Login / Signup

Free Access

What It's Like

Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: a fluffy bed pillow


Good morning, boys and girls. We need to talk about something that people do not like to talk about. It is a very big part of living. It is a big experience, but people do not like to talk about it. Do you know what I want to share with you this morning? (let them answer) That's right; I want to talk to you about dying and death. People don't like to talk about it, because they don't like to think about it. Dying means that they will not share the things they are doing now with other people. Death means being separated or gone. You don't live in the same place, eat at the same table, ride in the same car, or work in the same place. Death happens to everyone, usually when we are old, but not always. You can die in a lot of ways. You can get sick, have a bad accident, or just wear out. We watch other things die - flowers, trees, our pets - and it makes us sad, but we know it is going to happen. Now I want to talk about people dying. That, we never expect. We never expect that we will die. Even if other people do, we think it will not happen to us. But it will. It happens to all of us.

What is dying like, or what it is like to be dead? I don't know. It has never happened to me, but I have some good ideas about it because the Bible talks about it. One of the ways the Bible talks about death is to tell us that it is like going to sleep. Our verse from the Bible refers to people who "have died," but another translation of this verse says they "are asleep."

I brought my big fluffy pillow with me to show you this morning that the Bible tells us that when we die, it is like being in bed asleep with our moms and dads downstairs, only instead of mom and dad, it is like having Jesus downstairs. We would be pretty scared if we had to go to bed in our house and there was no one downstairs. But when we go to sleep at night we know that we are safe because our mom and dad are there and keeping us safe. We just put our heads down on our fluffy pillows, shut our eyes, and have wonderful dreams about what we are going to do the next day.

The same thing is true when we die. We can close our eyes, we know that Jesus is there to keep us safe, and we can dream about the new adventures in the world to come.

So the next time you think about dying, don't worry or be afraid, but imagine putting your head down on a fluffy pillow with Jesus downstairs and plan a wonderful dream. That helps a lot, doesn't it? I know that it helps me.
UPCOMING WEEKS
In addition to the lectionary resources there are thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...
Proper 7 | OT 12 | Pentecost 2
30 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
30 – Children's Sermons / Resources
29 – Worship Resources
34 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 8 | OT 13 | Pentecost 3
29 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
27 – Children's Sermons / Resources
20 – Worship Resources
29 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Proper 9 | OT 14 | Pentecost 4
34 – Sermons
160+ – Illustrations / Stories
32 – Children's Sermons / Resources
26 – Worship Resources
31 – Commentary / Exegesis
4 – Pastor's Devotions
and more...
Plus thousands of non-lectionary, scripture based resources...

New & Featured This Week

The Immediate Word

Thomas Willadsen
Nazish Naseem
Dean Feldmeyer
Mary Austin
Katy Stenta
George Reed
For July 6, 2025:

CSSPlus

John Jamison
Object: This is a role play activity for the children.

Note: You will need an older volunteer to help with this activity. One option would be to find a teenager with some physical ability. If a teen is not available, an adult could be used instead. For simplicity here, I will refer to my older volunteer as “TOM”. You will also need to select three of your younger children to serve as volunteers in the story.

* * *

Emphasis Preaching Journal

Mark Ellingsen
2 Kings 5:1-14
Bill Thomas
Frank Ramirez
Mark Ellingsen
Bonnie Bates
2 Kings 5:1-14, Psalm 30
Naaman seeks healing. He travels hoping healing will come to him when he visits the king of Israel. Yet, healing does not come in that way. Rather healing comes through Elishah. Healing comes from believing and being cleansed in the River Jordan. Healing comes through Naaman’s faithfulness and through God’s grace. Psalm 30 also reminds us to seek healing; to seek God and God will heal and restore us. Do we believe that? Do we believe that God can bring healing?

StoryShare

John E. Sumwalt
But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ (vv. 10-11)

When I visit your church for the first time, consider the possibility that I might be looking for a church home. I am a good-looking old guy, but I have gray hair and I dress down in the summer, so don’t be put off by my cargo shorts and tank top. Talk to me!

The Village Shepherd

Janice B. Scott
Damien and Ora grinned at each other in excitement. The time had come - at last! They'd been with the Leader for months and months, waiting for this moment. Not that it had felt much like training. They'd simply lived with the Leader, listening to his stories, hearing about the Kingdom, learning to get along really well with all the other people at Mission Headquarters. Now all seventy of them were ready, the spaceship had docked, and the Mission was about to begin. Ora was glad she'd been paired up with Damien again.

SermonStudio

James Evans
Stan Purdum
Carlos Wilton
(See Epiphany 6/Ordinary Time 6, Cycle B, and Easter 3, Cycle C, for alternative approaches.)

Anyone who has ever had the experience of losing a friend because of some conflict or dispute, and then has had the friendship restored because of love and forgiveness, has a unique insight into the meaning of this psalm. Although the poem begins and ends with praise, there is in the middle of the poem a brief moment of confession and contrition that puts the praise portions of the psalm in an entirely different light.

April Yamasaki
A word of encouragement came from an unlikely source the other day in a television interview with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. The former football player, wrestler, and now actor was asked about a low time in his life when he was very discouraged about his career and future.

"How did you make your way back from that?" he was asked.

The Rock replied, "You have to put yourself out there. You have to get out there and fail, and learn from your failures."

Larry D. Powell
In the summer of 1983, I participated in a ministerial exchange program sponsored by my denomination. My assignment was to a circuit of churches on the Isle of Man, a tiny island located in the Irish Sea. The months preceding the exchange included considerable correspondence with the minister on the island with whom I would exchange pastoral duties for six weeks.
Richard E. Gribble, CSC
A wealthy businessman decided to take a walk and eat his lunch at the same time. He strolled by a park. There he purchased a hot dog and a soft drink. As he walked through the park two different "street people" approached him one by one. Each asked, "Can you help me? I am hungry." Each time the businessman looked straight ahead and kept walking. After finishing his lunch, he stopped and bought a chocolate eclair for dessert. As he was about to take the first bite, he was forced to jump out of the way as a young boy raced by on his skateboard. The eclair went flying and landed on the ground.

Special Occasion

Wildcard SSL