All In A Day's Work
Children's sermon
Ping-Pong Words
And 30 More Children's Sermons
Object:
Scripture References
A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
-- Proverbs 10:4
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
-- Genesis 2:15
Materials Needed
Card stock printed with scripture references and verses, one on each side
Crackers (optional)
Telling The Story
Do you know the story of the little red hen? Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who loved to bake homemade bread. Mmmmm!
To make homemade bread, she needed flour, and to make flour, she needed grain, so she decided to plant a field of wheat. Planting a field is a big job, so she decided to ask her neighbors for help. She went to the middle of the farmyard and asked, "Who will help me plant my field?" And do you know what her neighbors said?
"Not me," said the duck. "I'm too busy floating in the pond."
"Not me," said the cat. "I'm too busy licking my fur."
"Not me," said the dog. "I'm too busy chasing my tail."
"Well then," said the little red hen, "I guess I'll do it myself." And she did.
All summer long, the wheat in the field grew. Soon it was time to harvest the wheat. Now, harvesting wheat is a big job, so the little red hen decided to ask her neighbors for help. She went to the middle of the farmyard and asked, "Who will help me harvest my wheat?" And do you know what her neighbors said?
"Not me," said the duck. "I'm too busy counting my feathers."
"Not me," said the cat. "I'm too busy drinking this bowl of milk."
"Not me," said the dog. "I'm too busy warming myself in the sun."
"Well then," said the little red hen, "I guess I'll do it myself." And she did.
Of course, there was much more work to be done. The wheat had to be threshed to separate the grain from the hay. After it was threshed, the grain had to be ground into flour, and then the flour had to be mixed with other ingredients to make dough. The dough had to be kneaded and then baked to make bread. Each time the little red hen started a new job, she asked her neighbors for help, and every time, each neighbor said, "Not me!"
Finally, the bread was ready to come out of the oven. The little red hen carefully slid the pans out from the heat, and the scent of the warm, freshly baked homemade bread wafted across the farmyard for everyone to smell.
The little red hen looked at her beautiful loaves of bread and wondered out loud, "Now, who will help me eat this bread?"
"I will!" said the duck.
"Me! Me!" said the cat.
"Count me in!" said the dog.
But do you know what the little red hen said? She said, "I did all the work while all you did was play! Those who don't work, don't eat. I'm going to eat this bread myself." And she did.
That story reminds me of a verse in the Bible. It's from the book of Proverbs, which was written by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs to give us practical advice on how to live, and do you know what Solomon said? It's in Proverbs 10:4. (Show the card stock with Proverbs 10:4 printed on it and read the verse.) "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."
The word "slack" here means lazy. I know what lazy hands are, but do any of you know what "diligent" means? (Let the children offer definitions.) "Diligent hands" are hands that work hard and do things. They're the opposite of slack, lazy hands.
Proverbs 10:4 is telling us that if we're lazy -- if we don't do any work -- we won't have anything, but that if we work hard, good things will come to us. God wants us to work. When your mother tells you to clean your room, you might think, "Oh, no! I don't want to work that hard." But God doesn't intend work to be a punishment.
Look at this verse. (Show the card stock printed with Genesis 2:15 on it and read the verse.) "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." God put Adam in the garden of Eden to work! Genesis chapter 2 is very early in the Bible. In fact, it's before Adam and Eve sinned.
When you work, you experience the feeling of accomplishment. You have the thing made or the knowledge that you helped someone else. These are gifts from God, not punishments.
The next time you have a job to do, think of Solomon's words and think of the little red hen. Remember that what you accomplish when you work is one of God's gifts to you.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this beautiful day and for loving us. Thank you, too, for creating us with the ability to plan and to work. Please help us remember that work isn't a punishment, but a gift from you, and help us remember that when the job is hard, you'll help us if we just ask.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Optional: Tell the children that crackers are also made with flour and give the children some crackers to help them remember Proverbs 10:4 and story of the little red hen.
