Childrens Messages Lent - Pentecost
Children’s Messages
Lent 1, February 25, 2007
Oh, It’s So Tempting!
Text: Luke 4:1–13
Visuals: small fishing pole with super-size candy bar tied to the end of the string
Summary: Satan would lead us into temptation, but Jesus resisted temptation so that God sees us as having obeyed him perfectly.
Rebecca Greer, first-grade teacher
Crown of Life Lutheran Church and School, Colleyville, Texas
Anyone know what temptation is? Listen to answers. Temptation is something that might seem nice to have or fun to do, but that we shouldn’t have or shouldn’t do.
Let’s say, for example, that your mom says you’ll be eating dinner soon and she doesn’t want you to eat anything that might spoil your appetite. But you happen to know there’s a very tempting candy bar not far away. Have a child stand before you. Hold the pole so that the candy bar is suspended in front of him, but far enough away that he can’t reach it. Encourage him to reach for it to demonstrate the strife.
Satan often puts in front of us things we’d like to have or do. It’s like this candy bar. A candy bar can be fun some other time, and you may really want it, but disobeying Mom when she says not to have a snack now is sin. That’s temptation.
In today’s Bible reading, Satan tempted Jesus too. Read or briefly tell the Bible story. What Satan really wanted Jesus to do was obey him rather than God. Each time, though, Jesus answered him with words from the Bible, letting Satan know he would not give in to temptation. Jesus is a good example for us. He shows us how we can turn to God’s Word for help to resist temptation.
But you know what’s even more important than that? When Jesus didn’t sin, didn’t give in to temptation, that counted for us! Did you know that? Even with the help of God’s Word, we still sin a lot—we still disobey Mom and Dad and do lots of things we shouldn’t. But what Jesus did in not sinning, in obeying God perfectly instead of listening to the devil, he did for us. Everything that Jesus did, God counts for us, just as if we did it ourselves. God says that everyone who believes in Jesus has been just as good at not sinning, at not giving in to temptation, at obeying God, as Jesus was. When Jesus tells Satan to get lost—“I’m not going to do what you said, devil!”—God says that you just said that! You and everyone else who believes in Jesus. God says you are holy, just right, just as if you never sinned! And God says that when Jesus died on the cross, that, too, counted for you, forgiving you for everything you do that isn’t like Jesus at all.
Lent 2, March 4, 2007
No Dead End
Text: Philippians 3:17–4:1
Visuals: Design or borrow from a puzzle book a maze, large enough for all children (and perhaps even congregation) to see. Label the beginning point “Walk,” with an arrow pointing into the maze. At various dead ends write “Destruction,” “Self,” “Shame,” and “Earthly Things.” At the intended destination write “Heaven.”
Summary: Many follow dead ends of destruction, but by the cross of our Savior Jesus Christ we are on our way to heaven.
Rebecca Greer, first-grade teacher
Crown of Life Lutheran Church and School, Colleyville, Texas
Do you know how to do mazes? You take a pencil (or marker) and try to make your way from the start—here where it says “Walk”—to the destination. What’s the destination on this maze? (Heaven.) Along the way there are some dead ends—and they’re not very good. What are they? (Destruction, Self, Shame, Earthly Things.) You can’t cross any lines. You know the drill. Who’d like to try it? Choose a volunteer, and encourage child along the way, letting him or her backtrack if necessary until reaching the destination successfully. If child hits a dead end, read aloud what it is, and refer to it later when giving explanation below.
This maze is kind of like walking through life as a Christian. God has a pattern for us to follow—obeying him, following the example of people like St. Paul. The destination God wants each of us to reach is heaven. Unfortunately, lots of people don’t follow that pattern. They disobey God. They only care about themselves (point to Self), about what they want to do. They’re proud of themselves, thinking they’re so great they don’t need God or anybody else, but they really ought to be ashamed (point to Shame) of themselves. They only think about earthly things (point to Earthly Things)—about how much money they have, what cool toys they can buy, how their clothes are better than other kids’ clothes. These are all dead ends. If somebody really makes these the most important things in life, the end result is (point to Destruction) destruction; they’ll suffer forever in hell.
