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In The Power Of His Name

Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: a bottle of shampoo


Good morning, boys and girls. I brought one of your best friends with me this morning. (show them the bottle of shampoo) How many of you like shampoo? (let them answer) Do you like to put the shampoo on your head when you are taking a bath? Isn't it fun to feel all of those wonderful suds just working away to make your hair cleaner than a whistle? (let them answer) Most of you like it, some of you think it is a waste of time, and others don't like to get the shampoo suds in their eyes. But have you ever noticed how often your mom and dad shampoo their hair? (let them answer) They like it a bunch. They can hardly wait to wash their hair. Some parents do it everyday.

Someday you will shower once a day, brush your teeth four times a day, shampoo your hair once a day, comb your hair four or five times a day, and wash your hands six or seven times a day. And guess what? You will love it. That's when you will start telling others to make the big change and to start to do those things as often as you are. Good things happen when you are clean. You have fewer colds and other kinds of sickness and you smell good, too.

Jesus knows about changing sides. One day his disciples were upset because some people who hardly knew Jesus were preaching and teaching and even trying to heal people in the name of Jesus. They were not his disciples, but they went from town to town doing these kinds of things. The disciples were upset because they knew that these people had never even met Jesus. They wanted Jesus to stop them. But Jesus knew something very important and he told the disciples to stop worrying about the other people. Jesus told them that when the other people found out the good things that were happening in the name of Jesus, they would also begin to believe. He said even though they did not know him, they would soon become followers of Jesus. When good things happen to you and to others, you change.

Sometimes we wonder about other Christians who worship differently than we do. We want everyone to be like us. But they talk about Jesus, pray like Jesus, sing songs about Jesus, and read about Jesus, and we realize they are followers of Jesus just like us. We don't all have to be the same; we just need to love Jesus.

So when you see a stranger using the name of Jesus and he/she doesn't sound like you do when you talk about Jesus, remember how Jesus told his disciples to relax and enjoy. Change happens to all of us who know the Lord. Even strangers find Jesus to be good. The next time you have to take a bath, ask your mom or dad if you can also have a shampoo. Tell them you have changed just like Jesus' disciples changed their feelings about strangers who used the name of Jesus.
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Jesus, for the times when we run away from you,

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Jesus, for the times when we have wasted our inheritance on dissolute living,

Christ, have mercy.

Jesus, when we return to you,

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