Childrens Sermon Service

We've talked before about being the kind of people that make God happy. What are some ways we can do that? (Get the children's suggestions.) God wants us to be loving, forgiving, helpful, and patient, and there are lots of other things too. We've also talked before about how it's not easy to be the way God wants. Sometimes we forget to do the things we should, like when someone is mean to us and we do something mean back. Listen to today's Bible verse. (Read the verse to them.) This verse is telling us to think about godly things and not earthly things. In other words, think about living God's way and not like everyone else.

Let me show you a neat way to remember this. (Pick up your cup and pour the colored water into it.) This is colored water. Let's pretend that it is full of some of the bad stuff in this world: hatred, anger, jealousy, murder, unfairness, and stuff like that. What would happen if you got in this water and that bad stuff got all over you? (Responses.) That's right. You would get dirty. You would be covered with all the hatred, anger, jealousy, and all the other bad stuff. That's not good.

Our verse tells us to think about the good stuff, so how are we to stay above this dirty water? Look what else I have. (Pour the oil into the cup so it forms a layer on top of the water.) This is oil. It doesn't mix in with the water -- it stays on top. This is what God wants us to do. We need to find a way to stay above all the bad stuff and concentrate on the good stuff. It's okay to be in the world, but God doesn't want us to get dirty from all the bad stuff in the world.

So how are we to stay clean? First of all, remember that God will forgive you when you make mistakes. We all make mistakes from time to time. Second, ask God to help you remember to do the good things. If we ask him, he will help us be strong and show us how to live in a way that makes him proud. When we ask him, he will help us float on top of the dirty water and stay clean.

Prayer: God, it is very hard to stay out of trouble sometimes. Please forgive us when we do things that are wrong, and show us how to do better next time. Amen.