Mighty Dog
Children's sermon
Object:
a dog collar
Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray." (v. 5)
Good morning, boys and girls. The other day I was sitting on my porch when a dog came into my yard. He wasn't a happy dog. I could tell that right away. Do you know how I knew the dog wasn't happy? (let them answer) That's right, his tail was not wagging. I also knew he was not an angry dog. Do you know how I knew that he was not mean or angry? (let them answer) That's right, he did not growl or bark at me. He just looked at me and when I invited him to come up next to me and be petted, he took his time, but finally came near and began to smell me.
He was a good looking dog. It appeared that someone must give him great care and must love him very much. Pretty soon, he sat down beside me and then he put his head into my lap. What a loving dog. Does anyone here have a dog like this dog? (let them answer) A lot of you have good and friendly dogs. When he put his head onto my lap, I noticed that he had a dog collar. I turned it around and found some dog tags. I could read his name perfectly. It said, "Mighty Dog." It also gave me the address of his home and the people's name and address where he lived.
Mighty Dog was really lost. His home was on the other side of town. After giving Mighty Dog something to eat and drink and brushing his back with a brush, I invited Mighty Dog to take a ride with me in my car. I drove until I found the street where he lived. Mighty Dog knew he was close to home and he began to bark, happy barks and to wag his tail. Pretty soon we were at Mighty Dog's house and I let him out of the car. He ran up on the porch and began to bark. Two boys came rushing out of the house and threw their arms around Mighty Dog. They laughed and loved him as much as they could. The boys' mother came out of the house and she was so glad to see him, also. She told me that Mighty Dog had been lost for three days. I asked her what had happened and she told me that the neighbors saw Mighty Dog follow another dog down the street and then out of sight. The other dog led Mighty Dog astray.
I knew exactly what happened because I know some people that are led astray. They come from a nice home where there is a lot of love, but they decide to follow someone else and pretty soon they have gone astray and are lost. They get involved in drugs and trouble and then they are too ashamed to come home.
Jesus told his disciples not to go astray. He said there would be other people come and tell them that they are like Jesus. They want the disciples to follow them. Evil spirits will do anything to lead us away from Jesus. But we are smarter than that, aren't we? (let them answer) We do not want to go astray from Jesus. We want to follow what he teaches us, pray for his love, and always stay with people who also love the Lord Jesus. If we do that, then we will never go astray. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. The other day I was sitting on my porch when a dog came into my yard. He wasn't a happy dog. I could tell that right away. Do you know how I knew the dog wasn't happy? (let them answer) That's right, his tail was not wagging. I also knew he was not an angry dog. Do you know how I knew that he was not mean or angry? (let them answer) That's right, he did not growl or bark at me. He just looked at me and when I invited him to come up next to me and be petted, he took his time, but finally came near and began to smell me.
He was a good looking dog. It appeared that someone must give him great care and must love him very much. Pretty soon, he sat down beside me and then he put his head into my lap. What a loving dog. Does anyone here have a dog like this dog? (let them answer) A lot of you have good and friendly dogs. When he put his head onto my lap, I noticed that he had a dog collar. I turned it around and found some dog tags. I could read his name perfectly. It said, "Mighty Dog." It also gave me the address of his home and the people's name and address where he lived.
Mighty Dog was really lost. His home was on the other side of town. After giving Mighty Dog something to eat and drink and brushing his back with a brush, I invited Mighty Dog to take a ride with me in my car. I drove until I found the street where he lived. Mighty Dog knew he was close to home and he began to bark, happy barks and to wag his tail. Pretty soon we were at Mighty Dog's house and I let him out of the car. He ran up on the porch and began to bark. Two boys came rushing out of the house and threw their arms around Mighty Dog. They laughed and loved him as much as they could. The boys' mother came out of the house and she was so glad to see him, also. She told me that Mighty Dog had been lost for three days. I asked her what had happened and she told me that the neighbors saw Mighty Dog follow another dog down the street and then out of sight. The other dog led Mighty Dog astray.
I knew exactly what happened because I know some people that are led astray. They come from a nice home where there is a lot of love, but they decide to follow someone else and pretty soon they have gone astray and are lost. They get involved in drugs and trouble and then they are too ashamed to come home.
Jesus told his disciples not to go astray. He said there would be other people come and tell them that they are like Jesus. They want the disciples to follow them. Evil spirits will do anything to lead us away from Jesus. But we are smarter than that, aren't we? (let them answer) We do not want to go astray from Jesus. We want to follow what he teaches us, pray for his love, and always stay with people who also love the Lord Jesus. If we do that, then we will never go astray. Amen.
