Something Special To Share
Children's sermon
Ping-Pong Words
And 30 More Children's Sermons
Object:
Scripture Reference
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Materials Needed
Card stock printed with scripture reference and verse
Pair of glasses
Toothbrush
Medicine bottle
Toy
Book
Article of clothing
Item of food
Telling The Story
Today, I'm going to tell you something that I imagine you never thought you'd hear someone tell you in church. Don't share. That's right. I'm telling you not to share. (pause) Well, actually, I'm not talking about everything, but there are some things that we just shouldn't share. (Hold up each item for the children to see as you talk about it.)
One example would be a pair of glasses. Glasses are custom made for each person who needs them. The doctor examines a person's eyes and figures out what vision problems he or she has. The glasses are made to fit that person's head and to correct that person's vision. You might look through a friend's glasses for a few seconds, but if you tried to borrow your friend's glasses for a couple of hours, your friend wouldn't be able to see, and you might damage your own eyes. We just don't share glasses.
I know something else that we don't share: toothbrushes. No matter how much you love someone or how good a friend you are, you don't share your toothbrush. You have bacteria in your mouth, and it gets on your toothbrush. If you let a friend use your toothbrush then he or she would be exposed to that bacteria and leave behind his or her bacteria for you. If some of these are the kind of bacteria that cause disease, the disease could spread. It just isn't sanitary. For that reason, we don't share toothbrushes.
There's something else that we shouldn't share: the answers on a test. You might get together with your friends and study for a test the night before, but if you're at school, in the middle of the test, and you hear someone whisper, "Psst! What's the answer to number twelve?" you don't reply. Test-taking time isn't the time to share. We don't share information during a test.
Maybe you've coughed and forgotten to cover your mouth, and then you heard someone nearby say, "Hey! Don't share your germs, please!" When we cough or sneeze, we cover our mouths so we don't share our germs. If we spread germs, we spread sickness, and we don't want to make anyone else sick. You aren't being selfish if you try to keep your germs to yourself.
Speaking of getting sick, we don't share medicine, either. When you get sick enough to see a doctor, the doctor tries to find out exactly what's making you sick. He or she considers things like what you have, how old you are, how much you weigh, what you're allergic to, and how sensitive you are before prescribing medicine. What works for you might make your friend very sick. In the interest of keeping everyone safe, we don't share medicine.
These are some examples of things that we don't share, and if we sat here a while, I'm sure that we could think of many more things for the list, but instead, let's talk about things that we do share.
Toys are things that we share. If a friend comes over to play, you don't make that friend bring his or her own toys. While it's true that the friend might bring one or two toys from home, when you invite that friend over, you share your toys.
Books are another good thing to share. If you've read a really good book, you might loan it to a friend you think will also like it. Maybe that friend loans you good books, too. After you and your friend read the same book, you probably talk about it, too, so not only are you sharing the book itself, but you're also sharing ideas about it.
Clothes are a good thing to share. If you have a friend or a brother or sister who is close to your size, you might let him or her wear one of your shirts that you both like and that person might let you borrow clothes, too.
Sometimes we share food. If you come to a covered-dish dinner at church, you bring some meat, a casserole, a vegetable, or maybe a dessert to share. Maybe at school, you trade things from your lunch box with a friend. If one of your friends forgot his lunch that day, you might let him have part of your sandwich, and when you and a friend go to a movie, you might share a bag of popcorn. Sharing food is an important part of our society, for both health and social reasons.
Have you ever given a friend a ride to church? Maybe one of your parents carpools with someone to work. Or maybe you needed to go somewhere but didn't know how to get there. Someone else who was also going may have invited you to ride along. In order to save gas money, and to keep each other company, we often share rides.
Big jobs are often shared. Imagine if our church needed painting. We wouldn't tell the pastor that he had to paint the building all by himself. We'd plan a workday and everyone who could would come out and help. When a group of people work together, big jobs seem smaller, and that's why we work together and share big jobs.
How about jokes and stories? Have you ever heard a good joke and then you couldn't wait to tell your friends? Did something funny happen at school and you couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone? We love sharing jokes and stories. They help other people get to know us and they make others laugh and feel better.
There are some other things that we, as Christians, can share with each other. We might share our joys -- good things that happen to us. We share prayer concerns. If I have a problem, I can tell a Christian friend and know that he or she will pray for me. Sometimes we share Bible verses. If a friend is having a problem and isn't sure what to do, you might read a verse from the Bible that talks about the problem. (Today, you can even email that verse to your friend!) Christian people can also share prayers. Whether we've shared a joy or a concern, when we pray together, we help our friends both in that particular situation and in their overall relationship with God.
Sharing is a way of encouraging. (Hold up the card stock with the scripture reference and verse on it.) In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul encourages us to encourage each other. Paul writes, "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." Just as the people at the church in Thessalonica were encouraging each other by praying and sharing, we should encourage each other by sharing, too. This week, think of a way that you can encourage someone, with a hug, with a prayer, or in some other way that you know will be encouraging to that person and then do it. When we offer encouragement, we know that we're doing one of the things that God wants us to do.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for all these wonderful Christian friends. Please help us to have a heart like yours and to see opportunities to show each other encouragement. Show us what we can do to be more like you.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing.