We go the wrong way sometimes—in fact, lots of times. But we have a Savior from all the times we walk the wrong way: the Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross to forgive our wrong ways, our dead ends, our sins. Then he rose from the grave and went back to heaven. But one of these days he will come back, and when he does, because our sins are taken away, he will take us safely to (point to and circle Heaven in bold strokes) heaven.
Lent 3, March 11, 2007
Only God Can Make a Tree
Text: Luke 13:1–9
Visuals: 2 Styrofoam coffee cups 3/4 filled with dirt. One cup has a dead stick poking out of the dry ground. The other cup has a fresh green sprig from any houseplant stuck in the moistened dirt and is surrounded by little Tootsie Roll candies.
Summary: On our own we can never be fruitful trees, but through his means of grace our merciful Lord patiently produces in us the fruit of everlasting life!
Rev. Robert D. Harmon, pastor
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Pueblo West, Colorado
Good morning! I have a little tree here with me today that I’m trying to find a home for. Show the dead stick. I’m afraid it’s not in very good shape, but I need someone who’ll care for it and help it to grow. Any of you think you can do that? Give it to a volunteer. If no one volunteers, set it aside, saying you understand; it does look hopeless.
In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus tells a parable—a story—about a man who had a tree like that. It looked hopeless, and he told his gardener to cut it down, get rid of it, throw it away. But then the gardener said, “Let me take care of it a little longer. I’ll water it, fertilize it, and work the soil around it. Maybe it’ll grow some beautiful fruit after all. If it doesn’t, if it stays like this, then we’ll cut it down.”
Jesus’ story is really about us, you and me. We all used to be like this crummy little tree—pretty dead, no fruit. That means we all sinned and couldn’t do any of the good things God wants us to do. By ourselves, we couldn’t be kind to others, we couldn’t obey God or our parents, we couldn’t even believe in Jesus. But then Jesus, like the gardener, took care of us. He died on the cross to take away our sins. He forgives us. He loves us. He gives us everything we need and does every good thing for us, just like the gardener did. Now, if after all that, we still don’t believe in him, we’ll be like that tree—cut down and hauled away. Lost forever in hell. But that’s not what Jesus intends for us at all. He knows that he can make something wonderful out of us. He speaks to us in Sunday School, here in church, and when our parents tell us about him. He make us believers in him, people who not only love others and worship him, but who, one of these days, will be with him in heaven.
In other words, Jesus intends to make us look not like that (point to dead stick) anymore, but like this. Bring out the green sprig. That’s the kind of fruit tree Jesus wants you and me to be: a tree that’s strong and fruitful, living a beautiful healthy life in God’s vineyard, enjoying all God’s gifts of life and the forgiveness of sins for Jesus’ sake.
Here, have a piece of candy.
Lent 4, March 18, 2007
New Creations!
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:16–21
Visuals: none
Summary: In our sin, we dry out and crumble away until God washes us with the water of life in Holy Baptism.
Rev. Robert D. Harmon, pastor
Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Pueblo West, Colorado
How many of you have ever been to the beach? Any beach will do, like the one down here at Pueblo Reservoir or maybe a beach by an ocean when you were on vacation. Wait for answers. Did you ever make anything with the sand on the beach? Did you take buckets of sand and put them in a row to make a castle or a wall? Or maybe you shaped the sand with your hands to make an animal or maybe even a person?
What happens when a big wave rolls in or your sister fills a bucket with water and drops it on your creation? Wait for answers. That’s right, it just disappears. It melts down and washes away.
Well, I’m sure you remember from Sunday School that God made Adam out of the ground and shaped him into a man and made him alive. But you know what? Adam crumbled. Because he disobeyed God and sinned, Adam got all dried out like dry sand on the beach; he just began to fall apart.
So what do you think God did with Adam when he started crumbling in sin? God took a bucket, washed him away, and melted him down—but he didn’t stop there! No, God made Adam better than ever, so he’d never wash away again.
