Snow Forts
Children's sermon
Cows In Church
80 Biblically Based Children's Sermons
Object:
None. This message employs the children's awareness of a recent snowfall to capture their interest.
"Something exciting happened earlier this week. On Monday, it was fairly warm for this time of year. Then Wednesday it got cold, and by Thursday ... What happened with the weather on Thursday?"
"It snowed!" come the excited replies.
"Yes, it snowed. It was the first snow since last winter, wasn't it?" The children nod their agreement.
"Do all of you like to play in snow?" The sanctuary erupts with a cacophony of children's voices assuring me that of course they like to play in snow! Snow is FUN!
"Okay!" I interrupt. "I'm convinced!
Now, I have another question for you. Who here has ever made a snow fort?" Several hands, all belonging to boys, shoot up. I find myself wondering if I'm the only girl who ever did that sort of thing.
"Making a snow fort is a lot of work, isn't it?" I continue. The children who are experienced in the fine art of snow fort-making agree.
"Well, then, why do you go to all that trouble?" I ask.
"So we can play in them ..."
"... and have snowball fights!"
"You're telling me that you do all that work so you can FIGHT with each other?" I ask with mock incredulity.
"No, we're not REALLY fighting; we're playing."
"Oh, I see. You go to all that trouble to PLAY like you're fighting ..." Grins begin to appear on the children's faces as they recognize that I am toying with them.
"Well, if you've taken all the time and effort required to build a snow fort to play in, I assume it lasts a LONG time -- maybe even all winter?"
"No!" the children protest. "The walls melt when the sun comes out."
"Oh, I see. So if the sun were to come out the very next day, the fort would begin to melt and all your hard work would disappear."
"Yes," they agree.
"I'm asking all of these questions because I saw some children building a snow fort Thursday evening. The walls of rolled-up snow caused me to think about other kinds of walls in our lives. Do any of you ever get angry?"
Andrew puts on a face of wide-eyed innocence and, trying not to crack a smile, says, "Oh NO! Not EVER!"
I respond with my "I-don't-think so!" look and his facade of innocence breaks into the grin he was trying to contain.
"Yes, I get angry sometimes," he acknowledges.
"So do I!" several more voices chime in.
"Of course you do," I answer. "All of us get angry once in a while. Even Jesus got angry sometimes. But when we get angry with one another, that anger is like a wall between us. Now, think back to the snow forts we were just talking about. What melted those walls?"
"The sun!" come twenty voices in unison.
"Yes, the sun's heat melted the snow walls. But what about walls of anger? What does it take to melt them?"
This is a tough question for youngsters, so they do not respond immediately. Finally, one of them says, "You make up with each other."
"That's a good answer," I reply. "If you make up, you are no longer angry with each other, right?" The children nod affirmatively.
"Would it be fair to say you have forgiven each other for whatever it was that made you angry in the first place?" The nods of agreement come again.
"So, what we're really saying is that forgiveness melts walls of anger just as the sun melts walls of snow. You know, being able to forgive people is one way to show that you recognize their worth in God's eyes. That's why Jesus taught us to forgive each other, just as God forgives us when we do things we shouldn't.
"God can do that because, no matter what we do, God still loves us. It's important that we extend this same grace to the people who are part of our lives. Even though we get angry with them sometimes, we need to understand that they are God's children and we need to do our best to love them.
"One way to show others we love them is to forgive them when they do something that makes us angry. It is important to melt those walls of anger before more anger gets piled on top and the walls become so huge it seems like nothing will ever break them down."
"It snowed!" come the excited replies.
"Yes, it snowed. It was the first snow since last winter, wasn't it?" The children nod their agreement.
"Do all of you like to play in snow?" The sanctuary erupts with a cacophony of children's voices assuring me that of course they like to play in snow! Snow is FUN!
"Okay!" I interrupt. "I'm convinced!
Now, I have another question for you. Who here has ever made a snow fort?" Several hands, all belonging to boys, shoot up. I find myself wondering if I'm the only girl who ever did that sort of thing.
"Making a snow fort is a lot of work, isn't it?" I continue. The children who are experienced in the fine art of snow fort-making agree.
"Well, then, why do you go to all that trouble?" I ask.
"So we can play in them ..."
"... and have snowball fights!"
"You're telling me that you do all that work so you can FIGHT with each other?" I ask with mock incredulity.
"No, we're not REALLY fighting; we're playing."
"Oh, I see. You go to all that trouble to PLAY like you're fighting ..." Grins begin to appear on the children's faces as they recognize that I am toying with them.
"Well, if you've taken all the time and effort required to build a snow fort to play in, I assume it lasts a LONG time -- maybe even all winter?"
"No!" the children protest. "The walls melt when the sun comes out."
"Oh, I see. So if the sun were to come out the very next day, the fort would begin to melt and all your hard work would disappear."
"Yes," they agree.
"I'm asking all of these questions because I saw some children building a snow fort Thursday evening. The walls of rolled-up snow caused me to think about other kinds of walls in our lives. Do any of you ever get angry?"
Andrew puts on a face of wide-eyed innocence and, trying not to crack a smile, says, "Oh NO! Not EVER!"
I respond with my "I-don't-think so!" look and his facade of innocence breaks into the grin he was trying to contain.
"Yes, I get angry sometimes," he acknowledges.
"So do I!" several more voices chime in.
"Of course you do," I answer. "All of us get angry once in a while. Even Jesus got angry sometimes. But when we get angry with one another, that anger is like a wall between us. Now, think back to the snow forts we were just talking about. What melted those walls?"
"The sun!" come twenty voices in unison.
"Yes, the sun's heat melted the snow walls. But what about walls of anger? What does it take to melt them?"
This is a tough question for youngsters, so they do not respond immediately. Finally, one of them says, "You make up with each other."
"That's a good answer," I reply. "If you make up, you are no longer angry with each other, right?" The children nod affirmatively.
"Would it be fair to say you have forgiven each other for whatever it was that made you angry in the first place?" The nods of agreement come again.
"So, what we're really saying is that forgiveness melts walls of anger just as the sun melts walls of snow. You know, being able to forgive people is one way to show that you recognize their worth in God's eyes. That's why Jesus taught us to forgive each other, just as God forgives us when we do things we shouldn't.
"God can do that because, no matter what we do, God still loves us. It's important that we extend this same grace to the people who are part of our lives. Even though we get angry with them sometimes, we need to understand that they are God's children and we need to do our best to love them.
"One way to show others we love them is to forgive them when they do something that makes us angry. It is important to melt those walls of anger before more anger gets piled on top and the walls become so huge it seems like nothing will ever break them down."
