An Empty Box
Children's sermon
The Giant Book Of Children's Sermons
Matthew To Revelation
Object: a new, empty crayon box
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever been really disappointed? (let them answer) I mean, have you ever thought that something wonderful was going to happen to you and then for some reason it didn't? Supposing that I gave you this brand new box of crayons and I told you that you could do anything that you wanted to do with it. What would you expect to find inside this box and what would you want to do with it? (let them answer)
You think there are crayons inside and you want to color with the crayons. That's what I would think, also, if somebody gave me a brand new crayon box. Well, let me give it to one of you. Open it and tell me how you feel. (let one of the children open the crayon box and show you and everyone else that it's empty; then solicit his disappointment) That's disappointing. A brand new crayon box and no crayons inside! I feel awful and so do you.
Maybe you know now how Mary Magdalene felt when she went to Jesus' tomb and found it empty. It was just three days after he was crucified and she expected to find Jesus dead and in his tomb. When she saw that it was empty, she ran to tell Peter and John that Jesus had disappeared. She was so sad and so disappointed. She wondered how someone could be so mean as to steal the body of Jesus. Why would anyone take Jesus away from his grave?
Mary felt a lot sadder than you felt when you opened your brand new crayon box and found it empty because Jesus is sure a lot more important than brand new crayons.
But the best part of the story is yet to come, because Mary found out that no one had stolen Jesus, but instead, he had been raised from the dead, brought back to life by God the Father.
Somewhere I have all of the crayons that belong in this box, but I'm not going to put them back because I want you to know that Jesus' tomb is still empty. They didn't find Jesus and put him back in the grave. They found Jesus alive and well and happy. The empty crayon box, like the empty grave, is a sign for us to remember that God showed people like Mary and Peter and John that life is God's wish for everyone. Jesus was the first person to be brought back from the grave, but all of us will someday have the same marvelous experience. We too, will have empty graves just like Jesus had an empty grave.
The next time you see a crayon box, take all of the crayons out of it and look inside and see if you can remember how Mary Magdalene felt on that first Easter Day. Then think how happy you are to know that someday you will know the same joy that Mary knew when she discovered Jesus was raised from the dead.
Good morning, boys and girls. Have you ever been really disappointed? (let them answer) I mean, have you ever thought that something wonderful was going to happen to you and then for some reason it didn't? Supposing that I gave you this brand new box of crayons and I told you that you could do anything that you wanted to do with it. What would you expect to find inside this box and what would you want to do with it? (let them answer)
You think there are crayons inside and you want to color with the crayons. That's what I would think, also, if somebody gave me a brand new crayon box. Well, let me give it to one of you. Open it and tell me how you feel. (let one of the children open the crayon box and show you and everyone else that it's empty; then solicit his disappointment) That's disappointing. A brand new crayon box and no crayons inside! I feel awful and so do you.
Maybe you know now how Mary Magdalene felt when she went to Jesus' tomb and found it empty. It was just three days after he was crucified and she expected to find Jesus dead and in his tomb. When she saw that it was empty, she ran to tell Peter and John that Jesus had disappeared. She was so sad and so disappointed. She wondered how someone could be so mean as to steal the body of Jesus. Why would anyone take Jesus away from his grave?
Mary felt a lot sadder than you felt when you opened your brand new crayon box and found it empty because Jesus is sure a lot more important than brand new crayons.
But the best part of the story is yet to come, because Mary found out that no one had stolen Jesus, but instead, he had been raised from the dead, brought back to life by God the Father.
Somewhere I have all of the crayons that belong in this box, but I'm not going to put them back because I want you to know that Jesus' tomb is still empty. They didn't find Jesus and put him back in the grave. They found Jesus alive and well and happy. The empty crayon box, like the empty grave, is a sign for us to remember that God showed people like Mary and Peter and John that life is God's wish for everyone. Jesus was the first person to be brought back from the grave, but all of us will someday have the same marvelous experience. We too, will have empty graves just like Jesus had an empty grave.
The next time you see a crayon box, take all of the crayons out of it and look inside and see if you can remember how Mary Magdalene felt on that first Easter Day. Then think how happy you are to know that someday you will know the same joy that Mary knew when she discovered Jesus was raised from the dead.
