The Works I Do!
Children's sermon
Object: An orange and a lemon that are about the same size and shape, a knife, a cutting board, orange and yellow paint, and some paper towels. Prepare the fruit by painting the lemon orange, and the orange, yellow. The more alike they look, the better.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started!
But before I tell you our story, I need your help with a problem that I have. Can I tell you my problem? (Let them respond.) Well, I was working yesterday when I got really thirsty. And do you know what I wanted to drink? (Let them respond.) I wanted lemonade. So, I went to the store to buy some lemons, and that’s when I had my problem. Let me show you what I found at the store. (Show the painted orange and lemon.) The store had lemons and oranges, but they looked strange and I wasn’t sure which was which. (Hold up the yellow orange.) I remember that lemons are yellow, and this one is yellow, so this must be the lemon, right? (Let them respond as you hold up the orange lemon.) And I remember that oranges are orange, and this one is orange, so this must be the orange, right? (Let them respond.) But they just look funny to me, do they look funny to you? (Let them respond.) I rolled them both around in my hands to get a really good look at them, (Roll the fruit around to examine it.) but I just couldn’t figure out which one was really the orange and which one was the lemon. I wanted lemonade, but I couldn’t tell which one of these two was the one I really wanted.
That was the problem the people were having in our story today. They weren’t looking for lemons, but they were looking for someone who could tell them all about God and show them what God wanted them to do. Did you know that Jesus wasn’t the only person going around telling people that God sent them? It’s true. There were other men going around and preaching to people and telling everyone that they were the only one anyone should believe. There were so many others traveling around preaching like Jesus that the people didn’t know who they should believe. So, in our story today, Jesus was talking with some people in the temple when one of them said, “Okay, Jesus. How do we know you are really the one that God has sent to help us, and it’s not one of those other people running around? When are you going to just tell us if you are really with God, or not?”
They had the same problem that I have, didn’t they? (Let them respond.) Those people wanted someone they could trust to tell them about God, but when they saw all of the other people saying God sent them, they didn’t know who to believe. (Hold up the fruit.) I want a lemon, but when I look at these two, they look so much alike I can’t tell which is the orange and which is the lemon.
The people asked Jesus to just tell them who he was, but Jesus knew that all of the others would say that God sent them, so the people still wouldn’t know who was telling the truth, would they? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we still have trouble knowing who is telling us the truth, too, don’t we? (Let them respond.) There are a lot of people telling us what God wants us to do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And we hear them all telling us that they are the only ones who really know what God wants us to do, so we should believe only them and do whatever they tell us to do. And just like the people with Jesus, no matter what any of them say to us, sometimes we still don’t know who we should believe, do we?
Jesus knew the problem they had, so, instead of just telling them who he was, or trying to argue with anyone about it, he told them that if they really wanted to know who he was, all they needed to do was look at the things he had been doing, and they would know for sure. Jesus told them to not worry about what someone says about themselves, or how they dress, but look at the things they do. Jesus told them that the works he was doing would show that he was doing what God wanted him to do, no matter what anyone else said. And when they looked at the things Jesus had been doing for people, can anyone remember some of the things they would see? (Let them respond and draw them out about things they remember Jesus doing, like healing people, feeding people, caring for the sick, and others.)
Can anyone remember what Jesus told his friends that God wanted them to always do? (Let them respond.) He told them thatGod wanted them to take care of all of God’s children, right? (Let them respond.) So, if someone is following God inside, in their hearts, what kinds of things do you think we would see them do if we followed them around all day? (Let them respond and brainstorm how we might help others.) They would do things to help other people, wouldn’t they? (Let them respond.) And if they were really doing what God wanted us to do, they would NOT do things that might hurt other people, would they? (Let them respond.)
And that is how my problem got solved. (Hold up the two pieces of fruit.) I wanted a lemon, but my two pieces of fruit looked alike, they felt alike, they even smelled alike. But then I thought, what is the work that a lemon does? (Let them respond.) A lemon gives us juice to make things like lemonade, don’t they? (Let them respond as you hold up the real lemon.) So, if I want to know what this really is, what would be the best way to find out? (Let them respond.) The juice! If this is a lemon, what kind of juice is inside? (Lemon juice.) And if this is an orange, what kind of juice is inside? (Orange juice.) You don’t get lemon juice from an orange, do we? (Let them respond as you hold up the real lemon.) So, let’s find out what this really is. (Cut open the lemon and taste the juice. Feel free to exaggerate for fun.) It’s a lemon! It might not look like a lemon or feel or smell like a lemon, and someone might yell at us and tell us that this is an orange. But we know it is a lemon because of the work it does with the juice inside, don’t we?
I hope our story will help us remember that if we are ever confused and not sure who we should believe and follow, instead of just listening to and arguing about what they say, we should look at the works they do. If they are following God, they will be doing what Jesus said God wants us all to do. And who can help us remember what Jesus said God wants us all to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) If we are following God, we will do things to care for and help other people, and not do things that might hurt anyone.