A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
-- Proverbs 10:4
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it.
-- Genesis 2:15
Materials Needed
Card stock printed with scripture references and verses, one on each side
Crackers (optional)
Telling The Story
Do you know the story of the little red hen? Once upon a time, there was a little red hen who loved to bake homemade bread. Mmmmm!
To make homemade bread, she needed flour, and to make flour, she needed grain, so she decided to plant a field of wheat. Planting a field is a big job, so she decided to ask her neighbors for help. She went to the middle of the farmyard and asked, "Who will help me plant my field?" And do you know what her neighbors said?
"Not me," said the duck. "I'm too busy floating in the pond."
"Not me," said the cat. "I'm too busy licking my fur."
"Not me," said the dog. "I'm too busy chasing my tail."
"Well then," said the little red hen, "I guess I'll do it myself." And she did.
All summer long, the wheat in the field grew. Soon it was time to harvest the wheat. Now, harvesting wheat is a big job, so the little red hen decided to ask her neighbors for help. She went to the middle of the farmyard and asked, "Who will help me harvest my wheat?" And do you know what her neighbors said?
"Not me," said the duck. "I'm too busy counting my feathers."
"Not me," said the cat. "I'm too busy drinking this bowl of milk."
"Not me," said the dog. "I'm too busy warming myself in the sun."
"Well then," said the little red hen, "I guess I'll do it myself." And she did.
Of course, there was much more work to be done. The wheat had to be threshed to separate the grain from the hay. After it was threshed, the grain had to be ground into flour, and then the flour had to be mixed with other ingredients to make dough. The dough had to be kneaded and then baked to make bread. Each time the little red hen started a new job, she asked her neighbors for help, and every time, each neighbor said, "Not me!"
Finally, the bread was ready to come out of the oven. The little red hen carefully slid the pans out from the heat, and the scent of the warm, freshly baked homemade bread wafted across the farmyard for everyone to smell.
The little red hen looked at her beautiful loaves of bread and wondered out loud, "Now, who will help me eat this bread?"
"I will!" said the duck.
"Me! Me!" said the cat.
"Count me in!" said the dog.
But do you know what the little red hen said? She said, "I did all the work while all you did was play! Those who don't work, don't eat. I'm going to eat this bread myself." And she did.
That story reminds me of a verse in the Bible. It's from the book of Proverbs, which was written by Solomon, the wisest man in the world. Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs to give us practical advice on how to live, and do you know what Solomon said? It's in Proverbs 10:4. (Show the card stock with Proverbs 10:4 printed on it and read the verse.) "A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich."
The word "slack" here means lazy. I know what lazy hands are, but do any of you know what "diligent" means? (Let the children offer definitions.) "Diligent hands" are hands that work hard and do things. They're the opposite of slack, lazy hands.
Proverbs 10:4 is telling us that if we're lazy -- if we don't do any work -- we won't have anything, but that if we work hard, good things will come to us. God wants us to work. When your mother tells you to clean your room, you might think, "Oh, no! I don't want to work that hard." But God doesn't intend work to be a punishment.
Look at this verse. (Show the card stock printed with Genesis 2:15 on it and read the verse.) "The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it." God put Adam in the garden of Eden to work! Genesis chapter 2 is very early in the Bible. In fact, it's before Adam and Eve sinned.
When you work, you experience the feeling of accomplishment. You have the thing made or the knowledge that you helped someone else. These are gifts from God, not punishments.
The next time you have a job to do, think of Solomon's words and think of the little red hen. Remember that what you accomplish when you work is one of God's gifts to you.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this beautiful day and for loving us. Thank you, too, for creating us with the ability to plan and to work. Please help us remember that work isn't a punishment, but a gift from you, and help us remember that when the job is hard, you'll help us if we just ask.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Optional: Tell the children that crackers are also made with flour and give the children some crackers to help them remember Proverbs 10:4 and story of the little red hen.
