Making Money On God
Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: none
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever heard about people who sell religion? (let them answer) It is not the kind of thing that people like to talk about, but it is something that is done every day. I am going to tell you a story about two men who were involved in a big struggle over making money on God. The one man is our hero, Paul. Paul was a man who believed in God as Jesus had shown people to believe. God is a spirit, a loving spirit that is more real than anything else.
There was a man by the name of Demetrius who lived in Ephesus and was a silversmith. He was a great artist and a very rich one. He made statues of a false goddess called Diana. There were large temples in Ephesus built for the worshipers of Diana. But people were urged to have many copies of the big statue in their homes and their places of work. People like Demetrius, who were silversmiths, made their living by making these expensive statues of Diana.
There were not very many Christians in Ephesus, and there were a lot of people who followed the worship of Diana, but everyone seemed to be listening to what Paul said. People were not buying as many silver statues, and Demetrius began to worry about his business. He called the other silversmiths to come to a meeting where he told them about the serious situation that Paul was causing with his preaching of a God who was a spirit and not a statue. The other silversmiths listened. Demetrius told them if Paul were allowed to continue to preach, then someday no one would buy statues of Diana and that would mean that there would be no money for the families to buy food and clothing. Something had to be done. Besides, Demetrius said that if there were no statues then there would be no believers.
The town of Ephesus owed a lot to Diana and everyone should remember that she had been a great goddess for their town, Demetrius told them. The more he talked, the more the crowd of men got excited. Some of them did not even know Paul, but they hated him anyway. No one was going to ruin their business and hurt their families. No one was going to destroy their religion of Diana worship.
Before many knew what was happening, the people poured out of the meeting with shouts to kill the Christians. It was a mob that ran down the streets picking up and pulling out anyone who even looked like a Christian. Some of the people they picked up had only listened to Paul, and some of them were disciples of Jesus, but it made no difference to the mob. Paul wanted to go where they were holding his friends, but other Christians would not let him. They knew that he would be killed for sure if he entered the big arena where they were holding his friends. Inside there was nothing but shouting and confusion. "Great is Diana of the Ephesians! Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" they shouted.
It looked like the end for the Christians who were held prisoners. But then something quite unexpected happened. The mayor of Ephesus came to the front and stood on a platform. He told the people that none of the Christians had harmed anyone or that they had not stolen anything from the temple of Diana. If they had done something else that was wrong, they should be brought to court, but nothing should be done while the captors were so angry. The people listened and they thought about what the mayor had said. They agreed that he was right. The Christians were freed and told to go home. It was a very frightening experience and one that no one would soon forget. Paul spoke to his friends that night, and then left for Greece.
It is strange what happens to people when they are afraid that they are going to lose money. It changes them into a different kind of people. It still happens today. People try to make money on God and the things that they think people will buy as a god. We have to be careful today as Christians that we do not make something else our god instead of the real God whom Paul preached about.
The next time you hear or see something that is being sold as a reminder of God, you can think about Demetrius and the way he sold silver statues. Maybe they are not doing anything wrong and then maybe again they are helping people believe in a false god, and not the real God at all.
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever heard about people who sell religion? (let them answer) It is not the kind of thing that people like to talk about, but it is something that is done every day. I am going to tell you a story about two men who were involved in a big struggle over making money on God. The one man is our hero, Paul. Paul was a man who believed in God as Jesus had shown people to believe. God is a spirit, a loving spirit that is more real than anything else.
There was a man by the name of Demetrius who lived in Ephesus and was a silversmith. He was a great artist and a very rich one. He made statues of a false goddess called Diana. There were large temples in Ephesus built for the worshipers of Diana. But people were urged to have many copies of the big statue in their homes and their places of work. People like Demetrius, who were silversmiths, made their living by making these expensive statues of Diana.
There were not very many Christians in Ephesus, and there were a lot of people who followed the worship of Diana, but everyone seemed to be listening to what Paul said. People were not buying as many silver statues, and Demetrius began to worry about his business. He called the other silversmiths to come to a meeting where he told them about the serious situation that Paul was causing with his preaching of a God who was a spirit and not a statue. The other silversmiths listened. Demetrius told them if Paul were allowed to continue to preach, then someday no one would buy statues of Diana and that would mean that there would be no money for the families to buy food and clothing. Something had to be done. Besides, Demetrius said that if there were no statues then there would be no believers.
The town of Ephesus owed a lot to Diana and everyone should remember that she had been a great goddess for their town, Demetrius told them. The more he talked, the more the crowd of men got excited. Some of them did not even know Paul, but they hated him anyway. No one was going to ruin their business and hurt their families. No one was going to destroy their religion of Diana worship.
Before many knew what was happening, the people poured out of the meeting with shouts to kill the Christians. It was a mob that ran down the streets picking up and pulling out anyone who even looked like a Christian. Some of the people they picked up had only listened to Paul, and some of them were disciples of Jesus, but it made no difference to the mob. Paul wanted to go where they were holding his friends, but other Christians would not let him. They knew that he would be killed for sure if he entered the big arena where they were holding his friends. Inside there was nothing but shouting and confusion. "Great is Diana of the Ephesians! Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" they shouted.
It looked like the end for the Christians who were held prisoners. But then something quite unexpected happened. The mayor of Ephesus came to the front and stood on a platform. He told the people that none of the Christians had harmed anyone or that they had not stolen anything from the temple of Diana. If they had done something else that was wrong, they should be brought to court, but nothing should be done while the captors were so angry. The people listened and they thought about what the mayor had said. They agreed that he was right. The Christians were freed and told to go home. It was a very frightening experience and one that no one would soon forget. Paul spoke to his friends that night, and then left for Greece.
It is strange what happens to people when they are afraid that they are going to lose money. It changes them into a different kind of people. It still happens today. People try to make money on God and the things that they think people will buy as a god. We have to be careful today as Christians that we do not make something else our god instead of the real God whom Paul preached about.
The next time you hear or see something that is being sold as a reminder of God, you can think about Demetrius and the way he sold silver statues. Maybe they are not doing anything wrong and then maybe again they are helping people believe in a false god, and not the real God at all.
