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Directions to heaven

Children's sermon
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Proper 27 | Ordinary Time 32 - A
Object: 
a set of directions for the assembly of a toy or anything purchased at a store
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of your remember last week when we talked about the people we loved and their dying? (let them answer) Good, do you remember that we talked about All Saints' Sunday? (let them answer) Very good! Well, someone asked me during the week if God only took care of the people who died. What about people like us who are still living? Does God care about us?

If Jesus is with our great-grandparents and Moses and Peter and George Washington and Princess Diana, then who is taking care of us?

God has a plan. It is a great plan. You know what a plan is, don't you? (let them answer) That's right; God knows exactly how he wants us to live and die and be with him. As a matter of fact, God gives us directions. You have seen directions before, haven't you? (let them answer)

I brought along some directions (show the directions and the small print) that I received when I bought this toy for my grandson. The toy came in many parts and I had to put it together. I had to follow the directions closely. It told me what I was supposed to do first and how I needed to attach this piece to the other piece. It took some time, but I was able to put the toy together. Sometimes, I thought I could do it without the directions but things really got messed up. But when I went back to the directions, everything worked out.

Saint Paul knew that people wanted to know if God was just as concerned with them as he was with the people that died. Paul wrote to the people in Thessalonica and gave them the directions that God had shared with him. He told people that they should not worry but should live their lives the way Jesus taught them to live. He said that Jesus would first take the people who died and bring them into heaven. And then when the time was right, Jesus will come and get the people who are still living and who believe in him and bring them into heaven. In other words, there are directions, very good directions, about how and when we become a part of heaven with Jesus. Just follow the directions, Paul said, and someday we will all be joined together with God and all of those who have died before us and all who are still living.

These are pretty good directions. And God says if we get lost and try to do it ourselves, we can always get back by simply finding the directions and following them again.

Prayer: Thank you, dear God, because you invite all of us to join you someday in heaven. Amen.
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