Gimme, Gimme!
Children's sermon
Object: An ear of corn. You might find an ear of sweet corn in your local grocery store. If you cannot find an ear of corn, you might use a potato, a beet, or another farm-grown food plant and change the text of the message accordingly.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I am excited to see you again. Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s do it!
One day when Jesus was talking with his disciples, a bunch of other people come to hear him too. One of the people in the crowd came up to Jesus and said, “I need your help with my brother. Our father died and left us our inheritance money. But my older brother got twice as much money as I did. I want you to tell my brother to give me half of his money, so I have more, too.” Everyone was curious about what Jesus was going to do because everyone knew that the law said when a man dies, his money is divided into equal amounts and each member of his family gets a share. But the law also says that the oldest brother gets two shares, and everyone else just gets one share. So, this man’s brother must be older than him, and he is jealous that the older brother got more money. So, what do you think Jesus did? (Let them respond.)
Jesus said to the man, “Who told you that I was a judge and could change the laws? It sounds to me like you had better be careful or your greediness is going to get you into big trouble.”
Then Jesus told another story, but before I tell it to you, I have a question to ask you. What is this? (Show the ear of corn and let them respond.) It’s corn, isn’t it? This is what it looks like when we get it from the fields where we grow it, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Have any of you ever seen corn growing in a field? (Let them respond.) The people with Jesus knew what corn looked like, and they also knew the laws the farmers were supposed to obey when they grew their corn. The law from the Old Testament said,
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.
The laws said that farmers were not supposed to harvest the corn that grew around the edges of the field or that fell on the ground. They were supposed to harvest the corn standing in the middle of the field but leave the rest so people who did not have enough food could come and get it and have enough for their families to eat.
Jesus looked at the man who was angry with this brother and said that he reminded him of the farmer who planted corn one Spring, and when he went to harvest it in the Fall he was surprised. The farmer’s fields were really, really, good this year, and he ended up with more corn than he ever expected to have. In fact, he got worried because he didn’t know where to put all of the extra corn. The farmer said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”
So, the farmer built a bunch of new barns to store all of the corn from the fields, and he kept all of the corn for himself so he would be richer than ever before. But do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) When the farmer went home that night, he died and didn’t get to enjoy any of the corn he had kept for himself. Jesus said the farmer was a fool, was too greedy, and didn’t care about other people who could have used some of the corn from the edges of his fields. And Jesus looked at the man who wanted his brother’s money and said, “That’s what happens when you get too greedy and forget to care about others.”
Let’s all pray together now and ask God to help us remember how Jesus wants us to always take care of each other and share what we have with those who don’t have enough instead of keeping it all for ourselves.
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.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) I am excited to see you again. Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Great! Let’s do it!
One day when Jesus was talking with his disciples, a bunch of other people come to hear him too. One of the people in the crowd came up to Jesus and said, “I need your help with my brother. Our father died and left us our inheritance money. But my older brother got twice as much money as I did. I want you to tell my brother to give me half of his money, so I have more, too.” Everyone was curious about what Jesus was going to do because everyone knew that the law said when a man dies, his money is divided into equal amounts and each member of his family gets a share. But the law also says that the oldest brother gets two shares, and everyone else just gets one share. So, this man’s brother must be older than him, and he is jealous that the older brother got more money. So, what do you think Jesus did? (Let them respond.)
Jesus said to the man, “Who told you that I was a judge and could change the laws? It sounds to me like you had better be careful or your greediness is going to get you into big trouble.”
Then Jesus told another story, but before I tell it to you, I have a question to ask you. What is this? (Show the ear of corn and let them respond.) It’s corn, isn’t it? This is what it looks like when we get it from the fields where we grow it, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Have any of you ever seen corn growing in a field? (Let them respond.) The people with Jesus knew what corn looked like, and they also knew the laws the farmers were supposed to obey when they grew their corn. The law from the Old Testament said,
When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and for the foreigner residing among you. I am the Lord your God.
The laws said that farmers were not supposed to harvest the corn that grew around the edges of the field or that fell on the ground. They were supposed to harvest the corn standing in the middle of the field but leave the rest so people who did not have enough food could come and get it and have enough for their families to eat.
Jesus looked at the man who was angry with this brother and said that he reminded him of the farmer who planted corn one Spring, and when he went to harvest it in the Fall he was surprised. The farmer’s fields were really, really, good this year, and he ended up with more corn than he ever expected to have. In fact, he got worried because he didn’t know where to put all of the extra corn. The farmer said, “This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’”
So, the farmer built a bunch of new barns to store all of the corn from the fields, and he kept all of the corn for himself so he would be richer than ever before. But do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) When the farmer went home that night, he died and didn’t get to enjoy any of the corn he had kept for himself. Jesus said the farmer was a fool, was too greedy, and didn’t care about other people who could have used some of the corn from the edges of his fields. And Jesus looked at the man who wanted his brother’s money and said, “That’s what happens when you get too greedy and forget to care about others.”
Let’s all pray together now and ask God to help us remember how Jesus wants us to always take care of each other and share what we have with those who don’t have enough instead of keeping it all for ourselves.
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.
