Meet the Hippocritamus!
Children's sermon
Object:
The picture of the “Hippocritamus.” Use the drawing provided or create one of your own. If possible, have a copy of the picture to give each child.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them. (vv. 1-4)
I have a question for you. Have you ever met someone who says one thing but then does something else? (Let them answer.) Maybe they tell you that it is very important that you always tell the truth and never tell a lie, but then you hear them lie to someone? Or maybe they tell you it is important that you always do what you can to help people, but then you see them do something that hurts someone? Have you ever met someone like that? Someone who says one thing, but does something else? (Let them answer.)
In today’s story, Jesus is talking about people he knew who were like that. They were called the Pharisees. They were a very important group of people back then. Their job was to study the old scriptures tell people what God said they were supposed to do, and what God said they were not supposed to do. The Pharisees told people what God’s laws were they were supposed to follow.
The Pharisees told people that God said they should not steal, and not cheat, and not mistreat other people. They said that God wanted everyone to help take care of the poor and the sick, to treat strangers and foreigners the same way we treated their neighbors, and to not show-off or brag because they thought they were better than anyone else.
Jesus said that is what the Pharisees said, but it wasn’t what they did.
The Pharisees wore fancy clothes, and fancy jewelry, and sat in special places at big banquets and in the synagogue, showing off how important they thought they were. The Pharisees walked around town looking all stuck-up and expected people to get out of their way and treat them like they were really special. The Pharisees collected money for the poor and the sick, but then used that money to buy things they wanted for themselves. The Pharisees took things that were not theirs. They cheated people. If someone did not do what they wanted them to do, they treated them like criminals and made them pay big fines. The Pharisees said one thing, but they did something very different.
Today if someone says one thing and does something else, we might call them a hypocrite. So, I have something I want to show you. (Hold up the picture.). Does anyone know what this is? (Let them respond.) This is a Hippocritamus! The Hippocritamus is an animal that runs around all day saying one thing but doing something else. It looks like a friendly animal, but it is very sneaky. It will say something nice to you, and then sneak up behind you and try to knock you over. It will say one thing but then do something else.
Why do some people act like that? Why did the Pharisees do that? They did it to make themselves look more important and become more powerful than everyone else. No matter how much they talked about what God wanted, they would do anything they wanted to do that would help them become more powerful and look more important.
Jesus said that was not the way God wanted the people to act. God did not ask us to become more powerful or more important than the people around us. In fact, God wants us to act more like a servant to those around us, and to do what we can to help them instead of just help ourselves.
What do you think it might mean for us to act more like a servant? (Let them answer.) I don’t think it means we are supposed to be someone’s slave, but it means to remember that they are just as important to God as we are. Being a humble servant means we will not treat anyone else like they are less important than we are or try to take advantage of them in any way.
I want to give you a copy of the picture of the Hippocritamus, to help remind us about how God wants us to treat each other. It really isn’t that hard to understand. God wants us to be honest with each other, and to do what we say we will do.
I have a copy of the Hippocritamus to give each of you. (Give each child a copy of the picture) Maybe you can color it and put it somewhere where it can remind you about our story today.
Jesus and the Hippocritamus remind us that we shouldn’t just say we follow God, but we should make sure to do the things that show we follow God.
Let’s say a short prayer to thank God for reminding us about being honest with each other.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you again for reminding us how much you love all of us, and for helping us be honest with each other. Help us remember to treat each other the way you want us to treat them, and not forget that we are all your children.
Click image to download:
I have a question for you. Have you ever met someone who says one thing but then does something else? (Let them answer.) Maybe they tell you that it is very important that you always tell the truth and never tell a lie, but then you hear them lie to someone? Or maybe they tell you it is important that you always do what you can to help people, but then you see them do something that hurts someone? Have you ever met someone like that? Someone who says one thing, but does something else? (Let them answer.)
In today’s story, Jesus is talking about people he knew who were like that. They were called the Pharisees. They were a very important group of people back then. Their job was to study the old scriptures tell people what God said they were supposed to do, and what God said they were not supposed to do. The Pharisees told people what God’s laws were they were supposed to follow.
The Pharisees told people that God said they should not steal, and not cheat, and not mistreat other people. They said that God wanted everyone to help take care of the poor and the sick, to treat strangers and foreigners the same way we treated their neighbors, and to not show-off or brag because they thought they were better than anyone else.
Jesus said that is what the Pharisees said, but it wasn’t what they did.
The Pharisees wore fancy clothes, and fancy jewelry, and sat in special places at big banquets and in the synagogue, showing off how important they thought they were. The Pharisees walked around town looking all stuck-up and expected people to get out of their way and treat them like they were really special. The Pharisees collected money for the poor and the sick, but then used that money to buy things they wanted for themselves. The Pharisees took things that were not theirs. They cheated people. If someone did not do what they wanted them to do, they treated them like criminals and made them pay big fines. The Pharisees said one thing, but they did something very different.
Today if someone says one thing and does something else, we might call them a hypocrite. So, I have something I want to show you. (Hold up the picture.). Does anyone know what this is? (Let them respond.) This is a Hippocritamus! The Hippocritamus is an animal that runs around all day saying one thing but doing something else. It looks like a friendly animal, but it is very sneaky. It will say something nice to you, and then sneak up behind you and try to knock you over. It will say one thing but then do something else.
Why do some people act like that? Why did the Pharisees do that? They did it to make themselves look more important and become more powerful than everyone else. No matter how much they talked about what God wanted, they would do anything they wanted to do that would help them become more powerful and look more important.
Jesus said that was not the way God wanted the people to act. God did not ask us to become more powerful or more important than the people around us. In fact, God wants us to act more like a servant to those around us, and to do what we can to help them instead of just help ourselves.
What do you think it might mean for us to act more like a servant? (Let them answer.) I don’t think it means we are supposed to be someone’s slave, but it means to remember that they are just as important to God as we are. Being a humble servant means we will not treat anyone else like they are less important than we are or try to take advantage of them in any way.
I want to give you a copy of the picture of the Hippocritamus, to help remind us about how God wants us to treat each other. It really isn’t that hard to understand. God wants us to be honest with each other, and to do what we say we will do.
I have a copy of the Hippocritamus to give each of you. (Give each child a copy of the picture) Maybe you can color it and put it somewhere where it can remind you about our story today.
Jesus and the Hippocritamus remind us that we shouldn’t just say we follow God, but we should make sure to do the things that show we follow God.
Let’s say a short prayer to thank God for reminding us about being honest with each other.
Prayer:
Dear God, thank you again for reminding us how much you love all of us, and for helping us be honest with each other. Help us remember to treat each other the way you want us to treat them, and not forget that we are all your children.
Click image to download:
