Kids Sermon: Atonement

Opening:

Good-morning kids! I am so glad that you are here! I am so excited to tell you about Jesus. This morning, we are talking about atonement. Have any of you heard that word? We are going to look at what atonement is.

Opening Illustration:

Picture with me two friends. Billy, and Tommy. They both go out to ice cream. When they get to the ice cream place, Billy realizes that he doesn’t have any money. Billy asks Tommy,”Hey Tom, will you buy my ice cream for me?” Tom replies, “I will buy your ice cream, but you need to pay me back tomorrow.” Billy agrees and Tommy pays for both ice creams. Billy now owes Tommy $3.25.

The next day, Tommy asks Billy for his money that he owes him. Billy sheepishly tells Tommy that he forgot. The next day, the same thing happens again. Billy hangs his head and tells Tommy that he forgot the money. Finally on the third day, Tommy goes to billy’s house. He knocks on the door, and Tommy is mad. Billy has stiffed him out of his money for three days. Billy has really wronged Tommy. He has not been faithful to his friend.

Billy answers and Tommy says, “Hey Billy, look here, I bought you ice cream and you promised that you would pay me back. Now you need to pay me back. Billy says, “Look Tommy, I don’t have the money. I spent it on something else.” Now Tommy is even more mad. He is wrathful. And Tommy has a right to be angry. Billy’s mom comes to the door and asks what happened. Tommy and Billy explain. Billy’s mom goes and gets her purse and pays Tommy the $3.25.

Now did she owe Tommy the money? No. She paid it on behalf of her son. She didn’t owe Tommy money. However, she atoned for her sons mistake. She paid the debt owed to satisfy Tommy’s wrath. She then spanks Billy for lying to his friend for three days and attempts to make her son a better man than that.

Transition:

This is what the Bible talks about with Atonement. “Atonement is the work of God to deal justly with our sin and deserved wrath through Jesus’ death on the cross so that we can have eternal life.”

Let’s look at Romans 6:23.

Reading of Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Explanation:

Do any of you know what a wage is?

When your mom or dad go to work, they work and earn money. They show up and do their job and their boss pays them for this. This is a wage. A wage is something you get for what you have done.

Illustration:

If you and I make a deal that if you mow my lawn, I will pay you ten dollars, that ten dollars is a wage. You mow the lawn, I give you ten dollars. Your wage is ten dollars.

Argumentation:

The Bible says that the wage for our sin is death. What do we earn for our sin? Death. Our sin in not just against our parents or our brothers and sisters. It is against God. When we sin, we are disobeying God. And this earns death.

But the free gift of God is eternal life. This means that God instead of offering us the death we deserve, gives life. Does anyone know what it is called when God gives us what we don’t deserve? Grace! We deserve death, but God has offered life! That is good news!

Transition:

But how does He offer life? Let’s Read 1 Peter 2:24.

Reading of 1 Peter 2:24:

1 Peter 2:24 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

Explanation:

We deserve God’s wrath. But God sent His only Son, Jesus. Jesus came to earth to pay the price we owed. He payed the wage we owed. What was the wage for our sin? Death. Jesus died in our place for our sin. This is what Peter is saying. He is saying that Jesus bore our sins in His own body on the cross. He took our sin upon Himself. This way, we will not die, but live! Through His suffering and dying, we are healed of our sin.

Argumentation:

This is called Atonement. “Atonement is the work of God to deal justly with our sin and deserved wrath through Jesus’ death on the cross so that we can have eternal life.” Atonement is Jesus paying the debt we owed. He died in our place. This satisfied the wrath of God. God is wrathful against sin. Sin is so evil that is has to be punished. And God is good. He is just. This means that He will punish sins. But we are sinners! This means that we must be punished for our sins. But Jesus atoned for our sins. He stepped in and payed the the punishment we deserved for our sin. This is atonement. Jesus died on the cross so that we can have our sins forgiven.

If your faith is in Jesus, this means you are white as snow. Your sins are forgiven. You can now live your whole life for Jesus. You can do this because Jesus atoned for your sins. The atonement of Jesus means that He satisfied the wrath of God for your sins so that you can be forgiven. That is good news!

Let’s read those verses again. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Remember, we deserve death for our sin. But God is gracious and offers us life. How? 1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” Jesus took our sin on Himself. He payed the debt we owed so that we could be forgiven. This is what atonement means. “Atonement is the work of God to deal justly with our sin and deserved wrath through Jesus’ death on the cross so that we can have eternal life.”

Let’s pray.

Prayer: