What Do We Do?
Children's sermon
Object: This message is a role play. You can do this with only two children playing the parts of the two women, but if you have more children, you could have two more playing the parts of the children, another playing the part of the synagogue leader, and another playing the part of the country’s leader. You can also add any other roles you might want to add to make it interesting. Also, I have created places for your characters to speak, but you can add more of those to make it all more fun and memorable.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) I actually have two stories to tell you today. But instead of just telling you the stories, I thought it would be better if you helped me show everyone the stories, okay? (Let them respond.) Great.
Our first story is about a woman Jesus met when he was talking with people at their synagogue on the Sabbath day. (Select the child who will play the part of the first woman and have her stand in front of the group.) The first thing that Jesus noticed about her was that she could not stand up straight and she looked like her back was really sore. (Have the woman bend over at the waist and look very tired and sore.) He talked with her and found out that she had been sick like that for 18 years. That’s a long time to be sick, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus reached out and touched her and do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) She stood up and stopped hurting! (Have her stand up straight and move around like she is really happy.) Jesus healed her and made her all better. I’ll bet everyone got all excited, don’t you? (Let them respond.) But the leader of the synagogue walked over to Jesus and said, “Hey! What do you think you are doing?” (Pick your synagogue leader and have him stand in front of Jesus and say that.) He and his friends were really angry, and he shook his finger in Jesus’ face and shouted that the law said Sabbath day was a day everyone was supposed to rest, and it was against the law to do any kind of work, and healing someone was work. Plus, Jesus had touched the woman, and there was another law that said no one could touch a sick person. So, the synagogue leader said that since Jesus and the woman had broken the synagogue’s laws, they both had to be punished. Then the leader of the synagogue went away to talk with his friends about how they were going to punish Jesus. (Have all of them sit back down.)
Our second story is about a woman who had two children. (Pick your second woman and her children and have them stand in front of the group.) They were very poor and for 18 years they had lived in a place that was not safe at all. She worried about her children because she did not know how to protect them or find them enough food to eat. But the laws in that place said that if she tried leave and take her children some place where they might be safer, both she and her children would be arrested and punished. That made the woman very unhappy. (Have the woman show she is very sad.) Then one day, someone helped her sneak out of that place and helped her take her children to a new country where she could find a job to make the money she needed to get food for her children so she could keep them safe. (Have the woman and children move to a new spot.) Now that they were safe the woman could finally be happy. (Have the woman show she is happy as you have the country’s leader stand up.) But some of the new country’s leaders said that since she had broken their laws by just sneaking into their country, she had to be punished. So, the woman’s children were taken away from her, (have the children move away from their mother) and they were all sent back to the place they came from where they would all be punished again for breaking their laws by sneaking out. (Have the woman and children sit back down.)
Laws can be pretty important, can’t they? (Let them respond.) Laws can protect us and keep us safe, right? (Let them respond.) So, it is important that we try to obey the laws, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But now I have another question for you and it is a really hard one. Which do you think is more important, laws or people? (Let them respond.) Which was more important for Jesus when he saw the woman who had been sick for 18 years; to obey the synagogue’s laws, or to help the sick woman? (Let them respond.) And which was more important for the woman with the two children; to obey the laws, or to try and protect her children? (Let them respond.)
It is important that we try to obey the laws that keep us safe, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) But sometimes it can be hard to decide which laws we really need to obey. Maybe you remember the day the man told Jesus there were so many laws that he couldn’t decide which laws were the most important ones to always obey. Jesus told the man there were only two laws that God wanted us to obey more than any other laws. Does anyone remember what those two laws were that Jesus said God wants us to always obey? (Let them respond.) The first law is to always remember to love God. The second law is to always remember to love each other. Jesus said those are the two most important laws for us to remember to obey.
Finally, I have two more questions for you. (Have the sick woman stand.) When Jesus healed the sick woman on the Sabbath, was he obeying God’s law or someone else’s law? (Let them respond.) He was following God’s law and showing that he loved the sick woman, wasn’t he? (Have the sick woman sit down and have the mother and her children stand.) And, when the leaders took the mother’s children away from her and kicked her out of the country, were they obeying God’s law, or someone else’s law? (Let them respond.) I think they were following someone else’s law, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
I hope our stories will help us remember that it is important that we obey the laws that keep us all safe. But I hope they will also help us remember what Jesus said were the two most important laws that God wants us to always obey. Who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Now, 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.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) I actually have two stories to tell you today. But instead of just telling you the stories, I thought it would be better if you helped me show everyone the stories, okay? (Let them respond.) Great.
