The test
Children's sermon
Object:
some weights like dumbbells that would be too heavy for
small children to lift
Good morning! Today I'd like to test you. I want to see how
much you can lift with your arms. (Pick one of the children.) Can
you lift this weight? Go ahead, try it. (Let other children try
their hand at lifting the weight.)
This weight was too heavy for you, wasn't it? I thought it might be too heavy. That is why the test I offered you this morning was unfair. I knew you would fail.
As we go through life we will have many tests. In school you will have many tests to see how much you have learned. At home there will be tests to see if you are telling the truth and being an honest person.
You will have hard tests in your life. Some tests will make you feel sad or hurt or might even make you cry. Sometimes the tests will come when we do not expect them. What if, for example, you were standing at a food stand and you saw a man reach in his pocket to pay for his sandwich. When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, some dollar bills came out of his pocket as well and fell to the floor. He didn't see it happen -- but you did.
This is a kind of test. There are two things you could do. For example, you might decide not to tell the man that he had lost his money and then when he left you could get the money for yourself. Or, you could tell him.
The right thing to do would be to tell him about the money. If you tell him, you pass the test for honesty. Only God knows, but it is an important test.
God has promised never to give us a test that we cannot pass. I put these weights here knowing that you could not lift them. God will not do that. God will give you tests -- like the test for honesty -- that you can pass.
This weight was too heavy for you, wasn't it? I thought it might be too heavy. That is why the test I offered you this morning was unfair. I knew you would fail.
As we go through life we will have many tests. In school you will have many tests to see how much you have learned. At home there will be tests to see if you are telling the truth and being an honest person.
You will have hard tests in your life. Some tests will make you feel sad or hurt or might even make you cry. Sometimes the tests will come when we do not expect them. What if, for example, you were standing at a food stand and you saw a man reach in his pocket to pay for his sandwich. When he pulled his hand out of his pocket, some dollar bills came out of his pocket as well and fell to the floor. He didn't see it happen -- but you did.
This is a kind of test. There are two things you could do. For example, you might decide not to tell the man that he had lost his money and then when he left you could get the money for yourself. Or, you could tell him.
The right thing to do would be to tell him about the money. If you tell him, you pass the test for honesty. Only God knows, but it is an important test.
God has promised never to give us a test that we cannot pass. I put these weights here knowing that you could not lift them. God will not do that. God will give you tests -- like the test for honesty -- that you can pass.
