Party Rules
Children's sermon
Object: A small card with the words “I CARE!” printed in big letters on one side to give to each child. Business card sized or index card sized works well.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But before we begin, I need to tell you that this story sounds kind of a mystery. Some people think it is a little confusing, but let’s see if we can figure it out, okay? (Let them respond.) This is a story Jesus told one day when some of the Pharisees came to try and trick him and make him stop telling people about God. Do you remember the Pharisees? (Let them respond.) They thought they were special and that God loved them more than anyone else.
Jesus said that one day, an important king was going to have a big party for his son’s wedding. Now, most of the time, if a king has a big party, who do they usually invite to come? (Let them respond.) They usually invite other kings and queens, and other well-known, important people, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Well, this time, the king decided to do something different, and he said that anyone who wanted to come to the party could come. The king invited everybody in the entire land to come to his party. It didn’t matter who you were; the king wanted you to come to be with him at his party.
So, when the party started, people came from all over the land to be there. It was a big party and the king walked around talking to all of the people and telling them how happy he was that they had come to his party. They were all having a great time! When they saw the king, they said things like, “Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty!” and “This is a wonderful party, Your Majesty!” and things like that.
But then the king saw a man that made him angry and he walked over to talk to him. He said to the man, “How did you get in here?” and told his servants to throw the man out of the party. And they did.
That’s the mysterious and confusing part of the story. If the king said that anyone could come to his party, why did he make this one man leave? (Let them respond.) That doesn’t sound very fair, does it? (Let them respond.) Let’s see if we can figure out what happened.
The king said that anyone could come to his son’s wedding party, but everyone who went to the party had to follow the rules. One of the rules was that you had to wear special wedding clothes. Sometimes when you go to a party, you dress up a bit, too, don’t you? (Let them respond.) You dress up just to show how special you think the party is. Wedding clothes weren’t expensive, so everyone at the king’s party had wedding clothes. But this one man just decided to not wear his to the king’s party. He came to the party, but he did not follow the rules, did he? (Let them respond.) So, the king did not let him stay at the party.
When Jesus finished telling everyone this story, he looked at everyone and said, “Many people are invited, but few are chosen.” He told them that everyone was invited to follow God, but if you are going to stay with God, you need to follow the rules. And does anyone remember what Jesus told us was the most important rule if we want to follow God? (Let them respond as you hand out the cards.) Let’s see if these little cards might help us remember that rule.
What do our cards say? (Let them respond.) They say, “I care!” don’t they? But there are two ways we can carry our cards, aren’t there? (Let them respond.) We can carry it like this. (Have everyone show the blank side of the card.) This way we don’t show other people that we care. Or we can carry it like this. (Have everyone show the printed side of the card.) Or we can carry it like this and show other people how much we care about them.
Now, if we want to follow God and stay at God’s party, do you think God wants us to hide that we care about other people? (Show the blank side of the card.) Or does God want us to show everyone that we care about other people? (Show the printed side of the card.)
Maybe our little cards will help remind us that if we want to follow Jesus, we need to follow God’s rules and take care of each other the same way that Jesus takes care of us.
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! But before we begin, I need to tell you that this story sounds kind of a mystery. Some people think it is a little confusing, but let’s see if we can figure it out, okay? (Let them respond.) This is a story Jesus told one day when some of the Pharisees came to try and trick him and make him stop telling people about God. Do you remember the Pharisees? (Let them respond.) They thought they were special and that God loved them more than anyone else.
Jesus said that one day, an important king was going to have a big party for his son’s wedding. Now, most of the time, if a king has a big party, who do they usually invite to come? (Let them respond.) They usually invite other kings and queens, and other well-known, important people, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Well, this time, the king decided to do something different, and he said that anyone who wanted to come to the party could come. The king invited everybody in the entire land to come to his party. It didn’t matter who you were; the king wanted you to come to be with him at his party.
So, when the party started, people came from all over the land to be there. It was a big party and the king walked around talking to all of the people and telling them how happy he was that they had come to his party. They were all having a great time! When they saw the king, they said things like, “Thank you for inviting us, Your Majesty!” and “This is a wonderful party, Your Majesty!” and things like that.
But then the king saw a man that made him angry and he walked over to talk to him. He said to the man, “How did you get in here?” and told his servants to throw the man out of the party. And they did.
That’s the mysterious and confusing part of the story. If the king said that anyone could come to his party, why did he make this one man leave? (Let them respond.) That doesn’t sound very fair, does it? (Let them respond.) Let’s see if we can figure out what happened.
The king said that anyone could come to his son’s wedding party, but everyone who went to the party had to follow the rules. One of the rules was that you had to wear special wedding clothes. Sometimes when you go to a party, you dress up a bit, too, don’t you? (Let them respond.) You dress up just to show how special you think the party is. Wedding clothes weren’t expensive, so everyone at the king’s party had wedding clothes. But this one man just decided to not wear his to the king’s party. He came to the party, but he did not follow the rules, did he? (Let them respond.) So, the king did not let him stay at the party.
When Jesus finished telling everyone this story, he looked at everyone and said, “Many people are invited, but few are chosen.” He told them that everyone was invited to follow God, but if you are going to stay with God, you need to follow the rules. And does anyone remember what Jesus told us was the most important rule if we want to follow God? (Let them respond as you hand out the cards.) Let’s see if these little cards might help us remember that rule.
What do our cards say? (Let them respond.) They say, “I care!” don’t they? But there are two ways we can carry our cards, aren’t there? (Let them respond.) We can carry it like this. (Have everyone show the blank side of the card.) This way we don’t show other people that we care. Or we can carry it like this. (Have everyone show the printed side of the card.) Or we can carry it like this and show other people how much we care about them.
Now, if we want to follow God and stay at God’s party, do you think God wants us to hide that we care about other people? (Show the blank side of the card.) Or does God want us to show everyone that we care about other people? (Show the printed side of the card.)
Maybe our little cards will help remind us that if we want to follow Jesus, we need to follow God’s rules and take care of each other the same way that Jesus takes care of us.
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.