It’s called Baptism. You’ve seen it here in church lots of times, and many of you have been baptized. It’s how God gives you what Jesus did on the cross. God takes the water and washes away the old, sinful you that’s all crumbly and falling apart in sin. But he doesn’t stop there. In your Baptism, God makes you a new creation in Christ, someone who will never crumble or wash away, but who will live forever with Jesus!
That is what our Bible reading tells us today: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God” (vv 17–18). God loves you too much to let you crumble, so he washes all the old crumbles away and makes you alive and new and beautiful, so that he can enjoy playing and loving and being with you forever!
Lent 5, March 25, 2007
A Stone Foundation
Text: Luke 20:9–20
Visuals: large building stone or concrete block, 2 bricks
Summary: Jesus loves us and that never changes, so we can be sure that he will help us get through whatever hard times or sad times or scary times we face.
Rev. Joseph G. Asher, MA, teacher
Homestead High School, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hello, children. Today, the sermon is about one of the very important ways Jesus takes care of us. He is the foundation for our lives.
Do you know what these stones (or blocks) are for? People who build houses use these a lot. They can be used as a foundation. What’s that? Receive responses. A foundation is a strong base that you start with when you’re going to build a house or another kind of building. You put the foundation—maybe made of something like these—on the ground first, then you build the walls and everything else up from there, on top of the foundation. It’s strong so the building won’t sink into the ground or mud. Stones can work really well as a foundation. Put one brick on the stone, then the second brick on top of the first to show how a foundation is supposed to work.
Jesus is the foundation stone for every good thing God has always been planning for us. Way back when Adam and Eve first sinned, God planned to send Jesus to be the Savior. He built one event on another (while describing the following, use hands to imitate piling each new event onto the stone foundation): He took care of Adam and Eve, then Noah, then Abraham, then Moses, then David, then all his other people in the Old Testament, building his great plans higher and higher. And all the plans were built on Jesus. When Jesus finally came into the world, his own people didn’t believe in him. They even killed him. But Jesus’ death on the cross was also part of God’s plan, the foundation he’d been building on all along. Jesus’ dying saved us.
Kids, in our lives, things can shake us up. We can be sad about things. We can be unsure about what to do or even worried about things. That’s where Jesus comes in. Because he loves us, and that never changes, we can be sure that he helps us get through whatever hard times, sad times, or scary times we face. Jesus is like this stone—since he’s always with us, we have a strong base to stand on.
Palm Sunday, April 1, 2007
A Parade for Jesus
Text: John 12:12–19
Visuals: palm branch; branches may also be distributed to the children
Summary: Jesus is the most important person because he did the most important thing for us by dying on the cross to forgive our sins.
Rev. David J. Peter, DMin, associate professor of practical theology
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri
Note: You may consider inviting the children to follow the processional cross and the pastor in the opening processional to the chancel and then present the children’s message immediately at the beginning of the service.
Good morning! How many of you have ever watched a parade? How many of you have ever been a part of a parade, such as walking in one or riding on a float? Receive responses. You may describe the processional as a parade.
Why do we have parades? Receive responses. Sometimes we have parades to celebrate a holiday, such as Christmas or the Fourth of July. Sometimes we have a parade to honor people, such as the winning basketball team or the president who has come to visit our city. Usually we hold parades in order to honor something or someone that’s important.
Who is the most important person who ever lived? Yes, Jesus is the most important person. And so there was once a parade for him. On Palm Sunday a long time ago, he came into the city of Jerusalem with a parade. He rode on a donkey in this parade. Lots of people crowded the street to see him. They waved palm branches to welcome him. Wave the palm branch. The people praised Jesus by shouting, “You are our King!” There were children at that parade too. They sang out “Hosanna,” which means “Please save us!” Let’s say that as well: Hosanna! The children join in the chant.
But the reason Jesus came to the city was not to be honored with a parade. The reason he came was to die on the cross. That week ended with Jesus nailed to a cross on Friday. It doesn’t seem like dying on a cross is something for an important person to do. Yet Jesus’ death on the cross is the most important thing that has ever happened. It is most important because it was how Jesus paid for our sins. You and I are sinners. We sin when we fight with and hurt other people. These sins make God angry with you. Yet God loves you and forgives you your sins. The way he showed his love for you is by sending Jesus to die on the cross. His death takes away our sins so that we can be his beloved children now and forever.
