Monopoly
Children's sermon
Object:
Monopoly money
"If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" (v. 11)
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you like to play board games? (allow answers) What kind of games do you like to play? (allow answers) Have you ever played the game Monopoly? (allow answers) Monopoly is a popular board game that is famous for taking a long time to play! The object of the game is to buy "properties" around the game board so that other players have to pay you "rent." Players use fake money like this. (show Monopoly money) It's called Monopoly money. One important player in the game is the "banker." The banker is a player who volunteers to handle the Monopoly money. The banker is in charge of handing out money that players might win on their turn and collecting money that players might lose on their turn. The player who is the banker has to be very honest! It would be easy for him or her to cheat. He or she could easily take extra Monopoly money for himself or herself, or they could over charge or under charge the other players.
If you were playing Monopoly with a banker who cheated, would you trust that person? (allow answers) Of course not! What if you needed someone to help manage your real life money? Would you trust the dishonest Monopoly banker with your real money? (allow answers) I sure wouldn't! If the player can't be honest with Monopoly money, which is just pieces of colored paper that are worthless outside of the game, then I wouldn't trust that person with money that had real value. In order to be trusted with big things, first you must be trustworthy with little things.
That is what our Bible verse is about today. Our verse says, "If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" This is an important lesson for us to remember when dealing with money. If we can manage small amounts of money reliably, people are more likely to trust us with large amounts of money. It's an important lesson for everyone to remember, no matter how old they are! But this lesson does not only apply to money. It applies to all aspects of our lives -- even our faith. If we cannot follow God in the little ways -- by telling the truth, by honoring our parents, and so on -- then we are less likely to follow God in the big ways. In order for people to trust us to do the right thing in the big picture, we have to do the right thing in little ways. Remember to follow God in the small ways, and he will trust us with bigger things! Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you like to play board games? (allow answers) What kind of games do you like to play? (allow answers) Have you ever played the game Monopoly? (allow answers) Monopoly is a popular board game that is famous for taking a long time to play! The object of the game is to buy "properties" around the game board so that other players have to pay you "rent." Players use fake money like this. (show Monopoly money) It's called Monopoly money. One important player in the game is the "banker." The banker is a player who volunteers to handle the Monopoly money. The banker is in charge of handing out money that players might win on their turn and collecting money that players might lose on their turn. The player who is the banker has to be very honest! It would be easy for him or her to cheat. He or she could easily take extra Monopoly money for himself or herself, or they could over charge or under charge the other players.
If you were playing Monopoly with a banker who cheated, would you trust that person? (allow answers) Of course not! What if you needed someone to help manage your real life money? Would you trust the dishonest Monopoly banker with your real money? (allow answers) I sure wouldn't! If the player can't be honest with Monopoly money, which is just pieces of colored paper that are worthless outside of the game, then I wouldn't trust that person with money that had real value. In order to be trusted with big things, first you must be trustworthy with little things.
That is what our Bible verse is about today. Our verse says, "If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches?" This is an important lesson for us to remember when dealing with money. If we can manage small amounts of money reliably, people are more likely to trust us with large amounts of money. It's an important lesson for everyone to remember, no matter how old they are! But this lesson does not only apply to money. It applies to all aspects of our lives -- even our faith. If we cannot follow God in the little ways -- by telling the truth, by honoring our parents, and so on -- then we are less likely to follow God in the big ways. In order for people to trust us to do the right thing in the big picture, we have to do the right thing in little ways. Remember to follow God in the small ways, and he will trust us with bigger things! Amen.
