Speak
Children's sermon
Object:
a photo of a microwave oven or a toy microwave oven
For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place where your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. (v. 8)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about microwave ovens. How many of you have a microwave oven in your house? (allow answers) What do you use a microwave oven for? (allow answers) Microwave ovens are great! Lots of people use microwave ovens to heat up food, to make popcorn, or to make TV dinners.
We all know that microwave ovens are great and easy. But when microwave ovens were first invented, people didn't trust the new machines. People wouldn't buy them because they didn't know how to use them. The people who invented the microwave oven knew that it was a good product! They knew that it would get the job done! But the people they were trying to sell to were afraid to try something they had never heard of. What would you have done if you were the microwave oven inventor to help people see how good your product was? (allow answers)
What happened was that grocery stores and places that sold microwave ovens had spokespeople stand in the store and tell customers about how the microwave oven worked and the best ways to use it. When people could see what a microwave oven could do -- that it was fast and did the job that needed done -- they were more excited about the machine and more willing to buy one.
Today, we don't need people in stores telling us how great microwave ovens are. The word has spread so that just about everyone knows about this machine! Now we don't ask questions like "What is this?" "How do I use it?" Instead, we ask deeper questions: "How much energy does it use?" "Will I be able to fit a big bowl inside?"
You're probably thinking: "What does all this have to do with church?" Well, spreading God's word is kind of like talking about microwave ovens. If you live in an area where no one has heard of Jesus, it's important to talk about basic things: who Jesus is; what it means to pray or to be a Christian. What if you live in an area where people already know about Jesus? Many of us do live in places where people know about Christianity. We are trying to spread the good news to people who have probably heard it before. This means that we need to talk about Jesus in a different -- deeper -- way: just like we talk about microwaves in a different way now that they are common in people's homes.
What are some deeper ways we can talk about Jesus with others? (allow answers) In order to talk about Jesus in deeper ways, first we have to know Jesus in deeper ways. It's not enough to just say that Jesus loves us all. It's important to pay attention in Sunday school, Bible school, and church to learn why and how Jesus shows his love for us and why we should show our love for him too. Instead of just knowing who Jesus is, we have to become experts on our faith so that we can help others more deeply understand the things they have heard about. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we are going to talk about microwave ovens. How many of you have a microwave oven in your house? (allow answers) What do you use a microwave oven for? (allow answers) Microwave ovens are great! Lots of people use microwave ovens to heat up food, to make popcorn, or to make TV dinners.
We all know that microwave ovens are great and easy. But when microwave ovens were first invented, people didn't trust the new machines. People wouldn't buy them because they didn't know how to use them. The people who invented the microwave oven knew that it was a good product! They knew that it would get the job done! But the people they were trying to sell to were afraid to try something they had never heard of. What would you have done if you were the microwave oven inventor to help people see how good your product was? (allow answers)
What happened was that grocery stores and places that sold microwave ovens had spokespeople stand in the store and tell customers about how the microwave oven worked and the best ways to use it. When people could see what a microwave oven could do -- that it was fast and did the job that needed done -- they were more excited about the machine and more willing to buy one.
Today, we don't need people in stores telling us how great microwave ovens are. The word has spread so that just about everyone knows about this machine! Now we don't ask questions like "What is this?" "How do I use it?" Instead, we ask deeper questions: "How much energy does it use?" "Will I be able to fit a big bowl inside?"
You're probably thinking: "What does all this have to do with church?" Well, spreading God's word is kind of like talking about microwave ovens. If you live in an area where no one has heard of Jesus, it's important to talk about basic things: who Jesus is; what it means to pray or to be a Christian. What if you live in an area where people already know about Jesus? Many of us do live in places where people know about Christianity. We are trying to spread the good news to people who have probably heard it before. This means that we need to talk about Jesus in a different -- deeper -- way: just like we talk about microwaves in a different way now that they are common in people's homes.
What are some deeper ways we can talk about Jesus with others? (allow answers) In order to talk about Jesus in deeper ways, first we have to know Jesus in deeper ways. It's not enough to just say that Jesus loves us all. It's important to pay attention in Sunday school, Bible school, and church to learn why and how Jesus shows his love for us and why we should show our love for him too. Instead of just knowing who Jesus is, we have to become experts on our faith so that we can help others more deeply understand the things they have heard about. Amen.
