Speak the truth
Children's sermon
Object:
none
Good morning! I want to ask you a question this morning.
Have any of you ever told a lie; said something that wasn't true?
(Let them answer.) Yes, I think we have all done that at one time
or another. How do you think God feels about that? Do you think
God wants us to lie or to tell the truth? (Let them answer.) Yes,
God does want us to tell the truth and there are several places
in the Bible where He tells us that we should tell the truth. For
instance, in Saint Paul's letter to the Christians at Ephesus, he
tells them, "So then, putting away falsehood, let us all speak
the truth to our neighbors."
So we know that God wants us to tell the truth, but is there
ever a time when it would be okay with God for us not to tell the
truth? (Let them answer.) There are times when God would rather
that we not speak the truth. Can anybody think of a situation
where it would be better not to tell the truth? (Let them answer.
If they can't think of a situation, give them one such as the one
following.) Suppose you found out somehow that a parent of one of
your classmates was in prison. Nobody else knows about this
except you, and it's obvious that this classmate does not want
this truth known to anybody else in school. It is the truth that
the child's parent is in prison, but should you tell anybody else
about this? (Let them answer.) No, you should not. There are
times when telling the truth is not good because it just hurts
someone and serves no useful purpose. It is better in those
situations to be silent and not speak the truth.
But, those kinds of situations are rare, aren't they? Most
of the time, God wants us to tell the truth. Let's ask Him to
help us do that.
Dear Heavenly Father: We know that You want us to tell the truth
to each other. Help us to do that even when it is very hard to do
it. Amen.
Have any of you ever told a lie; said something that wasn't true?
(Let them answer.) Yes, I think we have all done that at one time
or another. How do you think God feels about that? Do you think
God wants us to lie or to tell the truth? (Let them answer.) Yes,
God does want us to tell the truth and there are several places
in the Bible where He tells us that we should tell the truth. For
instance, in Saint Paul's letter to the Christians at Ephesus, he
tells them, "So then, putting away falsehood, let us all speak
the truth to our neighbors."
So we know that God wants us to tell the truth, but is there
ever a time when it would be okay with God for us not to tell the
truth? (Let them answer.) There are times when God would rather
that we not speak the truth. Can anybody think of a situation
where it would be better not to tell the truth? (Let them answer.
If they can't think of a situation, give them one such as the one
following.) Suppose you found out somehow that a parent of one of
your classmates was in prison. Nobody else knows about this
except you, and it's obvious that this classmate does not want
this truth known to anybody else in school. It is the truth that
the child's parent is in prison, but should you tell anybody else
about this? (Let them answer.) No, you should not. There are
times when telling the truth is not good because it just hurts
someone and serves no useful purpose. It is better in those
situations to be silent and not speak the truth.
But, those kinds of situations are rare, aren't they? Most
of the time, God wants us to tell the truth. Let's ask Him to
help us do that.
Dear Heavenly Father: We know that You want us to tell the truth
to each other. Help us to do that even when it is very hard to do
it. Amen.
