The "Rips"
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
Several photographs of a cat.
When the children have gathered on the chancel steps, I ask, "Do any of you have any pets?" Everyone seems to nod, and since the group is not overly large this morning, I encourage each of them to tell me (one at a time) what kind of a pet they have.
"A cat," says the first child.
"Ditto," responds the boy next to her.
"A goldfish," comes the next reply.
"A cat," says a young man whose family I know, including their pets.
"Just one?" I ask, surprised.
"Well, no, actually three cats," he replies.
This litany goes on through a few more children, one with a dog, one with a cat and a dog, and another with a cat.
"It certainly seems that this group favors cats," I observe. "As it happens, I have two cats myself, Dylan and Roy. And it's Roy I want to talk with you about this morning. I've brought a couple of pictures of him which you may pass around while we talk. As you'll see, in the pictures he looks rather quiet and calm. I'm sure most of you have seen cats be quiet and calm -- after all, they sleep nearly eighteen hours every day."
"Well, Roy is not always as quiet and calm as he looks in those pictures, even though he's basically shy. Sometimes Roy gets what my family calls the 'rips.' When a cat gets the 'rips,' it goes racing around the house after who-knows-what! As far as human eyes can see, the cat isn't chasing anything except its imagination!
When Roy gets the 'rips,' he seems to bounce off the walls. The last time this happened was just last week -- at 3:30 in the morning. Roy decided that whatever it was he was chasing was in our bedroom. He went racing around the bed ... and over the bed ... and over the people in the bed ... and, obviously, he woke us up.
"At first, I was very irritated with him. I thought about getting up, catching him if I could, and really scolding him for his behavior. But then I stopped myself. I realized that wasn't going to do any good. Besides, I had to ask myself, 'Why am I really angry with him anyway?' After all, Roy was just being a cat -- and that's what he is. He was just being himself. Nor would I want him to be anything else.'
"By then I was awake, and I found myself wondering if something similar happens when I get angry with a person. You see, it's possible that I'm angry because I have some idea about the way another person ought to be that has nothing to do with who that person really is. Maybe the other person is just being himself or herself, but because that doesn't match my idea of how the person should be, I am angry.
"You know, Jesus taught us that it's important to accept one another just the way we are. That's how he accepts us; that's how he loves us.
"So, you see, I learned something from Roy this week, and I hope you have too. Perhaps the next time you feel angry with someone you'll remember what we talked about today. Then maybe you can take a look at other people and really see them, just as they are. And knowing Jesus loves them that way, maybe you can too. It's important for you to be yourself, who God created you to be; it's important for you to let others be themselves too."
"A cat," says the first child.
"Ditto," responds the boy next to her.
"A goldfish," comes the next reply.
"A cat," says a young man whose family I know, including their pets.
"Just one?" I ask, surprised.
"Well, no, actually three cats," he replies.
This litany goes on through a few more children, one with a dog, one with a cat and a dog, and another with a cat.
"It certainly seems that this group favors cats," I observe. "As it happens, I have two cats myself, Dylan and Roy. And it's Roy I want to talk with you about this morning. I've brought a couple of pictures of him which you may pass around while we talk. As you'll see, in the pictures he looks rather quiet and calm. I'm sure most of you have seen cats be quiet and calm -- after all, they sleep nearly eighteen hours every day."
"Well, Roy is not always as quiet and calm as he looks in those pictures, even though he's basically shy. Sometimes Roy gets what my family calls the 'rips.' When a cat gets the 'rips,' it goes racing around the house after who-knows-what! As far as human eyes can see, the cat isn't chasing anything except its imagination!
When Roy gets the 'rips,' he seems to bounce off the walls. The last time this happened was just last week -- at 3:30 in the morning. Roy decided that whatever it was he was chasing was in our bedroom. He went racing around the bed ... and over the bed ... and over the people in the bed ... and, obviously, he woke us up.
"At first, I was very irritated with him. I thought about getting up, catching him if I could, and really scolding him for his behavior. But then I stopped myself. I realized that wasn't going to do any good. Besides, I had to ask myself, 'Why am I really angry with him anyway?' After all, Roy was just being a cat -- and that's what he is. He was just being himself. Nor would I want him to be anything else.'
"By then I was awake, and I found myself wondering if something similar happens when I get angry with a person. You see, it's possible that I'm angry because I have some idea about the way another person ought to be that has nothing to do with who that person really is. Maybe the other person is just being himself or herself, but because that doesn't match my idea of how the person should be, I am angry.
"You know, Jesus taught us that it's important to accept one another just the way we are. That's how he accepts us; that's how he loves us.
"So, you see, I learned something from Roy this week, and I hope you have too. Perhaps the next time you feel angry with someone you'll remember what we talked about today. Then maybe you can take a look at other people and really see them, just as they are. And knowing Jesus loves them that way, maybe you can too. It's important for you to be yourself, who God created you to be; it's important for you to let others be themselves too."
