No roots
Children's sermon
Object:
some rocks, some brown grass
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and
immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for
a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person
immediately falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21)
Good morning, boys and girls. Jesus had a way of telling people stories they could never forget. One day he told his disciples about the differences in people. He was not talking about young people and old people or white people and brown people. He was talking about the way they were different toward God. He told them about it in a different way. He compared a man to a seed and the kind of ground in which that seed will or won't grow. One of the types of ground that he mentioned was rocky ground. (show them the rocks) Do any of you have rocks in your yard? (let them answer) A lot of people have rocks in their yards. You can tell where a rock is because instead of grass you will see dirt. Maybe not in the spring when there is a lot of rain and someone has put grass seed in the yard. As a matter of fact, Jesus talks about that kind of ground. He says if you put seed on dirt that has a rock under the ground where you can't see it, the grass will grow fast. That's because the seed is very close to the top of the ground because a rock is holding it up. But the grass can't grow any roots and it soon dies. (show them the brown grass)
Jesus said there are people like that kind of ground with rocks in it. They come to church and Sunday school every time the door opens. They seem to be filled with joy and they talk about Jesus and sing songs about Jesus and they just love being with other Christians. But they don't read their Bibles and they don't pray to Jesus and they find it hard to forgive people for all of the things that may have happened a long time ago. It doesn't take long and they quit coming to church and Sunday school and they don't really seem happy and they forget the songs. Those are the kind of people who are like rocky ground.
Being a Christian doesn't mean to love God for a couple of weeks. Being a Christian is for a whole lifetime. You read your Bible every day, you pray every day, and you come to church and share your life with other Christians every week. You stick with God when you have bad days just like when you have good days. You share with others all of the time and when some people who you have been sharing with have all that they need, you find someone else to share with and help them as much as you can.
We don't want to be rocky-ground Christians. We want to be the kind of Christians who live in the good soil where we will grow with Jesus every day of our lives and know the joy that God gives us. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. Jesus had a way of telling people stories they could never forget. One day he told his disciples about the differences in people. He was not talking about young people and old people or white people and brown people. He was talking about the way they were different toward God. He told them about it in a different way. He compared a man to a seed and the kind of ground in which that seed will or won't grow. One of the types of ground that he mentioned was rocky ground. (show them the rocks) Do any of you have rocks in your yard? (let them answer) A lot of people have rocks in their yards. You can tell where a rock is because instead of grass you will see dirt. Maybe not in the spring when there is a lot of rain and someone has put grass seed in the yard. As a matter of fact, Jesus talks about that kind of ground. He says if you put seed on dirt that has a rock under the ground where you can't see it, the grass will grow fast. That's because the seed is very close to the top of the ground because a rock is holding it up. But the grass can't grow any roots and it soon dies. (show them the brown grass)
Jesus said there are people like that kind of ground with rocks in it. They come to church and Sunday school every time the door opens. They seem to be filled with joy and they talk about Jesus and sing songs about Jesus and they just love being with other Christians. But they don't read their Bibles and they don't pray to Jesus and they find it hard to forgive people for all of the things that may have happened a long time ago. It doesn't take long and they quit coming to church and Sunday school and they don't really seem happy and they forget the songs. Those are the kind of people who are like rocky ground.
Being a Christian doesn't mean to love God for a couple of weeks. Being a Christian is for a whole lifetime. You read your Bible every day, you pray every day, and you come to church and share your life with other Christians every week. You stick with God when you have bad days just like when you have good days. You share with others all of the time and when some people who you have been sharing with have all that they need, you find someone else to share with and help them as much as you can.
We don't want to be rocky-ground Christians. We want to be the kind of Christians who live in the good soil where we will grow with Jesus every day of our lives and know the joy that God gives us. Amen.
