Childrens Sermon Service

Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. (vv 14-18)

Hi everyone! I have a question for you. Has anyone ever given you a bag of gold? (Let them respond. You might set the collection of bags out for them to see or just hold one bag in your hand.) In today’s story, Jesus talked about a man who was going on a trip. He called his servants to meet with him and told them he wanted them to take care of everything while he was gone. And then he handed each of them bags of gold. He gave five bags to one servant, two bags to another servant, and one bag to the last servant. That sounds pretty cool, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.)

Well, Jesus said that the man was gone for a while, and when he came back he called his servants and asked them what they had done with his gold while he was gone. The servant with the five bags of gold said he had used the gold to do a lot of work and ended up earning five more bags, and he put all ten bags of gold on the table. The master said, “Nice job!” The servant with the two bags of gold said he had done the same thing and used his two bags to earn two more, and put all four bags on the table. Again, the master said, “Nice job!” The third servant said that since he only had been given the one bag, he was afraid he might do something wrong and lose it, and he knew that if he did the master would be furious, so he buried the bag in the backyard to hide it so he could give it back and not get in trouble, and he put the one bag on the table. What do you think the master said? (Let them respond.)

Well, he was really angry. He said that the servant should not have hidden the gold but should have used it to try and make more gold for his master. He was really angry.

Now, here is my question for you. Why do you think Jesus told the people this story? (Let them respond.) Do you think Jesus was telling them that God really wanted them to all make a lot of money and make God richer, or was Jesus talking about something else? (Let them respond.) Well, I think he was talking about something else. I don’t think Jesus cared that much about gold, in fact, he said that anyone who had a lot of gold should give half of it away to those who don’t have any.

I think Jesus was saying that if God gives us something, we should do our best to use it and not just keep it to ourselves. He might be talking about money, but I think he is also talking about things like our abilities, and our talents. You have talents, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Some of us might play music or sing, some of us might draw pictures, some of us might be really good with animals, or with math, or with something else. Those are talents that God has given us, and God wants us to use them to do good things in the world. Maybe our talent can make sick people get healthy again, or help sad people become happy again, or maybe our talent can just help people have a better day.  And we all have talents. Maybe you haven’t figured out what your talents are yet, but you will.

I have something for you. (Hand each of them one of your bags) No, it isn’t a bag of gold, but it is a bag to keep your talent-treasure in. I want you to think about the talents God has given you and write each one on a coin inside your bag. Everyone once in a while, I hope you will look inside your bag and remember the talents that God has given you, so you can remember to use them and not keep them hidden.

God gives us our talents so we can use them. Not so we can get more bags, but so we can help other people around us have a better day. I hope you will remember to use your talents to help others too.

Let’s say a short prayer to thank God for the talents we have been given.

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you again for reminding us how much you love all of us, and for giving us talents that we can use to help others. Please help us remember to use our talents to help those around us have a better day.