Now or later?
Children's sermon
Object:
a box of wrapped presents
... and said to him, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" (v. 3)
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you ever get tired of waiting for something to happen? (let them answer) Is anyone tired of waiting for Christmas? (let them answer) Why don't we just have Christmas this afternoon? You know what I mean, let's haul out the presents, tear away the paper, and open our Christmas presents. Does it sound like a good idea? (let them answer) Forget the Christmas tree and all of the decorations around the house. Most of them are up anyway, aren't they? Forget about the other children and their Christmas. When they have their Christmas, we will play with their gifts. Let's forget about Grandma and Grandpa coming over to the house. Let's give them a call and if they can make it, fine, but let's have our Christmas now. The Christmas dinner isn't any reason to wait. After all, we like peanut butter and jelly and we can have that for Christmas dinner. We don't care about the Christmas carols, Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Christmas cards, special candy, and all of those things. We just want our presents, and we are tired of waiting for something to come that is more than a week away. How many of you agree? Who doesn't want to wait? (let them answer)
There is something good about waiting, isn't there? We like it when our cousins come over to our house and we share each other's gifts. We love the turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. We really like being surprised by the things Grandpa and Grandma bring to our house. We even like to hear all of the people in church sing the great Christmas hymns, and we love the candlelight service when all of the lights are turned out and only the candles are lit. Most of all, we love to hear the Christmas story about the shepherds and the angels singing to them when they are out in the fields with their sheep. What about the inn being full and Joseph and Mary staying in a stable with a manger full of hay? Don't forget the Baby Jesus who sleeps in the hay. We really do think it is worth waiting for, don't we?
John the Baptist was a pretty impatient person, and he was a man of great action. He wondered what was taking Jesus so long to be recognized by all of the people as their king. John wanted Jesus to take action, but Jesus said it was worth the wait to heal the sick and make the deaf hear and bring the good news to the poor people. God has a plan, and part of it is waiting for just the right time that God has chosen for all of us.
I think you can wait a little longer. While you are waiting, enjoy Jesus being a part of your week. When the time is just right, you will celebrate with all of us the birth of the Baby Jesus into our world. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you ever get tired of waiting for something to happen? (let them answer) Is anyone tired of waiting for Christmas? (let them answer) Why don't we just have Christmas this afternoon? You know what I mean, let's haul out the presents, tear away the paper, and open our Christmas presents. Does it sound like a good idea? (let them answer) Forget the Christmas tree and all of the decorations around the house. Most of them are up anyway, aren't they? Forget about the other children and their Christmas. When they have their Christmas, we will play with their gifts. Let's forget about Grandma and Grandpa coming over to the house. Let's give them a call and if they can make it, fine, but let's have our Christmas now. The Christmas dinner isn't any reason to wait. After all, we like peanut butter and jelly and we can have that for Christmas dinner. We don't care about the Christmas carols, Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, Christmas cards, special candy, and all of those things. We just want our presents, and we are tired of waiting for something to come that is more than a week away. How many of you agree? Who doesn't want to wait? (let them answer)
There is something good about waiting, isn't there? We like it when our cousins come over to our house and we share each other's gifts. We love the turkey and mashed potatoes and gravy. We really like being surprised by the things Grandpa and Grandma bring to our house. We even like to hear all of the people in church sing the great Christmas hymns, and we love the candlelight service when all of the lights are turned out and only the candles are lit. Most of all, we love to hear the Christmas story about the shepherds and the angels singing to them when they are out in the fields with their sheep. What about the inn being full and Joseph and Mary staying in a stable with a manger full of hay? Don't forget the Baby Jesus who sleeps in the hay. We really do think it is worth waiting for, don't we?
John the Baptist was a pretty impatient person, and he was a man of great action. He wondered what was taking Jesus so long to be recognized by all of the people as their king. John wanted Jesus to take action, but Jesus said it was worth the wait to heal the sick and make the deaf hear and bring the good news to the poor people. God has a plan, and part of it is waiting for just the right time that God has chosen for all of us.
I think you can wait a little longer. While you are waiting, enjoy Jesus being a part of your week. When the time is just right, you will celebrate with all of us the birth of the Baby Jesus into our world. Amen.
