Sandals
Children's sermon
Object:
a pair of dusty sandals
I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is
coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the
Holy Spirit and fire. (v. 11)
Good morning, boys and girls. Does anyone here wear sandals in the warm weather? (let them answer) Good, many of you wear sandals. We like sandals because our feet do not get as hot as they do when we wear shoes. I also like the way sandals look on my feet. I can see my toes and move my toes around in different ways. I can't do that in my shoes.
Did you know that Jesus wore sandals? (let them answer) Jesus wore sandals most of the time unless he went barefoot. It stays pretty warm in the Holy Land where Jesus lived. Remember that Jesus did not have a car or a motor scooter. Jesus and the disciples did not have a truck to go from one place to another. As far as we know, they did not even have a camel or a mule. They just walked where they wanted to go.
They also did not walk on sidewalks or streets. Sometimes in the cities the streets were made of stones and filled in with sand. Jesus walked on a lot of sand and stone and I am sure that his feet had many hard calluses. Sandals helped a lot, but walking ten or more miles a day was something they did often. So you wore out a lot of sandals. The reason I am so interested in sandals today is because John the Baptist said he wasn't even worth carrying Jesus' sandals. I imagine that the sandals were pretty beat up. There were scars in the leather where he brushed against rocks. Every once in a while a small stone got beneath his foot and made a dent in the sandal. The sandals Jesus wore were not pretty.
But that isn't why John the Baptist did not think he was good enough to carry Jesus' sandals; no, John knew that the person wearing those sandals was a very holy man sent from God to bring new life to everyone who believed in him. Jesus was holier than any man that ever walked on the earth. Jesus was the most important person John the Baptist ever knew.
We are like John the Baptist. Jesus is the holiest person to us and we are neither as holy nor as forgiving nor as loving as Jesus is to us and to every other person.
The next time you see a pair of sandals, I want you to remember how holy Jesus is and that he is the Son of God. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. Does anyone here wear sandals in the warm weather? (let them answer) Good, many of you wear sandals. We like sandals because our feet do not get as hot as they do when we wear shoes. I also like the way sandals look on my feet. I can see my toes and move my toes around in different ways. I can't do that in my shoes.
Did you know that Jesus wore sandals? (let them answer) Jesus wore sandals most of the time unless he went barefoot. It stays pretty warm in the Holy Land where Jesus lived. Remember that Jesus did not have a car or a motor scooter. Jesus and the disciples did not have a truck to go from one place to another. As far as we know, they did not even have a camel or a mule. They just walked where they wanted to go.
They also did not walk on sidewalks or streets. Sometimes in the cities the streets were made of stones and filled in with sand. Jesus walked on a lot of sand and stone and I am sure that his feet had many hard calluses. Sandals helped a lot, but walking ten or more miles a day was something they did often. So you wore out a lot of sandals. The reason I am so interested in sandals today is because John the Baptist said he wasn't even worth carrying Jesus' sandals. I imagine that the sandals were pretty beat up. There were scars in the leather where he brushed against rocks. Every once in a while a small stone got beneath his foot and made a dent in the sandal. The sandals Jesus wore were not pretty.
But that isn't why John the Baptist did not think he was good enough to carry Jesus' sandals; no, John knew that the person wearing those sandals was a very holy man sent from God to bring new life to everyone who believed in him. Jesus was holier than any man that ever walked on the earth. Jesus was the most important person John the Baptist ever knew.
We are like John the Baptist. Jesus is the holiest person to us and we are neither as holy nor as forgiving nor as loving as Jesus is to us and to every other person.
The next time you see a pair of sandals, I want you to remember how holy Jesus is and that he is the Son of God. Amen.