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.
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Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s get started!
But before I tell you our story, I need your help with a problem that I have. Can I tell you my problem? (Let them respond.) Well, I was working yesterday when I got really thirsty. And do you know what I wanted to drink? (Let them respond.) I wanted lemonade. So, I went to the store to buy some lemons, and that’s when I had my problem. Let me show you what I found at the store. (Show the painted orange and lemon.) The store had lemons and oranges, but they looked strange and I wasn’t sure which was which. (Hold up the yellow orange.) I remember that lemons are yellow, and this one is yellow, so this must be the lemon, right? (Let them respond as you hold up the orange lemon.) And I remember that oranges are orange, and this one is orange, so this must be the orange, right? (Let them respond.) But they just look funny to me, do they look funny to you? (Let them respond.) I rolled them both around in my hands to get a really good look at them, (Roll the fruit around to examine it.) but I just couldn’t figure out which one was really the orange and which one was the lemon. I wanted lemonade, but I couldn’t tell which one of these two was the one I really wanted.
That was the problem the people were having in our story today. They weren’t looking for lemons, but they were looking for someone who could tell them all about God and show them what God wanted them to do. Did you know that Jesus wasn’t the only person going around telling people that God sent them? It’s true. There were other men going around and preaching to people and telling everyone that they were the only one anyone should believe. There were so many others traveling around preaching like Jesus that the people didn’t know who they should believe. So, in our story today, Jesus was talking with some people in the temple when one of them said, “Okay, Jesus. How do we know you are really the one that God has sent to help us, and it’s not one of those other people running around? When are you going to just tell us if you are really with God, or not?”
They had the same problem that I have, didn’t they? (Let them respond.) Those people wanted someone they could trust to tell them about God, but when they saw all of the other people saying God sent them, they didn’t know who to believe. (Hold up the fruit.) I want a lemon, but when I look at these two, they look so much alike I can’t tell which is the orange and which is the lemon.
The people asked Jesus to just tell them who he was, but Jesus knew that all of the others would say that God sent them, so the people still wouldn’t know who was telling the truth, would they? (Let them respond.) Sometimes we still have trouble knowing who is telling us the truth, too, don’t we? (Let them respond.) There are a lot of people telling us what God wants us to do, don’t we? (Let them respond.) And we hear them all telling us that they are the only ones who really know what God wants us to do, so we should believe only them and do whatever they tell us to do. And just like the people with Jesus, no matter what any of them say to us, sometimes we still don’t know who we should believe, do we?
Jesus knew the problem they had, so, instead of just telling them who he was, or trying to argue with anyone about it, he told them that if they really wanted to know who he was, all they needed to do was look at the things he had been doing, and they would know for sure. Jesus told them to not worry about what someone says about themselves, or how they dress, but look at the things they do. Jesus told them that the works he was doing would show that he was doing what God wanted him to do, no matter what anyone else said. And when they looked at the things Jesus had been doing for people, can anyone remember some of the things they would see? (Let them respond and draw them out about things they remember Jesus doing, like healing people, feeding people, caring for the sick, and others.)
Can anyone remember what Jesus told his friends that God wanted them to always do? (Let them respond.) He told them thatGod wanted them to take care of all of God’s children, right? (Let them respond.) So, if someone is following God inside, in their hearts, what kinds of things do you think we would see them do if we followed them around all day? (Let them respond and brainstorm how we might help others.) They would do things to help other people, wouldn’t they? (Let them respond.) And if they were really doing what God wanted us to do, they would NOT do things that might hurt other people, would they? (Let them respond.)
And that is how my problem got solved. (Hold up the two pieces of fruit.) I wanted a lemon, but my two pieces of fruit looked alike, they felt alike, they even smelled alike. But then I thought, what is the work that a lemon does? (Let them respond.) A lemon gives us juice to make things like lemonade, don’t they? (Let them respond as you hold up the real lemon.) So, if I want to know what this really is, what would be the best way to find out? (Let them respond.) The juice! If this is a lemon, what kind of juice is inside? (Lemon juice.) And if this is an orange, what kind of juice is inside? (Orange juice.) You don’t get lemon juice from an orange, do we? (Let them respond as you hold up the real lemon.) So, let’s find out what this really is. (Cut open the lemon and taste the juice. Feel free to exaggerate for fun.) It’s a lemon! It might not look like a lemon or feel or smell like a lemon, and someone might yell at us and tell us that this is an orange. But we know it is a lemon because of the work it does with the juice inside, don’t we?
I hope our story will help us remember that if we are ever confused and not sure who we should believe and follow, instead of just listening to and arguing about what they say, we should look at the works they do. If they are following God, they will be doing what Jesus said God wants us all to do. And who can help us remember what Jesus said God wants us all to do? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God wants us to take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) If we are following God, we will do things to care for and help other people, and not do things that might hurt anyone.
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.
