Not everyone understands
Children's sermon
Object:
the phrase "Cristo me amo" written on a large paper
(Hold up the paper) Can anyone tell me what this says? (you may have a child who knows Spanish) I know what it says, because I know a little bit of Spanish. If you know Spanish, this is pretty easy. If you don't know Spanish, this probably looks like a bunch of nonsense. It says, "Jesus loves me." Cristo is "Jesus" -- the word kind of looks like "Christ," doesn't it? Amo is "loves." Me is just what it looks like: "me." It makes sense once you know how to look at it.
The message of Jesus Christ is kind of like a foreign language to some people. If you have decided to follow Jesus, then you understand the things he teaches. If you don't know Jesus, then his teaching probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Let me give you an example. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." We know that means we should treat others like we'd like to be treated -- even if others aren't always nice in return. If you don't know a whole lot about Jesus, you'd probably think that makes no sense. You might think, "Why should I be nice to people who are mean? If they're going to mean to me, I'm going to be mean to them."
Jesus was always teaching things and saying things that confused people. People didn't always understand the things he said. So, they tried to learn more about him. By spending time with him they began to understand him a little better and the things he taught began to make sense. The more time we spend with Jesus the better we will understand him too. We can learn his language, even if it seems strange to us now.
Prayer: Jesus, help us understand the things you say. Amen.
The message of Jesus Christ is kind of like a foreign language to some people. If you have decided to follow Jesus, then you understand the things he teaches. If you don't know Jesus, then his teaching probably doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Let me give you an example. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." We know that means we should treat others like we'd like to be treated -- even if others aren't always nice in return. If you don't know a whole lot about Jesus, you'd probably think that makes no sense. You might think, "Why should I be nice to people who are mean? If they're going to mean to me, I'm going to be mean to them."
Jesus was always teaching things and saying things that confused people. People didn't always understand the things he said. So, they tried to learn more about him. By spending time with him they began to understand him a little better and the things he taught began to make sense. The more time we spend with Jesus the better we will understand him too. We can learn his language, even if it seems strange to us now.
Prayer: Jesus, help us understand the things you say. Amen.
