A Pretty Special Gift #3!
Children's sermon
Object: A video camera. One on your phone is just fine.
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Awesome! Let’s go!
We have talked about a guy before whose name was John the Baptist. Who remembers and can tell me who John the Baptist was? (Let them respond.) He was the man God chose to tell everyone about Jesus coming to help them, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) Well, one day, John the Baptist had a big problem.
John had been going around telling people that Jesus was the one that God sent to help them, but then John heard about some other people who were saying they were the ones that God had sent.
Jesus went around teaching people and talking to them about God, but some other guys were doing the same thing. One of them came from someplace in the South, and he dressed up in nicer clothes than Jesus did, and he talked a lot fancier, too. He was telling everyone that he was the one God sent to help them.
And there was another guy from the East who dressed up, really, really, fancy, and rode in a big fancy chariot, and had a band that went with him and played music and sang songs to get people to listen to him, and he was telling people that he was God’s son and was going to help them.
Another guy from up North traveled around with an entire circus with animals and jugglers and other things that people came to see, and when the people came, he told them that all of the other guys were phony and that he was the only one that God had sent to help them.
And there were more.
So, John was confused. He started to wonder if he had made a mistake, and that maybe Jesus wasn’t who he thought he was. So, John sent some of his people to talk to Jesus and see if he really was God’s son, or if they should start following one of the other guys. When the people found Jesus, they asked him, “Are you the one, or should we look for someone else?”
Do you know what Jesus said when they asked him that question? (Let them respond.)
Well, when people asked the other guys if they were really God’s son, some of them said things like, “Yes, I am! I am the only one you should follow. And if you don’t follow me, God will be mad at you, and you will be in big trouble!”
And some of them said, “Just look at the fancy things I have with me that God has given me. If you follow me, God will give you fancy things like this too!”
But when they asked Jesus, he said something different. He didn’t yell at them or try to scare them or say anything bad about the other people. He said, “Just look around and see what I am doing, and listen to what I am saying, and I think you will see who I really am.”
So, they followed and watched everything he did, and listened to everything he said to people. They didn’t see Jesus wear fancy clothes or have a band play music or have a circus to show people, but they saw him feed people who were hungry and take care of people who had no place to live. They saw him help people who were sick and be nice to people that everyone else was being mean to. They didn’t hear him say that God would give all of them fancy things, but instead, they heard him say that God loved every one of them, no matter what they had or who they were, and that God just wanted them to take care of each other.
After a few days, John’s friends went back to him and said, “Jesus is the one all right!”
How did John’s friends know that Jesus was the Son of God? (Let them respond.) They knew he was with God because they listened to everything he said and watched everything he did, right? (Let them respond.) Okay.
What is this I have in my hand? (Show the camera and let them respond.) It is a camera, isn’t it? And it can record what we say and what we do, can’t it? (Let them respond.)
So now I have a tough question for us: If someone followed us around all day and recorded everything we said and everything we did, would they think we were following God or not following God? (Let them respond.)
That is kind of tough, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) I mean, we all try to follow God and do what God wants us to do, but sometimes it is hard to do that isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we get angry, or we just forget about God, and we might say something or do something that we know God would not want us to do.
I have one more question for you. Sometimes we have a lot of people telling us that they are with God and we should follow them and do what they want us to do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) We adults have the same problem. We have a lot of people telling us that too and sometimes we get confused just like John the Baptist did and aren’t sure who we should listen to. (Look at the adults in the congregation.) Don’t we? (Let them respond.)
Well, let’s remember John’s friends and remember our camera. If someone is really with God and we followed them around all day with our camera, what kinds of things will we hear them say and see them do?
Will they be shouting at us and promising to give us fancy things? (Let them respond.) Jesus didn’t do that, did he? (Let them respond.) Will they be saying things to try and scare us about God? (Let them respond.) I don’t think so either. If they are with God they will be like Jesus and helping people who are sick or hurt and feeding people who have no food and taking care of people who are lonely or afraid and protecting people who are being bullied. They will be taking care of everyone…even strangers and people who are from other places and are very different than they are.
As we get ready for Christmas, let’s thank God for two very special gifts God gave us on Christmas. The first gift is that God forgives us if we make a mistake now and then and then we say we are sorry. And the second gift is that God loves every one of us and wants us to follow and take care of each other no matter who we are.
