The day Jesus was baptized
Children's sermon
Object:
a Bible
Good morning, boys and girls. On January 20, the president of the United States will be inaugurated. That means there will be a ceremony for him to officially begin his job as president. This will be a very special event and there will be many people in Washington D.C. watching it happen. Millions of other people all around the world will watch it on television. The president will recite his oath of office, placing his hand on a Bible that his wife will hold. The president will say, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." The president's job comes with a large amount of responsibility and, after he takes the office, his life will never be the same again.
An even more important event took place 2,000 years ago. One day, Jesus was walking from Galilee toward the River Jordan. John the Baptist was there, preaching and baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. Suddenly, Jesus stood before John and asked to be baptized. John was shocked. He already knew Jesus and believed that he was sent from God to be the Messiah. How could John baptize Jesus when Jesus had not sinned? Why would Jesus want to be baptized? John said that if anyone should be baptized, it should be him by Jesus and not the other way around. But Jesus told John that God had really intended it to be that way. Then John agreed and Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan.
But it was different than any other baptism you could imagine! After Jesus came up from the water the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove who graciously landed on Jesus. Then while people were looking at the dove, the skies opened and there was a great voice coming from heaven that said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
This was like no baptism that had ever happened before or has ever happened again. Everyone saw the dove, heard the voice, and knew that Jesus was not another prophet or preacher. Everyone there understood that God had visited the earth and called Jesus his Son. It was kind of an inauguration only much bigger. The disciples were amazed and never forgot it. On January 20, a little more than a week from now, the president will take his oath of office. And on the day that Jesus was baptized, he accepted the call from God to be the Savior of the world.
An even more important event took place 2,000 years ago. One day, Jesus was walking from Galilee toward the River Jordan. John the Baptist was there, preaching and baptizing people for the forgiveness of their sins. Suddenly, Jesus stood before John and asked to be baptized. John was shocked. He already knew Jesus and believed that he was sent from God to be the Messiah. How could John baptize Jesus when Jesus had not sinned? Why would Jesus want to be baptized? John said that if anyone should be baptized, it should be him by Jesus and not the other way around. But Jesus told John that God had really intended it to be that way. Then John agreed and Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan.
But it was different than any other baptism you could imagine! After Jesus came up from the water the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove who graciously landed on Jesus. Then while people were looking at the dove, the skies opened and there was a great voice coming from heaven that said, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."
This was like no baptism that had ever happened before or has ever happened again. Everyone saw the dove, heard the voice, and knew that Jesus was not another prophet or preacher. Everyone there understood that God had visited the earth and called Jesus his Son. It was kind of an inauguration only much bigger. The disciples were amazed and never forgot it. On January 20, a little more than a week from now, the president will take his oath of office. And on the day that Jesus was baptized, he accepted the call from God to be the Savior of the world.
