Contacts!
Children's sermon
I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. (vv. 12-14)
Object: A cell phone that you can use to show the phone’s Contact List.
Note: If you do ask the congregation to respond to your request about their Contact List, have some fun with the process.
Hello, everyone! It is great to see everyone today! (Let them respond.) I have an easy question for you today (Show the phone.) Who can tell me what I have here? (Let them respond.) It is a phone, isn’t it? Do some of you have phones? (Let them respond.) What are some of the things we use them for? (Let them respond.) Maybe to play games? To read the news or read books? But usually, we use our phones to talk to other people, or send messages to other people, don’t we? (Let them respond.)
In fact, since talking to other people is the thing most people do with their phone, there is something special in our phone to help us talk with the people we want to talk with. I wonder if anyone can tell me what that thing is? (Let them respond.) Here, let me show you on my phone. (Open your Contact List and show the screen to the children.) This is my Contact List that my phone keeps for me. It is a list of the people I usually talk to the most. I can add people to my Contact List, and it makes it a lot easier for me to talk with them. In fact, right now I have (tell them how many are on your list) people in my Contact List. But some people may have a lot more names in their Contact List.
I have an idea. Why don’t we find out? (Talk to the congregation.) Would anyone be willing to check and tell us how many people you have on your phone’s contact list? (Let several respond.)
Wow, some people had shorter lists, but some had really long lists, didn’t they? (Let them respond.) Some lists are short, and some are long, but do you know what? The number of people in our Contact List isn’t always the most important thing. What is really important is for us to know just who we are really talking with and listening to. I’ll tell you what I mean.
One day, Jesus’ disciples were worried about what they were going to do when Jesus wasn’t with them anymore. They asked him, “When you aren’t here anymore, who will we be able to talk to so we know what we need to do? Who is going to be able to tell us what to do the way you have been telling us? Who can we contact?”
Jesus knew they were worried, so he told them that God was going to send someone to help them. And the one God was going to send was really special. Do you know why the one God sent to help us is so special? Because they only have one name on their phone’s Contact List. Just one. God. They only talk with God, and they don’t talk with anyone else. So, they always know exactly what God wants, and they will always tell us the truth about what God says and wants us to do.
Wouldn’t it be great to know there was someone we could talk to who would always tell us what God wanted and would always tell us the truth? (Let them respond.) That would be pretty super, wouldn’t it? Sometimes it is hard to know what the truth is, and what God really wants us to do and say, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But how do we know when we are talking to the one God sent? Who remembers the most important thing that Jesus said God wants us all to always do? (Let them respond.) One day they asked Jesus what the most important thing to do was, and Jesus said, “Take care of each other!” The most important thing God wants us to do is to take care of each other. So, if someone is asking us to do something that might hurt someone, or make someone else feel bad, that person isn’t really telling us what God wants, are they? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes we want to talk with other people to help us figure out what we should do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And it is really great when we have someone we can talk to when we need them. And sometimes, maybe we can be the one who can talk with someone else to help them. That would be cool, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
So, let’s pray together and ask God to help us find the people who will help us work together to take care of each other. And that we remember how much God loves every one of us no matter who we are, what we have, or where we are from and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other so we look just like Jesus.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
Object: A cell phone that you can use to show the phone’s Contact List.
Note: If you do ask the congregation to respond to your request about their Contact List, have some fun with the process.
Hello, everyone! It is great to see everyone today! (Let them respond.) I have an easy question for you today (Show the phone.) Who can tell me what I have here? (Let them respond.) It is a phone, isn’t it? Do some of you have phones? (Let them respond.) What are some of the things we use them for? (Let them respond.) Maybe to play games? To read the news or read books? But usually, we use our phones to talk to other people, or send messages to other people, don’t we? (Let them respond.)
In fact, since talking to other people is the thing most people do with their phone, there is something special in our phone to help us talk with the people we want to talk with. I wonder if anyone can tell me what that thing is? (Let them respond.) Here, let me show you on my phone. (Open your Contact List and show the screen to the children.) This is my Contact List that my phone keeps for me. It is a list of the people I usually talk to the most. I can add people to my Contact List, and it makes it a lot easier for me to talk with them. In fact, right now I have (tell them how many are on your list) people in my Contact List. But some people may have a lot more names in their Contact List.
I have an idea. Why don’t we find out? (Talk to the congregation.) Would anyone be willing to check and tell us how many people you have on your phone’s contact list? (Let several respond.)
Wow, some people had shorter lists, but some had really long lists, didn’t they? (Let them respond.) Some lists are short, and some are long, but do you know what? The number of people in our Contact List isn’t always the most important thing. What is really important is for us to know just who we are really talking with and listening to. I’ll tell you what I mean.
One day, Jesus’ disciples were worried about what they were going to do when Jesus wasn’t with them anymore. They asked him, “When you aren’t here anymore, who will we be able to talk to so we know what we need to do? Who is going to be able to tell us what to do the way you have been telling us? Who can we contact?”
Jesus knew they were worried, so he told them that God was going to send someone to help them. And the one God was going to send was really special. Do you know why the one God sent to help us is so special? Because they only have one name on their phone’s Contact List. Just one. God. They only talk with God, and they don’t talk with anyone else. So, they always know exactly what God wants, and they will always tell us the truth about what God says and wants us to do.
Wouldn’t it be great to know there was someone we could talk to who would always tell us what God wanted and would always tell us the truth? (Let them respond.) That would be pretty super, wouldn’t it? Sometimes it is hard to know what the truth is, and what God really wants us to do and say, isn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But how do we know when we are talking to the one God sent? Who remembers the most important thing that Jesus said God wants us all to always do? (Let them respond.) One day they asked Jesus what the most important thing to do was, and Jesus said, “Take care of each other!” The most important thing God wants us to do is to take care of each other. So, if someone is asking us to do something that might hurt someone, or make someone else feel bad, that person isn’t really telling us what God wants, are they? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes we want to talk with other people to help us figure out what we should do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And it is really great when we have someone we can talk to when we need them. And sometimes, maybe we can be the one who can talk with someone else to help them. That would be cool, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
So, let’s pray together and ask God to help us find the people who will help us work together to take care of each other. And that we remember how much God loves every one of us no matter who we are, what we have, or where we are from and ask God to help us remember to do the things God wants us to do to take care of each other so we look just like Jesus.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us. 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.
