Pleasing the crowd
Children's sermon
Object:
a baseball bat
And he [Jesus] said, "Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the
prophet's hometown." (v. 24)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like baseball? (let them answer) Baseball is my favorite sport. I love to watch a game played on beautiful, well-taken-care-of fields. I like to hear the umpires call balls and strikes and see good athletes doing amazing things with their hands, arms, and legs.
I remember when Hank Aaron was going to break the record of the great Babe Ruth. Aaron had tied the record a day or so before and wanted to hit the record-breaking homerun in Atlanta where he played for many years as part of the Braves.
Hank Aaron said trying to hit his 715th homerun in Atlanta was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He told the writers after the game that he was not sure if he could swing the bat. His hands were filled with perspiration and the bat felt like it weighed 100 pounds. He could see all of the faces in the stands looking at him. He thought what they might do if he struck out three or four times in the game. He thought he might never hit another homerun because he was getting older.
When he came to bat there were loud cheers, but he had heard that quickly change before. If he struck out or hit a weak pop fly, the people would be disappointed and some might even "boo" him. These people had paid to see him hit the homerun that would break the record on the night that they were there. They couldn't buy a ticket every day. They had to work, and tickets cost a lot of money. All of these things were running through his mind as he waited on-deck. After all, he was not Superman. He had a mother and father just like the people there. It wasn't easy to get to the major leagues, and he knew it.
Jesus found himself in this position when he read the scriptures in the synagogue. When Jesus said that he was the one spoken about in the scriptures the people began to talk nasty. They said, "Who does Jesus think he is? We know his father, Joseph, and mother, Mary. We know his brothers and what kind of a carpenter he was when he lived here." The crowds started to get louder and they forced him out of the temple. People that he had grown up with were pushing him toward a cliff where they wanted to throw him over.
Now Hank Aaron knew he was not Babe Ruth. He was Hank Aaron and when it was his turn to bat, he walked up to the batter's box and hit one of the first pitches for a homerun. Not everyone liked him beating the Babe, but he did it.
Jesus was not thrown over the cliff, either. When they had pushed him as far as he could go, he just stepped forward and walked through the crowd to safety.
Sometimes we are better received by people that do not know us than we are with the people who have always known us. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like baseball? (let them answer) Baseball is my favorite sport. I love to watch a game played on beautiful, well-taken-care-of fields. I like to hear the umpires call balls and strikes and see good athletes doing amazing things with their hands, arms, and legs.
I remember when Hank Aaron was going to break the record of the great Babe Ruth. Aaron had tied the record a day or so before and wanted to hit the record-breaking homerun in Atlanta where he played for many years as part of the Braves.
Hank Aaron said trying to hit his 715th homerun in Atlanta was the hardest thing he ever had to do. He told the writers after the game that he was not sure if he could swing the bat. His hands were filled with perspiration and the bat felt like it weighed 100 pounds. He could see all of the faces in the stands looking at him. He thought what they might do if he struck out three or four times in the game. He thought he might never hit another homerun because he was getting older.
When he came to bat there were loud cheers, but he had heard that quickly change before. If he struck out or hit a weak pop fly, the people would be disappointed and some might even "boo" him. These people had paid to see him hit the homerun that would break the record on the night that they were there. They couldn't buy a ticket every day. They had to work, and tickets cost a lot of money. All of these things were running through his mind as he waited on-deck. After all, he was not Superman. He had a mother and father just like the people there. It wasn't easy to get to the major leagues, and he knew it.
Jesus found himself in this position when he read the scriptures in the synagogue. When Jesus said that he was the one spoken about in the scriptures the people began to talk nasty. They said, "Who does Jesus think he is? We know his father, Joseph, and mother, Mary. We know his brothers and what kind of a carpenter he was when he lived here." The crowds started to get louder and they forced him out of the temple. People that he had grown up with were pushing him toward a cliff where they wanted to throw him over.
Now Hank Aaron knew he was not Babe Ruth. He was Hank Aaron and when it was his turn to bat, he walked up to the batter's box and hit one of the first pitches for a homerun. Not everyone liked him beating the Babe, but he did it.
Jesus was not thrown over the cliff, either. When they had pushed him as far as he could go, he just stepped forward and walked through the crowd to safety.
Sometimes we are better received by people that do not know us than we are with the people who have always known us. Amen.
