The importance of being patient
Children's sermon
Object:
an ear of corn
Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. (v. 7)
Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you live on a farm? (let them answer) Farmers are very patient people. First, they get the ground ready by plowing and getting rid of the weeds. When the ground is dry, they plant the seeds. After the seeds are all planted, they must wait for the rain and the sunshine. Before long they will see little plants poking their heads through the soil. With the right amount of sunshine and rain, the plants bear some fruit. The fruit of the plant grows more every day until, finally, the plant begins to die. The farmer then goes out and picks all of the fruit off the plants.
I have an ear of corn with me so we can see how special it is. (open the ear of corn) This one looks nearly perfect. Each kernel here is almost an exact copy of the next one. Just think, the farmer plants one of these kernels and he gets a full ear of corn. He waits many months to grow a piece of corn like this. If he picks it too early it will not be ripe. If he picks it too late it may rot. So the farmer is patient and allows God to send the sunshine and the rain to make his corn perfect.
The Bible tells us about the farmer because it's a good lesson for us to learn. We need to be patient. Sometimes we are asked to wait, and we get angry when it takes so long. Sometimes we think school is too long and we feel unhappy that we aren't playing. Sometimes our brothers or sisters are playing with a toy we want to play with or they are watching a television show and we want to change the channel. God tells us that we must be patient and try to understand what the other person wants.
When we become impatient and cry or get angry, we stop growing, just like the farmer and his corn. Sometimes the farmer has to wait for the rain. Sometimes the rain never seems to stop and he needs to wait for the sunshine. Not everything works out the way we plan. But God teaches us to be patient because we are better people when we wait until the right time for something to happen. The next time you feel impatient, take a look at a piece of corn and remember what started growing in early spring will not be finished until late fall. Patience is something that God teaches us in many ways.
Good morning, boys and girls. Do any of you live on a farm? (let them answer) Farmers are very patient people. First, they get the ground ready by plowing and getting rid of the weeds. When the ground is dry, they plant the seeds. After the seeds are all planted, they must wait for the rain and the sunshine. Before long they will see little plants poking their heads through the soil. With the right amount of sunshine and rain, the plants bear some fruit. The fruit of the plant grows more every day until, finally, the plant begins to die. The farmer then goes out and picks all of the fruit off the plants.
I have an ear of corn with me so we can see how special it is. (open the ear of corn) This one looks nearly perfect. Each kernel here is almost an exact copy of the next one. Just think, the farmer plants one of these kernels and he gets a full ear of corn. He waits many months to grow a piece of corn like this. If he picks it too early it will not be ripe. If he picks it too late it may rot. So the farmer is patient and allows God to send the sunshine and the rain to make his corn perfect.
The Bible tells us about the farmer because it's a good lesson for us to learn. We need to be patient. Sometimes we are asked to wait, and we get angry when it takes so long. Sometimes we think school is too long and we feel unhappy that we aren't playing. Sometimes our brothers or sisters are playing with a toy we want to play with or they are watching a television show and we want to change the channel. God tells us that we must be patient and try to understand what the other person wants.
When we become impatient and cry or get angry, we stop growing, just like the farmer and his corn. Sometimes the farmer has to wait for the rain. Sometimes the rain never seems to stop and he needs to wait for the sunshine. Not everything works out the way we plan. But God teaches us to be patient because we are better people when we wait until the right time for something to happen. The next time you feel impatient, take a look at a piece of corn and remember what started growing in early spring will not be finished until late fall. Patience is something that God teaches us in many ways.
