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The Promise of Christmas - Level and Smooth!

Children's sermon
Luke 3:1-6
Second Sunday of Advent - C
John Jamison
Object: A shovel, rake, or hoe, or all three.

* * *

Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! Let’s hear our story!

How many of you have ever taken a trip in a car somewhere? (Let them respond.) Back in Jesus’ day, if people wanted to go somewhere, they didn’t ride in cars like we do. If someone wanted to go from one place to another, they either walked or if they were rich, they might have ridden on a mule. And the roads they traveled on weren’t like ours either. Their roads went way up over big, steep hills and way down in deep, dark valleys. The roads had lots and lots of curves on them. Those curves were dangerous because sometimes people would hide behind them to jump out and rob people who were traveling by. One time, Jesus even told his friends a story about a man who was robbed on the road one day, and how other people were afraid to stop and help him.

That is why, when the man called John the Baptist came and started telling everyone about Jesus coming to help them, he told them something that the prophet Isaiah said a long time ago. Isaiah said that when God sent Jesus, he would make sure that every valley would be filled in, and every mountain and hill would be made low. He said the crooked roads will become straight, and the rough ways will become smooth. John told everyone that when Jesus got there, God would straighten everything out and make sure that all people would be safe and not have to be afraid. (Show your tools as you continue.) John said that when Jesus came, it would be like he got all of God’s tools out of the shed and would get rid of all of the hills, valleys, and curves that make life so hard for us. Jesus would make life smoother and safer for everyone and no one would have to be afraid anymore. That was the promise God made about what would happen when Jesus came. That was the promise of Christmas. (Put the tools away.)

Our roads are a lot better than those old roads, but life can still be hard for us sometimes, can’t it? (Let them respond.) We might have smoother and straighter roads, but can you think of things that still make life hard and scary for people today? (Let them respond.) Some people don’t have any place to live. Don’t you think that might be pretty scary? (Let them respond.) And lots of people don’t have anything to eat. I’ll bet that’s scary, don’t you? (Let them respond.) Some people get picked on and bullied and feel like they don’t have any friends at all. They feel like they are all alone and that nobody cares about them. That sounds pretty scary to me. (Let them respond.)

Some people just like to bully and pick on other people and do things that make those other people’s lives harder instead of easier. (Show your tools.) God wants to make things smoother and safer for everyone, but those people just want to dig things up to make life harder and scarier for other people. That is not why Jesus came to be with us on Christmas, is it? (Let them respond as you put down your tools.) No, it isn’t.

Jesus came on Christmas to remind us there are two very important things that God wants us to do. Who remembers the two things that Jesus told us God wants us to always do? (Let them respond.) He said that we should always love God, and what else? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God wants us to love each other and take care of each other, didn’t he? (Let them respond.) He said those are the two most important things that God wants us to do. If we do and say things to help take care of each other, we will help make their lives smoother and safer, just like God wants us to.

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. Advent is the season we remember to think about just why God sent the baby Jesus to us on Christmas. Did God send Jesus to make everything harder and rougher for us? (Show the tools again and let them respond.) No, that’s not why Jesus was born on Christmas, is it? (Let them respond as you put the tools on the floor.) Jesus came to be with us to remind us to not do or say things to make other people’s lives harder and more dangerous, but to say and do things that will help other people’s lives be smoother and safer. That is the promise God made to us on Christmas.

Before we go, I have a question for us to think about as we get ready for Christmas. Are we doing and saying things to help make life smoother and safer for other people, or are we doing and saying things that make life harder and more dangerous for other people?

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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Contents
"Truckin'" by C. David McKirachan
"Heretic or Saint?" by Frank Ramirez


* * * * * * * * *


Truckin'
C. David McKirachan
Isaiah 35:1-10

SermonStudio

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This passage has many affinities with the prophecies of Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55), and it has often been attributed to him. But there are differences. In Isaiah 40:3, the "way" is for the Lord, here it is for the redeemed and ransomed (vv. 9-10). In Isaiah 51:11, the reference is to the return from Babylonian exile. Here in verse 10, that context is missing, and those who are returning to Zion are the members of Israel dispersed throughout the ancient Near East. Thus, this text is probably from a time after Second Isaiah and sometime after 538 B.C.
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Lesson 1: Isaiah 35:1--10 (C, E, L); Isaiah 35:1--6, 10 (RC)
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Christmas has a way of bringing back memories. One that came to my mind as I was preparing this message was when my family would be driving home at night in the car and my father would lead us in singing a song. To all of us family members who remember those fun, cozy journeys toward home, there are many layers of meaning to the words. The song goes like this:

There's a long, long trail awinding,
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E-mail
From: KDM
To: God
Subject: Be Patient
Message: In the meantime, God.... Lauds, KDM

E-mail from KDM to God. Subject: Be patient. Message: In the meantime, God.... Lauds, KDM.
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(Distribute this sheet to the readers.)

Date:

Reader A:

Reader B:

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(Pause as they do so.)
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Special Occasion

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