What (not) to wear
Children's sermon
Object:
a department store magazine/catalog (or clothing store magazine/catalog)
Object: a department store magazine/catalog (or clothing store magazine/catalog)
What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. (v. 8)
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you like to go clothes shopping? (allow answers) What do you like -- or dislike -- about clothes shopping? (allow answers) Some people really like to go shopping for clothes. They can spend hours looking through racks of shirts, pants, or dresses. They can spend days in a shoe store, picking out the perfect pair of running shoes. Some people have the perfect outfit for every occasion you could think of -- they have clothes especially for exercise, clothes especially for sleeping, clothes especially for riding in an airplane or going on a hike or going to a fancy dinner party. That's a lot of clothing!
Our gospel lesson today talks a little bit about clothing. In the gospel, Jesus is talking to his followers about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. God sent John the Baptist to preach to many people and to tell them that Jesus was coming soon. John prepared the way for Jesus! Right now, we are in the season of Advent. Advent is the time when we prepare for Jesus, too! We talk about John the Baptist a lot during this time of the year, because he shows us what it means to get things ready for Jesus' arrival.
In the gospel, Jesus mentions John's clothes. Jesus asks his followers, "Why did you go out to the wilderness to see John?" He asks, "What did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces."
Jesus is making a point to his followers. He is saying, "Don't expect things to be fancy and beautiful all the time!" Doing work for God can be difficult and dirty sometimes. Have you ever heard the phrase, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"? (allow answers) This phrase reminds us that even when things get difficult, we can't give up. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do in order to do God's work.
Think about the people we talked about earlier, who have special clothes for every occasion. Those people are not bad people. However, we have to be careful about becoming like them. It's okay to want to dress nicely for special occasions, but we have to remember that there is a time and place for nice clothes. We can't shy away from putting on our work clothes when we need to. Advent may be the time of preparation for Christmas, but like John the Baptist, we have to keep our focus on God and not on things like clothes or gifts. Remember that this week as we prepare for Christmas. Amen.
What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. (v. 8)
Good morning, boys and girls! How many of you like to go clothes shopping? (allow answers) What do you like -- or dislike -- about clothes shopping? (allow answers) Some people really like to go shopping for clothes. They can spend hours looking through racks of shirts, pants, or dresses. They can spend days in a shoe store, picking out the perfect pair of running shoes. Some people have the perfect outfit for every occasion you could think of -- they have clothes especially for exercise, clothes especially for sleeping, clothes especially for riding in an airplane or going on a hike or going to a fancy dinner party. That's a lot of clothing!
Our gospel lesson today talks a little bit about clothing. In the gospel, Jesus is talking to his followers about John the Baptist. John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. God sent John the Baptist to preach to many people and to tell them that Jesus was coming soon. John prepared the way for Jesus! Right now, we are in the season of Advent. Advent is the time when we prepare for Jesus, too! We talk about John the Baptist a lot during this time of the year, because he shows us what it means to get things ready for Jesus' arrival.
In the gospel, Jesus mentions John's clothes. Jesus asks his followers, "Why did you go out to the wilderness to see John?" He asks, "What did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces."
Jesus is making a point to his followers. He is saying, "Don't expect things to be fancy and beautiful all the time!" Doing work for God can be difficult and dirty sometimes. Have you ever heard the phrase, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going"? (allow answers) This phrase reminds us that even when things get difficult, we can't give up. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do in order to do God's work.
Think about the people we talked about earlier, who have special clothes for every occasion. Those people are not bad people. However, we have to be careful about becoming like them. It's okay to want to dress nicely for special occasions, but we have to remember that there is a time and place for nice clothes. We can't shy away from putting on our work clothes when we need to. Advent may be the time of preparation for Christmas, but like John the Baptist, we have to keep our focus on God and not on things like clothes or gifts. Remember that this week as we prepare for Christmas. Amen.
