Listen, think, and learn
Children's sermon
Object:
a small, toy fence with a gate or a picture of a sheepfold
Good morning! Do you like stories? (get responses) Jesus told stories like this a lot. Sometimes when he wanted to teach people about things that were complicated, he would tell them a story about something they already knew about. Talking about something familiar to them helped them understand something unfamiliar.
Take today's lesson, for example. For many, many years people had argued about the right way to serve God. People had all sorts of opinions about how to please God. Jesus came into the world to give the answer. Jesus wanted people to know that he was the way to reach the heavenly Father. But this was strange to them. People didn't know what he was talking about. How could a person be the way to God? To answer their questions, Jesus told them a story to help them understand.
He said that sheep belong inside a sheepfold. (show the sheepfold or fence) The shepherd leads the sheep to the sheepfold and shows them the gate. Thieves may climb over the fence and try to sneak into the sheepfold, but they will not be allowed to go inside. The only right way into the sheepfold is through the gate.
Jesus then explained to them what he meant. He is the gate. The sheepfold is the kingdom of God. We, like the sheep, must go through the gate if we want to go inside the sheepfold of God. We cannot sneak in, and we cannot follow the voices of thieves who would lead us astray. We must follow the shepherd and go in the right way.
And who is the Good Shepherd we should follow? (get responses) Yes! Jesus is!
Prayer: Father, you sent Jesus to show us the way to go. Please give us the strength we need to follow wherever he leads. Amen.
Take today's lesson, for example. For many, many years people had argued about the right way to serve God. People had all sorts of opinions about how to please God. Jesus came into the world to give the answer. Jesus wanted people to know that he was the way to reach the heavenly Father. But this was strange to them. People didn't know what he was talking about. How could a person be the way to God? To answer their questions, Jesus told them a story to help them understand.
He said that sheep belong inside a sheepfold. (show the sheepfold or fence) The shepherd leads the sheep to the sheepfold and shows them the gate. Thieves may climb over the fence and try to sneak into the sheepfold, but they will not be allowed to go inside. The only right way into the sheepfold is through the gate.
Jesus then explained to them what he meant. He is the gate. The sheepfold is the kingdom of God. We, like the sheep, must go through the gate if we want to go inside the sheepfold of God. We cannot sneak in, and we cannot follow the voices of thieves who would lead us astray. We must follow the shepherd and go in the right way.
And who is the Good Shepherd we should follow? (get responses) Yes! Jesus is!
Prayer: Father, you sent Jesus to show us the way to go. Please give us the strength we need to follow wherever he leads. Amen.
