Thirsty!
Children's sermon
Object: A bottle of water.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have a question for you. Have you even been thirsty? (Let them respond.) I mean, have you ever been really, really, thirsty? Maybe you’ve been running around, or singing really loudly, and you just got really thirsty. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.) What does it feel like when you got really thirsty? (Let them respond.) Maybe your throat got really dry? Maybe it was hard to swallow? Maybe your throat was so dry it was hard to talk? (Let them respond.)
When you get really thirsty, what do you want the most? (Let them respond.) Maybe you want something like this? (Show the bottle and let them respond.) A nice cool drink of water or something like that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when we are really thirsty, all we can think about is getting a drink, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
One day, Jesus was talking with his friends, and he said that sometimes people get really thirsty for God, too. Does that make sense? (Let them respond.) He said that, sometimes, people feel really lonely, or afraid, and they feel like no one cares about them. And just like a drink of cool water helps us when we get thirsty, they wish someone could do something to help them feel better, too. Jesus told his friends, “You know what? If you ever see someone who feels lonely or afraid like that, you bring them to meet me, and I will help them.”
But Jesus said there was one rule. He said they weren’t going to be like the Pharisees and the people at the temple. Those people said that before God would care about you, first you had to change the way you dressed and change the things you ate and that you had to follow a whole bunch of rules and laws. If you didn’t do those things, you couldn’t come and be with God.
But Jesus told his friends they should bring anyone they met who was thirsty. It didn’t matter who they were, or where they were from, or what they might have done in the past. All that mattered was that they wanted to be with God and not feel so bad and thirsty anymore. (Show the bottle.) When those people came to meet Jesus, he would give them something a lot better than a bottle of water. He said he would give them God’s spirit and it would feel like a whole river of water would run through them and they would never feel alone, or sad, or afraid again.
It sounds kind of strange to us to have a river of water running through us, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) But Jesus’ friends thought the strangest part was that Jesus said anyone could come to him. No matter who they were, where they were from, or what they might have done. Jesus didn’t say that some people could not come to him because we didn’t like them or agree with them, did he? (Let them respond.) And he didn’t say that people had to change before they came to him, did he? (Let them respond.) Jesus just said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink!”
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us, and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created, and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have a question for you. Have you even been thirsty? (Let them respond.) I mean, have you ever been really, really, thirsty? Maybe you’ve been running around, or singing really loudly, and you just got really thirsty. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.) What does it feel like when you got really thirsty? (Let them respond.) Maybe your throat got really dry? Maybe it was hard to swallow? Maybe your throat was so dry it was hard to talk? (Let them respond.)
When you get really thirsty, what do you want the most? (Let them respond.) Maybe you want something like this? (Show the bottle and let them respond.) A nice cool drink of water or something like that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when we are really thirsty, all we can think about is getting a drink, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
One day, Jesus was talking with his friends, and he said that sometimes people get really thirsty for God, too. Does that make sense? (Let them respond.) He said that, sometimes, people feel really lonely, or afraid, and they feel like no one cares about them. And just like a drink of cool water helps us when we get thirsty, they wish someone could do something to help them feel better, too. Jesus told his friends, “You know what? If you ever see someone who feels lonely or afraid like that, you bring them to meet me, and I will help them.”
But Jesus said there was one rule. He said they weren’t going to be like the Pharisees and the people at the temple. Those people said that before God would care about you, first you had to change the way you dressed and change the things you ate and that you had to follow a whole bunch of rules and laws. If you didn’t do those things, you couldn’t come and be with God.
But Jesus told his friends they should bring anyone they met who was thirsty. It didn’t matter who they were, or where they were from, or what they might have done in the past. All that mattered was that they wanted to be with God and not feel so bad and thirsty anymore. (Show the bottle.) When those people came to meet Jesus, he would give them something a lot better than a bottle of water. He said he would give them God’s spirit and it would feel like a whole river of water would run through them and they would never feel alone, or sad, or afraid again.
It sounds kind of strange to us to have a river of water running through us, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) But Jesus’ friends thought the strangest part was that Jesus said anyone could come to him. No matter who they were, where they were from, or what they might have done. Jesus didn’t say that some people could not come to him because we didn’t like them or agree with them, did he? (Let them respond.) And he didn’t say that people had to change before they came to him, did he? (Let them respond.) Jesus just said, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink!”
Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us, and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created, and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
