Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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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.
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