Our first story is about a woman Jesus met when he was talking with people at their synagogue on the Sabbath day. (Select the child who will play the part of the first woman and have her stand in front of the group.) The first thing that Jesus noticed about her was that she could not stand up straight and she looked like her back was really sore. (Have the woman bend over at the waist and look very tired and sore.) He talked with her and found out that she had been sick like that for 18 years. That’s a long time to be sick, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus reached out and touched her and do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) She stood up and stopped hurting! (Have her stand up straight and move around like she is really happy.) Jesus healed her and made her all better. I’ll bet everyone got all excited, don’t you? (Let them respond.) But the leader of the synagogue walked over to Jesus and said, “Hey! What do you think you are doing?” (Pick your synagogue leader and have him stand in front of Jesus and say that.) He and his friends were really angry, and he shook his finger in Jesus’ face and shouted that the law said Sabbath day was a day everyone was supposed to rest, and it was against the law to do any kind of work, and healing someone was work. Plus, Jesus had touched the woman, and there was another law that said no one could touch a sick person. So, the synagogue leader said that since Jesus and the woman had broken the synagogue’s laws, they both had to be punished. Then the leader of the synagogue went away to talk with his friends about how they were going to punish Jesus. (Have all of them sit back down.)
Our second story is about a woman who had two children. (Pick your second woman and her children and have them stand in front of the group.) They were very poor and for 18 years they had lived in a place that was not safe at all. She worried about her children because she did not know how to protect them or find them enough food to eat. But the laws in that place said that if she tried leave and take her children some place where they might be safer, both she and her children would be arrested and punished. That made the woman very unhappy. (Have the woman show she is very sad.) Then one day, someone helped her sneak out of that place and helped her take her children to a new country where she could find a job to make the money she needed to get food for her children so she could keep them safe. (Have the woman and children move to a new spot.) Now that they were safe the woman could finally be happy. (Have the woman show she is happy as you have the country’s leader stand up.) But some of the new country’s leaders said that since she had broken their laws by just sneaking into their country, she had to be punished. So, the woman’s children were taken away from her, (have the children move away from their mother) and they were all sent back to the place they came from where they would all be punished again for breaking their laws by sneaking out. (Have the woman and children sit back down.)
Laws can be pretty important, can’t they? (Let them respond.) Laws can protect us and keep us safe, right? (Let them respond.) So, it is important that we try to obey the laws, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But now I have another question for you and it is a really hard one. Which do you think is more important, laws or people? (Let them respond.) Which was more important for Jesus when he saw the woman who had been sick for 18 years; to obey the synagogue’s laws, or to help the sick woman? (Let them respond.) And which was more important for the woman with the two children; to obey the laws, or to try and protect her children? (Let them respond.)
It is important that we try to obey the laws that keep us safe, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) But sometimes it can be hard to decide which laws we really need to obey. Maybe you remember the day the man told Jesus there were so many laws that he couldn’t decide which laws were the most important ones to always obey. Jesus told the man there were only two laws that God wanted us to obey more than any other laws. Does anyone remember what those two laws were that Jesus said God wants us to always obey? (Let them respond.) The first law is to always remember to love God. The second law is to always remember to love each other. Jesus said those are the two most important laws for us to remember to obey.
Finally, I have two more questions for you. (Have the sick woman stand.) When Jesus healed the sick woman on the Sabbath, was he obeying God’s law or someone else’s law? (Let them respond.) He was following God’s law and showing that he loved the sick woman, wasn’t he? (Have the sick woman sit down and have the mother and her children stand.) And, when the leaders took the mother’s children away from her and kicked her out of the country, were they obeying God’s law, or someone else’s law? (Let them respond.) I think they were following someone else’s law, don’t you? (Let them respond.)
I hope our stories will help us remember that it is important that we obey the laws that keep us all safe. But I hope they will also help us remember what Jesus said were the two most important laws that God wants us to always obey. Who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Now, 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.
