Childrens Sermon Service

Object: A sewing needle, a larger, darning needle, and a stuffed animal. You could use a stuffed camel if you have one, but I used a stuffed bear.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent!

One day, Jesus was talking with a man about being good. Has anyone ever talked with you about being good? (Let them respond.) Maybe they said something like, “Now you be good while we’re gone!” Or “You be good to your sister!” Or “If you are good, we’ll stop and get something to eat!” Well, the man talking to Jesus was talking about being good. He said, “I know all of God’s rules and commandments, and I have followed all of them since I was a little boy!” It kind of sounds like he was bragging a little bit, doesn’t it? Jesus looked at the man and said, “Well then, if you are that good, there is just one more thing you need to do before you come and follow me. You need to take everything you own and sell it, and then give that money to people who are poor.” Do you know what the man did? (Let them respond.) He looked at Jesus, shook his head, and walked away. The man was a very rich man, and he just didn’t want to give up all of the things he owned.

Jesus looked at his friends and said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to get into heaven.”

It is easier to get a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for someone who is rich to do what God wants them to do. That sounds pretty hard, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) Just how hard it is to get a camel through the eye of a needle? I thought we would see if we could find out. (Get the small needle.) So, I brought a needle. (Get the stuffed animal.) I couldn’t find a camel, so I brought this bear instead. And since a bear is smaller than a camel, maybe it will be easier to get it through the eye of the needle. In fact, I’ll make it even a little easier. (Get the large needle.) Let’s use this needle instead. So, who wants to try putting this bear (show the bear) through the eye of this needle? (Show the needle. Have fun having a couple of children try putting the animal through the eye of the needle.) Putting a camel through the eye of a needle isn’t very easy, is it? (Let them respond.) So, it must be really hard for a rich person to do the things God wants them to do, huh? (Let them respond.)

So let me ask you a question. Do you remember the man who was bragging to Jesus about how good he had been? (Let them respond.) He told Jesus that he followed all of the old religious laws and rules, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) But what happened when Jesus asked him to sell his things and give the money to people who needed help? (Let them respond.) The man wouldn’t do it, would he? (Let them respond.) And it wasn’t because the man had a lot of things, but it was because the man cared more about his things than he did about people who needed help.

Being a good person is something that happens inside of us, as well as outside. It means that we follow the rules and do the things on the outside we are supposed to do. But it also means that, inside of our hearts, we truly care about other people and will do whatever we can do to help them when they need help. No matter how much money we might have, and no matter who those people might be, we care more about all of God’s children than we care about our stuff!

I hope our story will help us remember that God created us to take care of each other. Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.

Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.