The Roots of Faith!
Children's sermon
Object:
Packet of fast-growing seeds. (Optional: a container of good soil, a flat rock, and a container of sand or rocky soil. You can simply show the seeds and soils, or you could actually plant seeds in each soil and see how they all grow over the next several days.)
Hi everyone! (Let them respond) I want to tell you a story that Jesus told people one day. He was walking with a bunch of people who had just met him and they wanted to know more about him. They asked him how they could be more like him and have more faith in God. Jesus told them this story:
Once there was a farmer getting ready to plant seeds. Back then they didn’t have big tractors and machines that put the seed in the ground. Instead, the farmer put the seeds in a big bag and threw it over his shoulder. Then, as he walked around, he reached in the bag, grabbed a handful of seeds, and tossed them out on the ground. It sounds like hard work, doesn’t it? (Let them answer) But the biggest problem was that the farmer had to be very careful where he threw the seeds.
If some of the seeds fell in the road, birds would swoop down and eat them up, and they would never get a chance to sprout and grow. And if some of the seeds fell in the rocks or hard ground, what do you think happened to them? (Let them answer) Yes, they would sprout really fast, but they wouldn’t be able to grow strong roots and the hot sun would dry them out and they would die. And some of the seeds fell in the tall weeds and sticker bushes. What do you think happened to them? (Let them answer) They would sprout but the other plants would crowd them out and keep them from growing strong. If the farmer wanted his seeds to grow big and strong, he needed to make sure the seeds landed in good soil, where they could grow strong roots and produce lots and lots of grain.
The people asked Jesus how they could make their faith in God stronger, and he told them how to plant seeds. It seems kind of strange, doesn’t it? The story Jesus told them was called a parable. A parable is a story that has a hidden meaning. Jesus told lots of parables like this one. Here’s what I think Jesus meant in this parable.
The people talking to him had just met him and were new Christians, so they were kind of like little seeds that need to grow stronger. And if they wanted to grow stronger, they had to be careful. They needed to spend time thinking and praying about their faith, so their faith couldn’t just be taken away from them like seeds on the road. They needed their roots grow strong to support them when they need help, and not shrivel-up like seeds in rocky ground. And they needed to learn from other people who believed and watch out for people who might try to weaken their faith, like the sticker bushes and tall weeds that stopped the seeds from growing strong.
Seeds grow best when they are planted in good soil and can develop strong roots. Our faith grows stronger when we spend time with other people with strong faith, and in places where we can learn more and understand more about how much God loves us and wants us to be more like Jesus.
Once there was a farmer getting ready to plant seeds. Back then they didn’t have big tractors and machines that put the seed in the ground. Instead, the farmer put the seeds in a big bag and threw it over his shoulder. Then, as he walked around, he reached in the bag, grabbed a handful of seeds, and tossed them out on the ground. It sounds like hard work, doesn’t it? (Let them answer) But the biggest problem was that the farmer had to be very careful where he threw the seeds.
If some of the seeds fell in the road, birds would swoop down and eat them up, and they would never get a chance to sprout and grow. And if some of the seeds fell in the rocks or hard ground, what do you think happened to them? (Let them answer) Yes, they would sprout really fast, but they wouldn’t be able to grow strong roots and the hot sun would dry them out and they would die. And some of the seeds fell in the tall weeds and sticker bushes. What do you think happened to them? (Let them answer) They would sprout but the other plants would crowd them out and keep them from growing strong. If the farmer wanted his seeds to grow big and strong, he needed to make sure the seeds landed in good soil, where they could grow strong roots and produce lots and lots of grain.
The people asked Jesus how they could make their faith in God stronger, and he told them how to plant seeds. It seems kind of strange, doesn’t it? The story Jesus told them was called a parable. A parable is a story that has a hidden meaning. Jesus told lots of parables like this one. Here’s what I think Jesus meant in this parable.
The people talking to him had just met him and were new Christians, so they were kind of like little seeds that need to grow stronger. And if they wanted to grow stronger, they had to be careful. They needed to spend time thinking and praying about their faith, so their faith couldn’t just be taken away from them like seeds on the road. They needed their roots grow strong to support them when they need help, and not shrivel-up like seeds in rocky ground. And they needed to learn from other people who believed and watch out for people who might try to weaken their faith, like the sticker bushes and tall weeds that stopped the seeds from growing strong.
Seeds grow best when they are planted in good soil and can develop strong roots. Our faith grows stronger when we spend time with other people with strong faith, and in places where we can learn more and understand more about how much God loves us and wants us to be more like Jesus.
