Thankfulness
Children's sermon
Object:
an apple
Your faith has made you well. (v. 19c)
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you see what I have? What is it? (hold up apple; allow answers) An apple, that's right. How many of you have heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? (allow answers) What do you think that means? (allow answers) Good guesses! "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" means if you live a healthy lifestyle, for example, by eating healthy food, you won't get sick. We spend a lot of time and money keeping our bodies healthy. How many of you remember the last time you were at the doctor's office? (allow answers each time) Do you remember the last time you were sick? What did it take to make you better? Do you like being sick? No! Me, either! What do you think is the worst part about being sick? Being sick keeps you from doing a lot of things that you want to do, doesn't it? When I'm sick, there are lots of things I have trouble doing. Sometimes I can't even stand up!
Our Bible story today talks about ten men who were sick with something called leprosy. This disease was so contagious that the men weren't even allowed to live in a town! Imagine being sick with a horrible disease and not even allowed to see your family! They had to live out in the desert, far away from people. Jesus healed all ten of the lepers, and they ran to go back to their families. Only one of them remembered to say, "Thank you" to Jesus. And Jesus was the one who healed them all!
Today we're celebrating Thanksgiving Day. This is the day that the whole USA sets aside to say thank you. Who should you thank today? Your mom and dad? Your teachers? (allow answers) How about Jesus? (allow answers)
Jesus can make us well when we are physically sick, like he healed the lepers, but he can also make us well when we are spiritually sick. How do you think it would feel if you were spiritually sick? (allow answers) You would probably feel cranky and mean. Have you ever felt that way? (allow answers) Well, we have an apple a day to keep our bodies healthy, but what can we do every day to keep our spirits healthy? Do you have any ideas? (allow answers) How about prayer? Do you think that's a good idea? (allow answers) We should pray every day -- maybe every night before you go to bed, or every morning right when you wake up -- and thank Jesus for our blessings. We can also pray about our problems or our spiritual sicknesses. So an apple and prayer every day keep the doctor -- and spiritual sickness -- away! Jesus told the tenth leper, "Your faith has made you well." Our faith will make us well, too, if we make sure to take all our joys and problems to Jesus through prayer. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you see what I have? What is it? (hold up apple; allow answers) An apple, that's right. How many of you have heard the saying, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away"? (allow answers) What do you think that means? (allow answers) Good guesses! "An apple a day keeps the doctor away" means if you live a healthy lifestyle, for example, by eating healthy food, you won't get sick. We spend a lot of time and money keeping our bodies healthy. How many of you remember the last time you were at the doctor's office? (allow answers each time) Do you remember the last time you were sick? What did it take to make you better? Do you like being sick? No! Me, either! What do you think is the worst part about being sick? Being sick keeps you from doing a lot of things that you want to do, doesn't it? When I'm sick, there are lots of things I have trouble doing. Sometimes I can't even stand up!
Our Bible story today talks about ten men who were sick with something called leprosy. This disease was so contagious that the men weren't even allowed to live in a town! Imagine being sick with a horrible disease and not even allowed to see your family! They had to live out in the desert, far away from people. Jesus healed all ten of the lepers, and they ran to go back to their families. Only one of them remembered to say, "Thank you" to Jesus. And Jesus was the one who healed them all!
Today we're celebrating Thanksgiving Day. This is the day that the whole USA sets aside to say thank you. Who should you thank today? Your mom and dad? Your teachers? (allow answers) How about Jesus? (allow answers)
Jesus can make us well when we are physically sick, like he healed the lepers, but he can also make us well when we are spiritually sick. How do you think it would feel if you were spiritually sick? (allow answers) You would probably feel cranky and mean. Have you ever felt that way? (allow answers) Well, we have an apple a day to keep our bodies healthy, but what can we do every day to keep our spirits healthy? Do you have any ideas? (allow answers) How about prayer? Do you think that's a good idea? (allow answers) We should pray every day -- maybe every night before you go to bed, or every morning right when you wake up -- and thank Jesus for our blessings. We can also pray about our problems or our spiritual sicknesses. So an apple and prayer every day keep the doctor -- and spiritual sickness -- away! Jesus told the tenth leper, "Your faith has made you well." Our faith will make us well, too, if we make sure to take all our joys and problems to Jesus through prayer. Amen.
