Salutations
Children's sermon
Object:
a letter
"To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." (vv. 5b-6)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today is the second Sunday of Easter. One week ago we celebrated that Jesus rose from the dead, and we are still celebrating!
Today we are going to talk about letters. How many of you have ever written a letter? (allow answers) Today, people usually write emails instead of writing letters. Before the internet, people used to get all their messages through the mail! When you write a letter, how do you start? (allow answers) You start with "Dear so-and-so…" Do you know what that introduction is called? (allow answers) It's called a "salutation." "Salutation" is a fancy word for "greeting."
Have you ever seen the cartoon movie Charlotte's Web? (allow answers) The movie is about a pig, Wilbur, who makes friends with a spider, Charlotte. When Wilbur first meets Charlotte, she says, "Saluations!" Throughout the movie, that is how Wilbur and Charlotte often greet each other. Saluations!
Can you think of any other salutations, or greeting words? (allow answers) Many words can be salutations. Hello, hi, hey, how are you. Our reading today is the salutation to a letter, but it doesn't sound like any of those words. Instead, the salutation to this letter is actually a prayer. It says, "to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." That is only one verse from the salutation!
The person who wrote that letter wanted to praise God when he was writing it. He knew that you don't just have to be in church to praise God, and sometimes the best way to praise God is in little ways. The author of the letter put his praises to God in the opening of a letter. Two thousand years later, we are still reading that letter and giving praise to God because of it! Isn't that amazing? Because this person was praising God while doing something small like writing a letter, his letter is still being read long after the writer is gone.
The author of the letter could have written "Dear so-and-so" and gone on with what he had to say. He put in a little bit of extra effort for God. Just like him, we can put in a little extra effort in our everyday lives. It doesn't take much to say, "God bless you" at the end of a letter, or to write it in a card to someone, but it is a way to praise God and to remind the other person that someone much bigger than either of you -- God! -- is looking out for them. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today is the second Sunday of Easter. One week ago we celebrated that Jesus rose from the dead, and we are still celebrating!
Today we are going to talk about letters. How many of you have ever written a letter? (allow answers) Today, people usually write emails instead of writing letters. Before the internet, people used to get all their messages through the mail! When you write a letter, how do you start? (allow answers) You start with "Dear so-and-so…" Do you know what that introduction is called? (allow answers) It's called a "salutation." "Salutation" is a fancy word for "greeting."
Have you ever seen the cartoon movie Charlotte's Web? (allow answers) The movie is about a pig, Wilbur, who makes friends with a spider, Charlotte. When Wilbur first meets Charlotte, she says, "Saluations!" Throughout the movie, that is how Wilbur and Charlotte often greet each other. Saluations!
Can you think of any other salutations, or greeting words? (allow answers) Many words can be salutations. Hello, hi, hey, how are you. Our reading today is the salutation to a letter, but it doesn't sound like any of those words. Instead, the salutation to this letter is actually a prayer. It says, "to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever." That is only one verse from the salutation!
The person who wrote that letter wanted to praise God when he was writing it. He knew that you don't just have to be in church to praise God, and sometimes the best way to praise God is in little ways. The author of the letter put his praises to God in the opening of a letter. Two thousand years later, we are still reading that letter and giving praise to God because of it! Isn't that amazing? Because this person was praising God while doing something small like writing a letter, his letter is still being read long after the writer is gone.
The author of the letter could have written "Dear so-and-so" and gone on with what he had to say. He put in a little bit of extra effort for God. Just like him, we can put in a little extra effort in our everyday lives. It doesn't take much to say, "God bless you" at the end of a letter, or to write it in a card to someone, but it is a way to praise God and to remind the other person that someone much bigger than either of you -- God! -- is looking out for them. Amen.
