Sing and give thanks
Children's sermon
Object:
your church hymnal
Good morning, boys and girls. (Hold up your church hymnal, ask
the question and let them answer.) What am I holding? This is our
church hymnal. All the hymns that we sing during church are in
this book. (Prior to the lesson find a few hymns that children
know and show them where they are in the book.) For example, on
page (name the page) is "Jesus Loves Me," and on page (name the
page) is "Away In The Manger." This is an important book for our
church.
This hymnal makes me think of this morning's lesson. It tells us to sing and make a melody to the Lord in our hearts and to give thanks to God at all times and for everything. I want to tell you about a little boy who went to visit his grandmother one summer weekend before school started in the fall. Have any of you visited a grandparent or great-grandparent this summer? (Let them answer.) This boy was about your age. He looked forward to the overnight visit. He and his grandmother had a lot of fun together. One thing the boy noticed was that his grandmother was always humming or singing songs to herself. She did this often. Most of the things she hummed were melodies that the boy had heard sung in church. It made him feel good. When the boy went to bed, his grandmother tucked him in and helped him with his prayer. Then his grandmother prayed. When she prayed she thanked God for all the things that happened that day. All the things that the grandmother did during the weekend -- the humming of hymns and the praying -- made the boy feel good. I want you to know that this boy's grandmother's life was filled with God's love. She thanked God for everything that happened to her. When she sang and hummed she was also thanking God for God's love and grace. The next time the congregation sings a hymn, remember that we are thanking and praising God. When we pray we are also thanking and praising God. When you hear others sing a hymn or pray to God, they are thankful for God's love. When you sing or pray to God that's what you are doing, too.
This hymnal makes me think of this morning's lesson. It tells us to sing and make a melody to the Lord in our hearts and to give thanks to God at all times and for everything. I want to tell you about a little boy who went to visit his grandmother one summer weekend before school started in the fall. Have any of you visited a grandparent or great-grandparent this summer? (Let them answer.) This boy was about your age. He looked forward to the overnight visit. He and his grandmother had a lot of fun together. One thing the boy noticed was that his grandmother was always humming or singing songs to herself. She did this often. Most of the things she hummed were melodies that the boy had heard sung in church. It made him feel good. When the boy went to bed, his grandmother tucked him in and helped him with his prayer. Then his grandmother prayed. When she prayed she thanked God for all the things that happened that day. All the things that the grandmother did during the weekend -- the humming of hymns and the praying -- made the boy feel good. I want you to know that this boy's grandmother's life was filled with God's love. She thanked God for everything that happened to her. When she sang and hummed she was also thanking God for God's love and grace. The next time the congregation sings a hymn, remember that we are thanking and praising God. When we pray we are also thanking and praising God. When you hear others sing a hymn or pray to God, they are thankful for God's love. When you sing or pray to God that's what you are doing, too.
