The Other Side!
Children's sermon
That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. (vv. 34-35)
Object: This is a role-play message.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! I think this story is really exciting. It’s about a time Jesus did something that no one else in the whole land would do, and it shows us just how special Jesus really was.
But I need your help to tell the story. Will you help me? (Let them respond.) Great! Here is what I need you to do for me. I need half of you to stand over here in a group. (Have half of the group gather on one side of the room.) And I need the other half to stand in a group over here. (Have the other half gather on the other side of the room.) Excellent! Now, we all need to pretend that there is a great big lake out here between us. (Stand in the lake to show them.) It is a big lake called the Sea of Galilee. The people on this side of the lake are Jewish people. (Walk to one group.) And this is where Jesus and his friends live. The people on the other side of the lake are called Gerasenes. (Walk to the other group.) They aren’t Jewish and don’t believe the same things that the people on that side of the lake believe. (Point to the Jewish side of the lake.) They talk differently, they believe different things, and they even have farms where they raise pigs. (Look surprised.) The people on Jesus’ side of the lake believe that pigs are really dirty, and it is against their Jewish laws to have pigs or ever, ever eat them.
The lake is so big that the people on one side can’t see the people on the other side, but they know they are there. And they know they are very different. They are so different, that no one from one side ever goes to visit the other side. Even the fishermen who went out on the lake were careful to not get too close to the other side. Everyone believed that those people on the other side were wrong, and bad, and dangerous. They all stayed away from the people on the other side because they were different.
One day, Jesus and his friends were standing on the shore looking across the lake. (Have the group do that.) They were really tired, and big crowds of people were coming to see Jesus. Jesus’ friends just wished they could get away from the crowds and rest for a while. And that’s when Jesus did something that I think was REALLY special. Does anyone know what Jesus did? (Let them respond.) He looked at his friends and said, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
I’ll bet they were surprised, don’t you? (Let them respond.) I don’t know if they argued with him about it or not, but our story says that they all got into their boats and went to the other side of the lake. (Have the Jewish group start slowly moving across the lake.) How do you think Jesus’ friends felt as they went across the lake? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet they were nervous, don’t you? (Let them respond.) They were probably wondering what was going to happen to them when they got over there and met some of those people who were so different, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Sometimes I have felt kind of nervous when I met someone who was very different than me. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.)
Well, when Jesus and his friends got to the other side of the lake and got out of their boats, the first thing they saw were pigs running around the hillside. “Yuck!” (Have Jesus’ group act “yucky”.) And then they saw a group of people coming to meet them. (Have the other group move towards them and have Jesus’ group act worried.) These people were so different, they really didn’t know what would happen when they finally got together, did they? (Let them respond.) And what do you think Jesus did? (Let them respond.) Did he start preaching to the people and telling them how bad they were because they were different? (Let them respond.) No, he didn’t. Did he tell his friends to make fun of the people because they were different? (Let them respond.) No, Jesus didn’t do any of those things.Did he shout at them, “Stay back! You people have pigs and we don’t want to get cooties from you!”, and had them pick up some rocks to throw at the people to keep them away? (Let them respond.) No, he didn’t say that either. Do you know what Jesus did when he met those people from the other side of the lake?
He saw that one of the people in that group was very sick. So Jesus went over to that man and healed him and made them better. And he healed a few other people, too. Then he sat down and talked with the people and told them what God wanted him to do. Some of the people said that they wanted to go back with Jesus to his side of the lake, but he told them they should stay here and take care of each other the way he had taken care of them. And then Jesus and his friends got back in their boats and went home.
Now, I said that I think this story shows us just how special Jesus really was. Does anyone know why I said that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we see people who are very different than we are, don’t we? (Let them respond.) It’s like they are the people from the other side of the lake, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) And we see that people won’t talk to them, or sit with them, or play with them, just because they are different. It’s like they live on the other side of a great big lake, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) But what did Jesus do in our story? (Let them respond.) He said,“Let’s go over to the other side.”, didn’t he? ? (Let them respond.)
I hope our story will help us remember that God wants us to take care of each other, even people who are very different than we are and live on the other side of the lake. 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.
