Love poured out
Children's sermon
Object:
a funnel and a pitcher
"And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us." (vv. 3-5)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you today? (allow answers) I have some things that you may have seen before. (show funnel, pitcher) Can you tell me where you have seen these before? (allow answers) You have probably seen these in a kitchen! Who can tell me what a pitcher is used for? (allow answers) That's a pretty easy one. Pitchers are used to keep drinks, like Kool-aid or water, in. Pitchers usually have a spout like this (show spout on pitcher) to help you pour your water or juice more easily. Now let's talk about the funnel. Have any of you used a funnel before? (allow answers) What did you use it for? (allow answers) We use funnels to help pour things into tiny containers. Maybe you want to pour some water in a flower vase, but the opening of the vase is very tiny. You can put the funnel in the flower vase and pour water from the pitcher through the funnel. The water only goes into the vase through the funnel, and you won't have to worry about spilling water everywhere.
Our verse talks about something being poured into our hearts. It says: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."
We can think of this verse by thinking about a pitcher and a funnel. The pitcher is God, who is big and full of love. Water is his love that he wants to fill us all with! We are like the vase with a narrow opening -- our hearts are very small compared to the size of God! The Holy Spirit is the funnel. God pours his love through the funnel of the Holy Spirit to make sure that we get enough love to fill us all the way up! If we are a flower vase, when we are full of love, then a beautiful flower -- or our beautiful, God-like actions -- can grow.
When we talk about God being a pitcher and the Holy Spirit as a funnel, we are using something called a metaphor. A metaphor is when we compare one thing to something else. In our metaphor today, we are comparing God to a pitcher, his love to water, the Holy Spirit to a funnel, and each of us to vases where beautiful flowers grow. Metaphors can help us understand Bible verses. Sometimes Bible verses even have metaphors in them! Next time you are reading or listening to a passage from the Bible, see if you can find any metaphors that are written to help people studying the Bible understand what it is trying to say. And remember that God wants to fill us up with love! Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you today? (allow answers) I have some things that you may have seen before. (show funnel, pitcher) Can you tell me where you have seen these before? (allow answers) You have probably seen these in a kitchen! Who can tell me what a pitcher is used for? (allow answers) That's a pretty easy one. Pitchers are used to keep drinks, like Kool-aid or water, in. Pitchers usually have a spout like this (show spout on pitcher) to help you pour your water or juice more easily. Now let's talk about the funnel. Have any of you used a funnel before? (allow answers) What did you use it for? (allow answers) We use funnels to help pour things into tiny containers. Maybe you want to pour some water in a flower vase, but the opening of the vase is very tiny. You can put the funnel in the flower vase and pour water from the pitcher through the funnel. The water only goes into the vase through the funnel, and you won't have to worry about spilling water everywhere.
Our verse talks about something being poured into our hearts. It says: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us."
We can think of this verse by thinking about a pitcher and a funnel. The pitcher is God, who is big and full of love. Water is his love that he wants to fill us all with! We are like the vase with a narrow opening -- our hearts are very small compared to the size of God! The Holy Spirit is the funnel. God pours his love through the funnel of the Holy Spirit to make sure that we get enough love to fill us all the way up! If we are a flower vase, when we are full of love, then a beautiful flower -- or our beautiful, God-like actions -- can grow.
When we talk about God being a pitcher and the Holy Spirit as a funnel, we are using something called a metaphor. A metaphor is when we compare one thing to something else. In our metaphor today, we are comparing God to a pitcher, his love to water, the Holy Spirit to a funnel, and each of us to vases where beautiful flowers grow. Metaphors can help us understand Bible verses. Sometimes Bible verses even have metaphors in them! Next time you are reading or listening to a passage from the Bible, see if you can find any metaphors that are written to help people studying the Bible understand what it is trying to say. And remember that God wants to fill us up with love! Amen.
