DO THE TOUGH THINGS FIRST
Children's sermon
The Devil Is A Mosquite Bite
Children's Sermons
(For use on the Sunday nearest July 4)
Object:
a shovel and a bucket.
Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you on this very important day in the history of our country? How many of you know what day today is and what happened on this day? [Let them tell you about the Fourth of July.] That's wonderful that you know so much about this important day. Are there any other days like this that you can compare the Fourth of July with, so I will really know how important it is? Do you know what I mean by comparing? [See how many know what the word means.]
Let me show you what I think would be a good example of the word compare. Do you see this shovel and bucket? Well, let us suppose that we were going to build a swimming pool. How many of you would like to have a swimming pool that you could swim in every day? Oh, boy, all of you. Do you like to swim and lie in the sunshine? Well, before you can do that you are going to have to dig and dig and dig. Does that sound pretty good? You are going to have to dig all this summer, but next summer you will have a place to swim. You wouldn't mind digging all summer, would you? Of course, next summer you would have to carry buckets and buckets of water until the pool was filled up so that you could swim in the water. You wouldn't mind carrying a bucket of water, would you? [If you can, have the bucket filled with water so they can feel how heavy it would be.] Pretty heavy, isn't it? But just think, after the pool is filled, you can swim and swim. You see, I am comparing the work that it would take with the fun it would be to have a place to swim whenever you wanted to.
That's the way St. Paul looked at the problems that he had with being a Christian. Oh, he thought being a Christian was pretty tough sometimes, but when he thought that God was going to give him the most wonderful life he could imagine, he thought there was no comparison. Paul told everyone that he would take the tough problems of being a Christian now for a little while because he knew that God was going to let him enjoy life forever.
It isn't easy to forgive someone who has hurt you, but you can do it if you know that God wants you to and it will help everyone be a better person. You see you have to compare what might be a little suffering now with what will be a joy forever. It would be better to dig and carry water for one year if you got to swim in a pool for twenty years than not to dig or carry water at all. The same is true with being a Christian. You will do the tough things now and know that you are going to live with God forever.
PLAYING GOD'S GAME
1 Peter 3:8-15a, vs. 11: Let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Object:
a game like dominoes, jacks, or pick-up sticks.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to have a good time because I brought with me some games that I know all of you like to play. How many of you have ever been allowed to play a game during church and not have someone look at you with a big frown on his face? [Give them your very best look of scorn.] Well, today, I brought along some of these games that I used to play and perhaps some of you still play today. Here is one of my favorites, called pick-up sticks. How many of you know how to play pick-up sticks? Very good. Here is another that I played a long time ago, but was never very good at. It's called jacks. You have to be very quick at this game if you are going to win. Is there anyone who has ever played jacks? Some have and you know how quick you must be. This last game is really an old game and people used to play it a lot, but you don't see it much anymore. The game is dominoes. Is there anyone here who has played this game? I don't think so.
Well, this certainly was a fun morning playing all of these games, wasn't it? [The fact that you haven't played one will bring their objections, but just go on talking about how much fun it was to play and mention their names and talk about winners, etc.] Yes, it has been a lot of fun, but that is what games are for, aren't they? I mean, they let us have a lot of fun. [Now you hear them.] What do you mean, we didn't play the games? We talked about them, didn't we? In other words you are telling me that if we want to play the game we have to do more than just talk about it.
I wonder if that is what God means when he tells us about peace. I hear people talking about peace all the time, but very few of the people who talk ever do anything about it. They don't pursue it as God says that we must. If we want peace, then we have to do something and not just talk about it. We have to forgive and share and love and help and work hard if we want peace. If we want to play pick-up sticks, we have to take them out of the box. Well, that certainly is something to remember. You have to do something to play the game and you have to do something if you want peace. Maybe you can remember this, too, and help bring peace to God's world.
FREE FROM SIN
Romans 6:3-11, vs. 7: For he who has died is free from sin.
Object:
a slide and a slide projector.
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to talk to you this morning about something which we don't often like to talk about. The subject is death. Now, most people are afraid of death. They don't know what it is about, so they are afraid of it. It only comes to you once, and after it happens, there is nothing else that we know like it. I suppose if you only got a chance to eat once, you would be afraid of it also. Now, we know that God makes certain promises to us about wht happens when we die, and we certainly hope that they are true. One of the things that God tells us about living is that, as long as we live, we have to live with sin. It is a part of life and while we don't like it, we still have to live with it. God also promises that after we die we will not have to live with sin any longer. I want to show you why I think that Life will be better after we die than it is now.
I have in my hand a slide. I took this slide while I was on vacation and I think that it is beautiful. I am going to pass it around and let everyone take a good look at it. [Pass it to each child and even hold it up to the light so that they can see there is something on the slide.] This is the way that I think we are today, before we have died. You and I can look at this slide and we know that something is on it, but it is very dark and hard to see. The darkness, or the part that makes it hard to see is what we can call sin. Now, I am going to take this slide and bury it in my projector. Let's pretend that the slide with all of the sin has died. You remember how dark it was and how hard it was to see. Now, when I turn on the light it will be like God coming for us after we have died. God is going to take away all of our sin. [Turn on the
projector.] Isn't that a beautiful sight? Do you see how clear it is and free from the darkness of sin? That is the way that I think that God is going to make it for you and me after we die. I think that we are going to be free forever from the darkness that makes it hard to see and believe today. So, you can see how wonderful it is going to be when God calls us to live with him and be free from sin forever.
TOUGHER THAN BUMPERS
1 Corinthians 4:9-15, vs. 10: We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
Object:
a car bumper (borrowed from a junk yard).
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you know what an apostle is? Can you tell me who was an apostle? [Allow them some time to answer.] An apostle is a special disciple, one of the very first believers who was chosen by Jesus to help him in his ministry. Some of the apostles had names like Peter, and John, and Andrew. One of the apostles was a man named James who had a brother named John. John was a fisherman. The apostles had a very difficult job, because they had to be some of the very first people to teach others about Jesus. It wasn't always a very pleasant task.
I brought with me this morning something that reminds me of the kind of people apostles had to be. How many of you know what this thing is? That's right, an automobile bumper. It fits on the front of the car and it has a very special job. How many of you know what a bumper does? That's right, it protects the car's fenders, and radiator, and lights, and a lot of other things. It always has to go first and people always know that when they see the bumper there is a car following it. A bumper has to be rugged and tough and take a lot of punishment, but it also has to tell others that it is leading something which is not far behind.
That was the job of an apostle. He had to be rugged, no sissy, and he had to be a leader, so that other people knew that what they were telling meant that the Christian faith was coming to their town or city or village.
The apostles did a good job and they were all tougher than any bumper ever made when it came to taking the abuse and punishment of people who did not want to hear and learn new things about God. St. James was one of those men and we are glad for what he did. Because he was willing to go ahead, teaching the good news, and was willing to suffer if he had to, we are able to be Christians today in a world that now knows a lot about Jesus and the love of God. That is why we have a St. James Sunday and I hope the next time and every time that you see a bumper from now on you will think of James and the other apostles.
THE DEVIL IS A MOSQUITO BITE
Romans 8:12-17, vs. 12: So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do. (The Paraphrased Epistles)
Object:
a mosquito bite.
Good morning, boys and girls. There are certain things that I like about the summer and there are a few that I am not so happy about. Tell me some of the things that you like best about the summer. [Let them tell you about not having to go to school, being able to swim and play ball.] That's very good. Is there anything that you don't like about summer? That's a pretty hard question, because we always think about summer as being a time of fun and we all like fun. Let me tell you something that I don't like and see if you don't agree with me. I don't like mosquito bites. Is there anyone here this morning who has a mosquito bite? [Bring forward your volunteer.] Why don't you like mosquito bites? Doesn't that feel good when you first get a mosquito bite and you scratch it? Oh, boy, I can just feel it now. I know that if I scratch that itch just a little bit, it will feel so good. But then what happens? That's right, you scratch it so much that it begins to hurt. The only way to make a mosquito bite go away is to leave it alone or it will soon become very sore.
Mosquito bites just beg you to scratch them, but you know that you must not do it. The same is true about our lives as St. Paul teaches us. There are certain things that always look like they would be a lot of fun, but our experience teaches us that we will only get into trouble if we try them. Our parents tell us to stay close by while all of our friends are going away. What shall we do, listen to our parents whom we know are right, or listen to that voice inside of us that is just begging for us to go? Sometimes we see something that we know does not belong to us, but we are sure that we would never be caught if we took it. Should we leave it alone or should we listen to that voice that begs us to take it and use it the way we want to use it? St. Paul teaches us that there are better ways to live after we become Christians and that we should always follow them, even when we hear the old ways begging us to do it like we did it before. The Devil is like an old mosquito bite that keeps begging us to scratch, even when we know that pretty soon the itch will turn into a bad sore. So remember, don't scratch mosquito bites, and don't listen to voices that beg you to do what you know is wrong. That is what a Christian must remember at all times, if he is to grow strong in the Lord.
Object:
a shovel and a bucket.
