Earn your stickers
Children's sermon
Object:
a sticker chart
I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. (v. 4)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Look what I brought with me today: a sticker chart. How many of you have ever used a sticker chart at home, at school, or at daycare? (allow answers) How do you use a sticker chart? (allow answers) When you use a sticker chart, you are allowed to put a sticker on the chart each time you do something that you are supposed to do. We use sticker charts to help teach ourselves to form habits. We want to form these habits -- like making our beds every morning, or setting the table without complaining -- so that we can finish all the work that our parents or teachers want us to accomplish.
When we form good habits, we teach ourselves discipline. Can anyone tell me what "discipline" means? (allow answers) "Discipline" is when we have the patience and the determination to make ourselves do things that we might not want to do. When we are in school, sometimes we have to take big tests. Studying for tests is not fun! But we know that in order to do well in school, we need to study to pass tests. When we have discipline, we have the ability to make ourselves study so that we can do well -- even when we don't want to. Can you think of other things that we might need discipline in order to do? (allow answers) People who learn to play a musical instrument need discipline to practice every day, even when it is hard or boring. We need discipline when we are learning to do new things so that we can learn to do them well. We need to learn to do things well in order to do the work that God has planned for us.
Our gospel today talks about discipline. In the gospel, Jesus tells God that he has finished all of the work God set out for him. Jesus may not have used a sticker chart, but he still found the discipline to do all of the work -- the hard, hard work -- that he had to do to complete God's work on earth: to teach about God's love, to suffer, and finally to die and rise again.
Next time you complain about doing a chore or adding to a sticker chart, remember Jesus' discipline. We need to learn to live every day to try and be like Jesus: with that same discipline, hard work, and focus on spreading God's word through our every action. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Look what I brought with me today: a sticker chart. How many of you have ever used a sticker chart at home, at school, or at daycare? (allow answers) How do you use a sticker chart? (allow answers) When you use a sticker chart, you are allowed to put a sticker on the chart each time you do something that you are supposed to do. We use sticker charts to help teach ourselves to form habits. We want to form these habits -- like making our beds every morning, or setting the table without complaining -- so that we can finish all the work that our parents or teachers want us to accomplish.
When we form good habits, we teach ourselves discipline. Can anyone tell me what "discipline" means? (allow answers) "Discipline" is when we have the patience and the determination to make ourselves do things that we might not want to do. When we are in school, sometimes we have to take big tests. Studying for tests is not fun! But we know that in order to do well in school, we need to study to pass tests. When we have discipline, we have the ability to make ourselves study so that we can do well -- even when we don't want to. Can you think of other things that we might need discipline in order to do? (allow answers) People who learn to play a musical instrument need discipline to practice every day, even when it is hard or boring. We need discipline when we are learning to do new things so that we can learn to do them well. We need to learn to do things well in order to do the work that God has planned for us.
Our gospel today talks about discipline. In the gospel, Jesus tells God that he has finished all of the work God set out for him. Jesus may not have used a sticker chart, but he still found the discipline to do all of the work -- the hard, hard work -- that he had to do to complete God's work on earth: to teach about God's love, to suffer, and finally to die and rise again.
Next time you complain about doing a chore or adding to a sticker chart, remember Jesus' discipline. We need to learn to live every day to try and be like Jesus: with that same discipline, hard work, and focus on spreading God's word through our every action. Amen.
