The Truth Will Upset You Before It Sets You Free
Children's sermon
Children's Sermons A To Z
Exegetical Aim: We must listen to hard words as well as pleasant words. Notice the opposite reactions of the people in verses 22 and 28.
Props: None.
Lesson: Good morning! (response) All right. I want you to give me your reactions. When I say something you like I want you to yell, "Yea!" When I say something you don't like, I want you to whine, "But, Mom!" You got it? (response) You probably don't need any practice with this, but let's try it once. When it's something you like, you yell? (yea!) And when it's something you don't like, you whine? (but, Mom) Good, here goes:
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants to go to McDonald's?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time for your bath." (but, Mom)
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants cookies?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time for bed." (but, Mom)
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants to go to the movies?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time to go to church." (but, Mom)
Well, what would happen if you never took another bath? (response) What would happen if you never went to bed? (response) And, what would happen if you never went to church again? (response) So you would be dirty, tired, and bad. So if you're dirty, tired, and bad, what kind of person are you going to be? (response)
Application: Jesus was speaking to a group of people one day and he said a lot of things that people liked. And they all said motion to the children with your hands for them to respond, (yea!) But then he said some things that were very true but the people didn't like what they heard, and the people said, (but, Mom!) Actually, it was, "But, Jesus." All those people grabbed hold of Jesus' arms and they took him to a hill and they were going to throw him down the hill, but he slipped out of their hands and escaped.
We are all smiles when nice things are said, but when hard things are said like, "Take a bath," or "Do your home work," we get all upset. Don't get upset when your mom tells you to do something that's good for you. It might be a little tough to do right now but you'll be better in the end for doing it. Next time your mom tells you: Time for your bath ... time for bed ... time for church, I want you to say motion for them to respond, (yea!) and tell her, "I don't want to be dirty, tired, and bad!"
Let's Pray: Lord, none of us wants to be dirty, tired, and bad. Help us to listen to you and obey you even when you ask us to do tough things. Amen.
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Epiphany 4
1 Corinthians 13:1--13
Mirror, Mirror
Exegetical Aim: To show that though we do not understand everything now, one day God will show us all we need to know.
Props: A hand mirror.
Lesson: Today I have brought something to show you. Hold up the mirror. What is this? (response) Yes, it's a mirror. What do we use mirrors for? (response) We use them for a lot of things, don't we? We use them to look at ourselves, or to look behind us when we are in our cars. Sometimes when we are in a store, we will see mirrors in the corners of the aisle so that we don't accidentally bump into someone coming from the other way. We use mirrors for lots of things. But let me ask you something about the mirror. When I look in a mirror, do I see the same thing in the mirror as I do when I look with my eyes? (response) No, I don't. Everything in the mirror is reversed, so everything appears backward. And I can only see the things that are in the mirror, whereas my eyes can see much more. Let's do an experiment. I need two volunteers. Pick two trustworthy children. Line the children one behind the other. Hold the hand mirror in front of the face of the person in front. Then ask the person in back to look into the mirror. Now I will ask you to describe certain things about the person in front of you. But if you can't see it in the mirror, then you can't answer, okay? What color are the person's eyes? (response) What about the hair? (response) What color are the person's shoes? (response) Mirror should be small enough not to reflect that far down. Oh? You can't see the shoes? Here is another question. What does the back of this person's head look like? And remember, you have to use the mirror. (response) You can't see the back of the head with the mirror, can you? Take the mirror down. Now use your eyes. What color are the shoes? Is there anything on the back of the head? (response) Is it easier to use a mirror or to see face to face? (response) Yes, face to face.
Application: The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face." Say that with me, "Now we see ... in a mirror dimly ... but then ... face to face." What do you suppose that means? (responses, if any) It means that even though there are things that we don't fully understand about God and heaven right now, one day we will know more fully. In our lives right now, we can only understand things just like looking in a mirror, because there are things that God can see that we can't see. When we are finally with God, we will understand things just like being face to face. So when you don't fully understand something, be patient. As we grow we learn more. And one day we will know more fully. So the next time you see a mirror, I want you to remember our Bible verse. Say it one more time, "Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."
