Repent and believe
Children's sermon
Object:
a light switch
Good morning! Have you ever seen one of these? (Show the
switch and let them answer.) Yes, of course you have. You see
them every day in your home, here in the church, everywhere you
go. This is a light switch. When we turn it on the light comes
on.
Now, let's use our imagination a little. Let's say that this
switch is in your home, but instead of being connected to a
light, it's connected to a wire that leads to your mother and
father's bed. Every time you turn this switch on, they get a
shock if they are in bed. Do you think they would like that? (Let
them answer.) No, they surely wouldn't! In fact, they might get
angry about that.
So, let's say they find out that this is the switch that is
shocking them, and they know you are the one who turned it on.
Would you be sorry that you had done that? (Let them answer.)
Yes, but what if you didn't know that it was shocking them? You
just thought it was a light switch. Would they still punish you?
(Let them answer.) No, they wouldn't punish you if you didn't
know it was doing that. They would forgive you and ask you not to
do that again. Would that be good news? (Let them answer.)
Jesus tells us to repent and believe the good news that he
has for us. Repent means feeling sorry for our sins. In the
story, you didn't know that you had hurt your parents, but in
real life we sometimes do things that hurt God and we know that
they hurt God. When we are sorry for those sins, God gives us the
good news that we are forgiven. That's what Jesus means by
"repent and believe the good news." Let's thank him for that good
news.
Dear Jesus: We are so thankful that you tell us the good news
that we are forgiven when we repent and admit that we have
sinned. Amen.
switch and let them answer.) Yes, of course you have. You see
them every day in your home, here in the church, everywhere you
go. This is a light switch. When we turn it on the light comes
on.
Now, let's use our imagination a little. Let's say that this
switch is in your home, but instead of being connected to a
light, it's connected to a wire that leads to your mother and
father's bed. Every time you turn this switch on, they get a
shock if they are in bed. Do you think they would like that? (Let
them answer.) No, they surely wouldn't! In fact, they might get
angry about that.
So, let's say they find out that this is the switch that is
shocking them, and they know you are the one who turned it on.
Would you be sorry that you had done that? (Let them answer.)
Yes, but what if you didn't know that it was shocking them? You
just thought it was a light switch. Would they still punish you?
(Let them answer.) No, they wouldn't punish you if you didn't
know it was doing that. They would forgive you and ask you not to
do that again. Would that be good news? (Let them answer.)
Jesus tells us to repent and believe the good news that he
has for us. Repent means feeling sorry for our sins. In the
story, you didn't know that you had hurt your parents, but in
real life we sometimes do things that hurt God and we know that
they hurt God. When we are sorry for those sins, God gives us the
good news that we are forgiven. That's what Jesus means by
"repent and believe the good news." Let's thank him for that good
news.
Dear Jesus: We are so thankful that you tell us the good news
that we are forgiven when we repent and admit that we have
sinned. Amen.
