He really is the king
Children's sermon
Object:
a sign with the initials "INRI" (not needed if INRI is prominent on a parament or carved in the altar)
Good evening! We are here in church tonight because this is
Good Friday. Can anybody tell me what happened on Good Friday?
(Let them answer.) Yes, Good Friday is the day that Jesus was
crucified, the day he died on the cross to pay for our sins.
When they crucified Jesus, they put a sign on the cross that
said, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Now they did
this just to mock him, because those people who crucified Jesus
didn't believe that he was the king of anything, did they? (Let
them answer.) But, was Jesus really a king? (Let them answer.)
Yes, of course he was. Jesus is king of the whole universe! He
was then and he is now. They didn't know it, but their sign was
telling the truth.
We remember that sign in the church today. Have you ever
seen this in the church? (Show the sign or point to the INRI
inscription.) What do these initials stand for? (Let them
answer.) Well, you must remember that they were not writing in
English in those days. The sign was written in three languages,
Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In the Latin language, the first letter
of Jesus is "I," Nazareth is "N," king is "R," and Jews is "I."
So the INRI stands for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. We
use the Latin initials to remind us of that sign they put on his
cross.
Dear Jesus: We know that you really are the King of all creation,
and we feel sorrow tonight that you had to suffer so much for all
of us. We praise you as our King and our Savior. Amen.
Good Friday. Can anybody tell me what happened on Good Friday?
(Let them answer.) Yes, Good Friday is the day that Jesus was
crucified, the day he died on the cross to pay for our sins.
When they crucified Jesus, they put a sign on the cross that
said, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Now they did
this just to mock him, because those people who crucified Jesus
didn't believe that he was the king of anything, did they? (Let
them answer.) But, was Jesus really a king? (Let them answer.)
Yes, of course he was. Jesus is king of the whole universe! He
was then and he is now. They didn't know it, but their sign was
telling the truth.
We remember that sign in the church today. Have you ever
seen this in the church? (Show the sign or point to the INRI
inscription.) What do these initials stand for? (Let them
answer.) Well, you must remember that they were not writing in
English in those days. The sign was written in three languages,
Greek, Latin and Hebrew. In the Latin language, the first letter
of Jesus is "I," Nazareth is "N," king is "R," and Jews is "I."
So the INRI stands for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. We
use the Latin initials to remind us of that sign they put on his
cross.
Dear Jesus: We know that you really are the King of all creation,
and we feel sorrow tonight that you had to suffer so much for all
of us. We praise you as our King and our Savior. Amen.