-- 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Materials Needed
Card stock printed with scripture reference and verse
Pair of glasses
Toothbrush
Medicine bottle
Toy
Book
Article of clothing
Item of food
Telling The Story
Today, I'm going to tell you something that I imagine you never thought you'd hear someone tell you in church. Don't share. That's right. I'm telling you not to share. (pause) Well, actually, I'm not talking about everything, but there are some things that we just shouldn't share. (Hold up each item for the children to see as you talk about it.)
One example would be a pair of glasses. Glasses are custom made for each person who needs them. The doctor examines a person's eyes and figures out what vision problems he or she has. The glasses are made to fit that person's head and to correct that person's vision. You might look through a friend's glasses for a few seconds, but if you tried to borrow your friend's glasses for a couple of hours, your friend wouldn't be able to see, and you might damage your own eyes. We just don't share glasses.
I know something else that we don't share: toothbrushes. No matter how much you love someone or how good a friend you are, you don't share your toothbrush. You have bacteria in your mouth, and it gets on your toothbrush. If you let a friend use your toothbrush then he or she would be exposed to that bacteria and leave behind his or her bacteria for you. If some of these are the kind of bacteria that cause disease, the disease could spread. It just isn't sanitary. For that reason, we don't share toothbrushes.
There's something else that we shouldn't share: the answers on a test. You might get together with your friends and study for a test the night before, but if you're at school, in the middle of the test, and you hear someone whisper, "Psst! What's the answer to number twelve?" you don't reply. Test-taking time isn't the time to share. We don't share information during a test.
Maybe you've coughed and forgotten to cover your mouth, and then you heard someone nearby say, "Hey! Don't share your germs, please!" When we cough or sneeze, we cover our mouths so we don't share our germs. If we spread germs, we spread sickness, and we don't want to make anyone else sick. You aren't being selfish if you try to keep your germs to yourself.
Speaking of getting sick, we don't share medicine, either. When you get sick enough to see a doctor, the doctor tries to find out exactly what's making you sick. He or she considers things like what you have, how old you are, how much you weigh, what you're allergic to, and how sensitive you are before prescribing medicine. What works for you might make your friend very sick. In the interest of keeping everyone safe, we don't share medicine.
These are some examples of things that we don't share, and if we sat here a while, I'm sure that we could think of many more things for the list, but instead, let's talk about things that we do share.
Toys are things that we share. If a friend comes over to play, you don't make that friend bring his or her own toys. While it's true that the friend might bring one or two toys from home, when you invite that friend over, you share your toys.
Books are another good thing to share. If you've read a really good book, you might loan it to a friend you think will also like it. Maybe that friend loans you good books, too. After you and your friend read the same book, you probably talk about it, too, so not only are you sharing the book itself, but you're also sharing ideas about it.
Clothes are a good thing to share. If you have a friend or a brother or sister who is close to your size, you might let him or her wear one of your shirts that you both like and that person might let you borrow clothes, too.
Sometimes we share food. If you come to a covered-dish dinner at church, you bring some meat, a casserole, a vegetable, or maybe a dessert to share. Maybe at school, you trade things from your lunch box with a friend. If one of your friends forgot his lunch that day, you might let him have part of your sandwich, and when you and a friend go to a movie, you might share a bag of popcorn. Sharing food is an important part of our society, for both health and social reasons.
Have you ever given a friend a ride to church? Maybe one of your parents carpools with someone to work. Or maybe you needed to go somewhere but didn't know how to get there. Someone else who was also going may have invited you to ride along. In order to save gas money, and to keep each other company, we often share rides.
Big jobs are often shared. Imagine if our church needed painting. We wouldn't tell the pastor that he had to paint the building all by himself. We'd plan a workday and everyone who could would come out and help. When a group of people work together, big jobs seem smaller, and that's why we work together and share big jobs.
How about jokes and stories? Have you ever heard a good joke and then you couldn't wait to tell your friends? Did something funny happen at school and you couldn't wait to get home and tell everyone? We love sharing jokes and stories. They help other people get to know us and they make others laugh and feel better.
There are some other things that we, as Christians, can share with each other. We might share our joys -- good things that happen to us. We share prayer concerns. If I have a problem, I can tell a Christian friend and know that he or she will pray for me. Sometimes we share Bible verses. If a friend is having a problem and isn't sure what to do, you might read a verse from the Bible that talks about the problem. (Today, you can even email that verse to your friend!) Christian people can also share prayers. Whether we've shared a joy or a concern, when we pray together, we help our friends both in that particular situation and in their overall relationship with God.
Sharing is a way of encouraging. (Hold up the card stock with the scripture reference and verse on it.) In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Paul encourages us to encourage each other. Paul writes, "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing." Just as the people at the church in Thessalonica were encouraging each other by praying and sharing, we should encourage each other by sharing, too. This week, think of a way that you can encourage someone, with a hug, with a prayer, or in some other way that you know will be encouraging to that person and then do it. When we offer encouragement, we know that we're doing one of the things that God wants us to do.
Prayer
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this beautiful day and thank you for all these wonderful Christian friends. Please help us to have a heart like yours and to see opportunities to show each other encouragement. Show us what we can do to be more like you.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
