Pieces of Silver
Children's sermon
Object:
30 silver coins.
Hi, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have a question for you this morning. Today is a special day in the church, and I’m wondering if anyone knows why it is so special? In fact, many people call today “Palm Sunday.” Does anyone know why they call it that? (Let them respond.) Well, on this morning many years ago, Jesus and his disciples went to Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday called Passover. There were a lot of people who had heard about Jesus, so when Jesus got to town there was a big crowd waiting for him. It probably looked a lot like the crowds we see today when someone famous shows up somewhere. Have you seen crowds like that? (Let them respond.)
There were so many people there Jesus and his disciples couldn’t walk down the road. So, do you know what they did? (Let them respond.) Right! One of the disciples went and found a donkey, and Jesus got on it and rode the donkey the rest of the way to town. I’ll bet that helped get people out of the way, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Everyone was just so excited to see Jesus they were shouting and cheering, and some of them picked up big leaves from the palm trees and started waving them in the air. And that’s why some people call it Palm Sunday, because of those palm branches. The crowd followed Jesus down the hill, just like a big parade was coming to town. It was a huge celebration — like a big party. Everyone was so happy to see Jesus coming to Jerusalem.
Well, not everyone was happy. Some of the leaders in Jerusalem didn’t like Jesus and didn’t like the things he was telling people. Jesus told them that God loved everyone, and those leaders didn’t agree with that. Jesus said that God loved poor people just as much as rich people, and those leaders did not agree with that because they were rich and thought they were better than everyone else. Jesus said that God loved people no matter where they were from, and those leaders did not agree with that either. The leaders were not only unhappy to see Jesus coming to town they were trying to figure out a way to get rid of him. But they couldn’t just go arrest Jesus because the crowds would stop them.
But then something happened. When the big parade got to town, one of Jesus’ own disciples, his name was Judas, left the crowd and went to talk to some of those leaders who didn’t like Jesus. Judas told the leaders that he might be willing to tell them where they could catch Jesus alone so they could get rid of him. That was a pretty bad thing to do, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.) Does anyone know what the leaders did? (Let them respond.) One of the leaders got out a little bag and dumped out thirty silver coins. (Pour the coins out where everyone can see them.) We aren’t sure exactly how much money “thirty pieces of silver” was, but if we had it here right now it wouldn’t even be enough to buy us an old PlayStation. But Judas took the coins and agreed to tell them when they could catch Jesus without the crowds with him. (Let them respond.) We don’t know for sure why Judas did it, but he did. He betrayed Jesus for a little bit of money.
Today is the beginning of a week some people call Holy Week. Today we remember Jesus coming to Jerusalem, and we also remember what Judas did when he got to town. On Thursday this week, we remember the night that Judas told the leaders where to find Jesus so they could go arrest him. On Friday, we remember the night Jesus was taken away and killed. And who can tell me what we will remember when we come back here again next Sunday? (Let them respond.)
Today is the beginning of a very special week, and I hope you will remember some of the special things that happened a long time ago. And I hope you will remember how much God loves everyone one of us, no matter who we are. And the best news is that even Judas and the nasty trick he played was not able to stop God from loving us all.
Let’s say a short prayer to ask God to help us remember that nothing can stop God from loving us.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
There were so many people there Jesus and his disciples couldn’t walk down the road. So, do you know what they did? (Let them respond.) Right! One of the disciples went and found a donkey, and Jesus got on it and rode the donkey the rest of the way to town. I’ll bet that helped get people out of the way, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Everyone was just so excited to see Jesus they were shouting and cheering, and some of them picked up big leaves from the palm trees and started waving them in the air. And that’s why some people call it Palm Sunday, because of those palm branches. The crowd followed Jesus down the hill, just like a big parade was coming to town. It was a huge celebration — like a big party. Everyone was so happy to see Jesus coming to Jerusalem.
Well, not everyone was happy. Some of the leaders in Jerusalem didn’t like Jesus and didn’t like the things he was telling people. Jesus told them that God loved everyone, and those leaders didn’t agree with that. Jesus said that God loved poor people just as much as rich people, and those leaders did not agree with that because they were rich and thought they were better than everyone else. Jesus said that God loved people no matter where they were from, and those leaders did not agree with that either. The leaders were not only unhappy to see Jesus coming to town they were trying to figure out a way to get rid of him. But they couldn’t just go arrest Jesus because the crowds would stop them.
But then something happened. When the big parade got to town, one of Jesus’ own disciples, his name was Judas, left the crowd and went to talk to some of those leaders who didn’t like Jesus. Judas told the leaders that he might be willing to tell them where they could catch Jesus alone so they could get rid of him. That was a pretty bad thing to do, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.) Does anyone know what the leaders did? (Let them respond.) One of the leaders got out a little bag and dumped out thirty silver coins. (Pour the coins out where everyone can see them.) We aren’t sure exactly how much money “thirty pieces of silver” was, but if we had it here right now it wouldn’t even be enough to buy us an old PlayStation. But Judas took the coins and agreed to tell them when they could catch Jesus without the crowds with him. (Let them respond.) We don’t know for sure why Judas did it, but he did. He betrayed Jesus for a little bit of money.
Today is the beginning of a week some people call Holy Week. Today we remember Jesus coming to Jerusalem, and we also remember what Judas did when he got to town. On Thursday this week, we remember the night that Judas told the leaders where to find Jesus so they could go arrest him. On Friday, we remember the night Jesus was taken away and killed. And who can tell me what we will remember when we come back here again next Sunday? (Let them respond.)
Today is the beginning of a very special week, and I hope you will remember some of the special things that happened a long time ago. And I hope you will remember how much God loves everyone one of us, no matter who we are. And the best news is that even Judas and the nasty trick he played was not able to stop God from loving us all.
Let’s say a short prayer to ask God to help us remember that nothing can stop God from loving us.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
