Getting Even!
Children's sermon
Object: We want something to represent a club to give to each child. I roll up and tape pieces of paper into tubes and have them in a pile on the floor as we begin.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have a question for you. Have you ever had someone be mean to you, or ever been bullied by someone? (Let them respond.) I know I have. And when that happens, how does it make you feel? (Let them respond.) It feels kind of scary, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) And when it happens to me it makes me feel sad. Sometimes it makes me feel angry. Have you ever felt like that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes I get so angry when someone hurts me that I wish I could do something to get even with them and teach them a lesson. Have you ever felt that way? (Let them respond.)
Today’s story is about being angry like that. One day, Jesus’ friends were walking on a hill in Galilee when Jesus came to see them. Some of them still didn’t believe it was really Jesus, and thought it was a trick by some of the people who had killed Jesus and were trying to get them now. They were really angry with those people who had killed Jesus. They had been trying to figure out how they could do something to get even with them, but just couldn’t figure out how to do it. Then Jesus told them something that made them REALLY excited.
Jesus told them, “God has given me authority over heaven and earth.” In other words, Jesus said that God had given him the power over everyone and everything in the entire world, and since they were his friends, now he could help them do anything they wanted to do.
WOW! Jesus’ friends got really excited. They could do anything they wanted to do! Now they could finally get even with those people who had been so mean to everyone and had taken and killed Jesus. They started shouting about how they were going to go get even. (Pick up a club.) Some of them picked up clubs and shouted, “Let’s go get ’em!” Then the rest of them picked up clubs. (Have each child pick up a club.) They all raised their clubs into the air and shouted, “Let’s go get ’em!” (Have the children raise their clubs and shout.)
Then Jesus said, “Here is what I want you to do. I want you to go and help everyone become one of my disciples. I want you to baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have taught you.”
Jesus’ friends all shouted, “YEAH!...let’s go get…I mean…what? Baptize them? Teach them? Instead of wanting us to get even with them, you want us to invite them to join us?”
They all just stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what they were going to do. Finally, one of them threw down their club and said, “Okay, if that’s what Jesus wants us to do, that’s what I’m going to do.” (Drop your club on the floor.)
Then someone said, “Wait. We will still need our clubs. If someone refuses to do what we tell them to do, we may need to force them to do it.”
Someone else said, “No, that’s the way the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Priests treated everyone, and they are the ones who took Jesus. We don’t want to be like them. We need to help people the way Jesus taught us to help people. We don’t need to scare and hurt people, but we need to take care of them the way Jesus did.
Jesus’ friends all dropped their clubs on the ground. (Have the children drop their clubs on the floor.)
Jesus’ friends did something that day that is very hard to do when we are angry. Does anyone know what that thing was? (Let them respond.) When we are angry it is very easy to pick up a club and want to use it to get even with someone. The hardest thing to do is to do what Jesus asked us to do and put down the club and just go take care of the people we are angry with. Jesus’ friends did the hard thing and put down their clubs and started taking care of people.
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.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I have a question for you. Have you ever had someone be mean to you, or ever been bullied by someone? (Let them respond.) I know I have. And when that happens, how does it make you feel? (Let them respond.) It feels kind of scary, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) And when it happens to me it makes me feel sad. Sometimes it makes me feel angry. Have you ever felt like that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes I get so angry when someone hurts me that I wish I could do something to get even with them and teach them a lesson. Have you ever felt that way? (Let them respond.)
Today’s story is about being angry like that. One day, Jesus’ friends were walking on a hill in Galilee when Jesus came to see them. Some of them still didn’t believe it was really Jesus, and thought it was a trick by some of the people who had killed Jesus and were trying to get them now. They were really angry with those people who had killed Jesus. They had been trying to figure out how they could do something to get even with them, but just couldn’t figure out how to do it. Then Jesus told them something that made them REALLY excited.
Jesus told them, “God has given me authority over heaven and earth.” In other words, Jesus said that God had given him the power over everyone and everything in the entire world, and since they were his friends, now he could help them do anything they wanted to do.
WOW! Jesus’ friends got really excited. They could do anything they wanted to do! Now they could finally get even with those people who had been so mean to everyone and had taken and killed Jesus. They started shouting about how they were going to go get even. (Pick up a club.) Some of them picked up clubs and shouted, “Let’s go get ’em!” Then the rest of them picked up clubs. (Have each child pick up a club.) They all raised their clubs into the air and shouted, “Let’s go get ’em!” (Have the children raise their clubs and shout.)
Then Jesus said, “Here is what I want you to do. I want you to go and help everyone become one of my disciples. I want you to baptize them and teach them to obey everything I have taught you.”
Jesus’ friends all shouted, “YEAH!...let’s go get…I mean…what? Baptize them? Teach them? Instead of wanting us to get even with them, you want us to invite them to join us?”
They all just stood there for a minute, trying to figure out what they were going to do. Finally, one of them threw down their club and said, “Okay, if that’s what Jesus wants us to do, that’s what I’m going to do.” (Drop your club on the floor.)
Then someone said, “Wait. We will still need our clubs. If someone refuses to do what we tell them to do, we may need to force them to do it.”
Someone else said, “No, that’s the way the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Priests treated everyone, and they are the ones who took Jesus. We don’t want to be like them. We need to help people the way Jesus taught us to help people. We don’t need to scare and hurt people, but we need to take care of them the way Jesus did.
Jesus’ friends all dropped their clubs on the ground. (Have the children drop their clubs on the floor.)
Jesus’ friends did something that day that is very hard to do when we are angry. Does anyone know what that thing was? (Let them respond.) When we are angry it is very easy to pick up a club and want to use it to get even with someone. The hardest thing to do is to do what Jesus asked us to do and put down the club and just go take care of the people we are angry with. Jesus’ friends did the hard thing and put down their clubs and started taking care of people.
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.
