A special symbol
Children's sermon
Object:
a cross on a necklace
Who knows what we celebrate next Sunday? (get responses) That's right! We celebrate Easter, so that means that the waiting of Lent is almost over. Before we can get to Easter, though, we have to finish preparing ourselves. We're not done yet -- there's still a lot to talk about before we can get to the Easter celebration. We still have to talk about when Jesus was taken prisoner. We have to tell the story of the Last Supper on the night before he died. We still have to talk about the day he was crucified on a cross. There's a lot that happens between today and Easter day.
See this cross? (hold up the necklace) It's on a necklace that somebody can wear. Lots of people have necklaces like this with crosses on them. In fact, there are crosses all over the place: on jewelry, clothing, signs and paintings. Sometimes you'll see them on bumper stickers! Did you know that some churches are even built in the shape of crosses? The whole building is one big cross. Once you start looking, I think you will see crosses in all kinds of places. Let's look around us right now. Where do you see the crosses in here? (see where the crosses are in your church; look around the altar, windows, hymnals, architecture, etc.)
The cross is a very special symbol to Christians. It helps us remember what Jesus did when he died on Good Friday. If Jesus hadn't died, God couldn't have raised him on Easter morning. We wouldn't know God's love is more powerful than death. That's the miracle of Easter, and it's almost here!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, this is a serious week. Prepare our hearts to hear the story of Jesus' death. Please help us understand and appreciate exactly what you've done for us. Amen.
See this cross? (hold up the necklace) It's on a necklace that somebody can wear. Lots of people have necklaces like this with crosses on them. In fact, there are crosses all over the place: on jewelry, clothing, signs and paintings. Sometimes you'll see them on bumper stickers! Did you know that some churches are even built in the shape of crosses? The whole building is one big cross. Once you start looking, I think you will see crosses in all kinds of places. Let's look around us right now. Where do you see the crosses in here? (see where the crosses are in your church; look around the altar, windows, hymnals, architecture, etc.)
The cross is a very special symbol to Christians. It helps us remember what Jesus did when he died on Good Friday. If Jesus hadn't died, God couldn't have raised him on Easter morning. We wouldn't know God's love is more powerful than death. That's the miracle of Easter, and it's almost here!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, this is a serious week. Prepare our hearts to hear the story of Jesus' death. Please help us understand and appreciate exactly what you've done for us. Amen.