Object: This is a role-play message.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! I think this story is really exciting. It’s about a time Jesus did something that no one else in the whole land would do, and it shows us just how special Jesus really was.
But I need your help to tell the story. Will you help me? (Let them respond.) Great! Here is what I need you to do for me. I need half of you to stand over here in a group. (Have half of the group gather on one side of the room.) And I need the other half to stand in a group over here. (Have the other half gather on the other side of the room.) Excellent! Now, we all need to pretend that there is a great big lake out here between us. (Stand in the lake to show them.) It is a big lake called the Sea of Galilee. The people on this side of the lake are Jewish people. (Walk to one group.) And this is where Jesus and his friends live. The people on the other side of the lake are called Gerasenes. (Walk to the other group.) They aren’t Jewish and don’t believe the same things that the people on that side of the lake believe. (Point to the Jewish side of the lake.) They talk differently, they believe different things, and they even have farms where they raise pigs. (Look surprised.) The people on Jesus’ side of the lake believe that pigs are really dirty, and it is against their Jewish laws to have pigs or ever, ever eat them.
The lake is so big that the people on one side can’t see the people on the other side, but they know they are there. And they know they are very different. They are so different, that no one from one side ever goes to visit the other side. Even the fishermen who went out on the lake were careful to not get too close to the other side. Everyone believed that those people on the other side were wrong, and bad, and dangerous. They all stayed away from the people on the other side because they were different.
One day, Jesus and his friends were standing on the shore looking across the lake. (Have the group do that.) They were really tired, and big crowds of people were coming to see Jesus. Jesus’ friends just wished they could get away from the crowds and rest for a while. And that’s when Jesus did something that I think was REALLY special. Does anyone know what Jesus did? (Let them respond.) He looked at his friends and said, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
I’ll bet they were surprised, don’t you? (Let them respond.) I don’t know if they argued with him about it or not, but our story says that they all got into their boats and went to the other side of the lake. (Have the Jewish group start slowly moving across the lake.) How do you think Jesus’ friends felt as they went across the lake? (Let them respond.) I’ll bet they were nervous, don’t you? (Let them respond.) They were probably wondering what was going to happen to them when they got over there and met some of those people who were so different, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Sometimes I have felt kind of nervous when I met someone who was very different than me. Has that ever happened to you? (Let them respond.)
Well, when Jesus and his friends got to the other side of the lake and got out of their boats, the first thing they saw were pigs running around the hillside. “Yuck!” (Have Jesus’ group act “yucky”.) And then they saw a group of people coming to meet them. (Have the other group move towards them and have Jesus’ group act worried.) These people were so different, they really didn’t know what would happen when they finally got together, did they? (Let them respond.) And what do you think Jesus did? (Let them respond.) Did he start preaching to the people and telling them how bad they were because they were different? (Let them respond.) No, he didn’t. Did he tell his friends to make fun of the people because they were different? (Let them respond.) No, Jesus didn’t do any of those things.Did he shout at them, “Stay back! You people have pigs and we don’t want to get cooties from you!”, and had them pick up some rocks to throw at the people to keep them away? (Let them respond.) No, he didn’t say that either. Do you know what Jesus did when he met those people from the other side of the lake?
He saw that one of the people in that group was very sick. So Jesus went over to that man and healed him and made them better. And he healed a few other people, too. Then he sat down and talked with the people and told them what God wanted him to do. Some of the people said that they wanted to go back with Jesus to his side of the lake, but he told them they should stay here and take care of each other the way he had taken care of them. And then Jesus and his friends got back in their boats and went home.
Now, I said that I think this story shows us just how special Jesus really was. Does anyone know why I said that? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we see people who are very different than we are, don’t we? (Let them respond.) It’s like they are the people from the other side of the lake, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) And we see that people won’t talk to them, or sit with them, or play with them, just because they are different. It’s like they live on the other side of a great big lake, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) But what did Jesus do in our story? (Let them respond.) He said,“Let’s go over to the other side.”, didn’t he? ? (Let them respond.)
I hope our story will help us remember that God wants us to take care of each other, even people who are very different than we are and live on the other side of the lake. 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.
