Serving others
Children's sermon
Object:
a picture of the president
The greatest among you will be your servant. (v. 11)
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know who this is? (show picture of president; allow answers) That's right! It's the president of the USA! In just two days, though, we're going to have a presidential election and choose a new president for the US. Being the president is an important job. What do presidents have to do? (allow answers) That's right, they run the entire country, and this is a pretty big country! The president has to make laws, give speeches, and visit leaders of other countries, among other duties. We elect our president by choosing the candidate we think will do the best job at taking care of America. When we elect someone, we put our country and our lives in his or her hands for the next four years. That's a lot of responsibility!
Has your mom or dad ever asked you to do something for them? Maybe they asked you to take out the trash or to clean up your toys. Maybe they gave you some money to put in the offering at Sunday school. They were trusting you with those jobs and giving you responsibility. When your parents give you responsibility, does it make you feel a little bit important? You're old enough to help out! Your parents trust you! That's kind of how it feels to be the president: The people of America trust you and think you would make a good leader. Lots of people consider the president to be the most important person in the country!
Jesus' words in the gospel of Matthew today tell us that "the greatest among you will be your servant." That sounds kind of funny -- after all, if you're a very important person, you should get to do whatever you want, right? You shouldn't have to serve other people! What do you think? (allow answers)
Let's think about the president again. He's the most important person in the country! But wait: He doesn't just have fun all the time. The president has to make laws and give speeches and do other important work for the people of the US. When he makes laws, he has to make them to help the people in the country. When he visits the leaders of other countries, he works to keep the peace or help the people of America in other ways. The president may be an important person, but his job is really to serve the millions of people in his country. Jesus is like the president of the church: He is the greatest person in the history of the church, but he is also our servant and friend. Jesus wants us to be like him and serve others -- because sometimes the more you serve, the better person you become. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! Do you know who this is? (show picture of president; allow answers) That's right! It's the president of the USA! In just two days, though, we're going to have a presidential election and choose a new president for the US. Being the president is an important job. What do presidents have to do? (allow answers) That's right, they run the entire country, and this is a pretty big country! The president has to make laws, give speeches, and visit leaders of other countries, among other duties. We elect our president by choosing the candidate we think will do the best job at taking care of America. When we elect someone, we put our country and our lives in his or her hands for the next four years. That's a lot of responsibility!
Has your mom or dad ever asked you to do something for them? Maybe they asked you to take out the trash or to clean up your toys. Maybe they gave you some money to put in the offering at Sunday school. They were trusting you with those jobs and giving you responsibility. When your parents give you responsibility, does it make you feel a little bit important? You're old enough to help out! Your parents trust you! That's kind of how it feels to be the president: The people of America trust you and think you would make a good leader. Lots of people consider the president to be the most important person in the country!
Jesus' words in the gospel of Matthew today tell us that "the greatest among you will be your servant." That sounds kind of funny -- after all, if you're a very important person, you should get to do whatever you want, right? You shouldn't have to serve other people! What do you think? (allow answers)
Let's think about the president again. He's the most important person in the country! But wait: He doesn't just have fun all the time. The president has to make laws and give speeches and do other important work for the people of the US. When he makes laws, he has to make them to help the people in the country. When he visits the leaders of other countries, he works to keep the peace or help the people of America in other ways. The president may be an important person, but his job is really to serve the millions of people in his country. Jesus is like the president of the church: He is the greatest person in the history of the church, but he is also our servant and friend. Jesus wants us to be like him and serve others -- because sometimes the more you serve, the better person you become. Amen.
