No beginning and no end
Children's sermon
Object:
a calendar for 1999
Good morning! Happy New Year! Today is the first day of a
brand-new year, and this year is a special one in that this will
be the last year that starts with 1900. What will next year start
with? (Let them answer.) Yes, that's right. Next year will start
with 2000.
Here is a brand-new calendar. (Show the calendar.) Now, here
is today's date, January 1, 1999. If we turn the calendar to
December, we can see that last day of the year will be December
31. Right now, that seems a long way off. How many days are there
in a year? (Let them answer.) Yes, there are 365 days in a year,
unless it's a leap year and then there are 366. But this year is
not a leap year so there are 365 days in 1999.
Now, I'd like to ask __________ a question. What year were
you born? (Let the child answer.) Okay, so we can count all the
days from the day you were born and know exactly how many days
you have been alive.
We know just when you began, but we don't know how long you
will live. If you live to be 100 years old, that will be in 20__.
Can we figure out when God began and when He will end? (Let
them answer.) No, of course we can't, because God had no
beginning and will have no end. He tells us that He is the
beginning AND the end, which is another way of saying that He has
always existed and will always exist. Now that's hard for you and
me to understand. We can't imagine how anything could have no
beginning and no end, but there are lots of things about God that
we can't understand until we get to Heaven. This is one of them.
It is good to know, though, that our God has always existed and
that He will always exist.
Dear Father in Heaven: We are so glad that You have always
existed and will always exist. No matter how many pages we turn
on our calendars, You will always be there, and we are so
thankful that this is true. Amen.
brand-new year, and this year is a special one in that this will
be the last year that starts with 1900. What will next year start
with? (Let them answer.) Yes, that's right. Next year will start
with 2000.
Here is a brand-new calendar. (Show the calendar.) Now, here
is today's date, January 1, 1999. If we turn the calendar to
December, we can see that last day of the year will be December
31. Right now, that seems a long way off. How many days are there
in a year? (Let them answer.) Yes, there are 365 days in a year,
unless it's a leap year and then there are 366. But this year is
not a leap year so there are 365 days in 1999.
Now, I'd like to ask __________ a question. What year were
you born? (Let the child answer.) Okay, so we can count all the
days from the day you were born and know exactly how many days
you have been alive.
We know just when you began, but we don't know how long you
will live. If you live to be 100 years old, that will be in 20__.
Can we figure out when God began and when He will end? (Let
them answer.) No, of course we can't, because God had no
beginning and will have no end. He tells us that He is the
beginning AND the end, which is another way of saying that He has
always existed and will always exist. Now that's hard for you and
me to understand. We can't imagine how anything could have no
beginning and no end, but there are lots of things about God that
we can't understand until we get to Heaven. This is one of them.
It is good to know, though, that our God has always existed and
that He will always exist.
Dear Father in Heaven: We are so glad that You have always
existed and will always exist. No matter how many pages we turn
on our calendars, You will always be there, and we are so
thankful that this is true. Amen.