That’s why Jesus’ death on the cross is the most important thing that ever happened. That’s why Jesus is the most important person to us. That’s why we honor him with a parade today.
The Resurrection of Our Lord, April 8, 2007
Happy Surprises
Text: Luke 24:1–12
Visuals: none
Summary: Jesus gives us a good surprise by rising from the dead, and he promises that when we die we will have a happy surprise too.
Rev. David J. Peter, DMin, associate professor of practical theology
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri
How many of you like surprises? Well, I suppose your answer to that question depends on what kind of surprise you get. There can be bad surprises and good surprises.
An example of a bad surprise is when someone jumps out of a hiding place and scares you. Another bad surprise would be when you step on something slippery and you fall down. Can you describe any other bad surprises? Receive responses. These are the kinds of surprises we don’t like!
But then there are good surprises. A good surprise is when someone gives you a present, even though it isn’t your birthday. Another good surprise is when you find a favorite toy that was lost for a while. Can you tell us about a good surprise that you’ve had? Receive responses. These are the kinds of surprises that make us very happy!
The happiest surprise took place on Easter morning a long time ago. Jesus had died on the cross, and his friends were very sad. Since he was dead, they didn’t expect to see him again. They cried and cried because they missed him.
But on Sunday morning, some women went to the grave where Jesus’ dead body had been placed. What they saw there surprised them. There were two angels! The angels said to the women: “Jesus is not dead. He is alive! Go and tell his friends that he has risen from the dead!” What a good surprise! What a happy surprise! The women had thought that Jesus was dead, but he was alive. So they ran to tell their friends this joyful news. And while they were running, they had another surprise. Jesus met them! Seeing Jesus again was the best surprise they ever had! Now they laughed with joy.
The reason Easter is such a happy day is because Jesus is alive. Jesus did die on the cross to take the punishment for our sins. He died for us because he loves us very much. But he didn’t stay dead. He came alive again so that he could continue to love us and care for us.
More than that, he is able to make you come alive after you die. He promises to do that! That is a happy surprise that we can look forward to!
Easter 2, April 15, 2007
Don’t Be Afraid of Jesus!
Text: Revelation 1:4–18
Visuals: picture of empty tomb
Summary: We do not need to be afraid of Christ at any time, since, because he loves us, he has overcome sin and death for us.
Rev. Charles A. Gieschen, ThM, PhD, associate professor of exegetical theology
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Children, what’s this picture showing? Responses. Can you tell me who saw Jesus alive after his resurrection on that first Easter? Encourage responses, such as the women who went to the tomb, his disciples, and the like. Then later Jesus ascended; he went back to up heaven. Do you suppose he appeared to any people after that? Responses. Yes, he certainly did. For example, he appeared to the apostle Paul on the road to a city called Damascus and changed his life from being someone who persecuted, or hurt, Christians to being a missionary to the world.
Our reading from the Book of Revelation today tells us that the risen Christ also appeared to John while he was on an island away from his church family. How do you think John felt when he first saw the glorious, risen Christ? Various responses. Our Epistle tells us he was afraid. Why would he be afraid? Responses. Well, the truth is, this time Jesus appeared in a way that might scare us too: his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like shiny metal, and his voice was like loud waves crashing. He was holding seven stars in his hand, his face was shining as brightly as the sun, and he had a sword coming out of his mouth! All that reminded John that he was a sinner and that Christ is holy—and that scared him! Holy means that Christ doesn’t have any sin, and people who do can’t be around him. But Jesus didn’t want John to be scared, so he said, “Stop fearing!” (see v 17). He reminded John that he had died on the cross, but he was still living forever. He let John know that his looking all bright and shiny shouldn’t scare him. It was just showing John that Jesus is stronger than anything that could hurt us, so he didn’t even need to be afraid of physical death!
