Children Of God
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
The children themselves.
"I asked all of you to come up here for the children's sermon -- so I guess all of you are children, right?" The youngsters readily agree.
"Am I a child?" I continue.
"No!" comes the immediate response.
"Well, then, perhaps I don't belong up here. Maybe I'd better leave ..." As I begin to get up, I get a thoughtful expression, and stop in mid-motion.
"No, wait a minute," I say to the children, "I'd like to talk about this first. I think I AM somebody's child. My mom and my dad will always be my mom and my dad no matter how big or how old I become. I'm their child, no matter what. So, maybe I'll just stay here with you after all."
As I settle back down, I ask, "What does it mean to be somebody's child?"
"You have someone to call Mom and Dad," Susan suggests.
"That's right," I agree. "What else?" As I pause, the children are silent, so I prompt them with an additional question: "Do your parents ever expect you to do anything?"
"Oh yes!" the children answer.
"Like what?" I ask.
"Clean my room," Brian says with a look of distaste.
"What else?"
"Clean the dishes!"
"Do my chores!"
"Do the laundry!"
"Do the laundry?" I repeat in questioning surprise. "Gee, I like that one. Maybe I should have had children!" Laughter ripples through the sanctuary with my words.
"Take care of pets!"
"Mow the lawn!"
"Gosh!" I say in mock surprise. "You guys are useful! Well, it seems to me that parents also do something for you. What might that be?"
"They take care of me," Robert answers.
"Why do they do that?" I ask him.
"Because they love me," he says.
"Yes, because you are their child. And we have learned this morning that we are all children of someone. We all have parents who gave us life. And we are all children of someone else too. When we say 'The Lord's Prayer,' how does it begin?"
"Our Father ..." little voices reply, trailing off.
"Yes, it begins 'Our Father ...' So, that makes us children of ..."
"Of the Lord!" the children answer.
I realize I am on the point of confusing their theology, so I say, "The Lord Jesus taught us this prayer. That is why we call it 'The Lord's Prayer.' But to whom do we pray this prayer? Who is it we address when we say, 'Our Father...?' "
"God?" one small voice questions.
"Yes," I answer, "God. We are all children of God. In fact, everyone in this room is qualified to come up here for the children's sermon because everyone here is a child of God. And that's why God loves us, because we are God's children. This week, I'd like you to think about how much God loves you and what you might do during the week to show your love for God."
"Am I a child?" I continue.
"No!" comes the immediate response.
"Well, then, perhaps I don't belong up here. Maybe I'd better leave ..." As I begin to get up, I get a thoughtful expression, and stop in mid-motion.
"No, wait a minute," I say to the children, "I'd like to talk about this first. I think I AM somebody's child. My mom and my dad will always be my mom and my dad no matter how big or how old I become. I'm their child, no matter what. So, maybe I'll just stay here with you after all."
As I settle back down, I ask, "What does it mean to be somebody's child?"
"You have someone to call Mom and Dad," Susan suggests.
"That's right," I agree. "What else?" As I pause, the children are silent, so I prompt them with an additional question: "Do your parents ever expect you to do anything?"
"Oh yes!" the children answer.
"Like what?" I ask.
"Clean my room," Brian says with a look of distaste.
"What else?"
"Clean the dishes!"
"Do my chores!"
"Do the laundry!"
"Do the laundry?" I repeat in questioning surprise. "Gee, I like that one. Maybe I should have had children!" Laughter ripples through the sanctuary with my words.
"Take care of pets!"
"Mow the lawn!"
"Gosh!" I say in mock surprise. "You guys are useful! Well, it seems to me that parents also do something for you. What might that be?"
"They take care of me," Robert answers.
"Why do they do that?" I ask him.
"Because they love me," he says.
"Yes, because you are their child. And we have learned this morning that we are all children of someone. We all have parents who gave us life. And we are all children of someone else too. When we say 'The Lord's Prayer,' how does it begin?"
"Our Father ..." little voices reply, trailing off.
"Yes, it begins 'Our Father ...' So, that makes us children of ..."
"Of the Lord!" the children answer.
I realize I am on the point of confusing their theology, so I say, "The Lord Jesus taught us this prayer. That is why we call it 'The Lord's Prayer.' But to whom do we pray this prayer? Who is it we address when we say, 'Our Father...?' "
"God?" one small voice questions.
"Yes," I answer, "God. We are all children of God. In fact, everyone in this room is qualified to come up here for the children's sermon because everyone here is a child of God. And that's why God loves us, because we are God's children. This week, I'd like you to think about how much God loves you and what you might do during the week to show your love for God."
