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Scripture References
Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Aram, was a great man and in high favor with his master, because by him the Lord had given victory to Aram. The man, though a mighty warrior, suffered from leprosy. Now the Arameans on one of their raids had taken a young girl captive from the land of Israel, and she served Naaman's wife. She said to her mistress, "If only my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy."
-- 2 Kings 5:1-3

When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, "Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?" He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, "Six months' wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little." One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, said to him, "There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?" Jesus said, "Make the people sit down." Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, "Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost." So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.
-- John 6:5-13

Materials Needed
Card stock printed with 2 Kings 5:1-3 on one side and John 6:5-13 on the other (references only)

Telling The Story
The Bible is full of stories of God using adults to do things that he wants done, but does God ever use children? (Let the children answer.) Well, you know what? God does use children. You don't have to be an adult to serve God. Let's talk about two stories from the Bible that show examples of children serving God.

The first story comes from 2 Kings 5:1-3 in the Old Testament. (Hold up card stock with the 2 Kings 5:1-3 printed side toward the children.) Naaman was the commander of the army of Aram, a very important job. Unfortunately, he had leprosy. That's a contagious skin disease. Do you know what "contagious" means? (Let the children give answers.) Contagious means that you can catch the disease from another person. So if someone has leprosy and you spend time near that person, you can catch the disease, too. Today, we have medicines to treat leprosy, but back in Bible times, they didn't. People who had leprosy eventually got infections and died. And since leprosy is contagious, people who had the disease were sent away from towns to live. They couldn't hold jobs, so they ended up begging ... they'd live off scraps that other people might throw to them or leave outside of town for them.

Naaman had leprosy. He was going to die. Living in his house was a young girl from Israel. She was working for Naaman's wife as a servant. You've probably heard someone say, "Children should be seen and not heard." The people in Naaman's house probably thought that, too, and it was doubly true for servants. But this young girl cared for Naaman's family very much. She got up her nerve and told Naaman's wife that Naaman should go see Elisha. She knew that Elisha was a prophet of God and could cure Naaman.

There's more to the story, of course. Naaman did go to see Elisha, and he was cured, but the part of the story we want to pay attention to today is that this little girl was in a place where she could help. She had so much faith in God that she was willing to speak up and suggest that Naaman go visit God's prophet.

There's a story in the New Testament that you've probably heard before. It's told in John 6:5-13. (Hold up card stock with the John 6:5-13 printed side toward the children.) Jesus was speaking to thousands of people. All these people had gathered together, but there wasn't any food to feed them! Jesus asked his disciples to find food, but all they could find was a boy who had five loaves of bread and two fish. Now, these loaves of bread weren't like what we buy at the grocery store today. They probably weren't neat, rectangular loaves, cut by a machine, and wrapped in a plastic bag. They might not have been any bigger than a large biscuit even! Maybe all five loaves put together were the size of what a boy would usually eat in a day. Even if they were bigger, they wouldn't have been big enough to feed thousands of people. But the part of the story we want to think about today is that the boy was willing to share. He knew Jesus had asked for help -- in this case, food -- and he was willing to share what he had with Jesus.

In both stories, age wasn't what was important. God isn't limited by anyone's age. God worked through the children in these stories because they trusted him and were willing to do what he wanted. It doesn't matter how old you are, either. The characteristics that God looks for most are trust and willingness to serve him. Like the children in these Bible stories, you can serve God, too. Whether you are a child or an adult, God can use you if you are willing to trust him.

Prayer
Dear Lord,

Thank you so much for this beautiful day, and thank you for allowing us to be a part of your plans. Please help us to remember that you are always with us and that it's not our talents and abilities, but our willingness to trust and follow you that you most value. Help us to be willing to serve you, no matter how young or old we are.

In Jesus' name. Amen.