Childrens Sermon Service

Good morning, boys and girls. How many of like to be out in the wind? (let them answer) I love the wind when it is warm, but when it gets cold, the wind makes it feel much colder. Sometimes the wind blows so hard that you have to turn your back against it. How many of you have ever flown a kite? (let them answer) Isn't it wonderful to watch a kite dive into the wind and almost touch the ground and then take off and fly high into the sky? The kite is just letting the wind take it wherever the wind wants to go. In the summer, I love to watch the wind move through the grass, moving like waves across the field. (blow on the grass) If you are a farmer, you have seen the wind do amazing things. It can turn a windmill, make very wet ground turn dry, and make the corn sound like an orchestra. You might ask yourself, "Where did the wind come from?" A minute ago it wasn't blowing and everything was standing still. The wind comes from somewhere and the grass begins to move, the leaves on the trees are dancing, and the clouds in the sky are racing.

The same thing is true with wind on the water. How many of you have ever been out on a boat on a lake when the water is not moving? When you put an oar in the water, it looks like it is making deep holes. Then, all of a sudden, you can see the water moving away from you, making waves, and by the time you get the boat to shore, the wind is making white caps on the waves. (blow on the water in the container) Where did the wind come from? Where is the wind going? (let them answer)

Jesus said this is the way the Spirit of God works. You are watching the wind blow the grass and the waves and you feel nothing, but in the very next moment you feel something inside of you. You know you are not hungry, you know you are not afraid, but you just feel something wonderful inside. Maybe this is the Spirit of God inside of you, asking you to come closer and love him with gentleness and kindness. When you have those moments, you want to do something really good. When the Spirit is with you, you hope the moment will never end.

Jesus speaks of those feelings as of being born from above. It doesn't happen that often. It may happen to us only a few times in our lives, but the Spirit is here and he moves with us like the wind moves the grass and the water.

The next time you are alone and you are laying in the grass and watching the clouds move in the sky, think about the Spirit of God and how some day, when you least expect it, you will have some of those very special feelings. Pray that the Spirit will come to you and make you move with a loving God. Amen.