Good morning, boys and girls, and how are you on this very important day in the history of our country? How many of you know what day today is and what happened on this day? [Let them tell you about the Fourth of July.] That's wonderful that you know so much about this important day. Are there any other days like this that you can compare the Fourth of July with, so I will really know how important it is? Do you know what I mean by comparing? [See how many know what the word means.]
Let me show you what I think would be a good example of the word compare. Do you see this shovel and bucket? Well, let us suppose that we were going to build a swimming pool. How many of you would like to have a swimming pool that you could swim in every day? Oh, boy, all of you. Do you like to swim and lie in the sunshine? Well, before you can do that you are going to have to dig and dig and dig. Does that sound pretty good? You are going to have to dig all this summer, but next summer you will have a place to swim. You wouldn't mind digging all summer, would you? Of course, next summer you would have to carry buckets and buckets of water until the pool was filled up so that you could swim in the water. You wouldn't mind carrying a bucket of water, would you? [If you can, have the bucket filled with water so they can feel how heavy it would be.] Pretty heavy, isn't it? But just think, after the pool is filled, you can swim and swim. You see, I am comparing the work that it would take with the fun it would be to have a place to swim whenever you wanted to.
That's the way St. Paul looked at the problems that he had with being a Christian. Oh, he thought being a Christian was pretty tough sometimes, but when he thought that God was going to give him the most wonderful life he could imagine, he thought there was no comparison. Paul told everyone that he would take the tough problems of being a Christian now for a little while because he knew that God was going to let him enjoy life forever.
It isn't easy to forgive someone who has hurt you, but you can do it if you know that God wants you to and it will help everyone be a better person. You see you have to compare what might be a little suffering now with what will be a joy forever. It would be better to dig and carry water for one year if you got to swim in a pool for twenty years than not to dig or carry water at all. The same is true with being a Christian. You will do the tough things now and know that you are going to live with God forever.
PLAYING GOD'S GAME
1 Peter 3:8-15a, vs. 11: Let him turn away from evil and do right; let him seek peace and pursue it.
Object:
a game like dominoes, jacks, or pick-up sticks.
Good morning, boys and girls. Today we are going to have a good time because I brought with me some games that I know all of you like to play. How many of you have ever been allowed to play a game during church and not have someone look at you with a big frown on his face? [Give them your very best look of scorn.] Well, today, I brought along some of these games that I used to play and perhaps some of you still play today. Here is one of my favorites, called pick-up sticks. How many of you know how to play pick-up sticks? Very good. Here is another that I played a long time ago, but was never very good at. It's called jacks. You have to be very quick at this game if you are going to win. Is there anyone who has ever played jacks? Some have and you know how quick you must be. This last game is really an old game and people used to play it a lot, but you don't see it much anymore. The game is dominoes. Is there anyone here who has played this game? I don't think so.
Well, this certainly was a fun morning playing all of these games, wasn't it? [The fact that you haven't played one will bring their objections, but just go on talking about how much fun it was to play and mention their names and talk about winners, etc.] Yes, it has been a lot of fun, but that is what games are for, aren't they? I mean, they let us have a lot of fun. [Now you hear them.] What do you mean, we didn't play the games? We talked about them, didn't we? In other words you are telling me that if we want to play the game we have to do more than just talk about it.
I wonder if that is what God means when he tells us about peace. I hear people talking about peace all the time, but very few of the people who talk ever do anything about it. They don't pursue it as God says that we must. If we want peace, then we have to do something and not just talk about it. We have to forgive and share and love and help and work hard if we want peace. If we want to play pick-up sticks, we have to take them out of the box. Well, that certainly is something to remember. You have to do something to play the game and you have to do something if you want peace. Maybe you can remember this, too, and help bring peace to God's world.
FREE FROM SIN
Romans 6:3-11, vs. 7: For he who has died is free from sin.
Object:
a slide and a slide projector.
Good morning, boys and girls. I want to talk to you this morning about something which we don't often like to talk about. The subject is death. Now, most people are afraid of death. They don't know what it is about, so they are afraid of it. It only comes to you once, and after it happens, there is nothing else that we know like it. I suppose if you only got a chance to eat once, you would be afraid of it also. Now, we know that God makes certain promises to us about wht happens when we die, and we certainly hope that they are true. One of the things that God tells us about living is that, as long as we live, we have to live with sin. It is a part of life and while we don't like it, we still have to live with it. God also promises that after we die we will not have to live with sin any longer. I want to show you why I think that Life will be better after we die than it is now.
