Childrens Sermon Service

Object: An empty plastic jug, like a plastic milk jug from the store. When you have the children try to carry the jug on their heads, remind them that Mary would have done it no-handed.

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story? (Let them respond.) Awesome! Let’s go!

This is a story about a girl named Mary. You’ve probably heard about her, haven’t you? (Let them respond.) Who can tell me what you know about Mary? (Let them respond.) Well, I want to tell you something you may not know about her. Mary grew up in a really small town on top of a big hill. The town wasn’t big, and it wasn’t fancy at all. There were probably only twenty or thirty houses there, and the people who lived there were just plain, ordinary people. As Mary grew up, she helped her mother around the house. She had one special chore that was hers to do every day. Every morning she would get up, pick up the water jug, and walk down to the well in the center of the town to get water.

Now, when you get up in the morning and want a drink of water, or brush your teeth, what do you do? (Let them respond.) Maybe you get it from the sink? The people in Mary’s town didn’t have sinks or water in their houses. If they wanted water, someone had to go get it from the well and bring it home. That was Mary’s job ever since she was big enough to carry the jug. (Show the jug.) The jug Mary used was probably bigger than this one, and it was made out of clay, so it was pretty heavy before she even put water in it.

Every morning, she would walk through town to the well, walk down the steps, and fill up the jug. She would visit with the other girls who were getting water for their families, and then she would carry the heavy jug back home. Since the full jug was so heavy, does anyone know how she carried it? (Let them respond.) She usually carried it on her head. Would someone like to try and show us how she did that? (Let them respond and have one or two children try to walk while they balance the empty jug on their heads.) It would be even tricker if it was full, wouldn’t it? And if Mary spilled any water, she had to go back to the well and fill it up again. It was a hard job, and sometimes, if her family needed more water for some reason, she had to go back for more.

Every once in a while, Mary’s mom and dad would travel to the big city to get things they needed, and Mary would go along. She saw the big fancy houses in the city and the people who lived there who had servants who carried their water for them. But then she went back home and every morning, even if it was raining, or really hot, or really cold and snowing, she had to walk to the well and carry that heavy jug of water back home. I wonder if Mary ever felt kind of sad that she was just a young girl in that little town and if she wished she was living in one of those fancy houses with the servants carrying the water? (Let them respond.) I wonder if she ever felt sad that she wasn’t like those other people, and if she thought she would just always be carrying water and never be anyone very special? (Let them respond.)

You know what? I think we all feel that way sometimes. But if you ever feel like you aren’t very special, I want you to remember what happened to Mary. She was just a girl from a little town, but one day God picked her to become someone very special. What did God pick Mary to do? (Let them respond.) God picked Mary to be Jesus’ mother, and instead of just carrying that jug of water, she helped change the entire world.

Sometimes we get frustrated and sad that we don’t have things that other people have, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And sometimes we don’t believe we are ever going to be anyone very special at all. But do you know what? God doesn’t care what kind of house we live in, or anything else like that. Just like God did with Mary, someday God might surprise us and pick us to do some very special things.

I wonder what God might pick us to do?

As we get ready for Christmas, let’s thank God for picking Mary to bring us Jesus, and let's ask God to remind us that God loves every one of us and wants us to love and take care of each other no matter who we are.

Let’s pray together.

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.