Missing person
Children's sermon
Object:
a missing person poster
They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." (v. 13)
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this Easter morning? (allow answers) Today is the day we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, and tell the story of his resurrection. Do you know what resurrection means? (allow answers) Resurrection means that Jesus came back to life after he died.
The story of Jesus' resurrection is told in our gospel reading today. Although the end of the story is happy, our reading does not start out happy. Our reading starts out with Mary Magdalene, who was one of Jesus' friends. Mary goes to Jesus' tomb in the morning, only to find that the body is missing! Not only has her friend Jesus died, but someone has moved his body away! What a horrible morning!
Sometimes we see posters for missing persons. We might see those posters in the grocery store or on the internet. This is a missing person poster. When people disappear, their friends and loved ones report them, and the police make a poster so that everyone can help look for the missing person. If you are the family of a missing person, you know that it is an awful thing to experience. You just don't know where your loved one is!
This is kind of how Mary felt when she found Jesus missing from his tomb. She ran to tell some of Jesus' other friends: Jesus is missing! Help me find him! But Jesus' friends did not know what had happened to his body. Mary stayed in the cemetery crying and wondering what had happened to Jesus.
When you put up a missing person poster, you hope that someday they will be found and come back home. Sometimes on the news we hear stories of missing people who become found people and can be reunited with their families. Imagine their joy! The joy you feel when your family member comes back is like the joy we feel at Easter when we realize that Jesus is alive!
In the garden, Mary felt that same joy not because she found Jesus' body. Instead, she found Jesus himself! Alive again! On Easter, we share Mary's joy that Jesus is alive, even though he had been dead.
The resurrection story is the most important story of Christianity. The resurrection story teaches us that even when we think things can't get any better, there is still hope. Mary thought that her Lord Jesus was dead -- even worse, that he was dead and someone had stolen his body! Her grief gave way to joy when she found out that even at the saddest time in her life, Jesus was there for her -- in the most literal sense. Hallelujah, Christ is risen! Amen.
Good morning, boys and girls! How are you this Easter morning? (allow answers) Today is the day we celebrate Jesus rising from the dead, and tell the story of his resurrection. Do you know what resurrection means? (allow answers) Resurrection means that Jesus came back to life after he died.
The story of Jesus' resurrection is told in our gospel reading today. Although the end of the story is happy, our reading does not start out happy. Our reading starts out with Mary Magdalene, who was one of Jesus' friends. Mary goes to Jesus' tomb in the morning, only to find that the body is missing! Not only has her friend Jesus died, but someone has moved his body away! What a horrible morning!
Sometimes we see posters for missing persons. We might see those posters in the grocery store or on the internet. This is a missing person poster. When people disappear, their friends and loved ones report them, and the police make a poster so that everyone can help look for the missing person. If you are the family of a missing person, you know that it is an awful thing to experience. You just don't know where your loved one is!
This is kind of how Mary felt when she found Jesus missing from his tomb. She ran to tell some of Jesus' other friends: Jesus is missing! Help me find him! But Jesus' friends did not know what had happened to his body. Mary stayed in the cemetery crying and wondering what had happened to Jesus.
When you put up a missing person poster, you hope that someday they will be found and come back home. Sometimes on the news we hear stories of missing people who become found people and can be reunited with their families. Imagine their joy! The joy you feel when your family member comes back is like the joy we feel at Easter when we realize that Jesus is alive!
In the garden, Mary felt that same joy not because she found Jesus' body. Instead, she found Jesus himself! Alive again! On Easter, we share Mary's joy that Jesus is alive, even though he had been dead.
The resurrection story is the most important story of Christianity. The resurrection story teaches us that even when we think things can't get any better, there is still hope. Mary thought that her Lord Jesus was dead -- even worse, that he was dead and someone had stolen his body! Her grief gave way to joy when she found out that even at the saddest time in her life, Jesus was there for her -- in the most literal sense. Hallelujah, Christ is risen! Amen.
