Our saints
Children's sermon
Object:
a family portrait
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of
God; and that is what we are. (v. 1a)
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you have a picture like this in your house? (show the portrait; allow answers) This is my family portrait. It's a picture of the people in my family. Today our reading talks about the children of God. Guess who the children of God are? All of you!
The first verse of the second reading today says, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are." You and me and everybody in this congregation are part of God's family! That's one big family portrait! In fact, everybody who has ever lived and everybody who will ever be born are God's children, too.
Today is All Saints Day. Do you know what "saints" are? (allow answers) There are two kinds of saints. The first kind is a special kind. These are saints like Saint Paul, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke, who wrote parts of the New Testament; Saint Stephen, who died for the church; or Saint Francis, who was a monk and taught many people about God. In order to become that kind of saint, you have to do something really important for the church. The saints I just listed lived hundreds of years ago! But there's a second kind of saint; some of these saints are alive today! These saints are the everyday people who believe in Jesus Christ and try to live their lives in a way that God would be proud of. These are the children of God whose example we should follow.
Do you know what it means to follow someone's example? (allow answers) It means to do what they do. We try to follow Jesus' example by being kind to others and helping those who are hungry or sick. Some churches will read a list today of the saints of their congregations. The list will include the names of the godly people who have died, but the list would be much longer if it included those who are still living! Look out in our congregation. There are many saints out there. Every day they do their best to live as Jesus taught us. What kinds of things do you think these saints do? (allow answers each time) If you were trying to set an example for somebody younger than you, what kinds of things would you do? Do you think it's hard to be a saint?
Whether we are saints or sinners, God loves us all as his children. Remember that family portrait we talked about? We're lucky to be in the same family as all of the saints that have gone before us. Today, thank one of the people in this congregation who set a good example for you to follow, and be sure to tell them thank you for being your brother or sister in Christ! Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you have a picture like this in your house? (show the portrait; allow answers) This is my family portrait. It's a picture of the people in my family. Today our reading talks about the children of God. Guess who the children of God are? All of you!
The first verse of the second reading today says, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are." You and me and everybody in this congregation are part of God's family! That's one big family portrait! In fact, everybody who has ever lived and everybody who will ever be born are God's children, too.
Today is All Saints Day. Do you know what "saints" are? (allow answers) There are two kinds of saints. The first kind is a special kind. These are saints like Saint Paul, Saint Mark, and Saint Luke, who wrote parts of the New Testament; Saint Stephen, who died for the church; or Saint Francis, who was a monk and taught many people about God. In order to become that kind of saint, you have to do something really important for the church. The saints I just listed lived hundreds of years ago! But there's a second kind of saint; some of these saints are alive today! These saints are the everyday people who believe in Jesus Christ and try to live their lives in a way that God would be proud of. These are the children of God whose example we should follow.
Do you know what it means to follow someone's example? (allow answers) It means to do what they do. We try to follow Jesus' example by being kind to others and helping those who are hungry or sick. Some churches will read a list today of the saints of their congregations. The list will include the names of the godly people who have died, but the list would be much longer if it included those who are still living! Look out in our congregation. There are many saints out there. Every day they do their best to live as Jesus taught us. What kinds of things do you think these saints do? (allow answers each time) If you were trying to set an example for somebody younger than you, what kinds of things would you do? Do you think it's hard to be a saint?
Whether we are saints or sinners, God loves us all as his children. Remember that family portrait we talked about? We're lucky to be in the same family as all of the saints that have gone before us. Today, thank one of the people in this congregation who set a good example for you to follow, and be sure to tell them thank you for being your brother or sister in Christ! Amen.