Let’s pray together.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. 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.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Awesome! Let’s go!
We have talked about a guy before whose name was John the Baptist. Who remembers and can tell me who John the Baptist was? (Let them respond.) He was the man God chose to tell everyone about Jesus coming to help them, wasn’t he? (Let them respond.) Well, one day, John the Baptist had a big problem.
John had been going around telling people that Jesus was the one that God sent to help them, but then John heard about some other people who were saying they were the ones that God had sent.
Jesus went around teaching people and talking to them about God, but some other guys were doing the same thing. One of them came from someplace in the South, and he dressed up in nicer clothes than Jesus did, and he talked a lot fancier, too. He was telling everyone that he was the one God sent to help them.
And there was another guy from the East who dressed up, really, really, fancy, and rode in a big fancy chariot, and had a band that went with him and played music and sang songs to get people to listen to him, and he was telling people that he was God’s son and was going to help them.
Another guy from up North traveled around with an entire circus with animals and jugglers and other things that people came to see, and when the people came, he told them that all of the other guys were phony and that he was the only one that God had sent to help them.
And there were more.
So, John was confused. He started to wonder if he had made a mistake, and that maybe Jesus wasn’t who he thought he was. So, John sent some of his people to talk to Jesus and see if he really was God’s son, or if they should start following one of the other guys. When the people found Jesus, they asked him, “Are you the one, or should we look for someone else?”
Do you know what Jesus said when they asked him that question? (Let them respond.)
Well, when people asked the other guys if they were really God’s son, some of them said things like, “Yes, I am! I am the only one you should follow. And if you don’t follow me, God will be mad at you, and you will be in big trouble!”
And some of them said, “Just look at the fancy things I have with me that God has given me. If you follow me, God will give you fancy things like this too!”
But when they asked Jesus, he said something different. He didn’t yell at them or try to scare them or say anything bad about the other people. He said, “Just look around and see what I am doing, and listen to what I am saying, and I think you will see who I really am.”
So, they followed and watched everything he did, and listened to everything he said to people. They didn’t see Jesus wear fancy clothes or have a band play music or have a circus to show people, but they saw him feed people who were hungry and take care of people who had no place to live. They saw him help people who were sick and be nice to people that everyone else was being mean to. They didn’t hear him say that God would give all of them fancy things, but instead, they heard him say that God loved every one of them, no matter what they had or who they were, and that God just wanted them to take care of each other.
After a few days, John’s friends went back to him and said, “Jesus is the one all right!”
How did John’s friends know that Jesus was the Son of God? (Let them respond.) They knew he was with God because they listened to everything he said and watched everything he did, right? (Let them respond.) Okay.
What is this I have in my hand? (Show the camera and let them respond.) It is a camera, isn’t it? And it can record what we say and what we do, can’t it? (Let them respond.)
So now I have a tough question for us: If someone followed us around all day and recorded everything we said and everything we did, would they think we were following God or not following God? (Let them respond.)
That is kind of tough, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) I mean, we all try to follow God and do what God wants us to do, but sometimes it is hard to do that isn’t it? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we get angry, or we just forget about God, and we might say something or do something that we know God would not want us to do.
I have one more question for you. Sometimes we have a lot of people telling us that they are with God and we should follow them and do what they want us to do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) We adults have the same problem. We have a lot of people telling us that too and sometimes we get confused just like John the Baptist did and aren’t sure who we should listen to. (Look at the adults in the congregation.) Don’t we? (Let them respond.)
Well, let’s remember John’s friends and remember our camera. If someone is really with God and we followed them around all day with our camera, what kinds of things will we hear them say and see them do?
Will they be shouting at us and promising to give us fancy things? (Let them respond.) Jesus didn’t do that, did he? (Let them respond.) Will they be saying things to try and scare us about God? (Let them respond.) I don’t think so either. If they are with God they will be like Jesus and helping people who are sick or hurt and feeding people who have no food and taking care of people who are lonely or afraid and protecting people who are being bullied. They will be taking care of everyone…even strangers and people who are from other places and are very different than they are.
As we get ready for Christmas, let’s thank God for two very special gifts God gave us on Christmas. The first gift is that God forgives us if we make a mistake now and then and then we say we are sorry. And the second gift is that God loves every one of us and wants us to follow and take care of each other no matter who we are.
Let’s pray together.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. 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.
