Waiting for a new heaven
Children's sermon
Object:
a photo of you with your grandmother (or grandfather)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you have
grandparents? (Let them raise their hands.) How many of your
grandparents live in another town, far away, so you don't often
see them? (Let them answer.) I imagine that you have pictures at
home of you with your grandparents. I want to show you a picture
of me with my grandmother/father. (Show your picture.) You can
see that it was taken a long time ago.
I want to tell you a story about a little girl and her grandmother. The little girl loved her grandmother very much. Her grandmother loved the little girl also. But the grandmother lived far away from the girl. So, the two didn't see each other very often. Even though the two didn't see each other often, they did many things together. They wrote letters to each other. They sent photos to each other. They sent gifts to each other. They often called each other on the phone and talked and talked. The little girl knew that someday her grandmother would return for a real visit. The girl didn't know when, however. While she waited for a visit, the little girl made plans for when her grandmother would return. She had books ready to be read. She had a picture drawn in the guest bedroom where her grandmother would stay. She had games ready to be played. The girl was ready for the visit. The days of waiting seemed like 1,000 days to the little girl. But she knew that her grandmother was patient. Because of that the little girl developed patience. While she waited, something wonderful happened. The little girl developed peace in her heart. The peace in her heart gave her patience to wait.
Waiting for a visit from a grandparent is like Christians waiting for Jesus to come. That's what we do during Advent. We wait and wait. As we wait for Jesus, we develop patience and peace in our heart. Like the little girl, as we wait for Jesus, we prepare for his return. Sometimes Advent seems like 1,000 days long. But, we know that Jesus will come. We will wait. We will become persons of peace and we will be ready for his return.
I want to tell you a story about a little girl and her grandmother. The little girl loved her grandmother very much. Her grandmother loved the little girl also. But the grandmother lived far away from the girl. So, the two didn't see each other very often. Even though the two didn't see each other often, they did many things together. They wrote letters to each other. They sent photos to each other. They sent gifts to each other. They often called each other on the phone and talked and talked. The little girl knew that someday her grandmother would return for a real visit. The girl didn't know when, however. While she waited for a visit, the little girl made plans for when her grandmother would return. She had books ready to be read. She had a picture drawn in the guest bedroom where her grandmother would stay. She had games ready to be played. The girl was ready for the visit. The days of waiting seemed like 1,000 days to the little girl. But she knew that her grandmother was patient. Because of that the little girl developed patience. While she waited, something wonderful happened. The little girl developed peace in her heart. The peace in her heart gave her patience to wait.
Waiting for a visit from a grandparent is like Christians waiting for Jesus to come. That's what we do during Advent. We wait and wait. As we wait for Jesus, we develop patience and peace in our heart. Like the little girl, as we wait for Jesus, we prepare for his return. Sometimes Advent seems like 1,000 days long. But, we know that Jesus will come. We will wait. We will become persons of peace and we will be ready for his return.
