Sabbath laws
Children's sermon
Object:
a handbook of rules
"And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?" (v. 16)
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we're going to talk about rules. How many of you like rules? (allow answers) What rules do you have to follow? (allow answers) Rules can seem like they keep us from doing things that we want to do. Do your parents have rules like you can only eat one cookie at a time? Or that you have to go to bed at a certain time? Sometimes, you just want another cookie or ten more minutes!
What happens when you break a rule? (allow answers) Your parents or teachers probably have consequences for broken rules. Do you know what consequences are? (allow answers) Consequences are what happens because of something you do. If you do something good -- like your chores -- you will have good consequences. Maybe getting a sticker or staying up late one night. If you break rules, there are bad consequences. You might have to sit in time out or go to bed early.
If there are bad consequences to breaking rules, why do some people still break them? Can you think of a reason that someone would break a rule? If you have broken rules before, why did you do it? (allow answers) Sometimes people break rules because the rules are keeping them from something that they want. The rules may say you can only cross the street at the crosswalk, but you don't want to walk all that way. So you cross in the middle. You break the rule because it's convenient for you.
But there's another reason that people might break rules. Sometimes people break rules because the rules are hurting someone. Our Bible story today talks about a situation like that.
In Jesus' time, you were not to work on the sabbath. The sabbath was their Sunday -- a day to worship God. In our Bible story, Jesus gets in trouble for working on the sabbath. He breaks the rules by healing a woman who had been sick for years. The leaders of the church were angry because he worked -- healed this woman -- on the day of rest.
Jesus isn't breaking the rules just because it is convenient for him. Jesus healed the woman because it was the right thing to do. Jesus showed us that sometimes rules are made to be broken. If we are doing the right thing for the right reasons, sometimes we have to throw the rule book out the window. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Today we're going to talk about rules. How many of you like rules? (allow answers) What rules do you have to follow? (allow answers) Rules can seem like they keep us from doing things that we want to do. Do your parents have rules like you can only eat one cookie at a time? Or that you have to go to bed at a certain time? Sometimes, you just want another cookie or ten more minutes!
What happens when you break a rule? (allow answers) Your parents or teachers probably have consequences for broken rules. Do you know what consequences are? (allow answers) Consequences are what happens because of something you do. If you do something good -- like your chores -- you will have good consequences. Maybe getting a sticker or staying up late one night. If you break rules, there are bad consequences. You might have to sit in time out or go to bed early.
If there are bad consequences to breaking rules, why do some people still break them? Can you think of a reason that someone would break a rule? If you have broken rules before, why did you do it? (allow answers) Sometimes people break rules because the rules are keeping them from something that they want. The rules may say you can only cross the street at the crosswalk, but you don't want to walk all that way. So you cross in the middle. You break the rule because it's convenient for you.
But there's another reason that people might break rules. Sometimes people break rules because the rules are hurting someone. Our Bible story today talks about a situation like that.
In Jesus' time, you were not to work on the sabbath. The sabbath was their Sunday -- a day to worship God. In our Bible story, Jesus gets in trouble for working on the sabbath. He breaks the rules by healing a woman who had been sick for years. The leaders of the church were angry because he worked -- healed this woman -- on the day of rest.
Jesus isn't breaking the rules just because it is convenient for him. Jesus healed the woman because it was the right thing to do. Jesus showed us that sometimes rules are made to be broken. If we are doing the right thing for the right reasons, sometimes we have to throw the rule book out the window. Amen.
