One grain
Children's sermon
Object:
a small seed (and small packages of seeds the children
can plant -- flower seeds would be appropriate)
Today I brought with me some words. They are the words
Jesus spoke to his followers. He said, "Unless a grain of wheat
falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit." Now what do you think he
meant? (Let them answer.)
Look at this grain. (Show it to them.) It doesn't seem to have much life, does it? It isn't green. It doesn't move. It just sits there -- like something that's dead. But what happens if I take this grain and put it in the ground? (Let them answer.) It starts to grow. It becomes a plant and produces many, many more grains like this. This one grain then becomes hundreds of grains.
Why do you think Jesus told his followers about the grain? (Let them answer.) Jesus was talking about himself and how he, like the grain, must die and be buried. Jesus also was put in the earth -- in a grave. And what happened after he died and was buried? (Let them answer.) He rose again. In the beginning there was just Jesus and then his followers and now there are hundreds of millions of us! That one grain became great!
I don't think Jesus' followers understood what he was talking about then because when Jesus died, they totally forgot what he had said about rising from the grave. We know what happened because we know that Easter followed Good Friday. Just two weeks from today we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. Because Jesus was like a seed that died and was buried, he rose from the grave to life -- like a plant that produced many seeds.
I have some flower seeds I want to give you to help you remember what we talked about here today. Later this spring you can plant them and remember how they look now and how you had to bury them and yet they rose from the ground to produce beautiful flowers.
Dearest Lord Jesus: Thank you for dying and rising again. Amen.
Look at this grain. (Show it to them.) It doesn't seem to have much life, does it? It isn't green. It doesn't move. It just sits there -- like something that's dead. But what happens if I take this grain and put it in the ground? (Let them answer.) It starts to grow. It becomes a plant and produces many, many more grains like this. This one grain then becomes hundreds of grains.
Why do you think Jesus told his followers about the grain? (Let them answer.) Jesus was talking about himself and how he, like the grain, must die and be buried. Jesus also was put in the earth -- in a grave. And what happened after he died and was buried? (Let them answer.) He rose again. In the beginning there was just Jesus and then his followers and now there are hundreds of millions of us! That one grain became great!
I don't think Jesus' followers understood what he was talking about then because when Jesus died, they totally forgot what he had said about rising from the grave. We know what happened because we know that Easter followed Good Friday. Just two weeks from today we celebrate the fact that Jesus rose from the grave. Because Jesus was like a seed that died and was buried, he rose from the grave to life -- like a plant that produced many seeds.
I have some flower seeds I want to give you to help you remember what we talked about here today. Later this spring you can plant them and remember how they look now and how you had to bury them and yet they rose from the ground to produce beautiful flowers.
Dearest Lord Jesus: Thank you for dying and rising again. Amen.
