Childrens Sermon Service

Hi everyone! Have you ever tried to play a trick on someone? (Let them answer.) I want to tell you about a time the Pharisees tried to play a trick on Jesus. It didn’t work.

Have you ever heard of the Pharisees? (Let them answer.) They were a group of people who were around when Jesus was teaching. The Pharisees were people who went to school to study and learn all about the laws that people had to obey. And I’ll tell you, there were a LOT of laws the people had to obey.

Do you have a lot of rules you have to follow? (Let them answer.) I’ll bet you don’t have as many rules as the people did when Jesus was teaching. There were rules about what they could and could not wear. Rules about what they could and could not eat. Rules about the places they could and could not go. Rules about the people they could and could not talk to. Rules about the things they could and could not touch. There were rules about everything.

And what made it harder was that sometimes the rules were different for some people. Some people said you could not touch anyone who was sick, but other people said you could touch them, and you should touch them to try to help them. Some people said you should not eat fish, but other people said you could eat fish. Some people said you should not pay the taxes to the Romans who were in charge of the government. But other people said you should pay the taxes and not cause trouble. There were so many different rules that no matter what you did, you broke somebody’s law and made them angry.

That’s how the Pharisees thought they would trick Jesus. The Pharisees did not like Jesus. They did not like Jesus because he told people that God loved everyone, even people who broke one of the Pharisee’s laws. The Pharisees told people that if you broke a law, you had to offer a sacrifice to be forgiven or God would not love you. If you broke a little law, you might have to give the priests a dove, or a chicken. But if you broke a big law, you might have to give them a whole cow, or a bunch of money. And if you could not afford to give them the sacrifice, God would not forgive you.

But Jesus said that God would forgive you if you honestly asked God to forgive you, and the Pharisees did not like that. But the people really liked what Jesus said, and they stopped listening to the Pharisees. So, the Pharisees wanted to do something to make Jesus look bad so the people would stop following him.

Do you know the trick the Pharisees tried to pull on Jesus? (Let them answer.) They went up to him one day and asked him a question. They asked him if he thought people should pay their taxes to the Romans or if they should not pay them. That doesn’t sound too tricky, does it? (Let them answer.) But the Pharisees knew that no matter what Jesus said, he was going to make some people angry. If he said they should pay the taxes it would make one side angry. But if he said they should not pay their taxes it would make the other side angry. Either way, Jesus was going to upset people. So, after the Pharisees asked him the question, I think they stood there with a grin on their face. They knew they had tricked him!

But Jesus just smiled at them and asked them to show him a coin. Jesus told them to look at the coin and tell him who’s picture was on it. Someone said, “It’s the picture of Caesar.” Back then, coins had an image of the Roman Emperor Caesar on them to remind everyone that all of the money belonged to the Romans. Jesus smiled and said they should give Caesar whatever belongs to Caesar and give God whatever belongs to God. Everyone knew what he meant. The coins might belong to Caesar, but the rest of the world around them belonged to God. Go ahead and give Rome the tax money but give everything else in your life to God.

Everyone liked Jesus’ answer so much that more of them decided to follow him. The Pharisees’ trick didn’t work.

Why do you think they told us this story about Jesus and the Pharisees? (Let them answer.)

I think it’s because sometimes we get confused about what is most important in our lives, and we end up caught in a trap. Money and other things we have are important, but are they the most important things? Are they more important than taking care of people who need help and making sure they have what they need to be safe? (Let them answer if they want to.)

Sometimes we have to decide what we are going to do, and no matter what we decide, we know that someone is going to be unhappy with our decision. We aren’t sure what is the most important thing we need to do, and it’s like we are caught in a trap.

Here, I have something for you that might help. (Give each child a coin.) Look at your coin. What do you see? Probably a picture of a president, or some other thing that is important to us. And those things are important. But the story today reminds us that there is something even more important than those things. And when we remember what is most important, it can help us make difficult decisions.

What are the two most important things? (Let them answer.) Yes, to love God, and to love other people. Let’s say a short prayer to ask God to help us remember those two things.

Prayer:
Dear God, thank you for reminding us how much you love all of us, and how much you want us to take care of each other. Please help us remember that the two most important things you want us to remember are to love you, and to love other people.