Children, the risen Christ still comes to us today, speaking through his Word and feeding his people with his body and blood at this Table. He comes to save us, not to scare us. We don’t need to be afraid of him. He loves us, he died in our place, and he lives that we may live forever with him. Even though we sin, we need not be afraid of him. He will always be with his Church to calm our fears about life and death.
Easter 3, April 22, 2007
The Lamb Is the Winner!
Text: Revelation 5:(1–7) 8–14
Visuals: picture or other piece of art depicting the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God)
Summary: Because Jesus sacrificed his life as the payment for sin and rose in victory, he is the Lamb of God who truly is worthy of our worship.
Rev. Charles A. Gieschen, ThM, PhD, associate professor of exegetical theology
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana
What are some of the titles that we use for Jesus in our worship service? Various responses. Do we ever call Jesus the Lamb of God? Responses. Yes, we do call Jesus the Lamb in our worship. For example, sometimes we sing, “Worthy is Christ, the Lamb who was slain,” and right before Holy Communion we sing, “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world, have mercy on us.” This is a picture of Jesus as the Lamb of God. Show the picture or art.
One of the reasons we refer to Jesus as the Lamb of God is because of our Epistle today. John sees a vision of Christ in heaven as the Lamb. Does anyone remember from the Epistle how this Lamb was described? What did he look like? Various answers. He looks as though he’d been slaughtered, killed, but he’s not lying there dead. He’s standing. What do you think this is describing? Responses. Yes, Jesus was killed on the cross as the perfect sacrifice. See, in the days before Jesus came, God had commanded his people to kill, or sacrifice, lambs as a reminder of what Jesus would be. Jesus was the real sacrifice, whose blood shed at the cross pays the great price of our sin and evil. But the Lamb is also standing because Christ rose from death and lives. One more thing: in this vision the lamb has seven horns. Why do you think he has seven horns? Responses. A horn reminds us of power. This lamb has seven horns because Christ is true God, and that means he has all power. This picture of Jesus teaches us who Jesus is and what he’s done.
What are we supposed to do with this Lamb who is Christ? Responses. Our reading describes every creature in all creation, in heaven and on earth, worshiping him. That’s what we do with Christ: we worship him. This picture of Jesus as the Lamb of God helps us understand what he’s done for us. Because he died and rose to save all of us from our sin, he is truly worthy of our worship.
Easter 4, April 29, 2007
What Do You See?
Text: Revelation 7:9–17
Visuals: kaleidoscope or View-Master with disk of pictures
Summary: God permitted John to look into heaven so that he could encourage believers to remain faithful and to spread the Good News throughout the world.
Rev. Rodney W. Loose, emeritus
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Paonia, Colorado
Good morning. How are you this morning? I’m always glad to see you here in God’s house. And I’m always glad when you come up here for the children’s messages. I enjoy visiting with you and talking to you about Jesus.
Does anybody know what this is? (Hold kaleidoscope or View-Master.) I’m going to look into this kaleidoscope to see what I can see. Make comments about what you see without revealing what it is. Like “Oh, this is beautiful.” “Oh, I wish you could see this.” Maybe someone will say something like, “What do you see?” If not, ask a child if he or she would like to look. After a few moments, say, “What do you see?”
In the Bible reading I’m going to talk about in my sermon today, God let a man named John look into heaven. What he saw was so wonderful. God told John to write about what he saw and send it to some churches, where the people were being persecuted, or hurt, because they believed in Jesus. What John saw and wrote about is part of the Bible.
So we can say, “John, what did you see?” Then, when we open our Bible, we can read about what John saw. He saw wonderful things in heaven. Many, many people—thousands and thousands and thousands of people. They were wearing white robes. We can see something like that too. Where? The pastor wears a white robe. That’s to show that we are covered with God’s forgiveness, because Jesus died for our sins on the cross. When John saw people dressed in white robes in heaven, it meant that they were washed (made white) with the blood of Jesus.
The Bible tells us God’s story about how much he loved us and how he sent Jesus. Jesus came to this world to live a perfect life for us and to die to pay for our sins, so that we’ll be able to see heaven with our own eyes one day—when we die.
