Nope!
Children's sermon
Object: This message includes a hand motion you will teach the children. To make the motion, just raise your two hands up about shoulder high, with your palms facing away from you. It looks like something you would to tell someone to stop moving. When you show the children the motion, ask them to do it with you to help them remember it better.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! This story is a short one, so let’s get started!
But before I tell you the story, I want to show you something. (Hold your hands up in the position.) Can anyone tell me what it means when I do this? (Let them respond.) Let’s pretend that I just said that you need to go in and clean your room, okay? (Let them respond.) And when I said that you just shook your head and told me you would just do it later. So, I raised my hands like this. (Show the position again.) What do you think it means when I do that? (Let them respond.) It means, “Nope! It is not okay if you do it later, but you need to do it now like I asked you to.” So, if I hold my hands up like this it means that we aren’t going to discuss something so you can choose what you want to do, but you need to do what I asked you to do. Does that make sense? (Let them respond.) Great. Now let’s hear our story.
One day, Jesus was walking with his friends and someone came to him and said, “I will follow you wherever you go!” Jesus looked at them and said, “That’s great. Come on and join my group of friends.” The person said, “Do you mean right now? Oh, I can’t do that. You need to wait until I finish some things I want to do at home, and then I will come and join you.” And what do you think Jesus did when the person said that? (Let them respond.) We know what Jesus said, and in my imagination, I think he raised his hands like this. (Show the hands position.) And then Jesus said, “Nope! If you want to follow me, then you need to follow me now. Either choose to follow me or choose to not follow me, but you can’t do both.”
Our story doesn’t tell us if the person followed Jesus or just went back home. What do you think the person did? (Let them respond.) Do you think it was a hard decision for them to make? (Let them respond.) It can sure be a hard decision for us to make. Jesus said that he wants us to all follow him and do what God wants us to do. And he said there were only two things that God wants us to do. Can anyone remember what those two things are that God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God wants us to love God, and to love each other. That’s all we need to do if we want to follow Jesus. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? (Let them respond.)
But sometimes, we try to argue with Jesus, and we tell him that we want to follow him, but he needs to wait until we do other things first. Sometimes we tell Jesus that before we follow him, we need to wait until we get even with someone first. We tell Jesus that we want to follow, but someone we don’t like makes us really angry and we want to go fight with them and punish them first. So, first, we need to go hurt those people, and then we will come and follow Jesus and do what Jesus said that God wants us to do.
And what do you think Jesus says when we tell him that? (Let them respond as you raise your hands into the position.) Jesus says, “Nope! If you want to follow me, then you need to follow me now. Either choose to follow me or choose to not follow me, but you can’t do both.”
Jesus did not come to us to make deals with us or to sit and wait for us while we do whatever we want to do first. Jesus came to show us what we need to do if we want to follow God. And what do we need to do? (Let them respond.) If we want to follow Jesus we need to love God, and we need to love each other. We don’t need to argue with Jesus about it, do we? (Let them respond.) We either love God and love each other, or we don’t. It is really simple.
I hope our story will help us remember that if we want to follow Jesus there are only two things we need to always remember to do. And what are those two things God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to love God, and to love and take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
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.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! This story is a short one, so let’s get started!
But before I tell you the story, I want to show you something. (Hold your hands up in the position.) Can anyone tell me what it means when I do this? (Let them respond.) Let’s pretend that I just said that you need to go in and clean your room, okay? (Let them respond.) And when I said that you just shook your head and told me you would just do it later. So, I raised my hands like this. (Show the position again.) What do you think it means when I do that? (Let them respond.) It means, “Nope! It is not okay if you do it later, but you need to do it now like I asked you to.” So, if I hold my hands up like this it means that we aren’t going to discuss something so you can choose what you want to do, but you need to do what I asked you to do. Does that make sense? (Let them respond.) Great. Now let’s hear our story.
One day, Jesus was walking with his friends and someone came to him and said, “I will follow you wherever you go!” Jesus looked at them and said, “That’s great. Come on and join my group of friends.” The person said, “Do you mean right now? Oh, I can’t do that. You need to wait until I finish some things I want to do at home, and then I will come and join you.” And what do you think Jesus did when the person said that? (Let them respond.) We know what Jesus said, and in my imagination, I think he raised his hands like this. (Show the hands position.) And then Jesus said, “Nope! If you want to follow me, then you need to follow me now. Either choose to follow me or choose to not follow me, but you can’t do both.”
Our story doesn’t tell us if the person followed Jesus or just went back home. What do you think the person did? (Let them respond.) Do you think it was a hard decision for them to make? (Let them respond.) It can sure be a hard decision for us to make. Jesus said that he wants us to all follow him and do what God wants us to do. And he said there were only two things that God wants us to do. Can anyone remember what those two things are that God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God wants us to love God, and to love each other. That’s all we need to do if we want to follow Jesus. That doesn’t sound too bad, does it? (Let them respond.)
But sometimes, we try to argue with Jesus, and we tell him that we want to follow him, but he needs to wait until we do other things first. Sometimes we tell Jesus that before we follow him, we need to wait until we get even with someone first. We tell Jesus that we want to follow, but someone we don’t like makes us really angry and we want to go fight with them and punish them first. So, first, we need to go hurt those people, and then we will come and follow Jesus and do what Jesus said that God wants us to do.
And what do you think Jesus says when we tell him that? (Let them respond as you raise your hands into the position.) Jesus says, “Nope! If you want to follow me, then you need to follow me now. Either choose to follow me or choose to not follow me, but you can’t do both.”
Jesus did not come to us to make deals with us or to sit and wait for us while we do whatever we want to do first. Jesus came to show us what we need to do if we want to follow God. And what do we need to do? (Let them respond.) If we want to follow Jesus we need to love God, and we need to love each other. We don’t need to argue with Jesus about it, do we? (Let them respond.) We either love God and love each other, or we don’t. It is really simple.
I hope our story will help us remember that if we want to follow Jesus there are only two things we need to always remember to do. And what are those two things God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to love God, and to love and take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
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.
