The real number one
Children's sermon
Object:
a playing piece from a board game
Good morning, boys and girls. Do you like to play board games?
(Let them answer.) I brought one piece of the game (name the
board game) with me this morning. Have any of you ever played
this game? (Let them answer.) I really like to play this game. In
fact, I'd say that I'm really good at it. Are there games that
you are good at playing? (Let them answer.)
I want to tell you the story of some friends who enjoyed playing games. These friends were your age. They got together after school and on weekends. They really enjoyed playing games. Sometimes they would play (name some games that children like to play). Something happened, however, that ruined the game playing. They began to argue among themselves who was the best at playing these games. Once the friends were about to play a game, when one of the friends told the others, "I'm the best player of this game. I'm going to tell you right now that I'm going to win today." Then another friend said, "That's not true. I'm better at playing this game than anyone in this room. I'm going to win today." Then a third friend interrupted by saying, "No way. I'm the best player of this game. I'm the one who will win." These friends argued and argued all afternoon about who was the best player. Do you know that they never started playing the game? They were too busy arguing amongst themselves.
This story reminds me of today's lesson. In the lesson Jesus' disciples were arguing amongst themselves. They were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus heard them argue. He told them something very interesting about being number one. This is what I want you to remember about what Jesus said. Jesus said that there are some important things in being a good Christian. You must be humble. That means you shouldn't boast about being a great person. You must serve others, especially serve people who need help. This was difficult for the disciples to understand. Sometimes it's difficult for us to understand also. To be a good Christian we must be humble and serve people who need our help. That makes us good Christians.
I want to tell you the story of some friends who enjoyed playing games. These friends were your age. They got together after school and on weekends. They really enjoyed playing games. Sometimes they would play (name some games that children like to play). Something happened, however, that ruined the game playing. They began to argue among themselves who was the best at playing these games. Once the friends were about to play a game, when one of the friends told the others, "I'm the best player of this game. I'm going to tell you right now that I'm going to win today." Then another friend said, "That's not true. I'm better at playing this game than anyone in this room. I'm going to win today." Then a third friend interrupted by saying, "No way. I'm the best player of this game. I'm the one who will win." These friends argued and argued all afternoon about who was the best player. Do you know that they never started playing the game? They were too busy arguing amongst themselves.
This story reminds me of today's lesson. In the lesson Jesus' disciples were arguing amongst themselves. They were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus heard them argue. He told them something very interesting about being number one. This is what I want you to remember about what Jesus said. Jesus said that there are some important things in being a good Christian. You must be humble. That means you shouldn't boast about being a great person. You must serve others, especially serve people who need help. This was difficult for the disciples to understand. Sometimes it's difficult for us to understand also. To be a good Christian we must be humble and serve people who need our help. That makes us good Christians.