Heaven is such a wonderful place! God let John look into heaven so he could see what a beautiful place it is, and so he could tell us a little bit about that place. He wants us to see heaven for ourselves—at least through John’s words—so we won’t get discouraged when trouble comes. And as we picture heaven, we’ll tell others about Jesus, so they can go there one day too.
Easter 5, May 6, 2007
Is Your Name Written in God’s Book of Life?
Text: Revelation 21:1–7
Visuals: church record book, crucifix or picture of Jesus on the cross
Summary: Only believers’ names are written in God’s Book of Life to be allowed into the new heaven and new earth God is planning. He wants you to be happy that your name is in that book, and he wants us to tell others about Jesus, so that God can write their names in that book too.
Rev. Rodney W. Loose, emeritus
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Paonia, Colorado
Good morning, boys and girls. How are you this morning? You know, I enjoy it when you come up here for these children’s messages. I enjoy visiting with you and talking to you about Jesus, our best friend.
Does anybody know what this is? (A church record book.) There are all kinds of names written into this book. There are names of people who transferred their membership from another congregation to this congregation. Then there are the names of people who were confirmed in this congregation. There are also the names of people who were married here. But the most important names are the names of people who were baptized here. Do you know the names of any people who were baptized right here in this church?
Look up a few names of these children ahead of time and show them now. For instance, “Oh, look, here’s Mary’s name. She was baptized May 2. Her sponsors’ names are . . .” and so on. Isn’t that exciting?
You know, it’s going to be a lot more exciting when Jesus opens the Book of Life on the Last Day and sees your name. Then he’ll say, “Mary, come into the new heaven and new earth I have prepared for you.”
But not everybody knows about Jesus, that he died on the cross to take away their sins. And other people, who do know about him, say they don’t believe in him. They won’t be allowed into God’s new heaven.
We, you and I, and all the other people here in church, need to talk to these people and tell them that Jesus loves them, that he died for their sins (show crucifix or picture), and that he wants them to believe in him and go to heaven when they die. Do you think we can do that, so that some of our friends who don’t believe will also believe and be with Jesus, and us, in heaven? Then they, too, can be baptized, and we can write their names in this book as God writes their names in his Book of Life.
Let’s pray: Dear Jesus, thank you for what you did for me in my Baptism. Thank you for writing my name in your Book of Life. Help me to tell others about you, because I want their names to be written in your Book of Life too. Amen.
Easter 6, May 13, 2007
Jesus Is Our Lamp
Text: Revelation 21:9–14, 21–27
Visuals: none
Summary: With Jesus as our lamp, we need never fear the darkness.
Rev. Daniel P. Mackey, pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church, Appleton City, Missouri
Are you afraid of the dark? It’s okay. It can be scary when you’re in the dark. You can’t see things around you. You can’t tell if someone else is there. And, sometimes, when we’re in the dark, we start to imagine things. We hear a noise, and we start to think that something’s in the closet. Or maybe we imagine monsters under the bed.
Did you know that adults can be afraid of the dark too? That’s why mommies and daddies lock the doors at night. It’s dark outside, and they don’t want to let the darkness in. In the old days, even whole towns and cities would lock their huge doors at night. Cities had high walls around them, and they closed their gates to keep all the scary things and mean people outside the city. And to keep the darkness out, people would light lamps. It’s just like having a night-light. Do you have a night-light? With the night-light on, there’s no need to be afraid of the darkness, is there?
In the Book of Revelation, in our second Bible reading this morning, we’re told that the holy city in heaven has gates and doors. But guess what? Those gates are never closed. That’s right. The doors are always unlocked and thrown open. You want to know why? Well, it’s because there will be no nighttime there—no darkness there. We’re told that Jesus, the Lamb of God, will be our lamp. Can you picture that? In heaven, Jesus is so bright and shiny that he lights up everything else. And he doesn’t just shed a little light, but he is as bright as the sun and the moon and all the stars combined.
With Jesus as our lamp, as our light, we need never fear the darkness. Both children and adults can look to Jesus, who keeps the scary things in the dark away from us. He protects us and loves us and shines his light on us. He even protects us from death by dying on the cross in our place. So if you ever find yourself scared and afraid, whether it’s dark or not, remember that Jesus is always there for you. He is your light and your life.