Let's Pray: Thank you, Lord, that one day we will see you face to face, and we will understand things more at that time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
?
Props: None.
Lesson: Good morning! (response) All right. I want you to give me your reactions. When I say something you like I want you to yell, "Yea!" When I say something you don't like, I want you to whine, "But, Mom!" You got it? (response) You probably don't need any practice with this, but let's try it once. When it's something you like, you yell? (yea!) And when it's something you don't like, you whine? (but, Mom) Good, here goes:
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants to go to McDonald's?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time for your bath." (but, Mom)
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants cookies?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time for bed." (but, Mom)
What do you say when your mom says, "Who wants to go to the movies?" (yea)
What do you say when your mom says, "It's time to go to church." (but, Mom)
Well, what would happen if you never took another bath? (response) What would happen if you never went to bed? (response) And, what would happen if you never went to church again? (response) So you would be dirty, tired, and bad. So if you're dirty, tired, and bad, what kind of person are you going to be? (response)
Application: Jesus was speaking to a group of people one day and he said a lot of things that people liked. And they all said motion to the children with your hands for them to respond, (yea!) But then he said some things that were very true but the people didn't like what they heard, and the people said, (but, Mom!) Actually, it was, "But, Jesus." All those people grabbed hold of Jesus' arms and they took him to a hill and they were going to throw him down the hill, but he slipped out of their hands and escaped.
We are all smiles when nice things are said, but when hard things are said like, "Take a bath," or "Do your home work," we get all upset. Don't get upset when your mom tells you to do something that's good for you. It might be a little tough to do right now but you'll be better in the end for doing it. Next time your mom tells you: Time for your bath ... time for bed ... time for church, I want you to say motion for them to respond, (yea!) and tell her, "I don't want to be dirty, tired, and bad!"
Let's Pray: Lord, none of us wants to be dirty, tired, and bad. Help us to listen to you and obey you even when you ask us to do tough things. Amen.
?
Epiphany 4
1 Corinthians 13:1--13
Mirror, Mirror
Exegetical Aim: To show that though we do not understand everything now, one day God will show us all we need to know.
Props: A hand mirror.
Lesson: Today I have brought something to show you. Hold up the mirror. What is this? (response) Yes, it's a mirror. What do we use mirrors for? (response) We use them for a lot of things, don't we? We use them to look at ourselves, or to look behind us when we are in our cars. Sometimes when we are in a store, we will see mirrors in the corners of the aisle so that we don't accidentally bump into someone coming from the other way. We use mirrors for lots of things. But let me ask you something about the mirror. When I look in a mirror, do I see the same thing in the mirror as I do when I look with my eyes? (response) No, I don't. Everything in the mirror is reversed, so everything appears backward. And I can only see the things that are in the mirror, whereas my eyes can see much more. Let's do an experiment. I need two volunteers. Pick two trustworthy children. Line the children one behind the other. Hold the hand mirror in front of the face of the person in front. Then ask the person in back to look into the mirror. Now I will ask you to describe certain things about the person in front of you. But if you can't see it in the mirror, then you can't answer, okay? What color are the person's eyes? (response) What about the hair? (response) What color are the person's shoes? (response) Mirror should be small enough not to reflect that far down. Oh? You can't see the shoes? Here is another question. What does the back of this person's head look like? And remember, you have to use the mirror. (response) You can't see the back of the head with the mirror, can you? Take the mirror down. Now use your eyes. What color are the shoes? Is there anything on the back of the head? (response) Is it easier to use a mirror or to see face to face? (response) Yes, face to face.
Application: The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:12, "Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face." Say that with me, "Now we see ... in a mirror dimly ... but then ... face to face." What do you suppose that means? (responses, if any) It means that even though there are things that we don't fully understand about God and heaven right now, one day we will know more fully. In our lives right now, we can only understand things just like looking in a mirror, because there are things that God can see that we can't see. When we are finally with God, we will understand things just like being face to face. So when you don't fully understand something, be patient. As we grow we learn more. And one day we will know more fully. So the next time you see a mirror, I want you to remember our Bible verse. Say it one more time, "Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face."
Let's Pray: Thank you, Lord, that one day we will see you face to face, and we will understand things more at that time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
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