A surprised Nathanael
Children's sermon
Object:
A picture collage of many different kinds of people
(National Geographic magazines would be an excellent source as
well as picture books from your public library)
Before Nathanael had ever heard of Jesus or became his
follower, Philip found him and told him about Jesus. He also
mentioned that Jesus was from the town of Nazareth. Nathanael
said, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" He was surprised
that anything good might come from the town of Nazareth. People
have always held prejudices about other people. Can anyone tell
me what a "prejudice" is? (Let them answer.) A prejudice is an
opinion formed ahead of time.
I have here pictures of different kinds of people. Some of these people have very light skin, some dark, and many in- between. Some are wearing simple clothing and others fancy clothing. If we could hear these people speak, we would hear many different kinds of sounds quite different from the American English we speak here.
God has given this world so many different kinds of people and every one of them is important to God. I suspect that if the apostle Nathanael could see us, he might be very surprised that God would love us and consider us part of God's family.
Nathanael was surprised that anything good could come from Nazareth. He had already made up his mind that nothing good could come from Nazareth. Nathanael was as wrong as any person could be! Jesus was the greatest person ever born!
It's a funny thing about making up our minds about people ahead of time -- it makes it harder for people to get along with each other. I think Nathanael's experience can help us learn not to make up our minds about people until we get to know them.
Dear God: Thank you for all the different kinds of people in this world. Help us not make up our minds about people before we get to know them. Amen.
Alternative: Bring a box of colored markers. Have each of the children choose a different color. Make the point that having the different colors is so much better than having only one and that God has given us a world filled with different kinds of people. Nathanael was wrong to prejudge Jesus!
I have here pictures of different kinds of people. Some of these people have very light skin, some dark, and many in- between. Some are wearing simple clothing and others fancy clothing. If we could hear these people speak, we would hear many different kinds of sounds quite different from the American English we speak here.
God has given this world so many different kinds of people and every one of them is important to God. I suspect that if the apostle Nathanael could see us, he might be very surprised that God would love us and consider us part of God's family.
Nathanael was surprised that anything good could come from Nazareth. He had already made up his mind that nothing good could come from Nazareth. Nathanael was as wrong as any person could be! Jesus was the greatest person ever born!
It's a funny thing about making up our minds about people ahead of time -- it makes it harder for people to get along with each other. I think Nathanael's experience can help us learn not to make up our minds about people until we get to know them.
Dear God: Thank you for all the different kinds of people in this world. Help us not make up our minds about people before we get to know them. Amen.
Alternative: Bring a box of colored markers. Have each of the children choose a different color. Make the point that having the different colors is so much better than having only one and that God has given us a world filled with different kinds of people. Nathanael was wrong to prejudge Jesus!
