Luke 14:1, 7-14
Children's sermon
Object:
two objects -- one lightweight (such as a ping-pong ball)
and the other heavy (such as a heavy rubber ball)
Good morning. Today I want to give you a test: Which of these
would hit the ground first if I climbed up our bell tower (or on
the roof) and dropped them at the same time? (Let them answer.)
It seems like the object that is heaviest should hit the ground first. One day long ago a great scientist named Galileo suggested just such an experiment before the world's greatest thinkers. They all thought that a heavier object would hit the ground before a lighter one. They were wrong and Galileo proved it. What matters is not the weight of an object, but the resistance to air (friction) that an object has on its way down. A feather will hit the ground much later than a bowling ball! It does so because it has more wind resistance. But a small B-B will hit the ground at the same time as a very heavy bowling ball! It will do so because it has the same wind resistance. (Stand up and actually demonstrate this by dropping both objects.) The small object and the large object are equal.
Now, let me ask you a question: Which person is more important -- you or the President of the United States? You or me? The answer? In God's eyes, all of us are important!
One day some people attended a meeting where Jesus was present. Each one tried to get the most important seats. Jesus said they shouldn't do that because all people are important in God's eyes.
Dear Jesus: Thank you for making us important people even though we may not be as big as some or be able to do what adults can do. Amen.
It seems like the object that is heaviest should hit the ground first. One day long ago a great scientist named Galileo suggested just such an experiment before the world's greatest thinkers. They all thought that a heavier object would hit the ground before a lighter one. They were wrong and Galileo proved it. What matters is not the weight of an object, but the resistance to air (friction) that an object has on its way down. A feather will hit the ground much later than a bowling ball! It does so because it has more wind resistance. But a small B-B will hit the ground at the same time as a very heavy bowling ball! It will do so because it has the same wind resistance. (Stand up and actually demonstrate this by dropping both objects.) The small object and the large object are equal.
Now, let me ask you a question: Which person is more important -- you or the President of the United States? You or me? The answer? In God's eyes, all of us are important!
One day some people attended a meeting where Jesus was present. Each one tried to get the most important seats. Jesus said they shouldn't do that because all people are important in God's eyes.
Dear Jesus: Thank you for making us important people even though we may not be as big as some or be able to do what adults can do. Amen.
