Who is he?
Children's sermon
Object:
a pigeon--holed box and some letters addressed
Good morning! I find that people always want to judge people before getting to know them. It's almost like they want to put people in a box like one might put mail in a box. A postal worker would put each letter in just the right box.
When Jesus came, people didn't know who he was. Some thought he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Others thought he might be Elijah raised from the dead. Still others thought he might be one of the other prophets come back to life. The king, whose name was Herod, said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." He thought that John the Baptist, whom he had murdered, had come back to life. The problem is that no one knew just what kind of man Jesus was. They had never seen anyone like this. He was like a letter that didn't fit in any of the boxes!
Jesus was truly a special person. He was God but he was also a man. He was not like any man any of us have ever met!
Today's reading from the book of Mark tells about John the Baptist and how he was murdered. Can you tell me something about John the Baptist? (Let them answer.) John was a cousin to Jesus. He was a man of God who came to prepare the way for Jesus. He preached in the wilderness and baptized many people. (That's why we call him "John the Baptist.")
Herod surely must have felt guilty for having murdered John the Baptist. So when he heard about Jesus and his disciples doing great things for God like John the Baptist, he knew in his mind that John the Baptist had come back to life.
Herod could not make Jesus someone other than who he was: the Son of God and Savior of the world. I'm glad Jesus was not John the Baptist or some other man. I'm glad Jesus was true man and true God. Otherwise, he would have been like any other person. But since Jesus was God and man, he could save even me from my sins.
Dearest Jesus: Thank you for being who you are and for saving us. Amen.
When Jesus came, people didn't know who he was. Some thought he was John the Baptist raised from the dead. Others thought he might be Elijah raised from the dead. Still others thought he might be one of the other prophets come back to life. The king, whose name was Herod, said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." He thought that John the Baptist, whom he had murdered, had come back to life. The problem is that no one knew just what kind of man Jesus was. They had never seen anyone like this. He was like a letter that didn't fit in any of the boxes!
Jesus was truly a special person. He was God but he was also a man. He was not like any man any of us have ever met!
Today's reading from the book of Mark tells about John the Baptist and how he was murdered. Can you tell me something about John the Baptist? (Let them answer.) John was a cousin to Jesus. He was a man of God who came to prepare the way for Jesus. He preached in the wilderness and baptized many people. (That's why we call him "John the Baptist.")
Herod surely must have felt guilty for having murdered John the Baptist. So when he heard about Jesus and his disciples doing great things for God like John the Baptist, he knew in his mind that John the Baptist had come back to life.
Herod could not make Jesus someone other than who he was: the Son of God and Savior of the world. I'm glad Jesus was not John the Baptist or some other man. I'm glad Jesus was true man and true God. Otherwise, he would have been like any other person. But since Jesus was God and man, he could save even me from my sins.
Dearest Jesus: Thank you for being who you are and for saving us. Amen.
