Pretending good things
Children's sermon
Object:
toy guns and knives
But I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making
me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. (Romans 7:23)
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to play with toy guns or knives? (show them the guns and knives and let them answer) When I was a boy, I liked to pretend I was a cowboy or a detective or someone who needed a gun to shoot the person I was trying to catch and make them pay for their crime. When I was inside, I hid behind the furniture and when I was outside, I would hunt down the other guy who hid behind trees or in the garage.
Guns and knives seem like fun when you are pretending, but in real life they hurt people. We hear about people shooting other people on television or read about it in the newspaper. We don't know many people who actually use the guns. Being a policeman is a very dangerous job and we are glad they are around to protect us.
The Bible talks about the way we feel about guns and knives. The Bible says we know these are pretend toys but the real guns and knives hurt people badly. But we still want to pretend we are good with guns, and we never miss when we shoot someone. We want our playmates to act like they have been shot and even act dead when we shoot them.
It sounds awful and there are better games to play than cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians, but we like to do it. We would never really want to hurt someone with a real gun but we like to pretend we are dangerous and tough.
God tells us this is why we have laws that are meant to protect us and protect other people. When someone shoots someone else, they go to jail and they stay in jail for a long time -- maybe the rest of their lives. If people rob other people with a knife, they also go to jail. We have to have those laws because people forget God teaches us to love each other rather than hating or hurting others. We are supposed to help other people. When is the last time you pretended to help someone who was sick or cared for someone who was old? When is the last time you pretended to make friends with strangers or pretended to be a good teacher helping a student?
God loves us and God wants us to share his love. Even when we are pretending, we should try to pretend we are doing good things and not bad. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls. How many of you like to play with toy guns or knives? (show them the guns and knives and let them answer) When I was a boy, I liked to pretend I was a cowboy or a detective or someone who needed a gun to shoot the person I was trying to catch and make them pay for their crime. When I was inside, I hid behind the furniture and when I was outside, I would hunt down the other guy who hid behind trees or in the garage.
Guns and knives seem like fun when you are pretending, but in real life they hurt people. We hear about people shooting other people on television or read about it in the newspaper. We don't know many people who actually use the guns. Being a policeman is a very dangerous job and we are glad they are around to protect us.
The Bible talks about the way we feel about guns and knives. The Bible says we know these are pretend toys but the real guns and knives hurt people badly. But we still want to pretend we are good with guns, and we never miss when we shoot someone. We want our playmates to act like they have been shot and even act dead when we shoot them.
It sounds awful and there are better games to play than cops and robbers or cowboys and Indians, but we like to do it. We would never really want to hurt someone with a real gun but we like to pretend we are dangerous and tough.
God tells us this is why we have laws that are meant to protect us and protect other people. When someone shoots someone else, they go to jail and they stay in jail for a long time -- maybe the rest of their lives. If people rob other people with a knife, they also go to jail. We have to have those laws because people forget God teaches us to love each other rather than hating or hurting others. We are supposed to help other people. When is the last time you pretended to help someone who was sick or cared for someone who was old? When is the last time you pretended to make friends with strangers or pretended to be a good teacher helping a student?
God loves us and God wants us to share his love. Even when we are pretending, we should try to pretend we are doing good things and not bad. Amen.
