Afraid of Jesus?
Children's sermon
Object: The children and their actions will be your objects today. When you talk about being afraid, have them show what it looks like when you are afraid. Have them curl up and pretend to hide. When you talk about not being afraid of Jesus, have them sit up calmly, take a deep breath, and smile.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! It is kind of a strange story, so let’s see if we can figure out what it means.
One day when Jesus was in the little town of Capernaum, he was invited to speak to everyone at the synagogue, which was like their church. Jesus started talking to the people about God, and do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) Right in the middle of Jesus’ sermon, a man jumped up and started yelling at him. The man said that he knew that Jesus was God’s Son and that he had come to Capernaum to destroy everyone. The man was really afraid. Now, I have a question for you. Why do you think the man was so afraid of Jesus that he thought Jesus was going to do something to hurt them? (Let them respond.) Let’s see if we can figure it out.
Back then, the people believed that if you wanted God to like you, you had to obey all of God’s laws. And, wow, they believed that God had created a lot of laws. There were laws that said there were some foods they could not eat. There were laws that said there were some places they could not go. There were laws that said there were some people they could not talk to. There were laws that said there were some clothes they could not wear, how they should cut their hair, how much money they should give to the temple, and lots of other things. And they believed that if you broke ANY of the laws, God would be mad at you and not take care of you. And, if you broke too many laws, God would do something to destroy you.
Now let me ask you another question. How do you think you would feel if you believed that God would do something bad to you if you ever broke any rules? (Let them respond.) Let me show you how I think I would feel if I thought God cared more about laws than about us. (Have the children do what you do as you continue.) I think I would probably want to curl up in a little ball. (Curl yourself up in a ball.) And I would probably hide my face. (Hold your arms and hands up in front of your face.) And I would probably stay as far away from Jesus as I could stay. (Lean way back like you are trying to stay away from someone.) If I believed that God cared more about laws than about us, I would probably be afraid of Jesus just like that man in the synagogue was. Wouldn’t you? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes, we hear people talking about God’s laws, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Some people tell us that if we don’t do things the way they believe God wants us to do them, God will punish us. Sometimes people even get into arguments or even have wars because they think someone isn’t following God’s laws, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Now, if we really believed that God cares more about laws than about us, how do you think that would make us feel? (Let them respond and have them curl up with you again.) It would be pretty scary, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But we don’t need to be afraid of God. Does anyone remember the story about the man who told Jesus how hard it was to follow all of God’s laws and he asked Jesus which law was the most important one to follow? The man was afraid, wasn’t he? (Let them respond and have them curl up with you again.) And do you remember what Jesus told him? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God only cared about two laws. The first law was that we should love God, and the second law was that we should love each other. That’s all. None of those other laws mattered as much as these two. How do you think the man felt when Jesus told him that? (Have the children follow you as you uncurl yourself, sit up nice a straight, smile, and take a deep breath.) He probably didn’t feel afraid anymore, did he? (Let them respond.)
Jesus doesn’t want us to be afraid of God. (Show the fear position again.) Jesus wants us to know that God loves us more than laws. (Show the relaxed position again.) Instead of worrying about laws, or arguing about laws, God wants us to relax and spend our time doing things to take care of each other.
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.
* * *
Hello, everyone! (Let them respond.) Are you ready for our story today? (Let them respond.) Excellent! It is kind of a strange story, so let’s see if we can figure out what it means.
One day when Jesus was in the little town of Capernaum, he was invited to speak to everyone at the synagogue, which was like their church. Jesus started talking to the people about God, and do you know what happened? (Let them respond.) Right in the middle of Jesus’ sermon, a man jumped up and started yelling at him. The man said that he knew that Jesus was God’s Son and that he had come to Capernaum to destroy everyone. The man was really afraid. Now, I have a question for you. Why do you think the man was so afraid of Jesus that he thought Jesus was going to do something to hurt them? (Let them respond.) Let’s see if we can figure it out.
Back then, the people believed that if you wanted God to like you, you had to obey all of God’s laws. And, wow, they believed that God had created a lot of laws. There were laws that said there were some foods they could not eat. There were laws that said there were some places they could not go. There were laws that said there were some people they could not talk to. There were laws that said there were some clothes they could not wear, how they should cut their hair, how much money they should give to the temple, and lots of other things. And they believed that if you broke ANY of the laws, God would be mad at you and not take care of you. And, if you broke too many laws, God would do something to destroy you.
Now let me ask you another question. How do you think you would feel if you believed that God would do something bad to you if you ever broke any rules? (Let them respond.) Let me show you how I think I would feel if I thought God cared more about laws than about us. (Have the children do what you do as you continue.) I think I would probably want to curl up in a little ball. (Curl yourself up in a ball.) And I would probably hide my face. (Hold your arms and hands up in front of your face.) And I would probably stay as far away from Jesus as I could stay. (Lean way back like you are trying to stay away from someone.) If I believed that God cared more about laws than about us, I would probably be afraid of Jesus just like that man in the synagogue was. Wouldn’t you? (Let them respond.)
Sometimes, we hear people talking about God’s laws, don’t we? (Let them respond.) Some people tell us that if we don’t do things the way they believe God wants us to do them, God will punish us. Sometimes people even get into arguments or even have wars because they think someone isn’t following God’s laws, don’t they? (Let them respond.) Now, if we really believed that God cares more about laws than about us, how do you think that would make us feel? (Let them respond and have them curl up with you again.) It would be pretty scary, wouldn’t it? (Let them respond.)
But we don’t need to be afraid of God. Does anyone remember the story about the man who told Jesus how hard it was to follow all of God’s laws and he asked Jesus which law was the most important one to follow? The man was afraid, wasn’t he? (Let them respond and have them curl up with you again.) And do you remember what Jesus told him? (Let them respond.) Jesus said that God only cared about two laws. The first law was that we should love God, and the second law was that we should love each other. That’s all. None of those other laws mattered as much as these two. How do you think the man felt when Jesus told him that? (Have the children follow you as you uncurl yourself, sit up nice a straight, smile, and take a deep breath.) He probably didn’t feel afraid anymore, did he? (Let them respond.)
Jesus doesn’t want us to be afraid of God. (Show the fear position again.) Jesus wants us to know that God loves us more than laws. (Show the relaxed position again.) Instead of worrying about laws, or arguing about laws, God wants us to relax and spend our time doing things to take care of each other.
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.
