To eat or not to eat...
Children's sermon
Object:
vegetables
Those who observe the day, observe it in honor of the Lord. Also those who eat, eat in honor of the Lord, since they give thanks to God; while those who abstain, abstain in honor of the Lord and give thanks to God. (v. 6)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we're going to talk about people who do things in different ways. Who knows someone who does things a different way from you or your family? (allow answers) What do they do differently? (allow answers) Some people might fold their laundry differently or keep their house keys in a different place. Some people might eat different foods, listen to different music, or watch different TV shows.
In fact, we all do things a bit differently! That's what our reading is about today: People who do things in different ways than we do them. One of the examples in our reading is about people who eat different foods than we do.
Some people eat all kinds of food: meat, vegetables, fruit, sweets. Some people don't eat certain foods, either because they are allergic or for other reasons. Do you know the name for people who don't eat any meat? (allow answers) People who do not eat meat are called vegetarians.
In the early church, some people ate meat and some people were vegetarians. The people who ate meat and the people who didn't eat meat sometimes got on each others' nerves. The people who ate meat didn't understand why the vegetarians would not eat meat; the vegetarians didn't understand why the other people thought it was okay to eat meat. The meat eaters thought they were honoring God by eating all of the food that God had provided for them -- meat and vegetables. The vegetarians thought that they were honoring God because they believed that only eating vegetables would keep their bodies healthier for God.
Neither of these groups was wrong. What they were doing, they were doing to praise God. Whatever they chose to eat or not to eat was a choice they made with God in mind. Although they made different choices, they made their choices with God in mind. As long as you have God at the center of your decisions, you will always make the right choice. It may not be the only right choice -- after all, neither the meat eaters nor the vegetarians were wrong; they were just different! It's okay that there is more than one right way. As long as what we do is for the honor and glory of God, we can't choose wrong. Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this morning? (allow answers) Today we're going to talk about people who do things in different ways. Who knows someone who does things a different way from you or your family? (allow answers) What do they do differently? (allow answers) Some people might fold their laundry differently or keep their house keys in a different place. Some people might eat different foods, listen to different music, or watch different TV shows.
In fact, we all do things a bit differently! That's what our reading is about today: People who do things in different ways than we do them. One of the examples in our reading is about people who eat different foods than we do.
Some people eat all kinds of food: meat, vegetables, fruit, sweets. Some people don't eat certain foods, either because they are allergic or for other reasons. Do you know the name for people who don't eat any meat? (allow answers) People who do not eat meat are called vegetarians.
In the early church, some people ate meat and some people were vegetarians. The people who ate meat and the people who didn't eat meat sometimes got on each others' nerves. The people who ate meat didn't understand why the vegetarians would not eat meat; the vegetarians didn't understand why the other people thought it was okay to eat meat. The meat eaters thought they were honoring God by eating all of the food that God had provided for them -- meat and vegetables. The vegetarians thought that they were honoring God because they believed that only eating vegetables would keep their bodies healthier for God.
Neither of these groups was wrong. What they were doing, they were doing to praise God. Whatever they chose to eat or not to eat was a choice they made with God in mind. Although they made different choices, they made their choices with God in mind. As long as you have God at the center of your decisions, you will always make the right choice. It may not be the only right choice -- after all, neither the meat eaters nor the vegetarians were wrong; they were just different! It's okay that there is more than one right way. As long as what we do is for the honor and glory of God, we can't choose wrong. Amen.