I have in my hand a slide. I took this slide while I was on vacation and I think that it is beautiful. I am going to pass it around and let everyone take a good look at it. [Pass it to each child and even hold it up to the light so that they can see there is something on the slide.] This is the way that I think we are today, before we have died. You and I can look at this slide and we know that something is on it, but it is very dark and hard to see. The darkness, or the part that makes it hard to see is what we can call sin. Now, I am going to take this slide and bury it in my projector. Let's pretend that the slide with all of the sin has died. You remember how dark it was and how hard it was to see. Now, when I turn on the light it will be like God coming for us after we have died. God is going to take away all of our sin. [Turn on the
projector.] Isn't that a beautiful sight? Do you see how clear it is and free from the darkness of sin? That is the way that I think that God is going to make it for you and me after we die. I think that we are going to be free forever from the darkness that makes it hard to see and believe today. So, you can see how wonderful it is going to be when God calls us to live with him and be free from sin forever.
TOUGHER THAN BUMPERS
1 Corinthians 4:9-15, vs. 10: We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute.
Object:
a car bumper (borrowed from a junk yard).
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you know what an apostle is? Can you tell me who was an apostle? [Allow them some time to answer.] An apostle is a special disciple, one of the very first believers who was chosen by Jesus to help him in his ministry. Some of the apostles had names like Peter, and John, and Andrew. One of the apostles was a man named James who had a brother named John. John was a fisherman. The apostles had a very difficult job, because they had to be some of the very first people to teach others about Jesus. It wasn't always a very pleasant task.
I brought with me this morning something that reminds me of the kind of people apostles had to be. How many of you know what this thing is? That's right, an automobile bumper. It fits on the front of the car and it has a very special job. How many of you know what a bumper does? That's right, it protects the car's fenders, and radiator, and lights, and a lot of other things. It always has to go first and people always know that when they see the bumper there is a car following it. A bumper has to be rugged and tough and take a lot of punishment, but it also has to tell others that it is leading something which is not far behind.
That was the job of an apostle. He had to be rugged, no sissy, and he had to be a leader, so that other people knew that what they were telling meant that the Christian faith was coming to their town or city or village.
The apostles did a good job and they were all tougher than any bumper ever made when it came to taking the abuse and punishment of people who did not want to hear and learn new things about God. St. James was one of those men and we are glad for what he did. Because he was willing to go ahead, teaching the good news, and was willing to suffer if he had to, we are able to be Christians today in a world that now knows a lot about Jesus and the love of God. That is why we have a St. James Sunday and I hope the next time and every time that you see a bumper from now on you will think of James and the other apostles.
THE DEVIL IS A MOSQUITO BITE
Romans 8:12-17, vs. 12: So, dear brothers, you have no obligations whatever to your old sinful nature to do what it begs you to do. (The Paraphrased Epistles)
Object:
a mosquito bite.
Good morning, boys and girls. There are certain things that I like about the summer and there are a few that I am not so happy about. Tell me some of the things that you like best about the summer. [Let them tell you about not having to go to school, being able to swim and play ball.] That's very good. Is there anything that you don't like about summer? That's a pretty hard question, because we always think about summer as being a time of fun and we all like fun. Let me tell you something that I don't like and see if you don't agree with me. I don't like mosquito bites. Is there anyone here this morning who has a mosquito bite? [Bring forward your volunteer.] Why don't you like mosquito bites? Doesn't that feel good when you first get a mosquito bite and you scratch it? Oh, boy, I can just feel it now. I know that if I scratch that itch just a little bit, it will feel so good. But then what happens? That's right, you scratch it so much that it begins to hurt. The only way to make a mosquito bite go away is to leave it alone or it will soon become very sore.
Mosquito bites just beg you to scratch them, but you know that you must not do it. The same is true about our lives as St. Paul teaches us. There are certain things that always look like they would be a lot of fun, but our experience teaches us that we will only get into trouble if we try them. Our parents tell us to stay close by while all of our friends are going away. What shall we do, listen to our parents whom we know are right, or listen to that voice inside of us that is just begging for us to go? Sometimes we see something that we know does not belong to us, but we are sure that we would never be caught if we took it. Should we leave it alone or should we listen to that voice that begs us to take it and use it the way we want to use it? St. Paul teaches us that there are better ways to live after we become Christians and that we should always follow them, even when we hear the old ways begging us to do it like we did it before. The Devil is like an old mosquito bite that keeps begging us to scratch, even when we know that pretty soon the itch will turn into a bad sore. So remember, don't scratch mosquito bites, and don't listen to voices that beg you to do what you know is wrong. That is what a Christian must remember at all times, if he is to grow strong in the Lord.