Easter 7, May 20, 2007
God Never Lies
Text: Revelation 22:1–6 (7–11) 12–20
Visuals: none
Summary: God’s Word is “trustworthy and true” (v 6), having the power to save us.
Rev. Daniel P. Mackey, pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church, Appleton City, Missouri
God’s Word is trustworthy and true. Do you know what that means? It means that whatever the Bible tells us, we should believe. We should believe it because God doesn’t lie. That’s right—God always tells the truth.
Have you ever been lied to? It hurts when someone lies to you, doesn’t it? Not only does it make you feel bad, but you might also end up doing something wrong. Next thing you know, you’re in trouble. That’s what lying does: it hurts people and gets them into trouble.
That’s what happened in the Garden of Eden. You remember the Garden of Eden, right? Everything was perfect. Adam and Eve were happy, and God walked and talked with them. But it didn’t last, did it? No, an evil snake told Adam and Eve a big lie. God had told Adam and Eve not to eat from a certain tree, but that tricky snake told them that God was being mean to them, not letting them be like God. The devil lied about that tree, while God was telling the truth.
Do you know what happened when Adam and Eve fell for the lie? The snake’s lie caused Adam and Eve to do something really bad. The snake hurt them with the lie. Adam and Eve were no longer happy, but sad. They no longer walked and talked with God, but they were afraid of him. So they hid.
God doesn’t want us to hide from him. God made Adam and Eve—and us—a promise. He said that he would send his Son to defeat that evil snake and his lie. If God says something’s going to happen, it will happen, won’t it? And so, Jesus came with the truth. Jesus tells us that God the Father loves us and wants to be with us. God doesn’t want us to hurt anymore or be sad anymore or be in trouble anymore. God wants us to be happy, just like Adam and Eve were in the Garden. And so he promises that there will be a new place with a tree and a river, a place where God is always with us.
If God says it, then it’s true, because God never lies. And where can we find what God says? In the Bible. God says that the Bible is “trustworthy and true” (v 6).
Pentecost, May 27, 2007
The Beautiful Sound
Text: Acts 2:1–21
Visuals: several noisemaking attention-getters of your choice: smoke detector, classroom bell, cell phone, alarm clock, cooking timer, musical instrument, or similar items
Summary: God used the sound of a rushing wind to get people’s attention so that we could hear the voice of someone who loves us: the disciples telling us the Good News about Jesus.
Rev. Joseph G. Asher, MA, English teacher
Homestead High School, Fort Wayne, Indiana
Hello, children. I’m glad you’re here today. Sound gets our attention, doesn’t it? Sound each object. Each of these things has a special sound, different from all the others. If you were in a quiet room and heard these sounds behind you, you’d turn and want to find out more, wouldn’t you?—like who’s playing the instrument or ringing the bell?
There are also really loud sounds that are made for our safety. Go to the fire alarm in the sanctuary. Try this before worship, and make sure you can turn it on briefly and then turn it off—without summoning the fire department! Otherwise, use a home smoke detector and press the test button to sound it. We have fire alarms here, and you have fire alarms in school too. Even at home, there are smoke detectors, which buzz in your house. All these keep us safe from fire.
In the Bible reading today from the Book of Acts, God uses a loud sound to get the people’s attention in Jerusalem. A strong wind sounds, and that brings people together. In a way, God was using this “whooshing” sound for the people’s safety. There was not going to be a fire, but God wanted all the people to be safe and to be with him in heaven. So the sound of a strong wind happened, and all the people came together to hear the sound of people talking about Jesus in their own languages.
Did you know that talking can be a beautiful sound too? We like to hear the voice of someone who loves us. In a kind and caring way, the disciples talked to the people about Jesus. And at the end of all that talking in different languages, those many folks standing there in Jerusalem knew that Jesus loved them, died for them on the cross, and rose again to life on Easter Sunday. It was a great day for the people. And it all began with the special sound of a loud rushing wind.
Children, thanks for coming up for the message today.