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God's Thermometer

Children's sermon
The Devil Is A Mosquite Bite
Children's Sermons
Object: 
a thermometer
Good morning, boys and girls. Today I would like to talk with you about something which we all know a lot about. I want to talk to you about warnings. Can anyone tell me about something that we all know is a warning? Maybe some kind of signal or something like that. While you are thinking about your warnings, let me show you something I brought along that helps us know a warning. [Hold up the thermometer.] What do you call this? That's right, a thermometer. I suppose all of you have noticed that when you are not feeling well, your mom or dad comes over and touches your head. If you feel even a little bit warm, the next thing you know they are putting this thermometer in your mouth and waiting to see what your temperature is. Is there anyone here who knows what your temperature should be if you are all right? That's right, 98.6, and so if your temperature reads 100.4 or 101.2, or something like that, then your parent sees this as a warning and calls the doctor for an appointment or gets you some medicine in a hurry or both. The thermometer gives the warning.

God gave us and still gives us a lot of warnings, and sometimes we pay attention to him and sometimes we don't. People used to ask St. Paul why certain things happened to God's children. They wondered why the Jewish people were captured or why they had to spend forty years in the wilderness. St. Paul said that God allowed these things to happen so that we would be warned. We should learn from other people's mistakes and take them as warnings so that we don't do the same things. If someone shows you a scar and tells you that he cut himself by holding the knife wrong, then you will remember that and won't hold the knife that way. When God tells us that there are certain things that happen to people who don't obey his laws and don't treat people with love, he is warning us about how we should live.

Maybe you can think of some warnings now that we have all heard about. [Let them tell you about a few warnings.] That is very good, and maybe you will also now remember why God warns us. He doesn't want us to get hurt or to suffer. Instead, he wants us to be happy and healthy. So you do as the people did with St. Paul. Learn God's warnings and obey him and you will have a wonderful life.
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