Getting Rich!
Children's sermon
Object: The object of the lesson is a gesture you will teach the children.
Note: The gesture used both hands. Hold both hands in front of you and make the thumbs-up sign with both hands with both thumbs pointing back at your chest. This is the “ME!” gesture. Then simply rotate your hands back so your thumbs are pointing straight up in the air, like two “OK” signs. This is the “US” gesture.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) This is a short story, but it is a really important one. It is a story about a decision that we all have to make, and it is a really important decision. I’ll tell you all about it after I ask you a question.
Have you ever felt jealous? (Let them respond.) We all know what it means to feel jealous, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when we see someone who has something we don’t have, and we wish we had that thing, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Or we see someone who has something that we have, but theirs is bigger, or they have more of them than we have, and sometimes that makes us wish that we had theirs instead of ours, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) Being jealous means that we see something that someone else has, and we get upset and want that thing for ourselves. We’ve all felt kind of jealous sometimes, haven’t we? (Let them respond.)
One day, a man talked to Jesus and was really angry. He was angry because he and his older brother had just been given their inheritance money. That shouldn’t make him angry, should it? (Let them respond.) No. But when people got their inheritance from their parents, the rules said that the older children always got more money than the younger ones. That was how an inheritance worked. The younger brother always knew his brother would get more money, but when he actually saw how much more his brother got, he didn’t like it at all. So, he went to Jesus and said, “Teacher, tell my brother he has to divide his inheritance with me. He got a lot more than I did, and it just isn’t FAIR!” It sounds like the younger brother was jealous, doesn’t it? (Let them respond). He got his inheritance money, but when he saw how much more his brother got, he got jealous and asked Jesus to make his brother give him more, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) He was jealous because he wanted more.
That’s the problem with feeling jealous; we always keep wanting more. No matter what we already have, we see someone who has more, and we want that, too. Just like the younger brother, we know the rules, but we don’t care. We just want more, and more, and more.
If I get jealous when I look at other people, I just look at the things they have to see if they have anything that I want for myself. Everything is about me. (Make the “Me” gesture.) They don’t actually do this, but this is what they are feeling. Everything is about me! (Have them make the gesture with you.) Me, me, me!
And that is how the brother felt when he asked Jesus to help him, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus looked at the angry brother and told him a story. He said that one day, there was a farmer who had a really good crop and made a whole lot of money. When he got his money, he decided that he wanted even more. He decided that if he just built a few more big buildings, he could grow even more crops and make even more money. So, he tore down his old buildings and built new, bigger ones. (Show the “Me” gesture.) Then he looked at his new buildings and smiled and said, “Now I can have more!” (Invite the children to make the “Me” gesture and look important.)
But that night, who knows what happened? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that after just building his big, shiny, new buildings, the rich farmer died and never got to use his big, shiny, new buildings. Jesus said that God called the farmer a fool, and said he didn’t know what it meant to be really rich. Jesus’ story said there are two kinds of richness. There is richness for me. (Show the “Me” gesture.) This is when I want more and more stuff and think that is what makes me rich. And there is richness for us. (Show the “Us” gesture.) This is when I remember that God wants me to use what I have to help others and not just help myself. Here, try this with me. (Have them join you switching from the “Me” gesture to the “Us” gesture.) One of these shows that I am acting like a fool. (Show the “Me” gesture.) And the other shows that I am really rich. (Show the “Us” gesture.)
The big decision we all have to make is, are we going to live like this (Show the “Me” gesture.) and be jealous of other people and keep collecting more stuff to make us look richer? Or are we going to live like this (Show the “Us” gesture.) and use what we have to help take care of other people who need our help?
It’s not what we have that matters to God.
What matters to God is what we share.
I hope our story will help us remember what Jesus said that God wants us to do. And who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Now, let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
Note: The gesture used both hands. Hold both hands in front of you and make the thumbs-up sign with both hands with both thumbs pointing back at your chest. This is the “ME!” gesture. Then simply rotate your hands back so your thumbs are pointing straight up in the air, like two “OK” signs. This is the “US” gesture.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) This is a short story, but it is a really important one. It is a story about a decision that we all have to make, and it is a really important decision. I’ll tell you all about it after I ask you a question.
Have you ever felt jealous? (Let them respond.) We all know what it means to feel jealous, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Sometimes when we see someone who has something we don’t have, and we wish we had that thing, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Or we see someone who has something that we have, but theirs is bigger, or they have more of them than we have, and sometimes that makes us wish that we had theirs instead of ours, doesn’t it? (Let them respond.) Being jealous means that we see something that someone else has, and we get upset and want that thing for ourselves. We’ve all felt kind of jealous sometimes, haven’t we? (Let them respond.)
One day, a man talked to Jesus and was really angry. He was angry because he and his older brother had just been given their inheritance money. That shouldn’t make him angry, should it? (Let them respond.) No. But when people got their inheritance from their parents, the rules said that the older children always got more money than the younger ones. That was how an inheritance worked. The younger brother always knew his brother would get more money, but when he actually saw how much more his brother got, he didn’t like it at all. So, he went to Jesus and said, “Teacher, tell my brother he has to divide his inheritance with me. He got a lot more than I did, and it just isn’t FAIR!” It sounds like the younger brother was jealous, doesn’t it? (Let them respond). He got his inheritance money, but when he saw how much more his brother got, he got jealous and asked Jesus to make his brother give him more, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) He was jealous because he wanted more.
That’s the problem with feeling jealous; we always keep wanting more. No matter what we already have, we see someone who has more, and we want that, too. Just like the younger brother, we know the rules, but we don’t care. We just want more, and more, and more.
If I get jealous when I look at other people, I just look at the things they have to see if they have anything that I want for myself. Everything is about me. (Make the “Me” gesture.) They don’t actually do this, but this is what they are feeling. Everything is about me! (Have them make the gesture with you.) Me, me, me!
And that is how the brother felt when he asked Jesus to help him, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.) Jesus looked at the angry brother and told him a story. He said that one day, there was a farmer who had a really good crop and made a whole lot of money. When he got his money, he decided that he wanted even more. He decided that if he just built a few more big buildings, he could grow even more crops and make even more money. So, he tore down his old buildings and built new, bigger ones. (Show the “Me” gesture.) Then he looked at his new buildings and smiled and said, “Now I can have more!” (Invite the children to make the “Me” gesture and look important.)
But that night, who knows what happened? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that after just building his big, shiny, new buildings, the rich farmer died and never got to use his big, shiny, new buildings. Jesus said that God called the farmer a fool, and said he didn’t know what it meant to be really rich. Jesus’ story said there are two kinds of richness. There is richness for me. (Show the “Me” gesture.) This is when I want more and more stuff and think that is what makes me rich. And there is richness for us. (Show the “Us” gesture.) This is when I remember that God wants me to use what I have to help others and not just help myself. Here, try this with me. (Have them join you switching from the “Me” gesture to the “Us” gesture.) One of these shows that I am acting like a fool. (Show the “Me” gesture.) And the other shows that I am really rich. (Show the “Us” gesture.)
The big decision we all have to make is, are we going to live like this (Show the “Me” gesture.) and be jealous of other people and keep collecting more stuff to make us look richer? Or are we going to live like this (Show the “Us” gesture.) and use what we have to help take care of other people who need our help?
It’s not what we have that matters to God.
What matters to God is what we share.
I hope our story will help us remember what Jesus said that God wants us to do. And who remembers what God wants us to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that more than anything else, God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.)
Now, let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.
Prayer
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love us and for forgiving us when we forget that. And please help us remember that you love all of the people you have created and help us let the people around us know that we love them just like Jesus loves us. Amen.
