Who's number one?
Children's sermon
Object:
a wheelbarrow
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you think you are "the greatest"? (let them answer) I hear famous people say, "I am the greatest!" What does that mean? (let them answer)
Did you know that one day when Jesus was walking with his disciples they were arguing among themselves about "who was the greatest"? (let them answer) Peter thought he was the greatest, Matthew thought he was the greatest, John thought he was the greatest, Thomas thought he was the greatest, James thought he was the greatest, Judas thought he was the greatest, and so on. Which one would you say was the greatest? (let them answer)
When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they all got very quiet. But Jesus knew what was going on, so he told them this, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." What do you think he meant? (let them answer)
I brought along my old friend Wendy Wheelbarrow and I thought Wendy might be able to help us solve the puzzle. One day while Wendy was hauling vegetables back from her garden, she heard the different parts of the wheelbarrow talking. The handles said they were the most important because when someone lifted them, the whole wheelbarrow started to move. The big tire on the front said, "Wait a minute, Handles, without me you would go nowhere. I am the most important." The big bin that carried all of the vegetables began to laugh and said, "Handles, Tire, neither one of you is the most important. I am the one that carries things. Without me you would just run around, but you could haul nothing." Wendy Wheelbarrow was really surprised to hear the parts talking like this. Wendy said, "Listen, Mr. Handles, Mr. Tire, and Mr. Bin, none of you are important by yourself. You are only important when you are working together and serving each other. Mr. Handles tells us when to move, Mr. Tire gets us there, and Mr. Bin carries the important things we come after." Well, the parts got very quiet because they knew Wendy was right.
That's what Jesus was telling the disciples. The most important person, the greatest of them all, is the person who serving others. If you really want to be great in God's kingdom, you must make life better for others.
The next time you think you are the greatest, I want you to think about Wendy Wheelbarrow and all of her parts. You too can be great if you are serving God's people. The greatest is the last one because he has served everyone else first.
Did you know that one day when Jesus was walking with his disciples they were arguing among themselves about "who was the greatest"? (let them answer) Peter thought he was the greatest, Matthew thought he was the greatest, John thought he was the greatest, Thomas thought he was the greatest, James thought he was the greatest, Judas thought he was the greatest, and so on. Which one would you say was the greatest? (let them answer)
When Jesus asked them what they were talking about, they all got very quiet. But Jesus knew what was going on, so he told them this, "Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all." What do you think he meant? (let them answer)
I brought along my old friend Wendy Wheelbarrow and I thought Wendy might be able to help us solve the puzzle. One day while Wendy was hauling vegetables back from her garden, she heard the different parts of the wheelbarrow talking. The handles said they were the most important because when someone lifted them, the whole wheelbarrow started to move. The big tire on the front said, "Wait a minute, Handles, without me you would go nowhere. I am the most important." The big bin that carried all of the vegetables began to laugh and said, "Handles, Tire, neither one of you is the most important. I am the one that carries things. Without me you would just run around, but you could haul nothing." Wendy Wheelbarrow was really surprised to hear the parts talking like this. Wendy said, "Listen, Mr. Handles, Mr. Tire, and Mr. Bin, none of you are important by yourself. You are only important when you are working together and serving each other. Mr. Handles tells us when to move, Mr. Tire gets us there, and Mr. Bin carries the important things we come after." Well, the parts got very quiet because they knew Wendy was right.
That's what Jesus was telling the disciples. The most important person, the greatest of them all, is the person who serving others. If you really want to be great in God's kingdom, you must make life better for others.
The next time you think you are the greatest, I want you to think about Wendy Wheelbarrow and all of her parts. You too can be great if you are serving God's people. The greatest is the last one because he has served everyone else first.
