Take a risk
Children's sermon
Object:
an ice-cream cone and a bowl (perhaps you can invite the children to stay afterward and you can share ice-cream cones)
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their
life for my sake, and for the life for the gospel will save it. (v. 35)
Good morning, boys and girls. I have a story to tell you today that I think is funny. It never seemed really funny when I was your age but it is a lot funnier today. One night, a family went out for some ice-cream cones. They went to the store and each person got a double-dip ice-cream cone. When they got back in the car and were driving away, one brother noticed that his younger brother had not touched his cone. He wanted to save his ice-cream cone so that when everyone else was finished he would be the only one with ice cream. The older brother ate his ice-cream cone, but he ate it very slowly. The other brother did not take a lick, but he watched as the ice cream in his cone began to melt and run down the side of the cone. It ran over his hand and even dripped on his pants. But he would not give in and lick the cone. By the time the big brother finished his ice-cream cone that he had eaten slower than any ice-cream cone he had ever eaten before, the little brother had seen most of the ice cream on the top of the cone melt. It was really a sad scene. He tried to save something that was supposed to be eaten while it was cold.
Jesus tells us that we must be careful not do the same thing with our lives. Our lives are a gift from God and our lives should be spent and not saved. Some people make a lot of money, but they just want to save it. It doesn't do them or anyone else any good. It just sits in the bank or under a mattress and becomes moldy. Other people are so afraid that they will get hurt that they are afraid to do almost anything. While some people skate and ski they sit on a log and try to enjoy the hot fire. Jesus tells us that life is an adventure and the only thing that will improve the adventure is to do the things that Jesus would do here in our town.
Jesus would feed the hungry, he would make sure that the people who were cold had warm clothes, he would visit with the lonely, and care for people in the hospital. Jesus would teach people how to farm or fish. Jesus would solve problems and enjoy the world that God made for him and for us.
Some people want to save their lives; never take a risk and try to have as much as they can collect. They miss all of the adventure. They are like the little brother who tried to save his ice-cream cone instead of eating it.
The next time you are eating an ice-cream cone, I want you to remember what God has given you. He has given you a life to be lived like an adventure and if you really want the best adventure of all there is in life, then follow Jesus and bring joy and love to the rest of the world. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. I have a story to tell you today that I think is funny. It never seemed really funny when I was your age but it is a lot funnier today. One night, a family went out for some ice-cream cones. They went to the store and each person got a double-dip ice-cream cone. When they got back in the car and were driving away, one brother noticed that his younger brother had not touched his cone. He wanted to save his ice-cream cone so that when everyone else was finished he would be the only one with ice cream. The older brother ate his ice-cream cone, but he ate it very slowly. The other brother did not take a lick, but he watched as the ice cream in his cone began to melt and run down the side of the cone. It ran over his hand and even dripped on his pants. But he would not give in and lick the cone. By the time the big brother finished his ice-cream cone that he had eaten slower than any ice-cream cone he had ever eaten before, the little brother had seen most of the ice cream on the top of the cone melt. It was really a sad scene. He tried to save something that was supposed to be eaten while it was cold.
Jesus tells us that we must be careful not do the same thing with our lives. Our lives are a gift from God and our lives should be spent and not saved. Some people make a lot of money, but they just want to save it. It doesn't do them or anyone else any good. It just sits in the bank or under a mattress and becomes moldy. Other people are so afraid that they will get hurt that they are afraid to do almost anything. While some people skate and ski they sit on a log and try to enjoy the hot fire. Jesus tells us that life is an adventure and the only thing that will improve the adventure is to do the things that Jesus would do here in our town.
Jesus would feed the hungry, he would make sure that the people who were cold had warm clothes, he would visit with the lonely, and care for people in the hospital. Jesus would teach people how to farm or fish. Jesus would solve problems and enjoy the world that God made for him and for us.
Some people want to save their lives; never take a risk and try to have as much as they can collect. They miss all of the adventure. They are like the little brother who tried to save his ice-cream cone instead of eating it.
The next time you are eating an ice-cream cone, I want you to remember what God has given you. He has given you a life to be lived like an adventure and if you really want the best adventure of all there is in life, then follow Jesus and bring joy and love to the rest of the world. Amen.
