Staying focused
Children's sermon
Object:
a 2 x 4 board
Good morning! I brought this board with me today to see how
many of you have good balance. I'm going to lay it down here and
I want each of you to walk on it from one end to the other. (Lay
down the board and let each of them walk from one end to the
other.)
Okay, you all did that well. Now, let's pretend that,
instead of laying here on the floor, this board is going from one
cliff to another. It's two or three hundred feet straight down
below the board and there are alligators and man-eating sharks in
the water below. Do you think it would still be easy to walk down
the board? (Let them answer.)
No, it would be a lot harder, and I doubt that many of us
would even try it. But, let's suppose it is very important that
you do cross the board. Let's say you are being chased by
cannibals and if they catch you, you'll wind up in their stew pot
tonight. What could you do to make it easier to cross over the
board? (Let them answer.)
Well, we certainly wouldn't want to look down because then
we would surely get rattled and fall down to the alligators and
sharks. The best thing we could do is pick out something on the
far side and keep our eyes on it as we cross over. By staying
focused on the object on the other side, we could walk to safety.
The Bible tells us that we need to do that in life. Life is
full of temptations and all kinds of dangerous pitfalls. The
Bible says we should keep our eyes on Jesus as we live our lives.
If we do that, we will be able to overcome temptations and
dangers of all kinds. We need to stay focused on Jesus no matter
what we face in this life. If we do that, we can cross over any
kind of bad thing which faces us.
As you return to your seats, I want you to walk the board
again, and I am going to stand at the other end. Think of the
board as your life and pretend that I am Jesus. Walk the board,
keeping your eyes on me, and see how it helps you walk safely
over. Before you go, however, let's pray.
Dearest Jesus: Thank you for always being there in front of us so
we can look to you when we are tempted or in trouble. Amen.
many of you have good balance. I'm going to lay it down here and
I want each of you to walk on it from one end to the other. (Lay
down the board and let each of them walk from one end to the
other.)
Okay, you all did that well. Now, let's pretend that,
instead of laying here on the floor, this board is going from one
cliff to another. It's two or three hundred feet straight down
below the board and there are alligators and man-eating sharks in
the water below. Do you think it would still be easy to walk down
the board? (Let them answer.)
No, it would be a lot harder, and I doubt that many of us
would even try it. But, let's suppose it is very important that
you do cross the board. Let's say you are being chased by
cannibals and if they catch you, you'll wind up in their stew pot
tonight. What could you do to make it easier to cross over the
board? (Let them answer.)
Well, we certainly wouldn't want to look down because then
we would surely get rattled and fall down to the alligators and
sharks. The best thing we could do is pick out something on the
far side and keep our eyes on it as we cross over. By staying
focused on the object on the other side, we could walk to safety.
The Bible tells us that we need to do that in life. Life is
full of temptations and all kinds of dangerous pitfalls. The
Bible says we should keep our eyes on Jesus as we live our lives.
If we do that, we will be able to overcome temptations and
dangers of all kinds. We need to stay focused on Jesus no matter
what we face in this life. If we do that, we can cross over any
kind of bad thing which faces us.
As you return to your seats, I want you to walk the board
again, and I am going to stand at the other end. Think of the
board as your life and pretend that I am Jesus. Walk the board,
keeping your eyes on me, and see how it helps you walk safely
over. Before you go, however, let's pray.
Dearest Jesus: Thank you for always being there in front of us so
we can look to you when we are tempted or in trouble. Amen.
