Childrens Sermon Service

Object: The object for this message is the Time-Out hand sign to use with the children. If you want to take it up a notch, you could also bring a whistle and blow it each time you take “Time Out!”

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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! But our story is kind of a strange one, so let me tell you about it and see if we can figure out what it means.

Do you remember hearing the story about the day Jesus was baptized? (Let them respond.) He met a man called John by the Jordan River, and John took Jesus into the water and baptized him. Do you remember what happened next? (Let them respond.) Right after John baptized Jesus, a bird flew down to Jesus and a loud voice said that Jesus was God’s Son and God had sent him to do some important things to help everyone. That was pretty cool, wasn’t it? (Let them respond.) It would be pretty neat if a bird flew down to us and a loud voice said that God wanted us to do something, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.) I think I would get excited and get right to work doing it, wouldn’t you? (Let them respond.)

Does anyone know what Jesus did after he heard God talking to him that day? (Let them respond.) Did he go and start doing the work God wanted him to do? (Let them respond.) Nope. Right after Jesus was baptized, he got out of the water and walked out into the wilderness. He knew what God wanted him to do, but instead of doing it, he went off to live in the wilderness all by himself for forty whole days. That’s over a month, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) That is the mystery we want to try and figure out. Does anyone have an idea why Jesus went away instead of doing the work God had sent him to do? (Let them respond.)

Do you think Jesus might just have been tired and needed to go someplace to rest for a while before he started doing the work God wanted him to do? (Let them respond.) Since they had to walk everywhere they went, do you think Jesus was just tired and needed to rest for a while? (Let them respond.)

Or do you think he went away because he was afraid to do what God wanted him to do? (Let them respond.) He knew some people would not like him, and some would even want to hurt him. Do you think he was afraid of what might happen to him, so he went to hide instead of doing the work? (Let them respond.)

I think there might be another reason Jesus went out in the wilderness like that. Let me show you. Have you ever watched a basketball game, or a football game, and seen someone do this? (Show the Time Out signal and blow the whistle if you have it.)

Why do they do that during a game? (Let them respond.) This is the signal that someone gives when they want to stop the game for a minute and take some time out, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) It’s almost like they want to do like Jesus did and just get away for a little bit, isn’t it? (Let them respond.) So, why do you think someone would want to take a time out during a game like that? (Let them respond.) I don’t think it's because they are afraid, or just tired, do you? (Let them respond.) They usually take a time-out to have some time to think about what they are doing and make sure they are doing the best thing they can do. That’s why teams take time-outs. I think that might be the reason Jesus did it, too. He knew he had a really hard job to do, and he wanted to make sure he was ready to do those things the way God wanted him to do them.

Let’s see if we can all do the time-out signal. (Have everyone do the signal and say, “Time out!”) We want to know how to do that because sometimes it’s a good idea for us to take a time-out, too. Like sometime when we get angry and want to yell at someone, or we’re even angry enough we want to hit someone. (Have everyone do the signal and say, “Time out!”) That would be a good time to take a time-out and stop and think about what we are doing and see if we think that is really what God wants us to do, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)

Or, sometimes when we see other people picking on someone, or laughing at someone, and we think we might do that too. (Have everyone do the signal and say, “Time out!”) That would be a good time for us to take a time-out to decide if God really wants us to do that, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)

We can take a time-out anytime we want to make sure we are doing what God wants us to do, can’t we? (Let them respond.) And we don’t need to take a time out that lasts forty days like Jesus did. Sometimes a time-out can be just long enough for us to remember that God loves us, and God wants us to love each other, and then decide if what we are thinking about doing is something that God wants us to do.

Jesus wanted to do the things God wanted him to do, so went to the wilderness to take a time-out to get ready. And anytime we aren’t sure what we think God would want us to do, we can just take a time-out, too. (Have everyone do the signal and say, “Time out!”)  

Let’s pray and ask God to remind us that Jesus loves every one of us and wants us to follow him and take care of each other the way God takes care of us.

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.