New life in God
Children's sermon
Object:
two fish in plastic bags, a fishbowl filled with water and sand in the
bottom, decorations to put inside the fishbowl
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be
united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:5)
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever had a pet fish? (let them answer) When I was growing up, we had a backyard cement pond with goldfish in it. We also had a fountain and sometimes the fountain worked and sometimes it did not work. When the pump in the pond wasn't working, we had to work hard to keep it clean.
Today, I brought two goldfish and a fishbowl. They both are living in the same kind of water but that is all that is in my fishbowl. I thought that we might do something that will make the fish a lot happier and try and dress up our fishbowl. Last night I put some sand in the bowl so that we can add these little items like my castle and a couple of pretty rocks and a water plant. (let the children choose what to put in first and where to put it)
That looks good doesn't it? Now we are going to add the fish. We want to put in one fish at a time. (take one of the fish and pour it into the bowl) I wonder if we could pretend that this fish was Jesus for just a moment. Our Jesus fish is in the water with the sand on the bottom and our castle and plant and rocks. Our other fish is still in the plastic bag. I am going to call the other fish, "Us." Have you ever heard of someone named "Us"? I haven't either but Us is the name of the fish. Remember that Jesus is already in the bowl with the sand, the castle, the rocks, and the plant. We are going to take Us and pour Us out of the bag and into the fishbowl with Jesus. Jesus and Us are swimming around. They are together and will be together forever.
I hope that you will understand this. I need you to try hard to hear what I am saying. When Jesus died, he really died, and when he was resurrected, he was given a new life, a real life. When Jesus was in this plastic bag and Us was in a different plastic bag, they were in different places. They lived differently. One plastic bag had warmer water and was placed in the light. The other bag had colder water and was placed in darkness. Then Jesus was put into the bowl with sand, castles, rocks, and plants. Us didn't have any of those things. Then we poured Us into the same bowl with Jesus and now they share exactly the same things.
When Jesus was given a new life in the resurrection, we were also promised the same life. That is why Us is in the same bowl with Jesus. We both died because of sin and we both will live a new life in God.
I am going to keep Us and Jesus in my office so if you want to stop in and visit with Jesus and Us we will be glad to see you. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever had a pet fish? (let them answer) When I was growing up, we had a backyard cement pond with goldfish in it. We also had a fountain and sometimes the fountain worked and sometimes it did not work. When the pump in the pond wasn't working, we had to work hard to keep it clean.
Today, I brought two goldfish and a fishbowl. They both are living in the same kind of water but that is all that is in my fishbowl. I thought that we might do something that will make the fish a lot happier and try and dress up our fishbowl. Last night I put some sand in the bowl so that we can add these little items like my castle and a couple of pretty rocks and a water plant. (let the children choose what to put in first and where to put it)
That looks good doesn't it? Now we are going to add the fish. We want to put in one fish at a time. (take one of the fish and pour it into the bowl) I wonder if we could pretend that this fish was Jesus for just a moment. Our Jesus fish is in the water with the sand on the bottom and our castle and plant and rocks. Our other fish is still in the plastic bag. I am going to call the other fish, "Us." Have you ever heard of someone named "Us"? I haven't either but Us is the name of the fish. Remember that Jesus is already in the bowl with the sand, the castle, the rocks, and the plant. We are going to take Us and pour Us out of the bag and into the fishbowl with Jesus. Jesus and Us are swimming around. They are together and will be together forever.
I hope that you will understand this. I need you to try hard to hear what I am saying. When Jesus died, he really died, and when he was resurrected, he was given a new life, a real life. When Jesus was in this plastic bag and Us was in a different plastic bag, they were in different places. They lived differently. One plastic bag had warmer water and was placed in the light. The other bag had colder water and was placed in darkness. Then Jesus was put into the bowl with sand, castles, rocks, and plants. Us didn't have any of those things. Then we poured Us into the same bowl with Jesus and now they share exactly the same things.
When Jesus was given a new life in the resurrection, we were also promised the same life. That is why Us is in the same bowl with Jesus. We both died because of sin and we both will live a new life in God.
I am going to keep Us and Jesus in my office so if you want to stop in and visit with Jesus and Us we will be glad to see you. Amen.
