Childrens Sermon Service

Object: Three plastic or paper cups like those you get when you buy a soda. You want an extra-large, “super” cup, a large cup, and a very small cup. The greater the difference in size between the largest and smallest cup the more striking the visual message will be.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! I have one more story about the day Jesus called all of his disciples together and told them it was time for them to start going out and taking care of people like he had been doing. He told them they needed to divide into groups and go visit the towns around them. He said they should tell everyone about God, and if they see anyone who needs some kind of help, they should help them.

Jesus’ friends told him they would go pack their bags and stop at the store to buy groceries for the trip, but Jesus said no. He told them they just needed to go and start visiting people, and everything would be just fine. Jesus said that some of the people they met would believe what they told them and would treat them like they were one of God’s prophets and give them plenty to eat and drink. (Show the largest cup.) And he said some people wouldn’t believe some of the things they said, but they would still treat them like good people and give them enough to eat and drink. (Show the middle-sized cup.) He also said that some of the people they met wouldn’t believe the things they said, but they would still be nice to them and give them a little something to eat and drink. (Show the smallest cup.)

Then someone asked Jesus, “But what if they don’t give us anything? What if they don’t like us at all and argue with us, or what if they won’t even open the door to talk to us when we visit them? Or what if they get angry and try to do something else to us? What do we do then?”

Jesus told them that God would take care of them and they shouldn’t worry. Now, let’s play a game and see if you can figure out what God told them to do if they did meet someone who doesn’t agree with them. I’ll tell you some things, and you see if you can figure out which one Jesus told his friends to do.

#1. If Jesus’ friends meet someone who doesn’t agree with them, did Jesus tell them they should keep talking to them and even argue with them to try and get them to change their minds? (Let them respond.)

Or #2. Did Jesus tell his friends that if they met someone who didn’t agree with them, they should go to the temple and get them to change the laws so everyone would have to do what they were telling them to do? (Let them respond.)

Or #3. If Jesus’ friends met someone who did not agree with them, did he tell them they should fight with those people and try to make them go away? (Let them respond.)

Jesus didn’t tell them to do any of those things, did he? He wanted them to go and take care of people, and none of those things are very caring, are they? Can anyone tell me what Jesus did tell them to do if someone did not agree with them? (Let them respond.)

Jesus told them that if anyone did not welcome them or did not listen to them, they should just leave that place and go talk to people someplace else. He said that God would take care of those people and they should just shake the town’s dust off their feet and not worry about it anymore or feel bad that they weren’t able to help the people there.

All Jesus’ friends could do was try to help other people. Sometimes they were able to help, and other times they weren’t able to help. But they tried. And that is what God wants us to do, too. God wants us to try and help take care of each other. Sometimes we will meet someone who doesn’t agree with us, and that’s okay. We can just let God take care of them. Our job is to care about them, not treat them like enemies.

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.