flip things over and instead of saying, (with the palms down motion) “I know best, so just do what I say,” God wants us to say, (with the palms up motion.) “How can I learn from you?” God did not create us so some of us could be better than the rest of us. God created us so we could all take care of each other. God wants us to listen to others and not just talk at them.
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.
Note: This is optional. To reinforce what Nicodemus did, I have used hand motions to help the children understand how different his actions were. When you speak the words of the Sanhedrin, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms down, like you have made the decision and the conversation is over. When you speak the words of Nicodemus, hold your hands out in front of you with your palms up, like you are open to listening and caring. At the end, I ask the children to make the motions with me.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Can anyone tell me what I have here? (Show diploma.) This is a diploma. It is a piece of paper that says we have completed some kind of school learning, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) We get them to show that we have finished the things we were supposed to do to learn things we were supposed to learn. Does anyone already have a diploma from something you completed? (Let them respond.) Some people like to hang their diplomas on the wall where everyone can see them. Some people do that just because it makes them happy to see what they have done. But today’s story reminds us that some people show their diplomas for another reason.
Our story today says there was an important man in town whose name was Nicodemus. Nicodemus was an old man, and he had a lot of money. But that isn’t why he was so important. What made Nicodemus important was that he was a member of a group called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was a group of seventy-one men who made all of the big decisions about the laws for everyone in the country. When they made the big decisions, they said, “We have decided what is right.” (Show the palms down motion.) “We know best, so just do what we say.”
They had to figure out a lot of complicated rules, so if you were on the Sanhedrin, you were probably more educated than everyone else around. (Show the diploma.) So, I’ll bet old Nicodemus must have had a LOT of diplomas hanging on his wall, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
Our story says that one night after it was dark, Nicodemus went out of his house and sneaked through the alleys to go to the house where Jesus was staying. He was sneaking around in the dark because he didn’t want anyone to know he was going to see Jesus. The Sanhedrin didn’t like Jesus at all because Jesus didn’t follow the Sanhedrin’s rules. He touched people the Sanhedrin said you should not touch. He ate with people the Sanhedrin said you should not eat with. He healed people on the day the Sanhedrin said you should not do any kind of work at all, even if it helped someone. The Sanhedrin was one of the groups who wanted to make Jesus go away.
So, does anyone have an idea why old Nicodemus was sneaking through the dark to go find Jesus? (Let them respond.) Maybe he was going to tell Jesus, (with the palms down motion) “Look, we know best, so just do what we say.” (Let them respond.) Or do you think Nicodemus was going to show Jesus some of his diplomas to show him how much smarter he was than Jesus? (Let them respond.)
Nope. That’s not why he went. When he finally met Jesus, Nicodemus said, “Teacher, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” He didn’t say, “We know best, so just do what we say.” But he said, (with the palms up motion) “You know best, show me what I should do.” He flipped everything over. Instead of saying, (with the palms down motion) “You need to learn from me,” he said, (with the palms up motion) “How can I learn from you.”
Sometimes we think we are pretty smart and know more than some other people know, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And, sometimes we are tempted to say to people, “I know best, so just do what I say,” aren’t we? We think we know more because they might look different than we do, or talk differently than we do, or maybe because we have more diplomas than they do. We believe we are better than them.
But God asks us to flip things over and instead of saying, (with the palms down motion) “I know best, so just do what I say,” God wants us to say, (with the palms up motion.) “How can I learn from you?” God did not create us so some of us could be better than the rest of us. God created us so we could all take care of each other. God wants us to listen to others and not just talk at them.
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.
