Marking time
Children's sermon
Object:
paper and stone
Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (v. 31)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we're going to talk about special events. What are some special events in a person's life? (allow answers) There are lots of special things that happen in our lives. Probably the most important one is being born!
What happens when someone is born? (allow answers) Usually when a baby is born, the baby's family sends out birth announcements -- announcements written on paper that they send to their friends and family to tell them about the new baby in their family. How long does paper last? (allow answers) It can last a lot of years but it doesn't last forever. It's really easy for paper to be damaged, ruined, or destroyed.
Another important date in a person's life is written on something that lasts longer. Birth is the beginning of our lives and the end of our lives is death. When someone dies, what do we do? (allow answers) When someone dies, usually we bury them in a cemetery. We put a gravestone by their body. We carve their name and their age into the stone. How long does stone last? (allow answers) It sure lasts longer than paper! It's much harder to destroy stone than it is to destroy paper. Sometimes wind, rain, or weeds can crack and erase a tombstone. Sometimes the name on a tombstone is completely rubbed away in a few decades.
Birth announcements and tombstones fade after time. After 100 years, a birth announcement or a tombstone might be forgotten. There is one birth that we still remember, even thousands of years later. In fact, today we are getting ready to celebrate that birth. Does anyone know who I am talking about? (allow answers)
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the time in the church when we prepare to celebrate the birth of that special baby. That special baby is Jesus! Jesus' birth announcement, the Bible, has been passed down, translated, copied, and learned for thousands of years. It will never pass away. The Bible tells us that everything on earth may pass away -- may be destroyed, erased, rubbed out, or forgotten -- except for God's word. Jesus is God's word. Jesus brought us the good news that we are saved from sin and that we are saved by God's love. It is a love that we cannot earn, that we cannot lose. It is a love that brings us close to God and makes us his beloved children. We can write that on paper, on stone, or on anything we want to because the place where it is really written is in our hearts. And that is the most important place of all. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we're going to talk about special events. What are some special events in a person's life? (allow answers) There are lots of special things that happen in our lives. Probably the most important one is being born!
What happens when someone is born? (allow answers) Usually when a baby is born, the baby's family sends out birth announcements -- announcements written on paper that they send to their friends and family to tell them about the new baby in their family. How long does paper last? (allow answers) It can last a lot of years but it doesn't last forever. It's really easy for paper to be damaged, ruined, or destroyed.
Another important date in a person's life is written on something that lasts longer. Birth is the beginning of our lives and the end of our lives is death. When someone dies, what do we do? (allow answers) When someone dies, usually we bury them in a cemetery. We put a gravestone by their body. We carve their name and their age into the stone. How long does stone last? (allow answers) It sure lasts longer than paper! It's much harder to destroy stone than it is to destroy paper. Sometimes wind, rain, or weeds can crack and erase a tombstone. Sometimes the name on a tombstone is completely rubbed away in a few decades.
Birth announcements and tombstones fade after time. After 100 years, a birth announcement or a tombstone might be forgotten. There is one birth that we still remember, even thousands of years later. In fact, today we are getting ready to celebrate that birth. Does anyone know who I am talking about? (allow answers)
Today is the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the time in the church when we prepare to celebrate the birth of that special baby. That special baby is Jesus! Jesus' birth announcement, the Bible, has been passed down, translated, copied, and learned for thousands of years. It will never pass away. The Bible tells us that everything on earth may pass away -- may be destroyed, erased, rubbed out, or forgotten -- except for God's word. Jesus is God's word. Jesus brought us the good news that we are saved from sin and that we are saved by God's love. It is a love that we cannot earn, that we cannot lose. It is a love that brings us close to God and makes us his beloved children. We can write that on paper, on stone, or on anything we want to because the place where it is really written is in our hearts. And that is the most important place of all. Amen.
